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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-Strike_Major_Championships | Counter-Strike Major Championships | Counter-Strike Major Championships, commonly known as the Majors, are Counter-Strike (CS) esports tournaments sponsored by Valve, the game's developer. The first Valve-recognized Major took place in 2013 in Jönköping, Sweden and was hosted by DreamHack with a total prize pool of US$250,000 split among 16 teams. This, along with the following 19 Majors, was played in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. As of the 2023 release of Counter-Strike 2 (CS2), Counter-Strike esports, including the Majors, are played in CS2.
Since then, the Major circuit has expanded significantly, with recent tournaments advertising a US$1,250,000 prize pool and featuring thirty-two teams from around the world. The Majors are considered to be the most important and prestigious tournaments in the Counter-Strike scene.
The current champions are Team Vitality, who won their third Major at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, the fourth to be held in Counter-Strike 2. Astralis hold the record for the most Major titles with four.
== History ==
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Hidden Path Entertainment and Valve. It is the fourth game in the Counter-Strike series. The first game in the series, Counter-Strike 1.6, was officially released in 2000 and competitive play began soon after. The first significant international tournament was the 2001 Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) Winter Championship, considered the first "Major". The CPL Summer and Winter Championships, along with the World Cyber Games, Electronic Sports World Cup and Intel Extreme Masters World Championships, were considered Majors by the community, although Valve did not sponsor or give any official designation to the tournaments.
Swedish teams, most notably SK Gaming, dominated early Majors but the Polish roster known as the Golden Five were the most successful lineup. Many teams from other parts of the world would win Majors, including Team 3D from the United States at CPL Winter 2002 and WCG 2004, NoA from Norway at CPL Winter 2004, mibr from Brazil at ESWC 2006, and WeMade FOX from South Korea at WEM 2010.
On September 16, 2013, a year after the release of Global Offensive, Valve announced a US$250,000 community-funded prize pool for the first official CS:GO Major. The money was partially community-funded through the game's Arms Deal update, which allowed players to buy in-game skins. Valve announced the tournament would take place in Sweden and would be hosted by DreamHack. The tournament took place in late November and was won by the Swedish team Fnatic who upset Ninjas in Pyjamas in the finals. After Dreamhack 2013, Valve announced they would partner with tournament organizers to host three Majors per year. These Majors are the most prestigious events in the competitive CS:GO scene, and the professional players' legacies are often judged by their performances at these tournaments.
The early Majors were dominated by Swedish teams, as Fnatic and NiP combined to win the four of the first six Majors. NiP would play in five of the first six grand finals. When Fnatic won Cologne 2015, they became the first team to win back to back Majors, and the first to win a third Major in total. Only the Danish team Astralis has since matched that total.
At the end of 2015, Valve announced that MLG would host the first Major in North America. On February 23, 2016, with MLG Columbus 2016 coming up, Valve announced a permanent increase in the prize pool from US$250,000 to US$1,000,000. However, Valve reduced the number of Majors per year from three to two. Luminosity Gaming, a Brazilian team, won the event to becomes the first non-European team to win a Major. This roster would also go on to win back to back Majors, with their second as SK Gaming at ESL One Cologne 2016.
Gambit Esports, made up primarily of players from Kazakhstan, won PGL Major Kraków 2017 to become the first Asian and CIS team to win a Major.
On December 13, 2017, the general manager of ELEAGUE, the hosts of the ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018, announced a revised format designed by Valve and ELEAGUE that would expand the number of teams in the Major from sixteen to twenty-four. This was also the first Major to take place in multiple cities, as the group stages took place in Atlanta at the Turner Studios. Cloud9, an American team, won the event to become the first North American team to win a Major.
After Boston 2018, the Danish team Astralis became the top team in CS:GO and one of the best teams in Counter-Strike history. With wins at London 2018, Katowice 2019, and Berlin 2019, Astralis become the first team to win three Majors in a row and four majors total. After Berlin 2019, Valve and ESL announced the following Major, ESL One Rio 2020, which was to be the first Major to be hosted in South America. Rio 2020, originally scheduled for May, was then postponed to November due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The November Major was announced with a US$2,000,000 prize pool, combining the amounts that would have been set aside for both Majors. In September 2020, the Rio Major was officially canceled due to COVID-19. In December 2020, Valve moved the 2021 Major from May to October and November, citing concerns over the pandemic.
On January 14, 2021, Valve announced that the championship would be held between October 23 and November 7 in Stockholm. Over two years after the last Major, PGL Major Stockholm 2021 took place, with favourites Natus Vincere dominating the tournament and becoming the first team in CS:GO history to win a Major without dropping a single map throughout the tournament. PGL Major Stockholm 2021 surpassed the long-standing Counter-Strike viewership record 4 times; reaching 2.75 million concurrent viewers in the final.
FaZe Clan won the PGL Major Antwerp 2022, defeating Natus Vincere 2-0, and becoming the first international team in CS:GO history to win a Major.
The previously cancelled ESL One Rio 2020 Major was replaced with IEM Rio Major 2022 and was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 31 - November 13, 2022. Outsiders, a neutral name for esports organization Virtus.pro due to ties with the Russian government in light of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, won the tournament defeating Heroic in the grand final 2-0.
BLAST Paris Major 2023 was held in Paris on May 8 - May 21, 2023 with a prize pool of $1,250,000 USD. Shortly after the announcement of Counter-Strike 2, the official CS:GO Twitter account announced that the BLAST Paris Major would be the last CS:GO Major with the next major happening in March 2024 in CS2. Team Vitality, a French organization with native star player Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut, defeated dark horse GamerLegion by 2–0 to clinch the final CS:GO Major title.
The first Counter-Strike 2 Major was announced to be the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 which was held from March 17–31 in the Royal Arena. On November 12, 2023, Perfect World, who are responsible for distributing Counter-Strike 2 in China, announced the second major following the release of Counter-Strike 2, taking place in Shanghai between December 1-15, 2024. Team Spirit defeated FaZe Clan 2-1, with star player donk becoming the youngest player to win a Major and Major MVP at 17 years 324 days old.
On January 3, 2025, Valve announced a second expansion of the number of teams to thirty-two, starting with the BLAST Austin Major that year. Team Vitality would win their second Major trophy after defeating The MongolZ 2-1, and their third after defeating FaZe Clan 3-1 at the Budapest Major, in the first Major grand final to be held as a best-of-five.
== Format ==
=== Qualification ===
Starting after Dreamhack 2013, the top eight teams from each Major (those who made it to the playoff stage) earned automatic berths to the next Major. These teams are called "Legends". The other eight teams, called "Challengers", were decided by regional qualifiers, mainly from Europe and North America. A small number of teams have been directly invited or earned attendance from a last chance qualifier to fill final open spots when necessary. Beginning with the DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015 qualification cycle, Valve created a single 16-team main qualifier before the Major. The bottom eight teams from the previous Major earn automatic berths to the newly formed Major qualifier, and the regional qualifiers now send teams to the main qualifier, instead of directly to the Major.
For MLG Columbus 2016 the regional qualifiers, leading into the Major qualifier, were replaced by "Minors". The Columbus Minor system involved four regional qualifiers and two "last chance" qualifiers, and results in invites going to one team from the Americas, two Asian teams, one CIS team, one European team, and three last chance qualifier spots. The system was simplified in the following Major, ESL One Cologne 2016, with the removal of the last chance qualifiers. Four Minors—Asia, CIS, Europe, Americas—were used. Two teams from each qualifier would go to the Major qualifier, joining the bottom eight teams from the previous Major. The top eight teams from the 16-team Major qualifier advance to the Major.
At ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018, the Major qualifier was integrated into the full Major as the first of three phases, expanding the number of teams in each Major to 24. The Major qualifier was renamed the "Challengers Stage", the former group stage was renamed the "Legends Stage", and the playoff stage was named the "Champions Stage". This increased the number of teams getting automatic invites to Majors to 16, while retaining the Minor system to fill the remaining eight spots in phase one of the Major. The Legends—still made up of the teams who reach the playoff stage—earned an automatic invitation to the Legends Stage of the following Major, while the teams placing 9-16 earned automatic invitations to the Challengers Stage of the following Major. On August 28, 2018, shortly before the start of the FACEIT Major: London 2018, Valve announced that they were reducing the number of automatic Major invites to fourteen, starting with the London 2018 Major; the two teams that go winless in the first phase must go through the Minors to get back to the next Major.
From the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 up until the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, no automatic berths were given to any team regardless of their record in the previous Major. Instead, a Regional Major Ranking (RMR) system was used, which at first was a yearly points circuit where each region would have three qualifying tournaments where teams can receive points towards qualifying for the Major, which included Contenders, Challengers and Legends distinctions (as well as the Legends) for the top teams within each region. Despite initially being used for the ESL One Rio Major 2020, the event's cancellation would mean that PGL Major Stockholm 2021 was the first Major that utilized the RMR system.
The very next Major, PGL Major Antwerp 2022, would scrap the points circuit in favor of qualifying tournaments that bore the RMR name, initially and ultimately 2 for Europe (which included the CIS region), 1 for the Americas and 1 for Asia-Pacific. Teams qualified for their regional RMRs via making the Legends Stage of the previous major or via online qualifying made up of Open Qualifiers, where any team could sign up and compete for RMR spots. Closed Qualifiers were added between the RMRs and the Open Qualifiers in time for Paris 2023, while Open Qualifiers were removed in most regions for Shanghai 2024 in favor of extensively utilizing the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), a ranking system utilized by Valve to determine the best teams in each region and globally. In addition, regions could gain or lose Challengers and Legends spots in the Major based on the region's results from the previous Major, with 3 Challengers spots reserved for Europe and the Americas and 2 for Asia-Pacific. For example, after PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, the Americas region would go from 1 Legends spot and 4 Challengers spot, to 7 Challengers spots for Shanghai, after 4 teams from the Americas qualified for the Elimination Stage, with none making the Playoff stage.
For BLAST Austin Major 2025, an extra stage was added to the Major, expanding the number of teams to 32 and stages to four. Of these, 16 are directly invited from the VRS to the second and third stages. The other sixteen teams qualified for the Major's first stage via Major Regional Qualifiers, or MRQs, with the next-best teams in each VRS being invited; this system would be scrapped for StarLadder Budapest 2025 as the Stage 1 spots would also be allocated via VRS. Like with the RMR system, regions can gain and lose invites to the later stages of the Major based on the prior Major's results, but 6 teams each from the Americas and Europe, as well as 4 teams from Asia-Pacific, qualify for the Major in Stage 1.
Unlike traditional sports or other esports leagues, Valve considers the players in each team to have the Major spots, rather than the organization itself. For instance, at the ELEAGUE Major 2017, Team EnVyUs placed ninth, meaning it would have an automatic berth at the next Major qualifier. However, before the next Major, three of EnVyUs's players transferred to G2 Esports, meaning Team EnVyUs lost its spot at the Major qualifier.
=== Tournament format ===
Although the playoff stage of the Majors has generally followed a standard 8-team single-elimination format, the group stages have changed multiple times. From 2013 to 2016, Majors used a four group GSL-style format for the group stage. In each four-team group, the two higher seeds would initially face the two lower seeds. The two winners from the first round of matches would then play to determine which team gets the top seed. The two losers would also play to eliminate one team. After this second round of matches, the remaining two teams play to determine which team takes the final playoff spot. All group stage games at the first Majors were best-of-ones. The last Major of 2015 and both Majors in 2016 featured a best-of-three decider in the final match of each group.
The group stage of ESL One Cologne 2015 worked differently. Initially, the first three matches of the group stage started out the same way as the standard GSL format, determining the group winner. However, teams were then reassigned afterwards so that the two losers played from different groups and then the decider match would also be teams from different groups.
Beginning in 2017, the group stage has featured a Swiss-system group stage. Before the tournament, teams are divided into four pots, with pot one having the four highest seeds, pot two having the next four highest seeds, and so on. A randomly selected team from pot one would face off against a randomly selected team from pot four. The same process is done with the pots two and three. After the initial seeded match, teams play five rounds against randomly drawn teams with the same record. No two teams play twice unless necessary. If a team wins three matches, then that team moves on to the next stage. If a team loses three matches, that team is eliminated. All games were best-of-one until the London 2018 Major. The Boston 2018 Major featured two Swiss group stages; the stage formerly known as the offline Major qualifier was now called the New Challengers stage and the group stage was now rebranded as the New Legends stage. The London 2018 Major used a slightly different form of the Swiss system, called the Buchholz system, in which matchups were seeded instead of random and the last round featured best-of-three sets. The next Major, Katowice 2019, featured a crowdsourced Elo system, in which participating teams ranked the 15 other teams before the Legends Stage to create a seeding system for each round of the Swiss system. The Copenhagen 2024 Major changed the names of the two Swiss stages, with the Challengers Stage becoming the Opening Stage and the Legends Stage becoming the Elimination Stage, while the first round match-up seeding for the Swiss stages was tweaked. A third Swiss stage was added beginning with the 2025 Austin Major to accompany the expansion to 32 teams.
The Playoffs, known as the New Champions stage and Champions stage beforehand, have featured eight teams at all Majors. All matches are best-of-three, single-elimination series. When the GSL format was used for group stages, group winners earned top seeds and group runner-ups earned bottom seeds. Each top seed played a bottom seed in quarterfinals. With current Swiss format seeding, the two teams that finish undefeated in the group stage earn the highest seeds. Two of the three lowest seeds from the group stage (teams that advance with two losses) are randomly selected to play against the high seeds. Two of the three middle seeds (teams that advance with one loss) are randomly selected to play each other, and the remaining two teams face each other to finalize the bracket.
From StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, the grand final of the tournament will be a best-of-five series.
=== Banned players ===
Valve has banned players from attending the Majors for violations of competitive integrity. A Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) ban is the most common way players get banned. VAC is an anti-cheat program designed by Valve to detect cheats running in various games, including Counter-Strike. If cheats are detected, the account is given a permanent lifetime ban from playing on VAC-secured servers. Other server providers, such as FACEIT and ESEA, have their own anti-cheat systems and work with Valve to detect new cheats. One of the most high-profile VAC bans was given to Hovik "KQLY" Tovmassian. KQLY, along with several other professional players, was banned while playing for France's best team, Titan.
Valve has also banned players from Valve-sponsored events for match fixing. The first Valve ban for match fixing was a response to the iBUYPOWER match fixing scandal, in which esports journalist Richard Lewis revealed that one of North America's best teams, iBUYPOWER, had thrown a match for high-value skins. Valve indefinitely banned seven players who were involved in the scandal from attending any Majors. Tyler "Skadoodle" Latham was the only iBUYPOWER player not to be banned, as he did not receive any payment after the game. Valve would later make the bans permanent, causing some controversy in the Counter-Strike community. Although tournament organizers ESL and DreamHack lifted their own bans on the former iBUYPOWER players in 2017, the Major ban effectively ended the high level careers of two of North America's best in-game leaders (Sam "DaZeD" Marine and Joshua "steel" Nissan) and Braxton "swag" Pierce. Skadoodle would go on to win a Major with Cloud9. Following the iBUYPOWER ban, there have been two other match fixing bans, resulting in nine other players being barred from the Majors.
== List of Major Championships ==
=== Map pool ===
Starting with Cologne 2014, maps were grouped into Active Duty and Reserves, with the former category being used for all Majors.
=== Titles by organization ===
* Team or organization no longer participates in Counter-Strike esports.
== Features ==
=== Stickers ===
Stickers are virtual items in the game which players can buy or get from sticker capsules. The stickers can then be applied to in-game gun skins. Valve has released a sticker design for each team attending a Major since Katowice 2014, and a sticker for each professional player's signature since Cologne 2015. These two types of stickers come in a variety of styles: paper, glitter, holographic, foil, and gold. With each sticker purchase, half of the proceeds go to the player or team and half go to Valve.
These sticker capsules are unique for each tournament and can only be purchased at the time of the tournament. Because of this forced rarity, stickers from early majors tend to become more expensive over time. After initially costing less than US$10, a "Titan" holographic sticker from Katowice 2014 sold on secondary markets for US$80,000 in 2023, making it the most expensive public sticker trade in the game's history.
=== Souvenir packages ===
Souvenir packages are virtual packages containing a gun skin that are exclusive to CS:GO Majors. These "souvenir skins" can rank among the most expensive skins in the game because of their rarity. After Cloud9 became the first ever North American CS:GO Major champion at Boston 2018, a souvenir skin with the signature of the finals MVP, Tyler "Skadoodle" Latham, sold for US$61,000.
=== In-game tributes ===
After certain significant or iconic moments in Global Offensive Majors, Valve has added in-game memorials to the location of the event, usually in the form of graffiti or signs. Thus far, there have been six moments in Majors that have been memorialized by Valve, though one graffiti was removed when Dust II was updated. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington#Personal_life | George Washington#Personal life | George Washington (February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731] – December 14, 1799) was a Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War against the British Empire. He is commonly known as the Father of the Nation for his role in bringing about American independence.
Born in the Colony of Virginia, Washington became the commander of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War (1754–1763). He was later elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, and opposed the perceived oppression of the American colonists by the British Crown. When the American Revolutionary War against the British began in 1775, Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. He directed a poorly organized and equipped force against disciplined British troops. Washington and his army achieved an early victory at the Siege of Boston in March 1776 but were forced to retreat from New York City in November. Washington crossed the Delaware River and won the battles of Trenton in late 1776 and of Princeton in early 1777, then lost the battles of Brandywine and of Germantown later that year. He faced criticism of his command, low troop morale, and a lack of provisions for his forces as the war continued. Ultimately Washington led a combined French and American force to a decisive victory over the British at Yorktown in 1781. In the resulting Treaty of Paris in 1783, the British acknowledged the sovereign independence of the United States. Washington then served as president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which drafted the current Constitution of the United States.
Washington was unanimously elected the first U.S. president by the Electoral College in 1788 and 1792. He implemented a strong, well-financed national government while remaining impartial in the fierce rivalry that emerged within his cabinet between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. During the French Revolution, he proclaimed a policy of neutrality while supporting the Jay Treaty with Britain. Washington set enduring precedents for the office of president, including republicanism, a peaceful transfer of power, the use of the title "Mr. President", and the two-term tradition. His 1796 farewell address became a preeminent statement on republicanism: Washington wrote about the importance of national unity and the dangers that regionalism, partisanship, and foreign influence pose to it. As a planter of tobacco and wheat at Mount Vernon, Washington owned many slaves. He began opposing slavery near the end of his life, and provided in his will for the eventual manumission of his slaves.
Washington's image is an icon of American culture and he has been extensively memorialized. His namesakes include the national capital and the State of Washington. In both popular and scholarly polls, he is consistently considered one of the greatest presidents in American history.
== Early life (1732–1752) ==
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the first of six children of Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. His father was a justice of the peace and a prominent public figure who had four additional children from his first marriage to Jane Butler. Washington was not close to his father and rarely mentioned him in later years; he had a fractious relationship with his mother. Among his siblings, he was particularly close to his older half-brother Lawrence.
The family moved to a plantation on Little Hunting Creek in 1735 before settling at Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1738. When Augustine died in 1743, Washington inherited Ferry Farm and ten slaves; Lawrence inherited Little Hunting Creek and renamed it Mount Vernon. Because of his father's death, Washington did not have the formal education his elder half-brothers had received at Appleby Grammar School in England; he instead attended the Lower Church School in Hartfield. He learned mathematics and land surveying, and became a talented draftsman and mapmaker. By early adulthood, he was writing with what his biographer Ron Chernow described as "considerable force" and "precision". As a teenager, Washington compiled over a hundred rules for social interaction styled The Rules of Civility, copied from an English translation of a French guidebook.
Washington often visited Belvoir, the plantation of William Fairfax, Lawrence's father-in-law, and Mount Vernon. Fairfax became Washington's patron and surrogate father. In 1748, Washington spent a month with a team surveying Fairfax's Shenandoah Valley property. The following year, he received a surveyor's license from the College of William & Mary. Even though Washington had not served the customary apprenticeship, Thomas Fairfax (William's cousin) appointed him surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia. Washington took his oath of office on July 20, 1749, and resigned in 1750. By 1752, he had bought almost 1,500 acres (600 ha) in the Shenandoah Valley and owned 2,315 acres (937 ha).
In 1751, Washington left mainland North America for the first and only time, when he accompanied Lawrence to Barbados, hoping the climate would cure his brother's tuberculosis. Washington contracted smallpox during the trip, which left his face slightly scarred and provided immunity against future infection. Lawrence died in 1752, and Washington leased Mount Vernon from his widow, Ann; he inherited it outright after her death in 1761. The Barbados journey exposed Washington to the wider British Atlantic world and to aspects of plantation society and imperial administration beyond Virginia.
== Colonial military career (1752–1758) ==
Lawrence Washington's service as adjutant general of the Virginia militia inspired George to seek a militia commission. Virginia's lieutenant governor, Robert Dinwiddie, appointed Washington as a major and commander of one of the four militia districts. The British and French were competing for control of the Ohio River Valley: the British were constructing forts along the river, and the French between the river and Lake Erie.
In October 1753, Dinwiddie appointed Washington as a special envoy to demand the French forces vacate land that was claimed by the British. Washington was also directed to make peace with the Iroquois Confederacy and to gather intelligence about the French forces. Washington met with Iroquois leader Tanacharison at Logstown. Washington said that at this meeting Tanacharison named him Conotocaurius. This name, meaning "devourer of villages", had previously been given to his great-grandfather John Washington in the late 17th century by the Susquehannock.
Washington's party reached the Ohio River in November 1753 and was intercepted by a French patrol. The party was escorted to Fort Le Boeuf, where Washington was received in a friendly manner. He delivered the British demand to vacate to the French commander Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, but the French refused to leave. Saint-Pierre gave Washington his official answer after a few days' delay, as well as food and winter clothing for his party's journey back to Virginia. Washington completed the precarious mission in difficult winter conditions, achieving a measure of distinction when his report was published in Virginia and London.
=== French and Indian War ===
In February 1754, Dinwiddie promoted Washington to lieutenant colonel and second-in-command of the 300-strong Virginia Regiment, with orders to confront the French at the Forks of the Ohio. Washington set out with half the regiment in April and was soon aware that a French force of 1,000 had begun construction of Fort Duquesne there. In May, having established a defensive position at Great Meadows, Washington learned that the French had made camp seven miles (11 km) away; he decided to take the offensive. The French detachment proved to be only about 50 men, so on May 28 Washington commanded an ambush. His small force of Virginians and Indian allies killed the French, including their commander Joseph Coulon de Jumonville, who had been carrying a diplomatic message for the British. The French later found their countrymen dead and scalped, blaming Washington, who had retreated to Fort Necessity.
The rest of the Virginia Regiment joined Washington the following month with news that he had been promoted to the rank of colonel and given command of the full regiment. They were reinforced by an independent company of a hundred South Carolinians led by Captain James Mackay; his royal commission outranked Washington's and a conflict of command ensued. On July 3, 900 French soldiers attacked Fort Necessity, and the ensuing battle ended in Washington's surrender. Washington did not speak French, but signed a surrender document in which he unwittingly took responsibility for "assassinating" Jumonville, later blaming the translator for not properly translating it. The Virginia Regiment was divided and Washington was offered a captaincy in one of the newly formed regiments. He refused, as it would have been a demotion—the British had ordered that "colonials" could not be ranked any higher than captain—and instead resigned his commission. The Jumonville affair became the incident which ignited the French and Indian War.
In 1755, Washington volunteered as an aide to General Edward Braddock, who led a British expedition to expel the French from Fort Duquesne and the Ohio Country. On Washington's recommendation, Braddock split the army into one main column and a smaller "flying column". Washington was suffering from severe dysentery so did not initially travel with the expedition forces. When he rejoined Braddock at Monongahela, still very ill, the French and their Indian allies ambushed the divided army. Two-thirds of the British force became casualties in the ensuing Battle of the Monongahela, and Braddock was killed. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage, Washington rallied the survivors and formed a rear guard, allowing the remnants of the force to retreat. During the engagement, Washington had two horses shot out from under him, and his hat and coat were pierced by bullets. His conduct redeemed his reputation among critics of his command in the Battle of Fort Necessity, but he was not included by the succeeding commander (Colonel Thomas Dunbar) in planning subsequent operations.
The Virginia Regiment was reconstituted in August 1755, and Dinwiddie appointed Washington its commander, again with the rank of colonel. Washington clashed over seniority almost immediately, this time with Captain John Dagworthy, who commanded a detachment of Marylanders at the regiment's headquarters in Fort Cumberland. Washington, impatient for an offensive against Fort Duquesne, was convinced Braddock would have granted him a royal commission and pressed his case in February 1756 with Braddock's successor as Commander-in-Chief, William Shirley, and again in January 1757 with Shirley's successor, Lord Loudoun. Loudoun humiliated Washington, refused him a royal commission, and agreed only to relieve him of the responsibility of manning Fort Cumberland.
In 1758, the Virginia Regiment was assigned to the British Forbes Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne. General John Forbes took Washington's advice on some aspects of the expedition but rejected his opinion on the best route to the fort. Forbes nevertheless made Washington a brevet brigadier general and gave him command of one of the three brigades that was assigned to assault the fort. The French had abandoned the fort and the valley before the assault, however, and Washington only saw a friendly fire incident, which left 14 dead and 26 injured. Frustrated, he resigned his commission soon afterwards and returned to Mount Vernon.
Under Washington, the Virginia Regiment had defended 300 miles (480 km) of frontier against 20 Indian attacks in 10 months. He increased the professionalism of the regiment as it grew from 300 to 1,000 men. Though he failed to realize a royal commission, which made him hostile towards the British, he gained self-confidence, leadership skills, and knowledge of British military tactics. The destructive competition Washington witnessed among colonial politicians fostered his later support of a strong central government.
== Marriage, civilian and political life (1759–1775) ==
On January 6, 1759, Washington, at age 26, married Martha Dandridge Custis, the 27-year-old widow of wealthy plantation owner Daniel Parke Custis. Martha was intelligent, gracious, and experienced in managing a planter's estate, and the couple had a happy marriage. They lived at Mount Vernon, where Washington cultivated tobacco and wheat. The marriage gave Washington control over Martha's one-third dower interest in the 18,000-acre (7,300 ha) Custis estate, and he managed the remaining two-thirds for Martha's children. As a result, he became one of the wealthiest men in Virginia, which increased his social standing.
At Washington's urging, Governor Lord Botetourt fulfilled Dinwiddie's 1754 promise to grant land bounties to those who served with volunteer militias during the French and Indian War. In late 1770, Washington inspected the lands in the Ohio and Great Kanawha regions, and he engaged surveyor William Crawford to subdivide it. Crawford allotted 23,200 acres (9,400 ha) to Washington, who told the veterans that their land was unsuitable for farming and agreed to purchase 20,147 acres (8,153 ha), leaving some feeling that they had been duped. He also doubled the size of Mount Vernon to 6,500 acres (2,600 ha) and, by 1775, had more than doubled its slave population to over one hundred.
As a respected military hero and large landowner, Washington held local offices and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature, representing Frederick County in the Virginia House of Burgesses for seven years beginning in 1758. Early in his legislative career, Washington rarely spoke at or even attended legislative sessions, but was more politically active starting in the 1760s, becoming a prominent critic of Britain's taxation and mercantilist policies towards the American colonies. Washington imported luxury goods from England, paying for them by exporting tobacco. His profligate spending combined with low tobacco prices left him £1,800 in debt by 1764. Washington's complete reliance on London tobacco buyer and merchant Robert Cary also threatened his economic security. Between 1764 and 1766, he sought to diversify his holdings: he changed Mount Vernon's primary cash crop from tobacco to wheat and expanded operations to include flour milling and hemp farming. Washington's stepdaughter Patsy suffered from epileptic attacks, and she died at Mount Vernon in 1773, allowing Washington to use part of the inheritance from her estate to settle his debts.
=== Opposition to the British Parliament and Crown ===
Washington was opposed to the taxes which the British Parliament imposed on the Colonies without proper representation. He believed the Stamp Act 1765 was oppressive and celebrated its repeal the following year. In response to the Townshend Acts, he introduced a proposal in May 1769 which urged Virginians to boycott British goods; the Townshend Acts were mostly repealed in 1770. Washington and other colonists were also angered by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 (which banned American settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains) and British interference in American western land speculation (in which Washington was a participant).
Parliament sought to punish Massachusetts colonists for their role in the Boston Tea Party in 1774 by passing the Coercive Acts, which Washington saw as "an invasion of our rights and privileges". That July, he and George Mason drafted a list of resolutions for the Fairfax County committee, including a call to end the Atlantic slave trade; the resolutions were adopted. In August, Washington attended the First Virginia Convention and was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress. As tensions rose in 1774, he helped train militias in Virginia and organized enforcement of the Continental Association boycott of British goods instituted by the Congress.
== Commander in chief of the army (1775–1783) ==
The American Revolutionary War broke out on April 19, 1775, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Washington hastily departed Mount Vernon on May 4 to join the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. On June 14, Congress created the Continental Army and John Adams nominated Washington as its commander-in-chief, mainly because of his military experience and the belief that a Virginian would better unite the colonies. He was unanimously elected by Congress the next day. Washington gave an acceptance speech on June 16, declining a salary, though he was later reimbursed expenses.
Congress chose Washington's primary staff officers, including Artemas Ward, Horatio Gates, Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler, and Nathanael Greene. Henry Knox impressed Adams and Washington with his knowledge of ordnance and was promoted to colonel and chief of artillery. Similarly, Washington was impressed by Alexander Hamilton's intelligence and bravery; he would later promote Hamilton to colonel and appoint him his aide-de-camp.
Washington initially banned the enlistment of Black soldiers, both free and enslaved. The British saw an opportunity to divide the colonies: the colonial governor of Virginia issued a proclamation promising freedom to slaves if they joined the British forces. In response to this proclamation and the need for troops, Washington soon overturned his ban. By the end of the war, around one-tenth of the soldiers in the Continental Army were Black, with some obtaining freedom.
=== Siege of Boston ===
In April 1775, in response to the growing rebellious movement, British troops occupied Boston, led by General Thomas Gage, commander of British forces in America. Local militias surrounded the city and trapped the British troops, resulting in a standoff. As Washington headed for Boston, he was greeted by cheering crowds and political ceremony; he became a symbol of the Patriot cause. Upon Washington's arrival on July 2, he went to inspect the army, but found undisciplined militia. After consultation, he initiated Benjamin Franklin's suggested reforms, instituting military drills and imposing strict disciplinary measures. Washington promoted some of the soldiers who had performed well at Bunker Hill to officer rank, and removed officers who he saw as incompetent. In October, King George III declared that the colonies were in open rebellion and relieved Gage of command, replacing him with General William Howe.
When the Charles River froze over, Washington was eager to cross and storm Boston, but Gates and others were opposed to having untrained militia attempt to assault well-garrisoned fortifications. Instead, Washington agreed to secure the Dorchester Heights above Boston to try to force the British out. On March 17, 8,906 British troops, 1,100 Loyalists, and 1,220 women and children began a chaotic naval evacuation. Washington entered the city with 500 men, giving them explicit orders not to plunder. He refrained from exerting military authority in Boston, leaving civilian matters in the hands of local authorities.
=== New York and New Jersey ===
==== Battle of Long Island ====
After the victory at Boston, Washington correctly guessed that the British would return to New York City and retaliate. He arrived there on April 13, 1776, and ordered the construction of fortifications. He also ordered his forces to treat civilians and their property with respect, to avoid the abuses Bostonians suffered at the hands of British troops. The British forces, including more than a hundred ships and thousands of troops, began arriving on Staten Island in July to lay siege to the city.
Howe's troop strength totaled 32,000 regulars and Hessian auxiliaries; Washington had 23,000 men, mostly untrained recruits and militia. In August, Howe landed 20,000 troops at Gravesend, Brooklyn, and approached Washington's fortifications. Overruling his generals, Washington chose to fight, based on inaccurate information that Howe's army had only around 8,000 soldiers. In the Battle of Long Island, Howe assaulted Washington's flank and inflicted 1,500 Patriot casualties. Washington retreated to Manhattan.
Howe sent a message to Washington to negotiate peace, addressing him as "George Washington, Esq." Washington declined to accept the message, demanding to be addressed with diplomatic protocol—not as a rebel. Despite misgivings, Washington heeded the advice of General Greene to defend Fort Washington, but was ultimately forced to abandon it. Howe pursued and Washington retreated across the Hudson River to Fort Lee. In November, Howe captured Fort Washington. Loyalists in New York City considered Howe a liberator and spread a rumor that Washington had set fire to the city. Now reduced to 5,400 troops, Washington's army retreated through New Jersey.
==== Crossing the Delaware, Trenton, and Princeton ====
Washington crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, where General John Sullivan joined him with 2,000 more troops. The future of the Continental Army was in doubt due to a lack of supplies, a harsh winter, expiring enlistments, and desertions. Howe posted a Hessian garrison at Trenton to hold western New Jersey and the east shore of the Delaware. At sunrise on December 26, 1776, Washington, aided by Colonel Knox and artillery, led his men in a successful surprise attack on the Hessians.
Washington returned to New Jersey on January 3, 1777, launching an attack on the British regulars at Princeton, with 40 Americans killed or wounded and 273 British killed or captured. Howe retreated to New York City for the winter. Washington took up winter headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey. Strategically, Washington's victories at Trenton and Princeton were pivotal: they revived Patriot morale and quashed the British strategy of showing overwhelming force followed by offering generous terms, changing the course of the war.
=== Philadelphia ===
==== Brandywine, Germantown, and Saratoga ====
In July 1777, the British general John Burgoyne led his British troops south from Quebec in the Saratoga campaign; he recaptured Fort Ticonderoga, intending to divide New England. However, General Howe took his army from New York City south to Philadelphia rather than joining Burgoyne near Albany. Washington and Gilbert, Marquis de Lafayette rushed to Philadelphia to engage Howe. In the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, Howe outmaneuvered Washington and marched unopposed into the American capital at Philadelphia. A Patriot attack against the British at Germantown in October failed.
In Upstate New York, the Patriots were led by General Horatio Gates. Concerned about Burgoyne's movements southward, Washington sent reinforcements north with Generals Benedict Arnold and Benjamin Lincoln. On October 7, 1777, Burgoyne tried to take Bemis Heights but was isolated from support and forced to surrender. Gates' victory emboldened Washington's critics, who favored Gates as a military leader. According to the biographer John Alden, "It was inevitable that the defeats of Washington's forces and the concurrent victory of the forces in upper New York should be compared." Admiration for Washington was waning.
==== Valley Forge and Monmouth ====
Washington and his army of 11,000 men went into winter quarters at Valley Forge north of Philadelphia in December 1777. There they lost between 2,000 and 3,000 men as a result of disease and lack of food, clothing, and shelter, reducing the army to below 9,000 men. By February, Washington was facing low troop morale and increased desertions. An internal revolt by his officers prompted some members of Congress to consider removing Washington from command. Washington's supporters resisted, and the matter was ultimately dropped.
Washington made repeated petitions to Congress for provisions and expressed the urgency of the situation to a congressional delegation. Congress agreed to strengthen the army's supply lines and reorganize the quartermaster and commissary departments, while Washington launched the Grand Forage of 1778 to collect food from the surrounding region. Meanwhile, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben's incessant drilling transformed Washington's recruits into a disciplined fighting force. Washington appointed him Inspector General.
In early 1778, the French entered into a Treaty of Alliance with the Americans. In May, Howe resigned and was replaced by Sir Henry Clinton. The British evacuated Philadelphia for New York that June and Washington summoned a war council of American and French generals. He chose to order a limited strike on the retreating British. Generals Lee and Lafayette moved with 4,000 men, without Washington's knowledge, and bungled their first strike on June 28. Washington relieved Lee and achieved a draw after an expansive battle. The British continued their retreat to New York.
This battle "marked the end of the war's campaigning in the northern and middle states. Washington would not fight the British in a major engagement again for more than three years". British attention shifted to the Southern theatre; in late 1778, General Clinton captured Savannah, Georgia, a key port in the American South. Washington, meanwhile, ordered an expedition against the Iroquois, the Indigenous allies of the British, destroying their villages.
=== Espionage and West Point ===
Washington became America's first spymaster by designing an espionage system against the British. In 1778, Major Benjamin Tallmadge formed the Culper Ring at Washington's direction to covertly collect information about the British in New York. Intelligence from the Culper Ring saved French forces from a surprise British attack, which was itself based on intelligence from Washington's general turned British spy Benedict Arnold.
Washington had disregarded incidents of disloyalty by Arnold, who had distinguished himself in many campaigns, including the invasion of Quebec. In 1779, Arnold began supplying the British spymaster John André with sensitive information intended to allow the British to capture West Point, a key American defensive position on the Hudson River. On September 21, Arnold gave André plans to take over the garrison. André was captured by militia who discovered the plans, after which Arnold escaped to New York. On being told about Arnold's treason, Washington recalled the commanders positioned under Arnold at key points around the fort to prevent any complicity. He assumed personal command at West Point and reorganized its defenses.
=== Southern theater and Yorktown ===
By June 1780, the British had occupied the South Carolina Piedmont and had firm control of the South. Washington was reinvigorated, however, when Lafayette returned from France with more ships, men, and supplies, and 5,000 veteran French troops led by Marshal Rochambeau arrived at Newport, Rhode Island in July.
General Clinton sent Arnold, now a British brigadier general, to Virginia in December with 1,700 troops to capture Portsmouth and conduct raids on Patriot forces. Washington sent Lafayette south to counter Arnold's efforts. Washington initially hoped to bring the fight to New York, drawing the British forces away from Virginia and ending the war there, but Rochambeau advised him that Cornwallis in Virginia was the better target. On August 19, 1781, Washington and Rochambeau began a march to Yorktown, Virginia, known now as the "celebrated march". Washington was in command of an army of 7,800 Frenchmen, 3,100 militia, and 8,000 Continental troops. Inexperienced in siege warfare, he often deferred to the judgment of Rochambeau. Despite this, Rochambeau never challenged Washington's authority as the battle's commanding officer.
By late September, Patriot-French forces surrounded Yorktown, trapping the British Army, while the French navy emerged victorious at the Battle of the Chesapeake. The final American offensive began with a shot fired by Washington. The siege ended with a British surrender on October 19, 1781; over 7,000 British soldiers became prisoners of war. Washington negotiated the terms of surrender for two days, and the official signing ceremony took place on October 19. Although the peace treaty was not negotiated for two more years, Yorktown proved to be the last significant battle of the Revolutionary War, with the British Parliament agreeing to cease hostilities in March 1782.
=== Demobilization and resignation ===
When peace negotiations began in April 1782, both the British and French began gradually evacuating their forces. In March 1783, Washington successfully calmed the Newburgh Conspiracy, a planned mutiny by American officers dissatisfied with a lack of pay. Washington submitted an account of $450,000 in expenses which he had advanced to the army. The account was settled, though it was vague about large sums and included expenses his wife had incurred through visits to his headquarters.
When the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, Britain officially recognized American independence. Washington disbanded his army, giving a farewell address to his soldiers on November 2. He oversaw the evacuation of British forces in New York and was greeted by parades and celebrations.
In early December 1783, Washington bade farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern and resigned as commander-in-chief soon after. In a final appearance in uniform, he gave a statement to the Congress: "I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life, by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them, to His holy keeping." Washington's resignation was acclaimed at home and abroad, "extolled by later historians as a signal event that set the country's political course" according to the historian Edward J. Larson. The same month, Washington was appointed president-general of the Society of the Cincinnati, a newly established hereditary fraternity of Revolutionary War officers.
== Early republic (1783–1789) ==
=== Return to Mount Vernon ===
After spending just ten days at Mount Vernon out of 8+1⁄2 years of war, Washington was eager to return home. He arrived on Christmas Eve; Professor John E. Ferling wrote that he was delighted to be "free of the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life". He received a constant stream of visitors paying their respects at Mount Vernon.
Washington reactivated his interests in the Great Dismal Swamp and Potomac Canal projects, begun before the war, though neither paid him any dividends. He undertook a 34-day, 680-mile (1,090 km) trip in 1784 to check on his land holdings in the Ohio Country. He oversaw the completion of remodeling work at Mount Vernon, which transformed his residence into the mansion that survives to this day—although his financial situation was not strong. Creditors paid him in depreciated wartime currency, and he owed significant amounts in taxes and wages. Mount Vernon had made no profit during his absence, and he saw persistently poor crop yields due to pestilence and bad weather. His estate recorded its eleventh year running at a deficit in 1787.
To make his estate profitable again, Washington undertook a new landscaping plan and succeeded in cultivating a range of fast-growing trees and native shrubs. He also began breeding mules after being gifted a stud by King Charles III of Spain in 1785; he believed that they would revolutionize agriculture.
=== Constitutional Convention of 1787 ===
Before returning to private life in June 1783, Washington called for a strong union. Though he was concerned that he might be criticized for meddling in civil matters, he sent a circular letter to the states, maintaining that the Articles of Confederation were no more than "a rope of sand". He believed the nation was on the verge of "anarchy and confusion", was vulnerable to foreign intervention, and that a national constitution would unify the states under a strong central government.
When Shays's Rebellion erupted in Massachusetts in August 1786, Washington was further convinced that a national constitution was needed. Some nationalists feared that the new republic had descended into lawlessness, and they met on September 11, 1786, at Annapolis to ask the Congress to revise the Articles of Confederation. Congress agreed to a Constitutional Convention to be held in Philadelphia in 1787, with each state to send delegates. Washington was chosen to lead the Virginia delegation, but he declined. He had concerns about the legality of the convention and consulted James Madison, Henry Knox, and others. They persuaded him to attend as they felt his presence might induce reluctant states to send delegates and smooth the way for the ratification process while also giving legitimacy to the convention.
Washington arrived in Philadelphia on May 9, 1787, and the convention began on May 25. Benjamin Franklin nominated Washington to preside over the meeting, and he was unanimously elected. The delegate Edmund Randolph introduced Madison's Virginia Plan; it called for an entirely new constitution and a sovereign national government, which Washington highly recommended. However, details around representation were particularly contentious, resulting in a competing New Jersey Plan being brought forward. On July 10, Washington wrote to Alexander Hamilton: "I almost despair of seeing a favorable issue to the proceedings of our convention and do therefore repent having had any agency in the business." Nevertheless, he lent his prestige to the work of the other delegates, lobbying many to support the ratification of the Constitution. The final version adopted the Connecticut Compromise between the two plans, and was signed by 39 of 55 delegates on September 17, 1787.
=== First presidential election ===
Just prior to the first presidential election of 1789, in 1788 Washington was appointed chancellor of the College of William & Mary. He continued to serve through his presidency until his death. The delegates to the convention for the first presidential election anticipated a Washington presidency and left it to him to define the office once elected. When the state electors voted on February 4, 1789, Washington was unanimously elected, unique among U.S. presidents. John Adams was elected vice president. Despite writing that he felt "anxious and painful sensations" about leaving Mount Vernon, Washington departed for New York City on April 16.
== Presidency (1789–1797) ==
=== First term ===
Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, taking the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York City. His coach was led by militia and a marching band and followed by statesmen and foreign dignitaries in an inaugural parade, with a crowd of 10,000. Robert R. Livingston administered the oath, using a Bible provided by the Freemasons. Washington read a speech in the Senate Chamber, asking "that Almighty Being ... consecrate the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States". Though he wished to serve without a salary, Congress insisted that he receive one, providing Washington $25,000 annually (compared to $5,000 annually for the vice president).
Washington wrote to James Madison: "As the first of everything in our situation will serve to establish a precedent, it is devoutly wished on my part that these precedents be fixed on true principles." To that end, he argued against the majestic titles proposed by the Senate, including "His Majesty" and "His Highness the President", in favor of "Mr. President". His executive precedents included the inaugural address, messages to Congress, and the cabinet form of the executive branch. He also selected the first justices for the Supreme Court.
Washington was an able administrator and judge of talent and character. The old Confederation lacked the powers to handle its workload and had weak leadership, no executive, a small bureaucracy of clerks, large debt, worthless paper money, and no power to establish taxes. Congress created executive departments in 1789, including the State Department, the War Department, and the Treasury Department. Washington appointed Edmund Randolph as Attorney General, Samuel Osgood as Postmaster General, Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, Henry Knox as Secretary of War, and Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury. Washington's cabinet became a consulting and advisory body, not mandated by the Constitution. Washington restricted cabinet discussions to topics of his choosing and expected department heads to agreeably carry out his decisions. He exercised restraint in using his veto power, writing that "I give my Signature to many Bills with which my Judgment is at variance."
Washington opposed political factionalism and remained non-partisan throughout his presidency (the only United States president to do so). He was sympathetic to a federalist form of government. Washington's closest advisors formed two factions, portending the First Party System. Hamilton formed the Federalist Party to promote national credit and a financially powerful nation. Jefferson opposed Hamilton's agenda and founded the Jeffersonian Republicans. Washington favored Hamilton's agenda, however, and it ultimately went into effect—resulting in bitter controversy.
Other domestic issues during Washington's first term included the planning of a permanent capital, the passage of several constitutional amendments including the Bill of Rights, and continuing debates concerning slavery and expansion into Native American territory. Washington proclaimed November 26, 1789, as a day of Thanksgiving to encourage national unity.
=== Second term ===
Washington initially planned to retire after his first term, weary of office and in poor health. After dealing with the infighting in his cabinet and with partisan critics, he showed little enthusiasm for a second term, and Martha wanted him not to run. Washington's nephew George Augustine Washington, managing Mount Vernon in his absence, was critically ill, further increasing Washington's desire to retire. Many, however, urged him to run for a second term. Madison told him that his absence would allow the dangerous political rift in his cabinet and the House to worsen. Jefferson also pleaded with him not to retire, pledging to drop his attacks on Hamilton. Hamilton maintained that Washington's absence would be "deplored as the greatest evil" to the country. With the election of 1792 nearing, Washington agreed to run. On February 13, 1793, the Electoral College unanimously re-elected Washington president, while John Adams was re-elected as vice president by a vote of 77 to 50. Washington was sworn into office by Associate Justice William Cushing on March 4, 1793, in Congress Hall in Philadelphia.
On April 22, 1793, after the French Revolutionary Wars broke out, Washington issued a proclamation declaring American neutrality. He was resolved to pursue "a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent Powers" while warning Americans not to intervene in the conflict. Although Washington recognized France's revolutionary government, he eventually asked that the French minister to the United States, Edmond-Charles Genêt, be recalled. Genêt was a diplomatic troublemaker who was openly hostile toward Washington's neutrality policy. He procured four American ships as privateers to strike at Spanish forces (British allies) in Florida while organizing militias to strike at other British possessions. However, his efforts failed to draw the United States into the conflict.
During his second term Washington faced two major domestic conflicts. The first was the Whiskey Rebellion (1791–1794), a Pennsylvania revolt against liquor taxation. Washington mobilized a militia and personally commanded an expedition against the rebels which suppressed the insurgency. The second was the Northwest Indian War between White settlers and Native Americans who were supported by the British; the latter were stationed in forts that they had refused to abandon after the Revolutionary War. In 1794 American troops defeated the Native American forces at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, ending the conflict between the two.
Hamilton formulated the Jay Treaty to normalize trade relations with Britain while removing them from western forts, and also to resolve financial debts remaining from the Revolution. Chief Justice John Jay represented Washington's position and signed the treaty on November 19, 1794. Washington supported the treaty because it avoided war, although he was disappointed that its provisions favored Britain. He mobilized public opinion and secured ratification but faced frequent public criticism and political controversy. Following the British abandonment of their forts around the Great Lakes, the proposed position of the Canada–United States border was sent to arbitration. Numerous pre-Revolution debts were settled and the British opened the British West Indies to American merchants. The agreement secured peace with Britain and a decade of prosperous trade; however, Jefferson claimed that it angered France and "invited rather than avoided" war. Jefferson's claim was verified when relations with France deteriorated after the signing of the treaty, with the French Directory authorizing the seizure of American ships two days before Washington's term ended. Succeeding president John Adams was left with the prospect of war. Relations with the Spanish were more successful: Thomas Pinckney negotiated the Treaty of San Lorenzo in 1795, settling the border between the United States and Spanish territory, and guaranteeing American navigational access to the Mississippi River.
On July 31, 1793, Jefferson submitted his resignation from cabinet. Hamilton resigned from office in January 1795 and was replaced by Oliver Wolcott Jr. Washington's relationship with Secretary of War Henry Knox deteriorated over rumors that Knox had profited from contracts for the construction of U.S. frigates ostensibly commissioned to combat Barbary pirates under the Naval Act of 1794. Knox was forced to resign. In the final months of his presidency, Washington was assailed by his political foes and a partisan press who accused him of being ambitious and greedy. He came to regard the press as a disuniting force. Washington also opposed demands by Congress to see papers related to the Jay Treaty, arguing that they were not "relative to any purpose under the cognizance of the House of Representatives, except that of an impeachment, which the resolution has not expressed."
=== Farewell Address ===
At the end of his second term, Washington retired. He was dismayed with the personal attacks against him and wanted to ensure that a truly contested presidential election could be held. He did not feel bound to a two-term limit, but his retirement set a significant precedent. In May 1792, in anticipation of his retirement, Washington instructed James Madison to prepare a "valedictory address", an initial draft of which was entitled the "Farewell Address". In May 1796, Washington sent the manuscript to Hamilton, who did an extensive rewrite, while Washington provided final edits. On September 19, 1796, David Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser published the address.
Washington stressed that national identity was paramount, and said that the "name of AMERICAN... must always exalt the just pride of patriotism". Washington warned against the dangers of political parties and entangling foreign alliances with domestic affairs. He counseled friendship and commerce with all nations, but advised against involvement in European wars. He stressed the importance of religion, asserting that "religion and morality are indispensable supports" in a republic.
He closed the address by reflecting on his legacy: "I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which [my unintentioned errors] may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence, and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest." After initial publication, many Republicans, including Madison, criticized the address and described it as an anti-French campaign document, with Madison believing that Washington was strongly pro-British. In 1972, the Washington scholar James Flexner referred to the Farewell Address as receiving as much acclaim as Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. In 2010, Chernow called the "Farewell Address" one of the most influential statements on republicanism.
== Post-presidency (1797–1799) ==
=== Retirement ===
When Washington retired to Mount Vernon in March 1797, he devoted time to his business interests, even though his plantation operations were only minimally profitable. Nearly all of his wealth was in the form of land and slaves rather than ready cash. To supplement his income, Washington erected a distillery for whiskey production using his enslaved workers.
He was a land speculator, buying parcels of land to spur development around the nearby new capital of Washington, D.C., (named in his honor in 1791), just up the Potomac River from Mount Vernon. He sold individual lots in the capital to middle-income investors rather than multiple lots to large investors, believing the former would be more likely to commit to making improvements. He held lands in the west (on the Piedmont), which yielded little income, and he unsuccessfully attempted to sell them. At the time of his death in 1799, he held title to more than 58,000 acres (23,000 ha) of land across Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, and the Northwest Territory.
In retirement, Washington became an even more committed Federalist. He vocally supported the Alien and Sedition Acts and convinced Federalist John Marshall to run for Congress to weaken the Jeffersonian hold on Virginia. When French privateers began seizing American ships in 1798, and deteriorating relations led to the "Quasi-War". Washington wrote to Secretary of War James McHenry offering to organize President Adams' army. Adams nominated him for a lieutenant general commission and the position of commander-in-chief of the armies on July 4, 1798. Washington served as the commanding general from July 13, 1798, until his death 17 months later. He participated in planning but delegated the active leadership of the army to Hamilton. No army invaded the United States during this period, and Washington did not assume a field command.
=== Death ===
On December 12, 1799, Washington inspected his farms on horseback in inclement weather for five hours. He then dined with guests without putting on dry clothes. He had a sore throat the next day but was well enough to mark trees for cutting. Early the following morning, he awoke to an inflamed throat and difficulty breathing. He ordered his estate overseer, George Rawlins, to remove nearly a pint of his blood (bloodletting was a common practice of the time). His family summoned doctors James Craik, Gustavus Richard Brown, and Elisha C. Dick. Brown initially believed Washington had quinsy; Dick thought the condition was a more serious "violent inflammation of the membranes of the throat". They continued bloodletting to approximately five pints, but Washington's condition deteriorated further. Dick proposed a tracheotomy; the other physicians were not familiar with that procedure and disapproved. Washington instructed Brown and Dick to leave the room, while he assured Craik, "Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go."
On his deathbed, afraid of being entombed alive, Washington instructed his private secretary Tobias Lear to wait three days before his burial. According to Lear, Washington died between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on December 14, 1799, with Martha seated at the foot of his bed. His last words were "'Tis well." The diagnosis of Washington's illness and the immediate cause of his death have been subjects of debate. The published account of Craik and Brown stated that his symptoms were consistent with "cynanche trachealis", a term then used to describe severe inflammation of the upper windpipe, including quinsy. Accusations of medical malpractice have persisted since Washington's death. Modern medical authors have largely concluded that he likely died from severe epiglottitis complicated by the treatments he was given, which included multiple doses of calomel (a purgative) and extensive bloodletting, likely resulting in hypovolemic shock.
=== Funeral and burial ===
Washington's funeral was held on December 18, 1799, four days after his death, at Mount Vernon. Cavalry and foot soldiers led the procession, and six colonels served as the pallbearers. The Mount Vernon funeral service was restricted mostly to family and friends. Reverend Thomas Davis read a brief funeral service, followed by a ceremony performed by members of Washington's Masonic lodge; Washington had been a Freemason since 1752. Word of his death traveled slowly, but as it reached other regions, church bells rang and many businesses closed. Memorial processions were held in major cities of the United States. Martha burned her correspondence with Washington to protect its privacy, though five letters between the couple are known to have survived.
Washington was buried in the Washington family vault at Mount Vernon on December 18, 1799. In his will, Washington left instructions for the construction of a new vault; this was completed in 1831, after a disgruntled ex-employee of the estate attempted to steal what he thought was Washington's skull. In 1832, a joint Congressional committee debated moving his body from Mount Vernon to a crypt in the United States Capitol. Southern opposition was intense, antagonized by an ever-growing rift between North and South; many were concerned that Washington's remains could end up, in the words of Representative Wiley Thompson, on "a shore foreign to his native soil" if the country became divided, and Washington's remains stayed in Mount Vernon. On October 7, 1837, Washington's remains, still in the original lead coffin, were placed within a marble sarcophagus designed by William Strickland and constructed by John Struthers.
== Philosophy and views ==
=== Slavery ===
During Washington's lifetime at least 577 slaves lived and worked at Mount Vernon. He inherited some, gained control of 84 dower slaves upon his marriage to Martha, and purchased at least 71 slaves between 1752 and 1773. From 1786, he rented slaves as part of an agreement regarding a neighboring estate; they totaled 40 in 1799.
Slavery was deeply ingrained in the economic and social fabric of the Colony of Virginia. Prior to the Revolutionary War, Washington's views on slavery matched those of most Virginia planters of the time: "his principal interest was still their contribution to the economic life of the plantation." Beginning in the 1760s, however, Washington gradually grew to oppose it. His first doubts were prompted by his choice to transition from tobacco to grain crops, which left him with a costly surplus of slaves, causing him to question the system's economic efficiency. In a 1778 letter to Lund Washington, he made clear his desire "to get quit of Negroes".
His growing disillusionment with the institution was spurred by the principles of the Revolution and revolutionary friends such as Lafayette and Hamilton. Most historians agree the Revolution was central to the evolution of Washington's attitudes; Kenneth Morgan writes that after 1783, "[Washington] began to express inner tensions about the problem of slavery more frequently, though always in private". As president, he remained publicly silent on the topic, believing it was a nationally divisive issue that could undermine the union. He gave moral support to a plan proposed by Lafayette to purchase land and free slaves to work on it, but chose not to participate in the experiment. Washington privately expressed support for emancipation to prominent Methodists Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury in 1785 but declined to sign their petition. In personal correspondence the next year, he made clear his desire to see the institution of slavery ended by a gradual legislative process, a view that correlated with the mainstream antislavery literature published in the 1780s. Washington emancipated 123 or 124 slaves, which was highly unusual among the large slave-holding Virginians during the Revolutionary era. However, he remained dependent on slave labor to work his farms.
Based on his private papers and on accounts from his contemporaries, Washington slowly developed a cautious sympathy toward abolitionism that ended with his will freeing his long-time valet Billy Lee, and freeing the rest of his personally owned slaves outright upon Martha's death. On January 1, 1801, one year after George Washington's death, Martha Washington signed an order to free his slaves. Many of them were reluctant to leave; others refused to abandon spouses or children still held as dower slaves by the Custis estate. Following Washington's instructions in his will, funds were used to feed and clothe the young, aged, and infirm slaves until the early 1830s.
=== Religious and spiritual views ===
Washington was baptized as an infant in April 1732 and was a devoted Anglican. He served for more than 20 years as a vestryman and churchwarden at the Fairfax and Truro parishes in Virginia. He privately prayed and read the Bible daily, and publicly encouraged prayer. He may have taken communion regularly prior to the Revolution, but he did not do so afterwards.
Washington referred to God in American Enlightenment terms, including Providence, the Almighty, and the Divine Author. He believed in a divine power who watched over battlefields, influenced the outcome of war, protected his life, and was involved in American politics and specifically in the creation of the United States. Chernow has argued that Washington avoided evangelistic Christianity, hellfire-and-brimstone speech, and anything inclined to "flaunt his religiosity", saying that he "never used his religion as a device for partisan purposes or in official undertakings". At the same time, Washington frequently quoted from or paraphrased the Bible, and often referred to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.
While president, Washington acknowledged major religious sects, gave speeches on religious toleration, and opposed state religion. He adopted the ideas, values, and modes of thinking of the Enlightenment, but he harbored no contempt for organized Christianity and its clergy. In 1793, speaking to members of the New Church in Baltimore, Washington said, "We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition."
Freemasonry was a widely accepted institution in the late 18th century, known for advocating moral teachings. American Masonic lodges did not share the anti-clerical views of the controversial European lodges. A Masonic lodge was established in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in September 1752, and Washington was initiated two months later at the age of 20 as one of its first Entered Apprentices. Within a year, he progressed through its ranks to become a Master Mason. In 1777, he was recommended for the office of Grand Master of the newly established Grand Lodge of Virginia; sources differ as to whether he declined or was never asked, but he did not assume the role. He served as the charter Master of Alexandria Masonic lodge No. 22 in 1788–1789.
== Personal life ==
Washington's 1751 bout with smallpox may have rendered him sterile, though Chernow notes that it is possible Martha "sustained injury during the birth of Patsy, her final child, making additional births impossible". The couple lamented not having any children together. The two raised Martha's children John Parke Custis (Jacky) and Martha Parke Custis (Patsy), and later Jacky's two youngest children Eleanor Parke Custis (Nelly) and George Washington Parke Custis (Washy), and supported numerous nieces and nephews. Some descendants of West Ford, a slave of Washington's younger brother John Augustine Washington, maintain (based on family oral history) that Ford was fathered by George Washington, though this paternity has been disputed.
Washington was somewhat reserved in personality, although he was known for having a strong presence. He made speeches and announcements when required, but he was not a noted orator nor debater. He drank alcohol in moderation but was morally opposed to excessive drinking, smoking tobacco, gambling, and profanity. He was taller than most of his contemporaries; accounts of his height vary from 6 ft (1.83 m) to 6 ft 3.5 in (1.92 m). He was known for his strength. He had grey-blue eyes and long reddish-brown hair. He did not wear a powdered wig; instead he wore his hair curled, powdered, and tied in a queue in the fashion of the day.
Washington suffered from severe tooth decay and ultimately lost all of his teeth except one. He had several sets of false teeth during his presidency. Contrary to common lore, these were not made of wood, but of metal, ivory, bone, animal teeth, and human teeth possibly obtained from slaves. His dental problems left him in constant pain, which he treated with laudanum. He also experienced a painful growth in his thigh early in his first presidential term, followed by a life-threatening bout of pneumonia in 1790 from which he never fully recovered.
Washington was a talented equestrian. Jefferson described him as "the best horseman of his age". He collected thoroughbreds at Mount Vernon; his two favorite horses were Blueskin and Nelson.
== Legacy ==
Washington is one of the most influential figures in American history. Virginia's Governor Henry Lee III eulogized him as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen". Polls have consistently placed Washington among the highest-ranked of presidents.
Washington became an international symbol for liberation and nationalism as the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire. In 1879, Congress proclaimed Washington's Birthday to be a federal holiday. In 1976, he was posthumously appointed General of the Armies of the United States during the American Bicentennial. President Gerald Ford stated that Washington would "rank first among all officers of the Army, past and present". On March 13, 1978, Washington was officially promoted by the Army.
In 1809, Mason Locke Weems wrote a hagiographic biography to honor Washington. Chernow maintains that Weems attempted to humanize Washington, inspire "patriotism and morality", and foster "enduring myths", such as that of Washington's refusal to lie about damaging his father's cherry tree. Weems' accounts have never been proven or disproven.
In the 21st century, Washington's reputation has been critically scrutinized. The historian John Ferling maintains that Washington remains the only founder and president ever to be referred to as "godlike", and points out that his character has been the most scrutinized by historians. The author David Hackett Fischer defined Washington's character as "integrity, self-discipline, courage, absolute honesty, resolve, and decision, but also forbearance, decency, and respect for others".
Washington's legacy with Native Americans is mixed. Chernow describes Washington as always trying to be even-handed in dealing with Indigenous peoples, hoping they would abandon their itinerant hunting life and adapt to fixed agricultural communities in the manner of White settlers. He also maintains that Washington never advocated outright confiscation of tribal land or the forcible removal of tribes. By contrast, Colin G. Calloway wrote that "Washington had a lifelong obsession with getting Indian land, either for himself or for his nation, and initiated policies and campaigns that had devastating effects in Indian country." He stated:
The growth of the nation demanded the dispossession of Indian people... But if Indians refused and resisted, as they often did, he felt he had no choice but to "extirpate" them and that the expeditions he sent to destroy Indian towns were therefore entirely justified.
Along with other Founding Fathers, Washington has been criticized for holding enslaved people. Though he expressed the desire to see the abolition of slavery through legislation, he did not initiate or support any initiatives for bringing about its end. This has led to calls to remove his name from public buildings and his statue from public spaces.
Washington's presidential library is housed at Mount Vernon, which is now a National Historic Landmark. His papers are held by the Library of Congress.
=== Namesakes and monuments ===
Many places and monuments have been named in honor of Washington, including the capital city of Washington, D.C., and the state of Washington. On February 21, 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated, a 555-foot (169 m) marble obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Washington appears as one of four presidents on the Shrine of Democracy, a colossal sculpture by Gutzon Borglum on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. The George Washington Bridge, opened in 1931, connects New York City to New Jersey. A number of secondary schools and universities are named in honor of Washington, including George Washington University and Washington University in St. Louis.
He appears on contemporary United States currency, including the one-dollar bill, a presidential one-dollar coin and the quarter-dollar coin (the Washington quarter). Washington was pictured on the nation's first postage stamp in 1847, and has since appeared on more United States postage stamps than anyone else. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirk_Watson | Kirk Watson | Kirk Preston Watson (born March 18, 1958) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the 59th mayor of Austin since 2023, previously holding the office as the 54th mayor from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he ran unsuccessfully for Texas attorney general in the 2002 election, where he was defeated by Republican Greg Abbott, later governor of Texas. In 2006, Watson was elected to the Texas Senate from District 14.
In 2011, Watson was chosen by his Democratic colleagues to chair the Senate Democratic Caucus and served until 2015. On the first day of the 86th Texas Legislature, he was chosen by his colleagues—Democrats and Republicans—to serve as president pro tempore. The position typically goes to the most senior member, regardless of party, who has not yet served as president pro tem, and is second in line of succession to the Governor.
It was announced by the Austin American-Statesman that Watson had planned to resign from the Texas Senate to become the first dean of the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs. His resignation was effective April 30, 2020. With incumbent Mayor Steve Adler not seeking another term, Watson entered the race to become Austin mayor for a second time. He was elected for his second stint as mayor in the 2022 Austin mayoral election runoff with 50.4% of the vote. Watson was reelected in 2024, narrowly avoiding a runoff by 13 votes.
== Early life and education ==
Watson was born in Oklahoma City and raised in Saginaw, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, where he attended Boswell High School. He received a bachelor's degree in political science in 1980 and a Juris Doctor in 1981 from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. At Baylor Law School, Watson was editor-in-chief of the Baylor Law Review and graduated first in his class. He subsequently clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
== Early political career ==
Watson was elected president of the Texas Young Lawyers Association in 1990 and served on the executive committee of the State Bar of Texas. Watson was an active Democrat throughout the 1990s and served as the chairman of the Travis County Democratic Party.
In 1991, Watson was appointed by Governor Ann Richards to serve as chairman of the Texas Air Control Board, the state agency that was charged with protecting air quality in Texas. During his tenure, he worked to merge the agency with the Texas Air Control Board and the Texas Water Commission to form the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission, and oversaw implementation of the 1991 amendments to the federal Clean Air Act.
In 1994, he was named the Outstanding Young Lawyer of Texas. In 1997, Watson co-founded the Austin law firm of Watson Bishop London & Galow, creating a broad law practice that represented families, doctors, small businesses, and some of the state's major universities.
== First term as Mayor of Austin (1997–2001) ==
In 1997, after Watson moved from Rollingwood to Austin, he was elected as the 54th mayor of Austin, a nonpartisan position. He ran on a pledge to build consensus in a city that was then dominated by political battles between environmentalists and developers. He campaigned to raise more than $78 million for land preservation and $300 million for transportation improvements. Watson's signature accomplishments as mayor included the transformation of Downtown Austin into a "24-hour downtown" by encouraging development of housing and retail in place of vacant warehouses and parking lots, partially through tax incentives and the city's Smart Growth initiatives.
In 1999, Watson spearheaded a redevelopment project along several blocks of waterfront property in Downtown Austin, in an effort to create a new public-private "digital district" in place of dilapidated warehouses and businesses including the former Liberty Lunch, which were demolished. Watson, along with architect Larry Speck, courted the Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) by offering a $10.4 million tax incentive to anchor two office buildings on the site in lieu of building their planned campus in a watershed, and under the condition that CSC foot the bill for a new city hall building. The first two buildings were constructed and are now part of the Second Street District, while CSC vacated the premises before following through with the construction of the present-day Austin City Hall.
In 2000, Watson spearheaded a $15.1 million tax incentive for Intel to build a new headquarters in Downtown Austin; Intel stopped construction and the unfinished building was demolished in 2007 and replaced by the Austin United States Courthouse.
In 2000, Watson was reelected with 84% of the vote – the highest percentage a mayoral candidate has ever received in Austin. In November 2001, he stepped down to run unsuccessfully for Texas attorney general in the 2002 election, losing 41% to 57% to now-Governor Greg Abbott. In 2005, he served as chairman of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.
== Texas Senate (2007–2020) ==
Watson was elected to the Texas Senate in November 2006, succeeding Senator Gonzalo Barrientos. He received more than 80% of the vote. Watson was unopposed in the March 2006 Democratic Primary.
He took office in January 2007. Watson served as vice-chairman of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security committee, as well as on the Senate Business and Commerce, Economic Development, Jurisprudence, and Nominations committees. In 2008, he was appointed as one of two senators to the state Business Tax Advisory Committee.
Watson has become a prominent voice on transportation, clean energy, and higher education issues, and he has campaigned to widen transparency in the state's finances and increase health coverage for Texans, particularly children. In 2009, he led the fight against a budget rider that would have effectively banned embryonic stem cell research at Texas universities. The rider ultimately was not adopted.
Watson served on many committees including the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), of which he is the former Transportation Policy Board Chairman. CAMPO is federally designated as the primary transportation planning organization in Central Texas.
The July 2007 Texas Monthly magazine recognized Watson as "Rookie of the Year" for the 2007 session of the Texas Legislature. In 2009, the magazine named him one of the state's 10 Best Legislators and referred to him as "the Galápagos penguin of the Texas Legislature." He also was given the Price Daniel Award for Distinguished Public Service by the Baylor Alumni Association, and the Excellence in Leadership Award by Concordia University Texas.
Watson endorsed Senator Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic party presidential primaries. Following Obama's victory in the 2008 Wisconsin Democratic primary election on February 19, 2008, Watson appeared via live feed on MSNBC's election night coverage as a supporter of Senator Obama. He was asked by Chris Matthews to name one of Senator Obama's legislative accomplishments. Watson was soon after excused, and Matthews commented, "He [Watson] is here to defend Barack Obama and he had nothing to say; that's a problem."
Watson considered running in the 2010 gubernatorial election, but decided in August 2009 to instead seek re-election to the Texas Senate.
In June 2013, Watson moved to overturn a ruling designed to end the filibuster of Senator Wendy Davis. Together, their efforts averted the passage of SB5, a bill that its opponents claimed would enact severe abortion restrictions in Texas. Instead, in a second special session the same bill was passed (96 to 49) by the Texas House, and then (19 to 11) by the Texas Senate, and then signed into law by Gov. Perry less than a month later. State representative Charles "Doc" Anderson of Waco (Texas HD 56) told reporters following the Davis filibuster that the additional special session might "cost taxpayers more than $800,000." Another news organization estimated special-session costs at roughly $30,000 per day.
In the general election on November 6, 2018, Watson easily won reelection, 274,122 (74.1%) to 96,355 (25.3%) for his Republican opponent, George W. Hindman. A Libertarian Party candidate, Micah M. Verlander, held another 10,838 votes (2.8%).
In 2019, Watson proposed a series of money-raising maneuvers to fund the lane expansion project along I-35 through Austin, including doubling the state gas tax, raising vehicle registration fees in Travis County, enacting a special sales tax, and issuing bonds. He was again recognized as one of Texas Monthly's "Best Legislators" in 2019 for his role in blocking the confirmation of David Whitley as Texas Secretary of State.
Watson resigned from the Texas State Senate on April 30, 2020, to become the first dean of the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs. Watson resigned from the University of Houston after less than 1 year to become a candidate for mayor of Austin.
=== Texas highways ===
Much of Watson's first year in office was spent mediating a long, very bitter dispute on the CAMPO board over highway improvements in the Austin area. While many of the improvements had been in transportation plans for years, they had never been constructed. A lack of transportation funding, affecting projects across Texas, had led previous boards to support plans that would toll the additional capacity as well as nearly completed projects, sparking intense opposition throughout the region.
Upon being elected chairman by the rest of the board in January 2007, Watson led the effort to keep the controversial projects in the region's transportation plan. He then spearheaded a public effort to create a process that would allow policy makers and the public to analyze the need for transportation projects, mechanisms to pay for them, and potential public benefits from them.
On October 8, 2007, the CAMPO board overwhelmingly approved a plan to add new toll lanes to several existing highways (U.S. Highway 290, U.S. Highway 183, and State Highway 71). Most of the improvements were approved on a 15-4 vote, and none were opposed by more than five board members.
== Second term as Mayor of Austin (2023–present) ==
=== Elections ===
Watson declared his candidacy for the 2022 mayoral election. In the November 8 general election, he advanced to a runoff election against Celia Israel. On December 13, 2022, Watson won the runoff election with 57,346 votes (50.39%) to his opponent Israel's 56,460 votes (49.61%). An proposition adopted the year prior changed the election of mayor to coincide with the presidential election and as such the 2022 election was for a shortened term of two years. Watson ran for reelection for a full four year term in 2024 and won in the first round, narrowly avoiding a runoff by 13 votes.
=== Tenure ===
Watson was sworn in a second time as mayor of Austin on January 6, 2023. Shortly after beginning his second term as mayor of Austin, Watson led an effort to terminate city manager Spencer Cronk, who was fired in a 10-1 vote by City Council. The decision came following the city's handling of communications and response to the winter storm, which resulted in long-term power outages for thousands of city residents lasting up to 12 days, and the City Manager's decision to announce a four-year contract with the Austin Police Association — against the wishes of City Council to vote on a one-year contract amid negotiations and a May election over police oversight.
The council appointed Jesús Garza — a previous city manager during Watson's previous tenure as mayor, and manager of the Stand Together Austin political action committee that supported Watson's mayoral campaign. As interim city manager, Garza focused on improving basic city operations and replaced the General Manager of Austin Energy, the CEO of Austin's airport, the head of emergency operations, and the assistant city manager overseeing public safety.
=== Public safety ===
In March 2023, amid staffing shortages, 911 response delays at the Austin Police Department, and a viral spree of street racing incidents in which cop cars were harassed with live fireworks, Watson reached an agreement with Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick to deploy the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to patrol Austin, drawing scrutiny from some city council members who were left out of conversations prior to the announcement.
Under Watson's tenure, response times at Austin's 911 call center improved, with operators answering 93.28% of calls within 15 seconds in November 2023 compared to July 2023 when only 69.18% of calls in 15 seconds or less.
On October 23, 2024, Austin City Council voted to approve a five year contract with the Austin Police Association by a vote of 10-1 with Council Member Zo Qadri casting the lone no vote. Previously, the Austin Police Association had been operating without a long-term agreement since September 2022, which had impacted their recruiting and retention efforts and had left the police department with over 300 vacancies.
=== Homelessness ===
In July 2023, Watson helped secure almost $65 million from the state of Texas for local community groups to expand emergency shelters and provide more resources for people experiencing homelessness. In addition, Watson also led the effort to add hundreds of shelter beds to Austin's homeless response system through the opening of the Marshalling Yard, the reopening of the Salvation Army shelter, and the expansion of the city's Northbridge and Southbridge shelters. In August 2023, Integral Care, Travis County's largest mental health provider, announced it was planning to eliminate several staff positions due to budget issues.
Following the news, Watson immediately began to work with Integral Care and Central Health to find a stop-gap funding solution. On September 6, 2023, Central Health, voted to approve its 2024 budget with last-minute emergency funding to Integral Care.
In part, due to the Integral Care funding situation, Watson signaled the need for an independent third party review of homelessness services across the City of Austin, Travis County, Central Health and Integral Care. In his newsletter, Watson argued that "part of our problem is that we’ve developed a bad habit of seeking funding for programs without establishing how we’ll ultimately judge success. We’re too often measuring progress simply by how much we’re spending, not by the actual results of that spending. Focusing on the money may create the appearance of great effort, but it’s not helping us to get ahead of the challenge."
The effort was thwarted by the Travis County Commissioner's Court in February 2024. The Commissioner's Court took issue with the selection of the consulting firm Mckinsey & Company to conduct the audit as well as a belief that the money for an audit could be used in better ways.
=== Housing ===
For decades, efforts to reform Austin's land use planning policies faced strong opposition from some homeowners and established neighborhood associations, who feared reforms would upset their own neighborhood character— forcing unwelcome changes in the makeup. The last time Austin had a significant change in the code was in 1984.
The movement to reform land use policies in Austin gained traction in recent years because of the city's dramatic population growth and rise in housing prices, coupled with a comparatively low housing stock, and the elections of several pro-housing candidates to the Austin City Council in 2022.
In an interview with the Texas Tribune in 2023, Watson signaled that the new Austin City Council would approach land use reform differently than previous ones: "We've got a supply and demand problem, and we're going to have to come up with unique and different ways than we've thought of in the past to solve it."
On December 7, 2023, Austin City Council took the first steps to reform housing policies by passing several new code amendments— including giving homeowners more freedom and the ability to build an additional unit on their lot. In the spring of 2024, Austin City Council will consider more reforms including encouraging more transit-oriented developments, reducing the 5,750-square-foot minimum lot size in residential areas, and loosening compatibility rules.
Watson faced criticism from some property owners who strongly opposed any changes in the land development code that would allow for more density, citing concerns about neighborhood character and worries about increased gentrification.
Reform advocates argue that under the current land development code, gentrification and displacement have already accelerated.
Research by NYU's Furman Center suggest that policies which constrained the housing supply may have unintended consequences for communities including environmental costs from a dependency on automobiles, growing suburban and rural sprawl, and increasing inequality.
=== Project Connect ===
In November 2020, Austin voters overwhelmingly approved dedicating a portion of the City's property tax rate to fund Project Connect, Austin's multibillion-dollar improvement and expansion plan. This voter-approved funding included light rail, an expansion of rapid bus routes, and anti-displacement funds.
In the 88th Texas legislative session, Republican legislators Representative Ellen Troxclair and Senator Paul Bettencourt filed several pieces of legislation specifically targeting Austin's voter-approved propositions, including the effort to kill Project Connect. Watson worked with lawmakers in the Texas House to keep Project Connect alive from a last-minute senate amendment by Bettencourt that would have killed its financing.
In November 2023, a small group of residents including former state senator Gonzalo Barrientos, Travis County commissioner Margaret Gómez, former Austin Council member Ora Houston, former city council candidate Susana Almanza, and hamburger restaurant Dirty Martin's filed a lawsuit to halt the Project Connect's funding mechanism. The plaintiffs found support in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who issued a court filing challenging the validity of Project Connect's funding mechanism.
In response to the plaintiff's lawsuit, Austin Transit Partnership, the local government corporation tasked with implementing Project Connect filed a bond validation petition in the Travis County District Court. The petition expedites a determination from an impartial court to affirm ATP's bond program. The bond validation trial was set for May 28, 2024.
On September 24, 2024, it was announced that Project Connect would tentatively be going forward with a $193 million budget that would hopefully break ground in 2027. The project also includes two bus lanes that will begin operating in 2025. The exact budget was $172 million in funding from taxpayers, with the remaining $21 million in investments and other income. The Austin Transit Partnership has estimated it will spend $116 million towards "professional services and administrative costs" with the rest going towards new construction. Of that, $8 million is set aside for the two bus routes, while the remaining cost will go towards environmental impact reviews, as well as overall design.
=== Comments on the 2023–present Israel-Gaza conflict ===
On October 8, 2023, Watson released a statement after the events of October 7 in Israel. In the statement, Watson wrote, "My heart breaks for the people of Israel. I stand with them, and I condemn the terrorist acts." The next day he
attended a pro-Israel event, titled "We Stand with Israel" hosted by Shalom Austin and the Israeli-American Council, along with congressman Lloyd Doggett and Texas governor Greg Abbott. Watson spoke at the event, held at the Dell Jewish Community Campus, wearing a yarmulke. A coalition of several religious groups, University of Texas at Austin student groups, and the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation and the Jewish Voice for Peace have asked Watson to issue a statement supporting a ceasefire and the Palestinian people. In a statement responding to the stabbing of Zacharia Doar at a pro-Palestine rally in February 2024, Watson supported the Austin Police Department's determination that it was a hate crime. In the same statement, he pivoted to comment on a proposed resolution by the Austin City Council supporting a ceasefire in Gaza, saying in part of a statement, "The proposed resolution of the Austin City Council will not realistically end the violence on the other side of the globe. Nor will it stop federal taxes from being used to implement U.S. foreign policy. That is not in our power. The resolution, however, has the power to divide Austin — and will."
== Electoral history ==
=== 2024 ===
=== 2022 ===
=== 2018 ===
=== 2014 ===
=== 2012 ===
=== 2010 ===
=== 2006 ===
=== 2002 ===
=== 2000 ===
=== 1997 ===
A majority is usually required to win a mayoral election in Austin, and if no candidate receives more than 50% in the general election, a winner is usually determined in a runoff election. However, on May 5, 1997, two days after the general election, candidate Ronney Reynolds, a two-term council member, withdrew from the runoff resulting in Watson's election as mayor.
== Personal life ==
Watson is married to Elizabeth Ann "Liz" McDaniel and is the father of two sons. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Lofting | Hugh Lofting | Hugh John Lofting (14 January 1886 – 26 September 1947) was an English-American writer, trained as a civil engineer, who created the classic children's literature character Doctor Dolittle. The fictional physician talking to animals, based in an English village, first appeared in illustrated letters to his children which Lofting sent from British Army trenches in the First World War. Lofting settled in the United States soon after the war and before his first book was published.
== Personal life ==
Lofting was born on 14 January 1886 in Maidenhead, Berkshire, to Elizabeth Agnes (Gannon) and John Brien Lofting, and was of English and Irish ancestry. His eldest brother, Hilary Lofting, later became a novelist in Australia, having emigrated there in 1915.
Lofting was educated at Mount St Mary's College in Spinkhill, Derbyshire. From 1905 to 1906 he studied civil engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Lofting travelled widely as a civil engineer before enlisting in the Irish Guards regiment of the British Army in the First World War. Not wishing to write to his children about the brutal war, he wrote imaginative letters that later became the foundations for his Doctor Dolittle novels for children. Seriously wounded in the war, he emigrated with his family to Killingworth, Connecticut, in 1919. He was married three times and had three children, one of whom, his son Christopher, became the executor of his literary estate.
Lofting died on 26 September 1947 at his home in Topanga, California from cirrhosis of the liver. He is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Killingworth, Middlesex County, Connecticut.
== Doctor Dolittle ==
Hugh Lofting's character Doctor John Dolittle, an English physician who lives in the fictional town of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh in the West Country and can speak to animals, first saw light in illustrated letters written to his children from the trenches, when actual news, he later said, was too horrible or too dull. The stories are set in England in the 1820s–1840s – The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle gives a date of 1839.
The Story of Doctor Dolittle: Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts Never Before Printed (1920) began the series and won a posthumous Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958. Its first sequel, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922) won a Newbery Medal. Eight novels completed by Lofting followed and two more books were edited after his death.
== Other works for children ==
The Story of Mrs Tubbs (1923) and Tommy, Tilly, and Mrs. Tubbs (1936) are picture books aimed at a younger audience than the Doctor Dolittle books. They tell of the old woman and her pets, with whom she can speak, and the animals who help her out of trouble.
Porridge Poetry (1924) is the only non-Dolittle work by Lofting still in print. It is a colourfully illustrated book of lighthearted poems for children.
Noisy Nora (1929) is a cautionary tale about a girl who is a noisy eater. The book is printed as if handwritten, and the many illustrations often merge with the text.
The Twilight of Magic (1930) is aimed at older readers. It is set in an age when magic is dying and science is beginning. This work is the only one of Lofting's books to have been illustrated by another person: Lois Lenski.
== Victory for the Slain ==
Victory for the Slain (1942), Lofting's only work for adults, consists of a single long poem in seven parts about the futility of war, permeated by the refrain "In war the only victors are the slain". It appeared only in the United Kingdom.
== Published books ==
Lofting commented: "For years it was a constant source of shock to me to find my writings amongst 'juveniles'. It does not bother me any more now, but I still feel there should be a category of 'seniles' to offset the epithet."
Doctor Dolittle
Other |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900%E2%80%9301_Football_League#Final_league_tables | 1900–01 Football League#Final league tables | The 1900–01 season was the 13th season of The Football League.
== Final league tables ==
Beginning in the 1894–95 season, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had conceded fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually scrapped beginning with the 1976–77 season.
During the first six seasons of the league, (up to the 1893–94 season), re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league.
== First Division ==
=== Results ===
=== Maps ===
== Second Division ==
=== Results ===
=== Maps ===
== Attendances ==
Source:
=== Division One === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Simonds | Henry Simonds | Henry John Simonds (23 March 1828 – 25 January 1896) was an English first-class cricketer and barrister.
The son of William May Simonds, he was born at Caversham in March 1828. He was educated at Eton College, before going up to King's College, Cambridge. While studying at Cambridge, he played two first-class cricket matches for Cambridge University Cricket Club, against Cambridge Town Club at Fenner's in 1849 and in The University Match against Oxford University at Oxford in 1850. He had little success in these two matches, scoring just 5 runs. He was a fellow of King's College from 1849 to 1858.
A student of the Inner Temple, he was called to the bar in January 1853 to practice on the Western Circuit. He was appointed a justice of the peace for Oxfordshire in January 1868. He was a partner in the family brewing business, H & G Simonds Ltd, which was named by his father after him and his brother, George. He was active in local politics and was a Chairman of his local Conservative Association. Simonds died at his residence in Caversham in January 1896. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_field | Baseball field | A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers to less organized venues for activities like sandlot ball.
== Specifications ==
Unless otherwise noted, the specifications discussed in this section refer to those described within the Baseball Rules, under which Major League Baseball is played.
The starting point for much of the action on the field is home plate (officially "home base"), a five-sided slab of white rubber. One side is 17 inches (43 cm) long, the two adjacent sides are 8.5 inches (22 cm). The remaining two sides are approximately 12 inches (30 cm) and set at a right angle. The plate is set into the ground so that its surface is level with the field. The corner of home plate where the two 12-inch sides meet at a right angle is at one corner of a 90-foot (27.43 m) square. The dimensional specifications are technically inconsistent because the angle constraints require that the front be √2 times the length of the back, which is not equal to a 17:12 ratio, but a physically built home plate will have side lengths accurate to a few hundredths of an inch. The other three corners of the square, in counterclockwise order from home plate, are called first, second, and third base. These bases are marked by canvas or rubber cushions, 18 inches (46 cm) square and 3–5 inches (7.6–12.7 cm) thick. Adjacent to each of the two parallel 8.5-inch sides is a batter's box.
All the bases, including home plate, lie entirely within fair territory. Thus, any batted ball that touches those bases must necessarily be ruled a fair ball. While the first and third base bags are placed so that they lie inside the 90-foot square formed by the bases, the second base bag is placed so that its center (unlike first, third and home) coincides exactly with the "point" of the ninety-foot square. Thus, although the "points" of the bases are 90 feet apart, the physical distance between each successive pair of base markers is closer to 88 feet (26.8 m).
Near the center of the square is an artificial hill known as the pitcher's mound, atop which is a white rubber slab known as the pitcher's plate, colloquially the "rubber". The specifications for the pitcher's mound are described below.
The lines from home plate to first and third bases extend to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction and are called the foul lines. The portion of the playing field between (and including) the foul lines is fair territory; the rest is "foul territory". The area within the square formed by the bases is officially called the infield, though colloquially this term also includes fair territory in the vicinity of the square; fair territory outside the infield is known as the outfield. Most baseball fields are enclosed with a fence that marks the outer edge of the outfield. The fence is usually set at a distance ranging from 300 to 420 feet (90 to 130 m) from home plate. Most professional and college baseball fields have a right and left foul pole which are about 440 to 500 feet (130 to 150 m) apart. These poles are at the intersection of the foul lines and the respective ends of the outfield fence and, unless otherwise specified within the ground rules, lie in fair territory. Thus, a batted ball that passes over the outfield wall in flight and touches the foul pole is a fair ball and the batter is awarded a home run.
== Infield ==
A baseball infield is the square area within the four 90-foot baselines "(60-foot baselines in Little League Baseball for youths 12 years old and under)". The four bases are integral parts of the infield; a ball that touches any part of a base is considered a fair ball.
=== Bases ===
==== First base ====
First base is the first of the four bases that must be touched by a runner in order to score a run for the batting team. The runner may continue running past first base in a straight line without being in jeopardy of being put out, so long as they make contact with first base and make no move or attempt to advance to second base.
The first baseman is the defensive player mainly responsible for the area near first base. In some youth leagues and adult recreational leagues, a "double first base" or "safety first base" is used. A double first base is rectangular (rather than square), measuring 30 by 15 inches. It is normally colored white and orange (two 15 by 15 inches squares). It is placed with the white half in fair territory and the orange half in foul territory. The white half is used by the first baseman to make plays while the orange half is used by the runner. This creates a separation between the first baseman and runner, reducing the chance of injury on plays at first base.
In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number 3.
==== Second base ====
Second base is the second of the four bases a runner must touch in order to score a run. Second base is mainly defended by the second baseman and the shortstop. The second baseman and shortstop ideally possess quick feet and the ability to release the ball rapidly and accurately. One player will usually cover second base while the other attempts to field the ball. Both players must communicate well to be able to make a double play. Particular agility is required of the second baseman in double play situations, which usually force the player to throw towards first base while their momentum carries them in the opposite direction.
A runner on second base is said to be in "scoring position", since there is a higher likelihood of scoring a run from second base on a single. Since second base is the farthest from home plate, it is the most commonly stolen base in baseball.
In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the second baseman is assigned the number 4, and the shortstop 6.
==== Third base ====
Third base is the third of the four bases a runner must touch in order to score a run. The third baseman is the defensive player mainly responsible for the area nearest third base. A third baseman ideally possesses quick reaction to batted balls and a strong arm to make the long throw to first base. Third base is sometimes referred to as the "hot corner" as it's common for right-handed batters to hit the ball hard to third base, making successfully fielding the ball difficult and possibly dangerous. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the third baseman is assigned the number 5.
Like a runner on second base, a runner on third base is said to be in "scoring position", since there is a higher likelihood of scoring a run on a single or sacrifice fly provided that the third and final out is not recorded before they can reach home plate.
==== Home base ====
Home base, usually called "home plate", is the final base that a player must touch to score a run. Unlike the other bases, home plate is a five-sided slab of white rubber that is set at ground level.
=== Backstop ===
In most MLB stadiums, the backstop is at least 60 feet behind home plate and is composed of a lower solid wall and upper netting that protects spectators behind home plate from wild pitches, passed balls, and foul balls.
In recreational fields, there is usually a tall chain-link fence that surrounds the infield and the players' bench for player safety.
=== Baselines ===
Baselines are straight lines between two adjacent bases normally made of chalk. Physical baselines are not drawn between first and second or second and third bases; the foul lines serve to mark the baseline between home plate and first base, and between third base and home.
==== Running baseline ====
Generally, baserunners are not required to follow the baseline. A baserunner seeking to advance more than one base typically "rounds" the base, following a more circular path. However, a runner's left-right motion is constrained when the defense tries to tag him. At the moment the defense begins the attempt, the baserunner's running baseline is established as a direct line from his current position to the base he is trying for. A runner straying more than three feet (1 m) away from this baseline to avoid a tag may be called out.
==== Running lane ====
Beginning halfway between home and first base, and ending at first base, there is a second chalk line to the right of the foul line. This second line and the part of the foul line it runs parallel to, form the running lane that defines the path in which a batter-runner must run as he is advancing to first base. Rule 6.05(k) of the Official Baseball Rules states that if a batter-runner running to first base runs outside the running lane, and "in doing so" interferes with the fielder taking the throw at first, then the batter-runner is automatically out. First base itself is not located in the running lane, but Rule 6.05 lets the batter-runner leave the running lane "by means of a step, stride or slide in the immediate vicinity of first base" to step on first base.
=== Playing areas near home plate ===
==== Batter's box ====
The batter's box is the place where the batter stands when ready to receive a pitch from the pitcher. It is usually drawn in chalk on the dirt surrounding home plate, and the insides of the boxes are watered down before each game.
The chalk lines delineating the two foul lines are rarely extended through the batter's boxes. However, those lines exist conceptually for the purpose of judging a batted ball fair or foul. In addition, inside edges of the batter's boxes are often not laid-in with chalk. Similarly, though not marked, those lines continue to exist for the purpose of the rules pertaining to the batter's box and the batter's position relative thereto.
There are two batter's boxes, one on each side of home plate. The batter's boxes are 4 feet (1.22 m) wide and 6 feet (1.83 m) long. The batter's boxes are centered lengthwise at the center of home plate with the inside line of each batter's box 6 inches (15 cm) from the near edge of home plate. A right-handed batter would stand in the batter's box on the right side of home plate from the perspective of the pitcher. A left-handed batter would stand in the batter's box to their left. A batter may only occupy one batter's box at a time and may not legally leave the batter's box after the pitcher has come set or has started their windup. Should the batter wish to leave the batter's box once the pitcher has engaged the rubber, they must first ask the umpire for time-out. Time will not be granted if the pitcher has already started their pitching motion. For playing rules relating to the batter's box, see Rules 6.05 and 6.06 of the Official Baseball Rules.
==== Catcher's box ====
The catcher's box is an area of the field behind home plate which the catcher occupies to avoid committing a balk when a pitch is thrown.
==== Pitcher's mound ====
In roughly the middle of the diamond, equidistant between first and third base, and a few feet closer to home plate than to second base, is a low artificial hill called the pitcher's mound. This is where the pitcher stands when throwing the pitch. Atop the mound is a white rubber slab, called the pitcher's plate or pitcher's rubber. It measures 6 inches (15 cm) front-to-back and 2 feet (61 cm) across, the front of which is exactly 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) from the rear point of home plate. This peculiar distance was set by the rule makers in 1893, not due to a clerical or surveying error as popular myth has it, but intentionally (further details under History).
In Major League Baseball, a regulation mound is 18 feet (5.5 m) in diameter, with the center 59 feet (18 m) from the rear point of home plate, on the line between home plate and second base. The front edge of the pitcher's plate or rubber is 18 inches (46 cm) behind the center of the mound, making the front edge's midpoint 60 feet 6 inches from the rear point of home plate. six inches (15 cm) in front of the pitcher's rubber the mound begins to slope downward. The top of the rubber is to be no higher than ten inches (25 cm) above home plate. From 1903 through 1968, this height limit was set at 15 inches (38 cm), but in reality differed from ballpark to ballpark as the height was considered too difficult to enforce.
A higher mound generally favors the pitcher, and teams that emphasize pitching (such as the Los Angeles Dodgers) will favor a slightly higher mound. With the height advantage, the pitcher gains more leverage and can put more downward velocity on the ball, making it more difficult for the batter to strike the ball squarely with the bat. After 1968, known among baseball historians as "the year of the pitcher", the official height of the mound was lowered from 15 to 10 inches (38 to 25 cm) in an attempt to "increase the batting" once again.
A pitcher's mound is difficult for groundskeepers to maintain. Usually before every game it is watered down to keep the dust from spreading. On youth and amateur baseball fields, the mound may be much different from the rule book definition due to erosion and repair attempts. Even in the major leagues, each mound gains its own character, as pitchers are allowed to kick away pieces of dirt in their way, thereby sculpting the mound a bit to their preference.
The pitcher may keep a rosin bag on the rear of the mound to dry off their hands. Major League Baseball teams are also permitted cleat cleaners on the back of the mound. This may be a flat grate-style plate, or simply a hand tool such as a piece of wood used to remove mud and dirt from cleats. These items are allowed to remain on the backside of the mound at the discretion of the umpire, thus reducing the probability that they will affect a live play.
== Grass line ==
The grass line, where the dirt of the infield ends and the grass of the outfield begins, has no special significance to the rules of the game (except in Double-A Minor League Baseball where all infielders must be on the infield dirt when the pitch is thrown as part of an experimental rule for the 2021 season), but it can influence the outcome of a game. Dirt running paths between the bases (and, at one time and still in some parks, between the pitcher and the catcher) have existed since the beginning of the game, although they were not mentioned in the rule books until around 1950, and their specifications are flexible. In addition to providing a running path, the grass lines act as a visual aid so that players, umpires and fans may better judge distance from the center of the diamond. Occasionally the ball may take a tricky bounce off the dirt area or the edge between the dirt and the grass. Multiple World Series championships (including 1924, 1960 and 1986) have been decided or heavily influenced by erratic hops of ground balls.
In artificial turf stadiums, infield dirt was originally only placed in three five-sided areas around the bases and in two circles around the pitcher's and batting areas, which are referred to as "cut outs". In this configuration, the "grass line" is usually designated with a white arc. This setup first appeared at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium upon its opening in 1970. Among Major League Baseball fields, Rogers Centre was the last stadium to maintain this type of configuration and was reconfigured with a full dirt infield starting in the 2016 MLB season.
In some college baseball parks with artificial turf fields, the entire field (along with possibly the pitcher's mound) is made up of turf, with parts of the field mainly containing dirt instead merely being clay-colored turf.
== Outfield ==
The outfield is made from thick grass or artificial turf. It is where the outfielders play. The positions to play in the outfield are left, center, and right field (named in relation to the batter's position; thus left field is beyond third base and right field is beyond first base). Outfields vary in size and shape depending on the overall size and shape of the playing field. The outfield stretches from the infield to the outfield wall and it contains the warning track. Outfields especially vary from Little League to major league fields. Little League outfields vary more in size than Major League outfields. Outfields often differ from infields in the specific type of grass used, but most major league outfields are grass.
=== Warning track ===
The warning track is the strip of dirt at the edges of the baseball field (especially in front of the home run fence and along the left and right sides of a field). Because the warning track's color and feel differ from the grass field, a fielder can remain focused on a fly ball near the fence and measure their proximity to the fence while attempting to catch the ball safely.
A warning track's width is not specified in the rules. It is generally designed to give about three steps of warning to the highest-level players using the field. Typical widths run from about six feet for Little League fields to about 10–15 feet (3.0–4.6 meters) for college- or professional-level play. A warning track this wide also lets groundskeepers avoid driving maintenance vehicles on the grass.
The track can be composed of finely ground rock particles such as cinders, which is why announcer Bob Wolff called it the "cinder path" rather than the "warning track".
The idea of a warning track originated in Yankee Stadium, where an actual running track was built for use in track and field events. When ballpark designers saw how the track helped fielders, it soon became a feature of every ballpark.
Single-minded fielders often crash into a wall trying to make a catch despite the warning track. For this reason, outfield walls are typically padded for extra safety. Wrigley Field's brick wall is covered only by ivy, which is not especially soft. However, there are pads on the walls of the tight left and right field corners in foul ground.
Warning-track power is a derogatory term for a batter who seems to have just enough power to hit the ball to the warning track for an out, but not enough to hit a home run. The term more generally refers to someone or something that is almost but not quite good enough for something.
=== Outfield wall ===
The outfield wall or fence is the outer boundary of the outfield. A ball passing over the wall is dead. If it passes over the wall in fair territory, without touching the ground, it is a home run. The official rules do not specify the shape, height, or composition of the wall, or a specific mandatory distance from home plate (though Major League Baseball mandates a minimum distance of 250 feet (76 m) and recommends a minimum distance of 320 feet (98 m) at the foul poles and 400 feet (120 m) at center field). As a result, baseball fields can vary greatly along those lines. The wall has numbers affixed or painted on it that denote the distance from that point on the wall to home plate. In most modern major league ballparks, the wall is made of some hard material (e.g., concrete, plywood, sheet metal) with padding on the field side to protect players who may collide with the wall at high speed while trying to make a play. Chain link fencing may also be incorporated into the wall in areas where the wall needs to be transparent, e.g., an outfield bullpen, a spectator area behind the wall, or to protect a scoreboard incorporated into the wall. Many ballparks feature a yellow line denoting the top of the wall to aid umpires in judging whether the ball passed over the wall or if the ball is fair or foul.
==== Foul poles ====
Foul poles, if present, help umpires judge whether a fly ball hit above the fence line is foul (out of play) or fair (a home run). The poles are a vertical extension of the foul lines at the edge of the field of play. The outer edge of the foul lines and foul poles define foul territory. Both the lines and the poles are in fair territory, in contrast to American football and basketball, where the lines marking the playing boundaries are out of bounds. The minimum distance to hit a home run (along either foul line) is set by baseball rules, generally at 325 feet (99 m).
Before 1931 (with the exception of a couple months in 1920) the foul lines extended indefinitely; a batter was awarded a home run only if a fly ball out of the field was fair where it landed. Now, a batted ball that leaves the field in flight is judged fair or foul at the point it leaves the field. Thus, such a fly ball passing on the fair side of a foul pole, or hitting a foul pole, is a home run regardless of where the ball goes thereafter.
Foul poles are typically much higher than the top of the outfield fence or wall, and often have a narrow screen running along the fair side of the pole. This further aids the umpires' judgment, as a ball that bounces off this screen is a home run. It can still be a difficult call, especially in ballparks with no outfield stands behind the poles to provide perspective. Wrigley Field is notorious for arguments over long, curving flies down a foul line (most notably in left field) that sail higher than the foul pole.
At Major League Baseball fields, foul poles are usually yellow. Those at Citi Field are orange. At Petco Park, there is no foul pole in left field; the pole's function is served by a yellow metal strip along the corner of the Western Metal Supply Co. building. Several parks featuring advertising along the length of the foul pole, with the most prominent example being the advertising from Chick-fil-A at both Citi Field and Daikin Park (serving as a pun, with "fowl" being another term for a chicken, the primary meat featured by that restaurant chain).
== Player preparation and coaching areas ==
=== Bullpen ===
The bullpen (sometimes referred to as simply "the 'pen") is the area where pitchers warm up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Relief pitchers usually wait in the bullpen when they have yet to play in a game, rather than in the dugout with the rest of the team. The starting pitcher also makes their final pregame warmups in the bullpen. Managers can call coaches in the bullpen on an in-house telephone from the dugout to tell a certain pitcher to begin their warmup tosses.
"Bullpen" is also used metonymically to describe a team's collection of relief pitchers.
=== On-deck circles ===
There are two on-deck circles in the field, one for each team, positioned in foul ground between home plate and the respective teams' benches. The on-deck circle is where the next scheduled batter, or "on-deck" batter, warms up while waiting for the current batter to finish their turn. The on-deck circle is either an area composed of bare dirt; a plain circle painted onto artificial turf; or often, especially at the professional level, a mat made from artificial material, with the team or league logo painted onto it.
=== Coach's boxes ===
The coach's boxes, located behind first and third base, are where the first and third base coaches are supposed to stand, although coaches often stand outside the box. This is permissible as long as the coach does not interfere with play and the opposing team does not object (in which case the umpire shall ensure that all coaches on both teams must abide by the boundaries of the coach's boxes). The coach's boxes are marked with chalk or paint. In the early days of baseball, the term "coacher's box" was used, as "coach" was taken to be a verb. As the term "coach" evolved into a noun, the name of the box also changed.
== History ==
=== Knickerbocker Rules ===
The basic layout of the field has been little changed since the Knickerbocker Rules of the 1840s. Those rules specified the distance from home to second as 42 "paces". The dictionary definition of a "pace" at the time was 30 inches, yielding base paths of approximately 75 feet; however, if a "pace" of three feet was meant then the distance would have been 89 feet. It is not implausible that the early clubs simply stepped off the distance. 30 yards (90 feet) between the bases was first explicitly prescribed by the NABBP Convention of 1857. Through trial and error, 90 feet had been settled upon as the optimal distance. 100 feet would have given too much advantage to the defense, and 80 feet too much to the offense.
The original Knickerbocker Rules did not specify the pitching distance explicitly; the 1854 Unified Rules stated "from Home to pitcher not less than fifteen paces". By the time major league baseball began in the 1870s, the pitcher was compelled to pitch from within a "box" whose front edge was 45 feet (14 m) from the "point" of home plate. Although they had to release the ball before crossing the line, as with bowlers in cricket, they also had to start their delivery from within the box, meaning that they could only run for a short distance before throwing; they could not run in from the field as bowlers do. Furthermore, the pitcher had to throw underhand. By the 1880s, pitchers had mastered the underhand delivery—in fact, in 1880, there were two perfect games within a week of each other.
=== Modern history ===
In an attempt to "increase the batting", the front edge of the pitcher's box was moved back 5 feet in 1881, to 50 feet (15 m) from home plate. The size of the box was altered over the following few years. Pitchers were allowed to throw overhand starting in 1884, and that tilted the balance of power again. In 1887, the box was set at 4 feet (1.2 m) wide and 5.5 feet (1.7 m) deep, with the front edge still 50 feet from the plate. However, the pitcher was compelled to deliver the ball with their back foot at the 55.5-foot (16.9 m) line of the box, thus somewhat restricting their ability to "power" the ball with their overhand delivery.
In 1893, the box was replaced by the pitcher's plate, although "the box" is still used today as a slang term for the pitcher's location on the field. Exactly 5 feet was added to the point the pitcher had to toe, again "to increase the batting" (and hopefully to increase attendance, as fan interest had flagged somewhat), resulting in the seemingly peculiar pitching distance of 60.5 feet (18.44 m).
Some sources suggest that the pitching distance evolved from 45 to 50 to 60.5 feet. However, the first two were the "release point" and the third is the "pushoff point." The 1893 rule change added only 5 feet to the release point, not 10.5 feet.
Originally the pitcher threw from flat ground. Gradually, the raised mound was developed, somewhat returning the advantage to the pitchers. From 1893 to 1950, a stipulation was added that the mound be no more than 15 inches above the field. Before the mid-20th century, it was common for baseball fields to include a dirt pathway between the pitcher's mound and home plate. This feature is sometimes known as the "keyhole" due to the shape that it makes together with the mound. The keyhole was once as wide as the pitcher's box and resembled a cricket pitch. Sometimes this path extended through the batting area and all the way to the backstop. Once the rounded pitcher's mound was developed, the path became more ornamental than practical, and was gradually thinned before being largely abandoned by the 1950s. In recent years some ballparks, such as Comerica Park and Chase Field in the major leagues, have revived the feature for nostalgic reasons.
From 1857 to 1867 home plate was a circular iron plate, painted or enameled white, covering "a space equal to one square foot of surface", i.e. with a diameter of ~13-1/2 inches. In 1868 the plate was changed to a square, 12" on a side, originally set with the flat sides toward the pitcher and catcher; the new professional National Association rotated it 45 degrees in 1871. In 1872 the rules required it to be made of white marble or stone set flush with the ground. For the rest of the century materials varied between stone, iron and wood, but at all times it was a white twelve-inch square. The pentagonal shape and the mandatory use of rubber were developed by Robert Keating, who had pitched one game for the 1887 Baltimore Orioles; the new plate was adopted by the National League in 1900. From 1861 to 1874 the center, not the back, of the plate was situated on the intersection of the foul lines, and in 1875–76 was moved entirely into foul ground with the "pitcher's point" at the intersection. In 1877 it was moved forward to its modern location, wholly in fair territory.
There were no batters' boxes before 1874. Up until that time, the batter was required to hit with their front foot on a line passing through the center of the plate. The 1874 batters' boxes were 6 feet by 3 feet, 12 inches from the plate; the modern dimensions (6' x 4') were instituted in 1885 by the National League and the following year by the American Association
== Maintenance ==
See: Turf management, Sports turf, Groundskeeping#Groundskeeping equipment, Equipment manager, and Sand-based athletic fields
== Honors and awards ==
The Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) presents various awards each year. Starting in 2001, its Sports Turf Manager of the Year Awards have been presented annually in the Triple-A, Double-A, Class A, and Short-Season/Rookie divisions of Minor League Baseball and are chosen from the 16 league winners. STMA also presents the Baseball Field of the Year Award, which includes Schools and Parks, College/University and Professional categories. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_area | List of European countries by area | Below is a list of European countries and dependencies by area in Europe. As a continent, Europe's total geographical area is about 10 million square kilometres. Transcontinental countries are ranked according to the size of their European part only. Inland water is included in area numbers.
== Relative sizes ==
European countries vary in area over many orders of magnitude, ranging from Russia which covers almost 4000000 km2 of territory within Europe according to "Definition" below, to Vatican City, which has a total area of less than 1 km2:
== List of European countries and dependencies by area ==
Figures are from the United Nations unless otherwise specified.
== Definition ==
Europe and Asia are contiguous with each other; thus, the exact boundary between them is not clearly defined, and often follows historical, political, and cultural definitions, rather than geographical.
Map of Europe, showing one of the most commonly used continental boundaries
Legend:
Blue = Contiguous transcontinental countries
Green = Sometimes considered European due to culture, politics, economy and history, but geographically outside Europe's boundaries |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Thomson | Tom Thomson | Thomas John Thomson (August 5, 1877 – July 8, 1917) was a Canadian artist active in the early 20th century. During his short career, he produced roughly 400 oil sketches on small wood panels and approximately 50 larger works on canvas. His works consist almost entirely of landscapes, depicting trees, skies, lakes, and rivers. He used broad brush strokes and a liberal application of paint to capture the beauty and colour of the Ontario landscape. Thomson is considered by many Canadians as the archetypal painter, and his later work has heavily influenced Canadian art – paintings such as The Jack Pine and The West Wind have taken a prominent place in the culture of Canada and are some of the country's most iconic works. His accidental death by drowning at 39 shortly before the founding of the Group of Seven is seen as a tragedy for Canadian art.
Raised in rural Ontario, Thomson was born into a large family of farmers and displayed no immediate artistic talent. He worked several jobs before attending a business college, eventually developing skills in penmanship and copperplate writing. At the turn of the 20th century, he was employed in Seattle and Toronto as a pen artist at several different photoengraving firms, including Grip Ltd. There he met those who eventually formed the Group of Seven, including J. E. H. MacDonald, Lawren Harris, Frederick Varley, Franklin Carmichael and Arthur Lismer. In May 1912, he visited Algonquin Park—a major public park and forest reservation in Central Ontario—for the first time. It was there that he acquired his first sketching equipment and, following MacDonald's advice, began to capture nature scenes. He became enraptured with the area and repeatedly returned, typically spending his winters in Toronto and the rest of the year in the Park. His earliest paintings were not outstanding technically, but showed a good grasp of composition and colour handling. His later paintings vary in composition and contain vivid colours and thickly applied paint.
Thomson developed a reputation during his lifetime as a veritable outdoorsman, talented in both fishing and canoeing, although his skills in the latter have been contested. The circumstances of his drowning on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park, linked with his image as a master canoeist, led to unsubstantiated but persistent rumours that he had been murdered or committed suicide.
Although he died before the formal establishment of the Group of Seven, Thomson is often considered an unofficial member. His art is typically exhibited with the rest of the Group's, nearly all of which remains in Canada—mainly at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg and the Tom Thomson Art Gallery in Owen Sound.
== Life ==
=== Early years ===
Thomas John Thomson was born on August 5, 1877, in Claremont, Ontario (and lived briefly on the farm belonging to his grandfather Thomas “Tam” Thomson on 8th Concession after immigrating from Aberdeenshire, Scotland), the sixth of John and Margaret Thomson's ten children. He was raised in Leith (on Concession A), Ontario, near Owen Sound, in the municipality of Meaford. Thomson and his siblings enjoyed both drawing and painting, although he did not immediately display any major talents. He was eventually taken out of school for a year because of ill health, including a respiratory problem variously described as "weak lungs" or "inflammatory rheumatism". This gave him free time to explore the woods near his home and develop an appreciation of nature.
The family were unsuccessful as farmers; both Thomson and his father often abandoned their chores to go hiking, hunting and fishing. Thomson regularly went on walks in Toronto with Dr. William Brodie (1831–1909), his grandmother's first cousin. Brodie was a well-known entomologist, ornithologist and botanist, and Thomson's sister Margaret later recounted that they collected specimens on long walks together.
Thomson was also enthusiastic about sports, once breaking his toe while playing football. He was an excellent swimmer and fisherman, inheriting his passion for the latter from his grandfather and father. Like most of those in his community, he regularly attended church. Some stories say that he sketched in the hymn books during services and entertained his sisters with caricatures of their neighbours. His sisters later said that they had fun "guessing who they were", indicating that he was not necessarily adept at capturing people's likeness.
Each of Thomson's nine siblings received an inheritance from their paternal grandfather. Thomson received $2,000 in 1898 but seems to have spent it quickly. A year later, he entered a machine shop apprenticeship at an iron foundry owned by William Kennedy, a close friend of his father, but left only eight months later. Also in 1899, he volunteered to fight in the Second Boer War, but was turned down because of a medical condition. He tried to enlist for the Boer War three times in all, but was denied each time.
In 1901, Thomson enrolled at Canada Business College in Chatham, Ontario. The school advertised instruction in stenography, bookkeeping, business correspondence and "plain and ornamental penmanship". There, he developed abilities in penmanship and copperplate—necessary skills for a clerk. After graduating at the end of 1901, he travelled briefly to Winnipeg before leaving for Seattle in January 1902, joining his older brother, George Thomson. George and cousin F. R. McLaren had established the Acme Business School in Seattle, listed as the 11th largest business school in the United States. Thomson worked briefly as an elevator operator at The Diller Hotel. By 1902, two more of his brothers, Ralph and Henry, had moved west to join the family's new school.
=== Graphic design work ===
==== Seattle (1901–1904) ====
After studying at the business school for six months, Thomson was hired at Maring & Ladd as a pen artist, draftsman and etcher. He mainly produced business cards, brochures and posters, as well as three-colour printing. Having previously learned calligraphy, he specialized in lettering, drawing and painting. While working at Maring & Ladd, he was known to be stubbornly independent; his brother Fraser wrote that, instead of completing his work according to the direction provided, he would use his own design ideas, which angered his boss. Thomson may have also worked as a freelance commercial designer, but there are no extant examples of such work.
He eventually moved on to a local engraving company. Despite a good salary he left by the end of 1904. He quickly returned to Leith, possibly prompted by a rejected marriage proposal after his brief summer romance with Alice Elinor Lambert. Lambert, who never married, later became a writer; in one of her stories, she describes a young girl who refuses an artist's proposal and later regrets her decision.
==== Toronto (1905–1912) ====
Thomson moved to Toronto in the summer of 1905. His first job upon his return to Canada was at the photo-engraving firm Legg Brothers, earning $11 a week. He spent his free time reading poetry and going to concerts, the theatre and sporting events. In a letter to an aunt, he wrote, "I love poetry best." Friends described him during this time as "periodically erratic and sensitive, with fits of unreasonable despondency". Apart from buying art supplies, he spent his money on expensive clothes, fine dining and tobacco. Around this time, he may have studied briefly with William Cruikshank, a British artist who taught at the Ontario College of Art. Cruikshank was likely Thomson's only formal art instructor.
In 1908 or 1909, Thomson joined Grip Ltd., a firm in Toronto that specialized in design and lettering work. Grip was the leading graphic-design company in the country and introduced Art Nouveau, metal engraving and the four-colour process to Canada. Albert Robson, then the art director at Grip, recalled that Thomson's early work at the firm was mostly in lettering and decorative designs for booklets and labels. He wrote that Thomson made friends slowly but eventually found similar interests to his coworkers. Several of the employees at Grip had been members of the Toronto Art Students' League, a group of newspaper artists, illustrators and commercial artists active between 1886 and 1904. The members sketched in parts of eastern Canada and published an annual calendar with illustrations depicting Canadian history and rural life.
The senior artist at Grip, J. E. H. MacDonald, encouraged his staff to paint outside in their spare time to better hone their skills. It was at Grip that many of the eventual members of the Group of Seven would meet. In December 1910, artist William Smithson Broadhead was hired, joined by Arthur Lismer in February 1911. Robson eventually hired Frederick Varley, followed by Franklin Carmichael in April 1911. Although Thomson was not himself a member, it was at the Arts and Letters Club that MacDonald introduced Thomson to Lawren Harris. The club was considered the "centre of living culture in Toronto", providing an informal environment for the artistic community. Every member of what would become the original Group of Seven had now met. MacDonald left Grip in November 1911 to do freelance work and spend more time painting, after the Ontario government purchased his canvas By the River (Early Spring) (1911).
=== Painting career ===
==== Exploring Algonquin Park (1912–1913) ====
Algonquin Park was established in 1893 by Oliver Mowat and the Ontario Legislature. Covering eighteen rectangular townships in Central Ontario, the Park was created to provide a space dedicated to recreation, wildlife and watershed protection, though logging operations continued to be permitted. Thomson learned of the Park from fellow artist Tom McLean. In May 1912, aged 34, he first visited the Park, venturing through the area on a canoe trip with his Grip colleague H. B. (Ben) Jackson. Together, they took the Grand Trunk Railway from Toronto to Scotia Junction, then transferred to the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway, arriving at Canoe Lake Station. McLean introduced Thomson to the Park superintendent, G. W. Barlett. Thomson and Jackson later met ranger Harry (Bud) Callighen while they camped nearby on Smoke Lake.
It was also at this time that Thomson acquired his first sketching equipment. He did not yet take painting seriously. According to Jackson, Thomson did not think "his work would ever be taken seriously; in fact, he used to chuckle over the idea". Instead, they spent most of their time fishing, except for "a few notes, skylines and colour effects".
During the same trip, Thomson read Izaak Walton's 1653 fishing guide The Compleat Angler. Primarily a fisherman's bible, the book also provided a philosophy of how to live, similar to the one described in Henry David Thoreau's 1854 book Walden, or Life in the Woods, a reflection on simple living in natural surroundings. His time in Algonquin Park gave him an ideal setting to imitate Walton's "contemplative" life. Ben Jackson wrote:
Tom was never understood by lots of people, was very quiet, modest and, as a friend of mine spoke of him, a gentle soul. He cared nothing for social life, but with one or two companions on a sketching and fishing trip with his pipe and Hudson Bay tobacco going, he was a delightful companion. If a party or the boys got a little loud or rough Tom would get his sketching kit and wander off alone. At times he liked to be that way, wanted to be by himself commune [sic] with nature.
Upon returning to Toronto, Jackson published an article about his and Thomson's experience in the Park in the Toronto Sunday World, included in which were several illustrations. After this initial experience, Thomson and another colleague, William Broadhead, went on a two-month expedition, going up the Spanish River and into Mississagi Forest Reserve (today Mississagi Provincial Park). Thomson's transition from commercial art towards his own original style of painting became apparent around this time. Much of his artwork from this trip, mainly oil sketches and photographs, was lost during two canoe spills; the first was on Green Lake in a rain squall and the second in a series of rapids.
In fall 1912, Albert Robson, Grip's art director, moved to the design firm Rous & Mann. A month after returning to Toronto, Thomson followed Robson and left Grip to join Rous & Mann too. They were soon joined by Varley, Carmichael and Lismer. Robson later spoke favourably of Thomson's loyalty, calling him "a most diligent, reliable and capable craftsman". Robson's success in attracting great talent was well understood. Employee Leonard Rossell believed that the key to Robson's success "was that the artists felt that he was interested in them personally and did all he could to further their progress. Those who worked there were all allowed time off to pursue their studies ... Tom Thomson, so far as I know, never took definite lessons from anyone, yet he progressed quicker than any of us. But what he did was probably of more advantage to him. He took several months off in the summer and spent them in Algonquin Park."
In October, MacDonald introduced Thomson to James MacCallum. A frequent visitor to the Ontario Society of Artists' (OSA) exhibitions, MacCallum was admitted to the Arts and Letters Club in January 1912. There, he met artists such as John William Beatty, Arthur Heming, MacDonald and Harris. MacCallum eventually persuaded Thomson to leave Rous and Mann and start a painting career. In October 1913, MacCallum introduced Thomson to A. Y. Jackson, later a founder of the Group of Seven. MacCallum recognized Thomson's and Jackson's talents and offered to cover their expenses for one year if they committed themselves to painting full time. MacCallum and Jackson both encouraged Thomson to "take up painting seriously, [but] he showed no enthusiasm. The chances of earning a livelihood by it did not appear to him promising. He was sensitive and independent, and feared he might become an object of patronage." MacCallum wrote that when he first saw Thomson's sketches, he recognized their "truthfulness, their feeling and their sympathy with the grim fascinating northland ... they made me feel that the North had gripped Thomson as it had gripped me since I was eleven when I first sailed and paddled through its silent places." He described Thomson's paintings as "dark, muddy in colour, tight and not wanting in technical defects". After Thomson's death, MacCallum helped preserve and advocated for his work.
Thomson accepted MacCallum's offer under the same terms offered to Jackson. He travelled around Ontario with his colleagues, especially to the wilderness of Ontario, which was to become a major source of inspiration. Regarding Algonquin Park, he wrote in a letter to MacCallum: "The best I can do does not do the place much justice in the way of beauty." He ventured to rural areas near Toronto and tried to capture the surrounding nature. He may have worked as a fire ranger on the Mattagami reserve. Addison and Little suggest that he guided fishing tours, although Hill finds this unlikely since Thomson had only spent a few weeks in the Park the previous year. Thomson became as familiar with logging scenes as with nature in the Park and painted them both.
While returning to Toronto in November 1912, Thomson stopped in Huntsville. The visit was possibly to meet with Winifred Trainor, a woman whose family owned a cottage on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park. Trainor was later rumoured to have been engaged to Thomson with a wedding planned for the late 1917, although little is known about their relationship.
Thomson first exhibited with the OSA in March 1913, selling his painting Northern Lake (1912–1913) to the Ontario Government for $250 (equivalent to CAD$6,800 in 2025). The sale afforded him time to paint and sketch through the summer and fall of 1913.
==== Early recognition (1914–1915) ====
Thomson often experienced self-doubt. A. Y. Jackson recalled that in the fall of 1914, Thomson threw his sketch box into the woods out of frustration, and was "so shy he could hardly be induced to show his sketches". Harris expressed similar sentiments, writing that Thomson "had no opinion of his own work", and would even throw burnt matches at his paintings. Several of the canvases he sent to exhibitions remained unsigned. If someone praised one of his sketches, he immediately gave it to them as a gift. A turning point in his career came in 1914, when the National Gallery of Canada, under the directorship of Eric Brown, began to acquire his paintings. Although the money was not enough to live on, the recognition was unheard of for an unknown artist.
For several years he shared a studio and living quarters with fellow artists, initially living in the Studio Building with Jackson in January 1914. Jackson described the Studio Building as "a lively centre for new ideas, experiments, discussions, plans for the future and visions of an art inspired by the Canadian countryside". It was there that Thomson, "after much self-deprecation, finally submitted to becoming a full-time artist". They split the rent—$22 a month—on the ground floor while construction on the rest of the building was finished. After Jackson moved out in December to go to Montreal, Carmichael took his place. Thomson and Carmichael shared a studio space through the winter. On March 3, 1914, Thomson was nominated as a member of the OSA by Lismer and T. G. Greene. He was elected on the 17th. He did not participate in any of their activities beyond sending paintings for annual exhibitions. Harris described Thomson's strange working hours years later:
When he was in Toronto, Tom rarely left the shack in the daytime and then only when it was absolutely necessary. He took his exercise at night. He would put on his snowshoes and tramp the length of the Rosedale ravine and out into the country, and return before dawn.
In late April 1914, Thomson arrived in Algonquin Park, where he was joined by Lismer on May 9. They camped on Molly's Island in Smoke Lake, travelling to Canoe, Smoke, Ragged, Crown and Wolf Lakes. He spent his spring and summer divided between Georgian Bay and Algonquin Park, visiting James MacCallum by canoe. His travels during this time have proved difficult to discern, with such a large amount of ground covered in such a short time, painting the French River, Byng Inlet, Parry Sound and Go-Home Bay from May 24 through August 10. H. A. Callighen, a park ranger, wrote in his journal that Thomson and Lismer left Algonquin Park on May 24. By May 30, Thomson was at Parry Sound and on June 1 was camped at the French River with MacCallum.
Art historian Joan Murray noted that Thomson was at Go-Home Bay for the next two months, or at least until August 10 when he was seen again in Algonquin Park by Callighan. According to Wadland, if this timeline is correct, it would require "an extraordinary canoeist ... The difficulty is augmented by the fact of stopping to sketch at intervals along the way." Wadland suggested that Thomson may have travelled by train at some point and by steamship thereafter. Addison and Harwood instead said that Thomson had found much of the inland "monotonously flat" and the rapids "ordinary". Wadland found this characterization unhelpful, pointing out that the rapids Thomson had faced were hardly "ordinary".
MacCallum provided specific dates for two of Thomson's paintings—May 30 and June 1 for Parry Sound Harbour and Spring, French River, respectively. These are some of the only instances of precise dating for his work. Cottage on a Rocky Shore is a depiction of MacCallum's cottage contrasted with the vast expanse of sky and water. Evening, Pine Island is of a nearby island MacCallum took Thomson to visit. He continued to paint around the islands until he departed, probably because he found MacCallum's cottage too demanding socially, writing to Varley that it was "too much like north Rosedale".
Thomson continued canoeing alone until he met with A. Y. Jackson at Canoe Lake in mid-September. Though World War I had erupted that year, he and Jackson went on a canoe trip, in October meeting up with Varley and his wife Maud, as well as Lismer and his wife Esther, and daughter Marjorie. This marked the first time three Group of Seven members painted together, and the only time they worked with Thomson. In his 1958 autobiography, A Painter's Country, A. Y. Jackson wrote that, "Had it not been for the war, the Group [of Seven] would have formed several years earlier and it would have included Thomson."
Why Thomson did not serve in the war has been debated. Mark Robinson and Thomson's family said that he was turned down after multiple attempts to enlist, likely due to his poor health and age but also possibly because he had flat feet. Blodwen Davies wrote that Thomson's artist friends tried to convince him to not risk his life, but he decided to secretly volunteer anyway. Andrew Hunter has found this scenario to be improbable, especially given that other artist friends did volunteer for the war, such as A. Y. Jackson. Thomson's sister suggested that he was a pacifist and that "he hated war and said simply in 1914 that he never would kill anyone but would like to help in a hospital, if accepted". William Colgate wrote that Thomson "brooded much upon" the war and that "he himself did not enlist. Rumour has it that he tried, and failed to pass the doctor. This is doubtful." Edward Godin, a companion, said "We had many discussions on the war. As I remember it he did not think that Canada should be involved. He was very outspoken in his opposition to Government patronage. Especially in the Militia. I do not think that he would offer himself for service. I know up until that time he had not tried to enlist." There is only one verifiable example of Thomson's opinion on the war, taken from a letter he wrote to J. E. H. MacDonald in 1915:
As with yourself, I can't get used to the idea of [A. Y.] Jackson being in the machine and it is rotten that in this so-called civilized age that such things can exist, but since this war has started it will have to go on until one side wins out, and of course there is no doubt which side it will be, and we will see Jackson back on the job once more.
With MacCallum's year of financial support over, Thomson's financial future became uncertain. He briefly looked into applying for a position as a park ranger, but balked after seeing that it could take months for the application to go through. Instead, he considered working in an engraving shop over the winter. He made little effort to sell his paintings, preferring to give them away, though he brought in some money from the paintings he sold. In mid-November, he donated In Algonquin Park to an exhibition organized to raise money for the Canadian Patriotic Fund. It was sold to Marion Long for $50 (equivalent to CAD$1,400 in 2025).
In the spring of 1915, Thomson returned to Algonquin Park earlier than he had in any previous year and had already painted twenty-eight sketches by April 22. From April through July, he spent much of his time fishing, assisting groups on several different lakes, and sketching when he had time. In July, he was invited to send paintings to the Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition in September. Because he was in Algonquin Park, his friends selected three works to send—two unidentified works from 1914 and the sketch Canadian Wildflowers. From the end of September to mid-October, he spent his time at Mowat, a village on the north end of Canoe Lake. By November, he was at Round Lake with Tom Wattie and Robert McComb. In late November, he returned to Toronto and moved into a shack behind the Studio Building that Harris and MacCallum fixed up for him, renting it for $1 a month.
In 1915, MacCallum commissioned MacDonald, Lismer and Thomson to paint decorative panels for his cottage on Go-Home Bay. In October of that year, MacDonald went up to take dimensions. Thomson produced four panels which were probably meant to go over the windows. In April 1916, when MacDonald and Lismer went to install them, they found that MacDonald's measurements were incorrect and the panels did not fit.
==== Artistic peak (1916–1917) ====
In March 1916, Thomson exhibited four canvases with the OSA: In the Northland (at that time titled The Birches), Spring Ice, Moonlight and October (then titled The Hardwoods), all of which were painted over the winter of 1915–16. Sir Edmund Walker and Eric Brown of the National Gallery of Canada wanted to purchase In the Northland, but Montreal trustee Francis Shepherd convinced them to purchase Spring Ice instead. The reception of Thomson's paintings at this time was mixed. Margaret Fairbairn of the Toronto Daily Star wrote, "Mr. Tom Thomson's 'The Birches' and 'The Hardwoods' show a fondness for intense yellows and orange and strong blue, altogether a fearless use of violent colour which can scarcely be called pleasing, and yet which seems an exaggeration of a truthful feeling that time will temper." A more favourable take came from artist Wyly Grier in The Christian Science Monitor:
Tom Thomson again reveals his capacity to be modern and remain individual. His early pictures—in which the quality of naivete had all the genuineness of the effort of the tyro and was not the counterfeit of it which is so much in evidence in the intensely rejuvenated works of the highly sophisticated—showed the faculty for affectionate and truthful record by a receptive eye and faithful hand; but his work today has reached higher levels of technical accomplishment. His Moonlight, Spring Ice and The Birches are among his best. In The Canadian Courier, painter Estelle Kerr also spoke positively, describing Thomson as "one of the most promising of Canadian painters who follows the impressionist movement and his work reveals himself to be a fine colourist, a clever technician, and a truthful interpreter of the north land in its various aspects".
In 1916, Thomson left for Algonquin Park earlier than any previous year, evidenced by the many snow studies he produced at this time. In April or early May, MacCallum, Harris and his cousin Chester Harris joined Thomson at Cauchon Lake for a canoe trip. After MacCallum and Chester left, Harris and Thomson paddled together to Aura Lee Lake. Thomson produced many sketches which varied in composition, although they all had vivid colour and thickly-applied paint. MacCallum was present when he painted his Sketch for "The Jack Pine", writing that the tree fell over onto Thomson before the sketch was completed. He added that Harris thought the tree killed Thomson, "but he sprang up and continued painting".
At the end of May, Thomson took a job as a fire ranger stationed at Achray on Grand Lake with Ed Godin. He followed the Booth Lumber Company's log drive down the Petawawa River to the north end of the park. He found that fire ranging and painting did not mix well together, writing, "[I] have done very little sketching this summer as the two jobs don't fit in ... When we are travelling two go together, one for canoe and the other the pack. And there's no place for a sketch outfit when your [sic] fire ranging. We are not fired yet but I am hoping to get put off right away." He likely returned to Toronto in late October or early November.
Over the following winter, encouragement from Harris, MacDonald and MacCallum saw Thomson move into the most productive portion of his career, with Thomson writing in a letter that he "got quite a lot done". Despite this, he did not submit any paintings to the OSA exhibition in the spring of 1917. It was during this time that he produced many of his most famous works, including The Jack Pine and The West Wind. MacCallum suggested that several canvas works were unfinished, including Woodland Waterfall, The Pointers and The Drive. Barker Fairley similarly described The West Wind as unfinished. Charles Hill has written that there are no reasons to believe Woodland Waterfall was unfinished. Similarly, while it has sometimes been suggested that The Drive was modified after Thomson's death, a reproduction from 1918 displays no discernible differences.
Thomson returned to Canoe Lake at the beginning of April, arriving early enough to paint the remaining snow and the ice breaking up on the surrounding lakes. He had little money but wrote that he could manage for about a year. On April 28, 1917, he received a guide's licence. Unlike previous years, he remained at Mowat with Lieutenant Crombine and his wife, Daphne. Thomson invited Daphne Crombie to select something from his spring sketches as a gift, and she selected Path Behind Mowat Lodge.
Besides the deep love he had come to develop for Algonquin Park, Thomson was beginning to show an eagerness to depict areas beyond the park and explore other northern subjects. In an April 1917 letter to his brother-in-law, he wrote that he was considering taking the Canadian Northern Railway west so he could paint the Canadian Rockies in July and August. A. Y. Jackson suggested Thomson would have travelled even further north, just as the other members of the Group of Seven eventually did.
=== Death ===
On July 8, 1917, Thomson disappeared during a canoeing trip on Canoe Lake. His upturned canoe was spotted later in the afternoon, and his body was discovered in the lake eight days later. It was noted that he had a four-inch cut on his right temple and had bled from his right ear. The cause of death was officially determined to be "accidental drowning". The day after the body was discovered, it was interred in Mowat Cemetery near Canoe Lake. Under the direction of Thomson's older brother George, the body was exhumed two days later, and re-interred on July 21 in the family plot beside the Leith Presbyterian Church in what is now the Municipality of Meaford, Ontario.
In September 1917, J. E. H. MacDonald and John William Beatty erected a memorial cairn at Hayhurst Point on Canoe Lake, to honour Thomson where he died.
There has been much speculation about the circumstances of Thomson's death, including that he was murdered or committed suicide. Though these ideas lack substance, they have continued to persist in the popular culture. Andrew Hunter has pointed to Park ranger Mark Robinson as being largely responsible for the suggestion that there was more to his death than accidental drowning. Hunter expands on this thought, writing, "I am convinced that people's desire to believe the Thomson murder mystery/soap opera is rooted in the firmly fixed idea that he was an expert woodsman, intimate with nature. Such figures aren't supposed to die by 'accident.' If they do, it is like Grey Owl's being exposed as an Englishman."
== Art and technique ==
=== Artistic development ===
Thomson was largely self-taught. His experiences as a graphic designer with Toronto's Grip Ltd. honed his draughtsmanship. Although he began painting and drawing at an early age, it was only in 1912, when he was well into his thirties, that he began to paint seriously. His first trips to Algonquin Park inspired him to follow the lead of fellow artists in producing oil sketches of natural scenes on small, rectangular panels for easy portability while travelling. Between 1912 and his death in 1917, Thomson produced hundreds of these small sketches, many of which are now considered works in their own right, and are mostly found in the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg and the Tom Thomson Art Gallery in Owen Sound.
Thomson produced nearly all of his works between 1912 and 1917. Most of his large canvases were completed in his most productive period, from late 1916 to early 1917. The patronage of James MacCallum enabled Thomson's transition from graphic designer to professional painter. Although the Group of Seven was not founded until after his death, his work was sympathetic to that of group members A. Y. Jackson, Frederick Varley, and Arthur Lismer. These artists shared an appreciation for rugged, unkempt natural scenery, and all used broad brush strokes and a liberal application of paint to capture the beauty and colour of the Ontario landscape. Thomson's art also bears some stylistic resemblance to the work of European Post-Impressionists such as Vincent van Gogh. Other key influences were the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, styles with which he became familiar while working in the graphic arts.
Thomson's artwork is typically divided into two bodies: the first are the small oil sketches on wood panels, of which there are around 400, and the second is of around 50 larger works on canvas. The smaller sketches were typically done en plein air in "the North", primarily Algonquin Park, in the spring, summer and fall. Mark Robinson later recounted that Thomson usually had a particular motif he wanted to depict before going into nature to find a comparison. The larger canvases were instead completed over the winter in Thomson's studio—an old utility shack with a wood-burning stove on the grounds of the Studio Building, an artist's enclave in Rosedale, Toronto. About a dozen of the major canvases were derived directly from smaller sketches. Paintings like Northern River, Spring Ice, The Jack Pine and The West Wind were only later expanded into larger oil paintings.
Sketches from 1913 and earlier use a variety of supports, including canvas laid down on paperboard, canvas laid down on wood and commercial canvas-board. In 1914, he began to favour the larger birch wood panels used by A. Y. Jackson, typically measuring around 21.6 × 26.7 cm (8½ × 10½ in.). From late 1914 on, Thomson alternated between painting on these inexpensive pieces of wood—some from crates, bookbinder's board, and other assorted sources—and composite wood-pulp boards.
Although the sketches were produced quickly, the canvases were developed over weeks or even months. Compared to the panels, they display an "inherent formality", and lack much of the "energy, spontaneity, and immediacy" of the original sketches. The transition from small to large required a reinvention or elaboration of the original details; by comparing sketches with their respective canvases, one can see the changes Thomson made in colour, detail and background textural patterns. Although few of the larger paintings were sold during his lifetime, they formed the basis of posthumous exhibitions, including one at Wembley in London in 1924, that eventually brought his work to international attention.
Described as having an "idiosyncratic palette", Thomson had exceptional control of colour. He often mixed available pigments to create new, unusual colours that, along with his brushwork, made his art instantly recognizable regardless of its subject. His painting style and the atmosphere, colours and forms of his work influenced the work of his colleagues and friends, especially Jackson, Lismer, MacDonald, Harris and Carmichael.
=== Series and themes ===
==== Trees ====
Thomson's most famous paintings are his depictions of pine trees, particularly The Jack Pine and The West Wind. David Silcox has described these paintings as "the visual equivalent of a national anthem, for they have come to represent the spirit of the whole country, notwithstanding the fact that vast tracts of Canada have no pine trees", and as "so majestic and memorable that nearly everyone knows them". Arthur Lismer described them similarly, saying that the tree in The West Wind was a symbol of the Canadian character, unyielding to the wind and emblematic of steadfastness and resolution.
Thomson had a great enthusiasm for trees and worked to capture their forms, their surrounding locations, and the effect of the seasons on them. He normally depicted trees as amalgamated masses, giving "form structure and colour by dragging paint in bold strokes over an underlying tone". His favourite motif was of a slight hill next to a body of water. His enthusiasm is especially apparent in an anecdote from Ernest Freure, who invited Thomson to camp on an island on Georgian Bay:
One day while we were together on my island, I was talking to Tom about my plans for cleaning up the dead wood and trees and I said I was going to cut down all the trees but he said, "No, don't do that, they are beautiful."
The theme of the single tree is common in Art Nouveau, while the motif of the lone, heroic tree goes back even further to at least Caspar David Friedrich and early German Romanticism. Thomson may also have been influenced by the work of MacDonald while working at Grip Limited. MacDonald in turn was influenced by the landscape art of John Constable, whose work he likely saw while in England from 1903 to 1906. Constable's art influenced Thomson's as well, something apparent when Constable's Stoke-by-Nayland (c. 1810–11) is compared with Thomson's Poplars by a Lake.
Thomson's earlier paintings were closer to literal renderings of the trees in front of him, and as he progressed the trees became more expressive as Thomson amplified their individual qualities. Byng Inlet, Georgian Bay shows the broken, high-keyed colour that Thomson and his colleagues experimented with later in his career, and is similar to Lismer's Sunglow. While Lismer only applied the technique to the water, Thomson applied it throughout the composition. According to MacCallum, Thomson worked on Pine Island, Georgian Bay over an extended period. He wrote that this painting had "more emotion and feeling than any other of [Thomson's] canvases". In contrast, MacDonald found it "rather commonplace in color & composition & not representative of Thomson at his best".
==== Skies ====
Thomson was preoccupied with capturing the sky, especially near the end of his career from 1915 onward. Paintings like Sunset—which was painted at water level in a canoe—illustrate his excited brushstrokes in capturing the lake's reflection. The painting was done over a grey-green ground, adding depth to both the light of the sky and the reflecting water. Paintings from 1913 and on consistently utilize the perspective of the canoe, with a narrow foreground of water, a distant shoreline and a dominating sky.
The 1915 volcanic eruption of Lassen Peak in California provided dramatic sunrises and sunsets in the northern hemisphere for the year. These skies provided artistic inspiration for Thomson and other artists in the same way that the eruption of Krakatoa in the previous century had inspired Edvard Munch. Sky effects were one of Thomson's main interests for the entire year, indicated by his heightened use of colour.
Harold Town has compared Sky (The Light That Never Was) to the works of J. M. W. Turner. In particular, he notes the way that the sky "[creeps] into the landscape, big rhythms supplanting small movement". The horizon disappears and pure movement is left behind.
==== Nocturnes ====
Thomson produced more nocturnes than the rest of the Group of Seven combined—roughly two dozen. MacCallum recalled that Thomson often spent his nights lying in his canoe in the middle of the lake, stargazing and avoiding mosquitoes. Besides capturing the nighttime sky, he also captured silhouettes of spruce and birch trees, lumber camps, two moose emerging from water and the northern lights, painting five different sketches of the aurora.
Mark Robinson recounted that Thomson stood and contemplated the aurora for an extended period of time before going back into his cabin to paint by lamplight. He sometimes completed nocturnes this way, going back and forth between painting indoors and looking at the subject outside until he completed the sketch. Other times, given the difficulty of painting by moonlight, many of the nocturnes were painted entirely from memory. MacCallum confirmed that the sketch Moose at Night was completed in this way, writing on the back "Winter 1916—at studio", implying it was probably painted in Toronto. His moonlight paintings use a "dreamy, pale-toned style", applying the techniques of Impressionism in his observations of light, reflection and atmosphere.
==== Flowers ====
As was typical for painters of the early twentieth century, Thomson produced still lifes of flowers, all of which appear in the form of sketches. His love of flowers may have developed from his father who, as a neighbour noted, had "a permanent half acre of a really good garden which was always worth going to see". Thomson's time spent as a child collecting samples with his naturalist relative William Brodie may have similarly influenced him, though his interest in painting flowers seems to have been more focused on patterning and decoration than on the horticultural specifics of the subject.
These paintings, especially Marguerites, Wood Lilies and Vetch and Wildflowers, are particularly powerful examples of the genre. J. E. H. MacDonald—himself deeply invested in floral imagery—was so captured by Marguerites, Wood Lilies and Vetch that he kept it for himself, writing "Not For Sale" on the back. Thomson's work is contrasted from MacDonald's by what Joan Murray calls, "its elegant, slightly funky form and throwaway spontaneity." Lawren Harris instead noted Wildflowers as a favourite, writing "1st class" on the verso. The colour of the sketch is less brilliant, but has superb brushwork and is well coordinated, setting blues against yellows and reds against whites.
Responding to his subject with improvisation, every painting is different in its colour scheme and arrangement. In all the sketches, he redirected emphasis from the delicacy of the flowers towards simple broad strokes of colour, something Harold Town thought "[imparted] a toughness of design sometimes missing in his harder themes of rock and bracken". In Water Flowers particularly, the shapes are handled so summarily that the focus moves entirely to the colour of the flowers. This, combined with the black background, produces a more abstract effect. The black backdrop also causes the colours of the flowers to appear more vivid.
==== Industry in nature ====
During Thomson's time in Algonquin Park, logging and the lumber industry were a constant presence. He often painted the machinery left behind by lumber companies; Lismer, MacDonald and he were especially drawn to the subject. A. Y. Jackson wrote, It was a ragged country; a lumber company had slashed it up, and fire had run through it ... Thomson was much indebted to the lumber companies. They had built dams and log chutes, and had made clearings for camps. But for them, the landscape would have been just bush, difficult to travel in and with nothing to paint.
Around 1916, Thomson followed the drive of logs down the Madawaska River, painting the subject in The Drive. MacDonald similarly expressed the drive in his 1915 painting Logs on the Gatineau. Besides the dams, pointer and alligator boats and log drives that appear in Thomson's work, other less obvious depictions of the lumber industry are evident. For example, areas cleared out due to logging appear in early sketches, such as Canoe Lake (1913) and Red Forest. The painting Drowned Land similarly displays the damage caused by logging operations and flooding due to damming. As well, the white birches present in many paintings only thrive in "sunny, open areas whose previous tree cover had been removed", meaning that logging was in some way necessary for them to flourish.
Thomson's and the Group of Seven's work reflects the typical Canadian attitudes of the time, namely that the available natural resources were meant to be exploited. Harold Town has argued that, while Thomson was not directly critical of industry, mining and logging, he "did not glorify industry in the bush." Paul Walton of McMaster University noted that Thomson occasionally referenced both the lumbering and tourism practices of Algonquin Park and "did not entirely ignore the damaging effects of logging on the environment ... but for the most part he concentrated on newly opened vista of sky and water or on finding decorative patterns of colour, form, and texture in the tangle of underbrush, smaller trees, and bared rock, the 'bush' that was often the remnant of the original forest." Jackson first noted these distinctions in Thomson's works, from those "showing a low shore line and a big sky" and those "finding happy color motives amid [the] tangle and confusion" of "his waste of rock and swamp."
==== People ====
Thomson, like most of the members of the Group of Seven, rarely painted people. When he did, the human subject was usually someone close to him personally, such as the depiction of Shannon Fraser In the Sugar Bush. Harold Town observed that both Thomson and Canadian artist David Milne "shared in common a similar inability to draw the human figure", something professor John Wadland thought was "embarrassingly evident" in several of Thomson's portraits. Thomson's most successful attempts at capturing people typically feature figures far off in the distance, allowing them to blend in to the scene. This is apparent in paintings like Little Cauchon Lake, Bateaux, The Drive, The Pointers and Tea Lake Dam.
Town described paintings like Man with Axe (Lowery Dixon) Splitting Wood as stiff, yet still held together in a cohesive crudity. He described Figure of a Lady, Laura differently, interpreting it as a tender work, "well-designed and plainly expressed, this loving picture is so secure in intention that it survives, indeed triumphs, over the severe cracking of the paint". The figure in The Poacher is recorded deliberately, including his hat, hunting vest and blue shirt. The hot coal grill in front of him is drying his poach—likely venison.
== Legacy and influence ==
Since his death, Thomson's work has grown in value and popularity. Group of Seven member Arthur Lismer wrote that he "is the manifestation of the Canadian character". Another contemporaneous Canadian painter, David Milne, wrote to National Gallery of Canada Director H. O. McCurry in 1930, "Your Canadian art apparently, for now at least, went down in Canoe Lake. Tom Thomson still stands as the Canadian painter, harsh, brilliant, brittle, uncouth, not only most Canadian but most creative. How the few things of his stick in one's mind." Murray notes that Thomson's influence can be seen in the work of later Canadian artists, including Rae Johnson, Joyce Wieland, Gordon Rayner and Michael Snow. Sherrill Grace wrote that for Roy Kiyooka and Dennis Lee, he "is a haunting presence" and "embodies the Canadian artistic identity". Canadian contemporary artists still cite Thomson as an influence, particularly Kim Dorland.
As of 2015, the highest price achieved by a Thomson sketch was Early Spring, Canoe Lake, which sold in 2009 for CAD$2,749,500. Few major canvases remain in private collections, making the record unlikely to be broken. One example of the demand his work has achieved is the previously lost Sketch for Lake in Algonquin Park; discovered in an Edmonton basement in 2018, it sold for nearly half a million dollars at a Toronto auction. The increased value of his work has led to the discovery of numerous forgeries on the market, such as those produced by convicted forger William Firth MacGregor. Art historian Joan Murray assembled a catalogue raisonné of Thomson works until her retirement in 2016.
In 1967, the Tom Thomson Art Gallery opened in Owen Sound. In 1968, Thomson's shack from behind the Studio Building was moved to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg. Many of his works are also on display at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario. In 2004, another historical marker honouring Thomson was moved from its previous location near the centre of Leith to the graveyard in which he is now buried. The gravesite has become a popular spot for visitors to the area with many fans of his work leaving pennies or art supplies behind as tribute.
Though best known for his painting, Thomson is often mythologized as a veritable outdoorsman. James MacCallum contributed stories to this image. He has often been remembered as an expert canoeist, though David Silcox has argued that this image is romanticized. In the case of fishing, he was no doubt proficient. He had a deep love of fishing for his entire life, so much so that his reputation through Algonquin Park was equally divided between art and angling. Most who visited the Park were led by hired guides, but he travelled through the park on his own. Many of his fishing locations appear in his work. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelson%E2%80%93Morley_experiment | Michelson–Morley experiment | The Michelson–Morley experiment was an attempt to measure the motion of the Earth relative to the luminiferous aether, a supposed medium permeating space that was thought to be the carrier of light waves. The experiment was performed between April and July 1887 by American physicists Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley at what is now Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and published in November of the same year.
The experiment compared the speed of light in perpendicular directions in an attempt to detect the relative motion of matter, including their laboratory, through the luminiferous aether, or "aether wind" as it was sometimes called. The result was negative, in that Michelson and Morley found no significant difference between the speed of light in the direction of movement through the presumed aether, and the speed at right angles. This result is generally considered to be the first strong evidence against some aether theories, as well as initiating a line of research that eventually led to special relativity, which rules out motion against an aether. Of this experiment, Albert Einstein wrote, "If the Michelson–Morley experiment had not brought us into serious embarrassment, no one would have regarded the relativity theory as a (halfway) redemption."
Michelson–Morley type experiments have been repeated many times with steadily increasing sensitivity. These include experiments from 1902 to 1905, and a series of experiments in the 1920s. More recently, in 2009, optical resonator experiments confirmed the absence of any aether wind at the 10−17 level. Together with the Ives–Stilwell and Kennedy–Thorndike experiments, Michelson–Morley type experiments form one of the fundamental tests of special relativity.
== Detecting the aether ==
Physics theories of the 19th century assumed that just as surface water waves must have a supporting substance, i.e., a "medium", to move across (in this case water), and audible sound requires a medium to transmit its wave motions (such as air or water), so light must also require a medium, the "luminiferous aether", to transmit its wave motions. Because light can travel through a vacuum, it was assumed that even a vacuum must be filled with aether. Because the speed of light is so great, and because material bodies pass through the aether without obvious friction or drag, it was assumed to have a highly unusual combination of properties. Designing experiments to investigate these properties was a high priority of 19th-century physics.
Earth orbits around the Sun at a speed of around 30 km/s (19 mi/s), or 107,000 km/h (66,000 mph). The Earth is in motion, so two main possibilities were considered: (1) The aether is stationary and only partially dragged by Earth (proposed by Augustin-Jean Fresnel in 1818), or (2) the aether is completely dragged by Earth and thus shares its motion at Earth's surface (proposed by George Stokes in 1844). In addition, James Clerk Maxwell (1865) recognized the electromagnetic nature of light and developed what are now called Maxwell's equations, but these equations were still interpreted as describing the motion of waves through an aether, whose state of motion was unknown. Eventually, Fresnel's idea of an (almost) stationary aether was preferred because it appeared to be confirmed by the Fizeau experiment (1851) and the aberration of star light.
According to the stationary and the partially dragged aether hypotheses, Earth and the aether are in relative motion, implying that a so-called "aether wind" (Fig. 2) should exist. Although it would be theoretically possible for the Earth's motion to match that of the aether at one moment in time, it was not possible for the Earth to remain at rest with respect to the aether at all times, because of the variation in both the direction and the speed of the motion. At any given point on the Earth's surface, the magnitude and direction of the wind would vary with time of day and season. By analyzing the return speed of light in different directions at various different times, it was thought to be possible to measure the motion of the Earth relative to the aether. The expected relative difference in the measured speed of light was quite small, given that the velocity of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun has a magnitude of about one hundredth of one percent of the speed of light.
During the mid-19th century, measurements of aether wind effects of first order, i.e., effects proportional to v/c (v being Earth's velocity, c the speed of light) were thought to be possible, but no direct measurement of the speed of light was possible with the accuracy required. For instance, the Fizeau wheel could measure the speed of light to perhaps 5% accuracy, which was quite inadequate for measuring directly a first-order 0.01% change in the speed of light. A number of physicists therefore attempted to make measurements of indirect first-order effects not of the speed of light itself, but of variations in the speed of light (see First order aether-drift experiments). The Hoek experiment, for example, was intended to detect interferometric fringe shifts due to speed differences of oppositely propagating light waves through water at rest. The results of such experiments were all negative. This could be explained by using Fresnel's dragging coefficient, according to which the aether and thus light are partially dragged by moving matter. Partial aether-dragging would thwart attempts to measure any first order change in the speed of light. As pointed out by Maxwell (1878), only experimental arrangements capable of measuring second order effects would have any hope of detecting aether drift, i.e., effects proportional to v2/c2. Existing experimental setups, however, were not sensitive enough to measure effects of that size.
== 1881 and 1887 experiments ==
=== Michelson experiment (1881) ===
Michelson had a solution to the problem of how to construct a device sufficiently accurate to detect aether flow. In 1877, while teaching at his alma mater, the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Michelson conducted his first known light speed experiments as a part of a classroom demonstration. In 1881, he left active U.S. Naval service while in Germany concluding his studies. In that year, Michelson used a prototype experimental device to make several more measurements.
The device he designed, later known as a Michelson interferometer, sent yellow light from a sodium flame (for alignment), or white light (for the actual observations), through a half-silvered mirror that was used to split it into two beams traveling at right angles to one another. After leaving the splitter, the beams traveled out to the ends of long arms where they were reflected back into the middle by small mirrors. They then recombined on the far side of the splitter in an eyepiece, producing a pattern of constructive and destructive interference whose transverse displacement would depend on the relative time it takes light to transit the longitudinal vs. the transverse arms. If the Earth is traveling through an aether medium, a light beam traveling parallel to the flow of that aether will take longer to reflect back and forth than would a beam traveling perpendicular to the aether, because the increase in elapsed time from traveling against the aether wind is more than the time saved by traveling with the aether wind. Michelson expected that the Earth's motion would produce a fringe shift equal to 0.04 fringes—that is, of the separation between areas of the same intensity. He did not observe the expected shift; the greatest average deviation that he measured (in the northwest direction) was only 0.018 fringes; most of his measurements were much less. His conclusion was that Fresnel's hypothesis of a stationary aether with partial aether dragging would have to be rejected, and thus he confirmed Stokes' hypothesis of complete aether dragging.
However, Alfred Potier (and later Hendrik Lorentz) pointed out to Michelson that he had made an error of calculation, and that the expected fringe shift should have been only 0.02 fringes. Michelson's apparatus was subject to experimental errors far too large to say anything conclusive about the aether wind. Definitive measurement of the aether wind would require an experiment with greater accuracy and better controls than the original. Nevertheless, the prototype was successful in demonstrating that the basic method was feasible.
=== Michelson–Morley experiment (1887) ===
In 1885, Michelson began a collaboration with Edward Morley, spending considerable time and money to confirm with higher accuracy Fizeau's 1851 experiment on Fresnel's drag coefficient, to improve on Michelson's 1881 experiment, and to establish the wavelength of light as a standard of length. John Brashear made the high-quality optics for the Interferometer in his Allegheny-Observatory-affiliated shop. At this time Michelson was professor of physics at the Case School of Applied Science, and Morley was professor of chemistry at Western Reserve University (WRU), which shared a campus with the Case School on the eastern edge of Cleveland. Michelson suffered a mental health crisis in September 1885, from which he recovered by October 1885. Morley ascribed this breakdown to the intense work of Michelson during the preparation of the experiments. In 1886, Michelson and Morley successfully confirmed Fresnel's drag coefficient—this result was also considered as a confirmation of the stationary aether concept.
This result strengthened their hope of finding the aether wind. Michelson and Morley created an improved version of the Michelson experiment with more than enough accuracy to detect this hypothetical effect. The experiment was performed in several periods of concentrated observations between April and July 1887, in the basement of Adelbert Dormitory of WRU (later renamed Pierce Hall, demolished in 1962).
As shown in the diagram to the right, the light was repeatedly reflected back and forth along the arms of the interferometer, increasing the path length to 11 m (36 ft). At this length, the drift would be about 0.4 fringes. To make that easily detectable, the apparatus was assembled in a closed room in the basement of the heavy stone dormitory, eliminating most thermal and vibrational effects. Vibrations were further reduced by building the apparatus on top of a large block of sandstone (Fig. 1), about a foot thick and five feet (1.5 m) square, which was then floated in a circular trough of mercury. They estimated that effects of about 0.01 fringe would be detectable.
Michelson and Morley and other early experimentalists using interferometric techniques in an attempt to measure the properties of the luminiferous aether, used (partially) monochromatic light only for initially setting up their equipment, always switching to white light for the actual measurements. The reason is that measurements were recorded visually. Purely monochromatic light would result in a uniform fringe pattern. Lacking modern means of environmental temperature control, experimentalists struggled with continual fringe drift even when the interferometer was set up in a basement. Because the fringes would occasionally disappear due to vibrations caused by passing horse traffic, distant thunderstorms and the like, an observer could easily "get lost" when the fringes returned to visibility. The advantages of white light, which produced a distinctive colored fringe pattern, far outweighed the difficulties of aligning the apparatus due to its low coherence length. As Dayton Miller wrote, "White light fringes were chosen for the observations because they consist of a small group of fringes having a central, sharply defined black fringe which forms a permanent zero reference mark for all readings." Use of partially monochromatic light (yellow sodium light) during initial alignment enabled the researchers to locate the position of equal path length, more or less easily, before switching to white light.
The mercury trough allowed the device to turn with close to zero friction, so that once having given the sandstone block a single push it would slowly rotate through the entire range of possible angles to the "aether wind", while measurements were continuously observed by looking through the eyepiece. The hypothesis of aether drift implies that because one of the arms would inevitably turn into the direction of the wind at the same time that another arm was turning perpendicularly to the wind, an effect should be noticeable even over a period of minutes.
The expectation was that the effect would be graphable as a sine wave with two peaks and two troughs per rotation of the device. This result could have been expected because during each full rotation, each arm would be parallel to the wind twice (facing into and away from the wind giving identical readings) and perpendicular to the wind twice. Additionally, due to the Earth's rotation, the wind would be expected to show periodic changes in direction and magnitude during the course of a sidereal day.
Because of the motion of the Earth around the Sun, the measured data were also expected to show annual variations.
=== Most famous "failed" experiment ===
After all this thought and preparation, the experiment became what has been called the most famous failed experiment in history. Instead of providing insight into the properties of the aether, Michelson and Morley's article in the American Journal of Science reported the measurement to be as small as one-fortieth of the expected displacement (Fig. 7), but "since the displacement is proportional to the square of the velocity" they concluded that the measured velocity was "probably less than one-sixth" of the expected velocity of the Earth's motion in orbit and "certainly less than one-fourth". Although this small "velocity" was measured, it was considered far too small to be used as evidence of speed relative to the aether, and it was understood to be within the range of an experimental error that would allow the speed to actually be zero. For instance, Michelson wrote about the "decidedly negative result" in a letter to Lord Rayleigh in August 1887:
The Experiments on the relative motion of the earth and ether have been completed and the result decidedly negative. The expected deviation of the interference fringes from the zero should have been 0.40 of a fringe—the maximum displacement was 0.02 and the average much less than 0.01—and then not in the right place. As displacement is proportional to squares of the relative velocities it follows that if the ether does slip past the relative velocity is less than one sixth of the earth's velocity.
From the standpoint of the then current aether models, the experimental results were conflicting. The Fizeau experiment and its 1886 repetition by Michelson and Morley apparently confirmed the stationary aether with partial aether dragging, and refuted complete aether dragging. On the other hand, the much more precise Michelson–Morley experiment (1887) apparently confirmed complete aether dragging and refuted the stationary aether. In addition, the Michelson–Morley null result was further substantiated by the null results of other second-order experiments of different kind, namely the Trouton–Noble experiment (1903) and the experiments of Rayleigh and Brace (1902–1904). These problems and their solution led to the development of the Lorentz transformation and special relativity.
After the "failed" experiment Michelson and Morley ceased their aether drift measurements and started to use their newly developed technique to establish the wavelength of light as a standard of length.
== Light path analysis and consequences ==
=== Observer resting in the aether ===
The beam travel time in the longitudinal direction can be derived as follows: Light is sent from the source and propagates with the speed of light
c
{\textstyle c}
in the aether. It passes through the half-silvered mirror at the origin at
T
=
0
{\textstyle T=0}
. The reflecting mirror is at that moment at distance
L
{\textstyle L}
(the length of the interferometer arm) and is moving with velocity
v
{\textstyle v}
. The beam hits the mirror at time
T
1
{\textstyle T_{1}}
and thus travels the distance
c
T
1
{\textstyle cT_{1}}
. At this time, the mirror has traveled the distance
v
T
1
{\textstyle vT_{1}}
. Thus
c
T
1
=
L
+
v
T
1
{\textstyle cT_{1}=L+vT_{1}}
and consequently the travel time
T
1
=
L
/
(
c
−
v
)
{\textstyle T_{1}=L/(c-v)}
. The same consideration applies to the backward journey, with the sign of
v
{\textstyle v}
reversed, resulting in
c
T
2
=
L
−
v
T
2
{\textstyle cT_{2}=L-vT_{2}}
and
T
2
=
L
/
(
c
+
v
)
{\textstyle T_{2}=L/(c+v)}
. The total travel time
T
ℓ
=
T
1
+
T
2
{\textstyle T_{\ell }=T_{1}+T_{2}}
is:
T
ℓ
=
L
c
−
v
+
L
c
+
v
=
2
L
c
1
1
−
v
2
c
2
≈
2
L
c
(
1
+
v
2
c
2
)
{\displaystyle T_{\ell }={\frac {L}{c-v}}+{\frac {L}{c+v}}={\frac {2L}{c}}{\frac {1}{1-{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}}}}\approx {\frac {2L}{c}}\left(1+{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}}\right)}
Michelson obtained this expression correctly in 1881, however, in transverse direction he obtained the incorrect expression
T
t
=
2
L
c
,
{\displaystyle T_{t}={\frac {2L}{c}},}
because he overlooked the increase in path length in the rest frame of the aether. This was corrected by Alfred Potier (1882) and Hendrik Lorentz (1886). The derivation in the transverse direction can be given as follows (analogous to the derivation of time dilation using a light clock): The beam is propagating at the speed of light
c
{\textstyle c}
and hits the mirror at time
T
3
{\textstyle T_{3}}
, traveling the distance
c
T
3
{\textstyle cT_{3}}
. At the same time, the mirror has traveled the distance
v
T
3
{\textstyle vT_{3}}
in the x direction. So in order to hit the mirror, the travel path of the beam is
L
{\textstyle L}
in the y direction (assuming equal-length arms) and
v
T
3
{\textstyle vT_{3}}
in the x direction. This inclined travel path follows from the transformation from the interferometer rest frame to the aether rest frame. Therefore, the Pythagorean theorem gives the actual beam travel distance of
L
2
+
(
v
T
3
)
2
{\textstyle {\sqrt {L^{2}+\left(vT_{3}\right)^{2}}}}
. Thus
c
T
3
=
L
2
+
(
v
T
3
)
2
{\textstyle cT_{3}={\sqrt {L^{2}+\left(vT_{3}\right)^{2}}}}
and consequently the travel time
T
3
=
L
/
c
2
−
v
2
{\textstyle T_{3}=L/{\sqrt {c^{2}-v^{2}}}}
, which is the same for the backward journey. The total travel time
T
t
=
2
T
3
{\textstyle T_{t}=2T_{3}}
is:
T
t
=
2
L
c
2
−
v
2
=
2
L
c
1
1
−
v
2
c
2
≈
2
L
c
(
1
+
v
2
2
c
2
)
{\displaystyle T_{t}={\frac {2L}{\sqrt {c^{2}-v^{2}}}}={\frac {2L}{c}}{\frac {1}{\sqrt {1-{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}}}}}\approx {\frac {2L}{c}}\left(1+{\frac {v^{2}}{2c^{2}}}\right)}
The time difference between
T
ℓ
{\displaystyle T_{\ell }}
and
T
t
{\displaystyle T_{t}}
is given by
T
ℓ
−
T
t
=
2
L
c
(
1
1
−
v
2
c
2
−
1
1
−
v
2
c
2
)
{\displaystyle T_{\ell }-T_{t}={\frac {2L}{c}}\left({\frac {1}{1-{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}}}}-{\frac {1}{\sqrt {1-{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}}}}}\right)}
To find the path difference, simply multiply by
c
{\displaystyle c}
;
Δ
λ
1
=
2
L
(
1
1
−
v
2
c
2
−
1
1
−
v
2
c
2
)
{\displaystyle \Delta {\lambda }_{1}=2L\left({\frac {1}{1-{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}}}}-{\frac {1}{\sqrt {1-{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}}}}}\right)}
The path difference is denoted by
Δ
λ
{\displaystyle \Delta \lambda }
because the beams are out of phase by a some number of wavelengths (
λ
{\displaystyle \lambda }
). To visualise this, consider taking the two beam paths along the longitudinal and transverse plane, and lying them straight (an animation of this is shown at minute 11:00, The Mechanical Universe, episode 41). One path will be longer than the other, this distance is
Δ
λ
{\displaystyle \Delta \lambda }
. Alternatively, consider the rearrangement of the speed of light formula
c
Δ
T
=
Δ
λ
{\displaystyle c{\Delta }T=\Delta \lambda }
.
If the relation
v
2
/
c
2
<<
1
{\displaystyle {v^{2}}/{c^{2}}<<1}
is true (if the velocity of the aether is small relative to the speed of light), then the expression can be simplified using a first order binomial expansion;
(
1
−
x
)
n
≈
1
−
n
x
{\displaystyle (1-x)^{n}\approx {1-nx}}
So, rewriting the above in terms of powers;
Δ
λ
1
=
2
L
(
(
1
−
v
2
c
2
)
−
1
−
(
1
−
v
2
c
2
)
−
1
/
2
)
{\displaystyle \Delta {\lambda }_{1}=2L\left(\left({1-{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}}}\right)^{-1}-\left(1-{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}}\right)^{-1/2}\right)}
Applying binomial simplification;
Δ
λ
1
=
2
L
(
(
1
+
v
2
c
2
)
−
(
1
+
v
2
2
c
2
)
)
=
2
L
v
2
2
c
2
{\displaystyle \Delta {\lambda }_{1}=2L\left((1+{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}})-(1+{\frac {v^{2}}{2c^{2}}})\right)={2L}{\frac {v^{2}}{2c^{2}}}}
Therefore;
Δ
λ
1
=
L
v
2
c
2
{\displaystyle \Delta {\lambda }_{1}={L}{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}}}
The derivation above shows that the presence of an aether wind would produce a difference in optical path lengths between the two arms of the interferometer. This path difference depends on the orientation of the interferometer relative to the aether wind. Specifically, the derivation assumes that the longitudinal arm is aligned parallel to the presumed direction of the aether wind. If instead the longitudinal arm is oriented perpendicular to the aether wind, the resulting path difference would have the opposite sign.
The magnitude of the path difference can vary continuously and may represent any fraction of the wavelength, depending on both the angle between the apparatus and the aether wind and the wind's speed.
To detect the existence of the aether, Michelson and Morley aimed to observe a "fringe shift" in the interference pattern. The underlying principle is straightforward: when the interferometer is rotated by 90°, the roles of the two arms are exchanged, altering the path difference due to the aether wind. The fringe shift is determined by calculating the difference in path differences between the two orientations, and then dividing that value by the wavelength.
n
=
Δ
λ
1
−
Δ
λ
2
λ
≈
2
L
v
2
λ
c
2
.
{\displaystyle n={\frac {\Delta \lambda _{1}-\Delta \lambda _{2}}{\lambda }}\approx {\frac {2Lv^{2}}{\lambda c^{2}}}.}
Note the difference between
Δ
λ
{\displaystyle \Delta \lambda }
, which is some number of wavelengths, and
λ
{\displaystyle \lambda }
which is a single wavelength. As can be seen by this relation, fringe shift n is a unitless quantity.
Since L ≈ 11 meters and λ ≈ 500 nanometers, the expected fringe shift was n ≈ 0.44. The negative result led Michelson to the conclusion that there is no measurable aether drift. However, he never accepted this on a personal level, and the negative result haunted him for the rest of his life.
=== Observer comoving with the interferometer ===
If the same situation is described from the view of an observer co-moving with the interferometer, then the effect of aether wind is similar to the effect experienced by a swimmer, who tries to move with velocity
c
{\textstyle c}
against a river flowing with velocity
v
{\textstyle v}
.
In the longitudinal direction the swimmer first moves upstream, so his velocity is diminished due to the river flow to
c
−
v
{\textstyle c-v}
. On his way back moving downstream, his velocity is increased to
c
+
v
{\textstyle c+v}
. This gives the beam travel times
T
1
{\textstyle T_{1}}
and
T
2
{\textstyle T_{2}}
as mentioned above.
In the transverse direction, the swimmer has to compensate for the river flow by moving at a certain angle against the flow direction, in order to sustain his exact transverse direction of motion and to reach the other side of the river at the correct location. This diminishes his speed to
c
2
−
v
2
{\textstyle {\sqrt {c^{2}-v^{2}}}}
, and gives the beam travel time
T
3
{\textstyle T_{3}}
as mentioned above.
=== Mirror reflection ===
The classical analysis predicted a relative phase shift between the longitudinal and transverse beams which in Michelson and Morley's apparatus should have been readily measurable. What is not often appreciated (since there was no means of measuring it), is that motion through the hypothetical aether should also have caused the two beams to diverge as they emerged from the interferometer by about 10−8 radians.
For an apparatus in motion, the classical analysis requires that the beam-splitting mirror be slightly offset from an exact 45° if the longitudinal and transverse beams are to emerge from the apparatus exactly superimposed. In the relativistic analysis, Lorentz-contraction of the beam splitter in the direction of motion causes it to become more perpendicular by precisely the amount necessary to compensate for the angle discrepancy of the two beams.
=== Length contraction and Lorentz transformation ===
A first step to explaining the Michelson and Morley experiment's null result was found in the FitzGerald–Lorentz contraction hypothesis, now simply called length contraction or Lorentz contraction, first proposed by George FitzGerald (1889) in a letter to same journal that published the Michelson-Morley paper, as "almost the only hypothesis that can reconcile" the apparent contradictions. It was independently also proposed by Hendrik Lorentz (1892). According to this law all objects physically contract by
L
/
γ
{\textstyle L/\gamma }
along the line of motion (originally thought to be relative to the aether),
γ
=
1
/
1
−
v
2
/
c
2
{\textstyle \gamma =1/{\sqrt {1-v^{2}/c^{2}}}}
being the Lorentz factor. This hypothesis was partly motivated by Oliver Heaviside's discovery in 1888 that electrostatic fields are contracting in the line of motion. But since there was no reason at that time to assume that binding forces in matter are of electric origin, length contraction of matter in motion with respect to the aether was considered an ad hoc hypothesis.
If length contraction of
L
{\textstyle L}
is inserted into the above formula for
T
ℓ
{\textstyle T_{\ell }}
, then the light propagation time in the longitudinal direction becomes equal to that in the transverse direction:
T
ℓ
=
2
L
1
−
v
2
c
2
c
1
1
−
v
2
c
2
=
2
L
c
1
1
−
v
2
c
2
=
T
t
{\displaystyle T_{\ell }={\frac {2L{\sqrt {1-{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}}}}}{c}}{\frac {1}{1-{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}}}}={\frac {2L}{c}}{\frac {1}{\sqrt {1-{\frac {v^{2}}{c^{2}}}}}}=T_{t}}
However, length contraction is only a special case of the more general relation, according to which the transverse length is larger than the longitudinal length by the ratio
γ
{\textstyle \gamma }
. This can be achieved in many ways. If
L
1
{\textstyle L_{1}}
is the moving longitudinal length and
L
2
{\textstyle L_{2}}
the moving transverse length,
L
1
′
=
L
2
′
{\textstyle L'_{1}=L'_{2}}
being the rest lengths, then it is given:
L
2
L
1
=
L
2
′
φ
/
L
1
′
γ
φ
=
γ
.
{\displaystyle {\frac {L_{2}}{L_{1}}}={\frac {L'_{2}}{\varphi }}\left/{\frac {L'_{1}}{\gamma \varphi }}\right.=\gamma .}
φ
{\textstyle \varphi }
can be arbitrarily chosen, so there are infinitely many combinations to explain the Michelson–Morley null result. For instance, if
φ
=
1
{\textstyle \varphi =1}
the relativistic value of length contraction of
L
1
{\textstyle L_{1}}
occurs, but if
φ
=
1
/
γ
{\textstyle \varphi =1/\gamma }
then no length contraction but an elongation of
L
2
{\textstyle L_{2}}
occurs. This hypothesis was later extended by Joseph Larmor (1897), Lorentz (1904) and Henri Poincaré (1905), who developed the complete Lorentz transformation including time dilation in order to explain the Trouton–Noble experiment, the Experiments of Rayleigh and Brace, and Kaufmann's experiments. It has the form
x
′
=
γ
φ
(
x
−
v
t
)
,
y
′
=
φ
y
,
z
′
=
φ
z
,
t
′
=
γ
φ
(
t
−
v
x
c
2
)
{\displaystyle x'=\gamma \varphi (x-vt),\ y'=\varphi y,\ z'=\varphi z,\ t'=\gamma \varphi \left(t-{\frac {vx}{c^{2}}}\right)}
It remained to define the value of
φ
{\textstyle \varphi }
, which was shown by Lorentz (1904) to be unity. In general, Poincaré (1905) demonstrated that only
φ
=
1
{\textstyle \varphi =1}
allows this transformation to form a group, so it is the only choice compatible with the principle of relativity, i.e., making the stationary aether undetectable. Given this, length contraction and time dilation obtain their exact relativistic values.
=== Special relativity ===
Albert Einstein formulated the theory of special relativity by 1905, deriving the Lorentz transformation and thus length contraction and time dilation from the relativity postulate and the constancy of the speed of light, thus removing the ad hoc character from the contraction hypothesis. Einstein emphasized the kinematic foundation of the theory and the modification of the notion of space and time, with the stationary aether no longer playing any role in his theory. He also pointed out the group character of the transformation. Einstein was motivated by Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism (in the form as it was given by Lorentz in 1895) and the lack of evidence for the luminiferous aether.
This allows a more elegant and intuitive explanation of the Michelson–Morley null result. In a comoving frame the null result is self-evident, since the apparatus can be considered as at rest in accordance with the relativity principle, thus the beam travel times are the same. In a frame relative to which the apparatus is moving, the same reasoning applies as described above in "Length contraction and Lorentz transformation", except the word "aether" has to be replaced by "non-comoving inertial frame". Einstein wrote in 1916:
Although the estimated difference between these two times is exceedingly small, Michelson and Morley performed an experiment involving interference in which this difference should have been clearly detectable. But the experiment gave a negative result—a fact very perplexing to physicists. Lorentz and FitzGerald rescued the theory from this difficulty by assuming that the motion of the body relative to the æther produces a contraction of the body in the direction of motion, the amount of contraction being just sufficient to compensate for the difference in time mentioned above. Comparison with the discussion in Section 11 shows that also from the standpoint of the theory of relativity this solution of the difficulty was the right one. But on the basis of the theory of relativity the method of interpretation is incomparably more satisfactory. According to this theory there is no such thing as a "specially favoured" (unique) co-ordinate system to occasion the introduction of the æther-idea, and hence there can be no æther-drift, nor any experiment with which to demonstrate it. Here the contraction of moving bodies follows from the two fundamental principles of the theory, without the introduction of particular hypotheses; and as the prime factor involved in this contraction we find, not the motion in itself, to which we cannot attach any meaning, but the motion with respect to the body of reference chosen in the particular case in point. Thus for a co-ordinate system moving with the earth the mirror system of Michelson and Morley is not shortened, but it is shortened for a co-ordinate system which is at rest relatively to the sun.
The extent to which the null result of the Michelson–Morley experiment influenced Einstein is disputed. Alluding to some statements of Einstein, many historians argue that it played no significant role in his path to special relativity, while other statements of Einstein probably suggest that he was influenced by it. In any case, the null result of the Michelson–Morley experiment helped the notion of the constancy of the speed of light gain widespread and rapid acceptance.
It was later shown by Howard Percy Robertson (1949) and others (see Robertson–Mansouri–Sexl test theory), that it is possible to derive the Lorentz transformation entirely from the combination of three experiments. First, the Michelson–Morley experiment showed that the speed of light is independent of the orientation of the apparatus, establishing the relationship between longitudinal (β) and transverse (δ) lengths. Then in 1932, Roy Kennedy and Edward Thorndike modified the Michelson–Morley experiment by making the path lengths of the split beam unequal, with one arm being very short. The Kennedy–Thorndike experiment took place for many months as the Earth moved around the Sun. Their negative result showed that the speed of light is independent of the velocity of the apparatus in different inertial frames. In addition it established that besides length changes, corresponding time changes must also occur, i.e., it established the relationship between longitudinal lengths (β) and time changes (α). So both experiments do not provide the individual values of these quantities. This uncertainty corresponds to the undefined factor
φ
{\textstyle \varphi }
as described above. It was clear due to theoretical reasons (the group character of the Lorentz transformation as required by the relativity principle) that the individual values of length contraction and time dilation must assume their exact relativistic form. But a direct measurement of one of these quantities was still desirable to confirm the theoretical results. This was achieved by the Ives–Stilwell experiment (1938), measuring α in accordance with time dilation. Combining this value for α with the Kennedy–Thorndike null result shows that β must assume the value of relativistic length contraction. Combining β with the Michelson–Morley null result shows that δ must be zero. Therefore, the Lorentz transformation with
φ
=
1
{\textstyle \varphi =1}
is an unavoidable consequence of the combination of these three experiments.
Special relativity is generally considered the solution to all negative aether drift (or isotropy of the speed of light) measurements, including the Michelson–Morley null result. Many high precision measurements have been conducted as tests of special relativity and modern searches for Lorentz violation in the photon, electron, nucleon, or neutrino sector, all of them confirming relativity.
=== Incorrect alternatives ===
As mentioned above, Michelson initially believed that his experiment would confirm Stokes' theory, according to which the aether was fully dragged in the vicinity of the Earth (see Aether drag hypothesis). However, complete aether drag contradicts the observed aberration of light and was contradicted by other experiments as well. In addition, Lorentz showed in 1886 that Stokes's attempt to explain aberration is contradictory.
Furthermore, the assumption that the aether is not carried in the vicinity, but only within matter, was very problematic as shown by the Hammar experiment (1935). Hammar directed one leg of his interferometer through a heavy metal pipe plugged with lead. If aether were dragged by mass, it was theorized that the mass of the sealed metal pipe would have been enough to cause a visible effect. Once again, no effect was seen, so aether-drag theories are considered to be disproven.
Walther Ritz's emission theory (or ballistic theory) was also consistent with the results of the experiment, not requiring aether. The theory postulates that light has always the same velocity in respect to the source. However de Sitter noted that emitter theory predicted several optical effects that were not seen in observations of binary stars in which the light from the two stars could be measured in a spectrometer. If emission theory were correct, the light from the stars should experience unusual fringe shifting due to the velocity of the stars being added to the speed of the light, but no such effect could be seen. It was later shown by J. G. Fox that the original de Sitter experiments were flawed due to extinction, but in 1977 Brecher observed X-rays from binary star systems with similar null results. Furthermore, Filippas and Fox (1964) conducted terrestrial particle accelerator tests specifically designed to address Fox's earlier "extinction" objection, the results being inconsistent with source dependence of the speed of light.
== Subsequent experiments ==
Although Michelson and Morley went on to different experiments after their first publication in 1887, both remained active in the field. Other versions of the experiment were carried out with increasing sophistication. Morley was not convinced of his own results, and went on to conduct additional experiments with Dayton Miller from 1902 to 1904. Again, the result was negative within the margins of error.
Miller worked on increasingly larger interferometers, culminating in one with a 32-meter (105 ft) (effective) arm length that he tried at various sites, including on top of a mountain at the Mount Wilson Observatory. To avoid the possibility of the aether wind being blocked by solid walls, his mountaintop observations used a special shed with thin walls, mainly of canvas. From noisy, irregular data, he consistently extracted a small positive signal that varied with each rotation of the device, with the sidereal day, and on a yearly basis. His measurements in the 1920s amounted to approximately 10 km/s (6.2 mi/s) instead of the nearly 30 km/s (18.6 mi/s) expected from the Earth's orbital motion alone. He remained convinced this was due to partial entrainment or aether dragging, though he did not attempt a detailed explanation. He ignored critiques demonstrating the inconsistency of his results and the refutation by the Hammar experiment. Miller's findings were considered important at the time, and were discussed by Michelson, Lorentz and others at a meeting reported in 1928. There was general agreement that more experimentation was needed to check Miller's results. Miller later built a non-magnetic device to eliminate magnetostriction, while Michelson built one of non-expanding Invar to eliminate any remaining thermal effects. Other experimenters from around the world increased accuracy, eliminated possible side effects, or both. So far, no one has been able to replicate Miller's results, and modern experimental accuracies have ruled them out. Roberts (2006) has pointed out that the primitive data reduction techniques used by Miller and other early experimenters, including Michelson and Morley, were capable of creating apparent periodic signals even when none existed in the actual data. After reanalyzing Miller's original data using modern techniques of quantitative error analysis, Roberts found Miller's apparent signals to be statistically insignificant.
Using a special optical arrangement involving a 1/20 wave step in one mirror, Roy J. Kennedy (1926) and K.K. Illingworth (1927) (Fig. 8) converted the task of detecting fringe shifts from the relatively insensitive one of estimating their lateral displacements to the considerably more sensitive task of adjusting the light intensity on both sides of a sharp boundary for equal luminance. If they observed unequal illumination on either side of the step, such as in Fig. 8e, they would add or remove calibrated weights from the interferometer until both sides of the step were once again evenly illuminated, as in Fig. 8d. The number of weights added or removed provided a measure of the fringe shift. Different observers could detect changes as little as 1/1500 to 1/300 of a fringe. Kennedy also carried out an experiment at Mount Wilson, finding only about 1/10 the drift measured by Miller and no seasonal effects.
In 1930, Georg Joos conducted an experiment using an automated interferometer with 21-meter-long (69 ft) arms forged from pressed quartz having a very low coefficient of thermal expansion, that took continuous photographic strip recordings of the fringes through dozens of revolutions of the apparatus. Displacements of 1/1000 of a fringe could be measured on the photographic plates. No periodic fringe displacements were found, placing an upper limit to the aether wind of 1.5 km/s (0.93 mi/s).
In the table below, the expected values are related to the relative speed between Earth and Sun of 30 km/s (18.6 mi/s). With respect to the speed of the Solar System around the galactic center of about 220 km/s (140 mi/s), or the speed of the Solar System relative to the CMB rest frame of about 370 km/s (230 mi/s), the null results of those experiments are even more obvious.
== Recent experiments ==
=== Optical tests ===
Optical tests of the isotropy of the speed of light became commonplace. New technologies, including the use of lasers and masers, have significantly improved measurement precision. (In the following table, only Essen (1955), Jaseja (1964), and Shamir/Fox (1969) are experiments of Michelson–Morley type, i.e., comparing two perpendicular beams. The other optical experiments employed different methods.)
=== Recent optical resonator experiments ===
During the early 21st century, there has been a resurgence in interest in performing precise Michelson–Morley type experiments using lasers, masers, cryogenic optical resonators, etc. This is in large part due to predictions of quantum gravity that suggest that special relativity may be violated at scales accessible to experimental study. The first of these highly accurate experiments was conducted by Brillet & Hall (1979), in which they analyzed a laser frequency stabilized to a resonance of a rotating optical Fabry–Pérot cavity. They set a limit on the anisotropy of the speed of light resulting from the Earth's motions of Δc/c ≈ 10−15, where Δc is the difference between the speed of light in the x- and y-directions.
As of 2015, optical and microwave resonator experiments have improved this limit to Δc/c ≈ 10−18. In some of them, the devices were rotated or remained stationary, and some were combined with the Kennedy–Thorndike experiment. In particular, Earth's direction and velocity (ca. 368 km/s (229 mi/s)) relative to the CMB rest frame are ordinarily used as references in these searches for anisotropies.
=== Other tests of Lorentz invariance ===
Examples of other experiments not based on the Michelson–Morley principle, i.e., non-optical isotropy tests achieving an even higher level of precision, are Clock comparison or Hughes–Drever experiments. In Drever's 1961 experiment, 7Li nuclei in the ground state, which has total angular momentum J = 3/2, were split into four equally spaced levels by a magnetic field. Each transition between a pair of adjacent levels should emit a photon of equal frequency, resulting in a single, sharp spectral line. However, since the nuclear wave functions for different MJ have different orientations in space relative to the magnetic field, any orientation dependence, whether from an aether wind or from a dependence on the large-scale distribution of mass in space (see Mach's principle), would perturb the energy spacings between the four levels, resulting in an anomalous broadening or splitting of the line. No such broadening was observed. Modern repeats of this kind of experiment have provided some of the most accurate confirmations of the principle of Lorentz invariance. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Brooklyn_State_of_Mind#Cast | A Brooklyn State of Mind#Cast | A Brooklyn State of Mind is a 1997 American crime drama film written and directed by Frank Rainone.
== Plot ==
A young man learns the truth about his father's death.
== Cast ==
Vincent Spano: Al Stanco
Maria Grazia Cucinotta: Gabriela
Danny Aiello: Danny Parente
Abe Vigoda: Uncle Guy
Rick Aiello: Nicky Vetrino
Leonard Spinelli: Young Nicky Vetrino
Tony Danza: Louie Crisci
Jennifer Esposito: Donna Delgrosso
Morgana King: Aunt Rose
Vincent Pastore: Vinnie "D"
Jamie-Lynn Sigler: Young Angie
Arthur Nascarella: Building Inspector |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Butters | Julia Butters | Julia Butters (born April 15, 2009) is an American actress. She began her career at the age of five, and starred as Trudi Fraser in the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), for which she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Actor/Actress, and as Reggie Fabelman in The Fabelmans (2022). She rose to prominence for playing Anna-Kat Otto in American Housewife (2016–2020), and for playing Harper Coleman in Freakier Friday (2025).
== Early life ==
Butters was born in Los Angeles. Her father Darrin Butters is a Disney animator who has worked on films such as Frozen and Ralph Breaks the Internet.
== Career ==
Julia Butters began her career doing commercials. Her first speaking role was the role of Gabby in Criminal Minds. In 2016, Butters portrayed the recurring role of Ella in the Amazon Prime Video series Transparent. Later that year, she began starring in the ABC sitcom American Housewife as Anna-Kat Otto. While Quentin Tarantino was writing the script of his ninth film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, he spotted Butters on television, and later cast her in the role of precocious child actress Trudi Fraser. After she received critical acclaim for this role, Butters decided to pursue similar opportunities, leading her to leave American Housewife after four seasons. In December 2020, Butters was cast in Netflix's The Gray Man.
In June 2021, it was announced that Butters was cast in The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical coming-of-age film as Reggie Fabelman, a character based on Spielberg's sister Anne. In August 2022, Butters was cast as Lily in the film Queen of Bones. In 2024, she was cast in Freakier Friday (2025), the sequel to the 2003 film Freaky Friday. She played Harper Coleman, the daughter of Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) and granddaughter of Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis).
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
== Discography ==
== Awards and nominations == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland_Island#Human_presence_on_the_island | Auckland Island#Human presence on the island | Auckland Island (Māori: Mauka Huka) is the main island of the eponymous uninhabited archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean. It is part of the New Zealand subantarctic area. It is inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list together with the other New Zealand Subantarctic Islands in the region.
== Geography ==
The island has a land area of about 442.5 km2 (170.9 sq mi), and is 42 kilometres (26 mi) long. It was formed 25 to 10 million years ago from a huge volcanic pile which formed two domes – one centred around Carnley Harbour in the south and another (the Ross Dome) around Disappointment Island to the west. The island is made of volcanic scoria, blanketed in over 2m of peat. It is notable for its steep cliffs and rugged terrain, which rises to over 600 m (1,969 ft). Prominent peaks include Cavern Peak, at 659 m or 2,162 ft; Mount Raynal, at 635 m or 2,083 ft; Mount D'Urville, at 630 m or 2,067 ft; Mount Easton, at 610 m or 2,001 ft; and the Tower of Babel, at 550 m or 1,804 ft.
The southern end of the island broadens to a width of 26 kilometres (16 mi), encompassing Carnley Harbour. At the western side a very narrow channel known as Victoria Passage separates the main island from the smaller Adams Island. Adams Island and the southern part of the main island form the crater rim; three kilometres (1.9 mi) north of Carnley Harbour's mouth lies Cape Lovitt, the westernmost point of New Zealand.
== Flora ==
There are distinct vegetation zones. There is a band of Southern rātā Metrosideros umbellata around the coast apart from on the western side, the height of which is determined by the shelter, aspect and degree of the slope. The rātā forest may extend into the Chionochloa tussock grasslands but in most places merges into a thick band of low, tight scrub dominated by Dracophyllum longifolium, Ozothamnus vauvilliersii and Myrsine divaricata. This scrub band is almost impenetrable and in places is dense enough to walk on top of.
An expedition report from 1907 describes the scrub thusly:
The subalpine scrub at 400 ft. made our advance extremely toilsome, the thick masses of Suttonia divaricata scrub had to be cut through before any progress could be made. Throughout our stay on the island this scrub was one of the worst drawbacks we had to encounter; from four to six feet high it is quite impassable with reasonable exertion; walking on the top can be undertaken only by a very light man. Only with the severest exertion can it be pushed aside to enable a man to pass, crawling under it is out of the question.
The scrub band breaks into patches and transitions into extensive grassland of Chionochloa antarctica which in turn merges into a sparsely vegetated fellfield community on the most exposed alpine areas. The megaherbs Anisotome antipoda, Anisotome latifolia, Bulbinella rossii, Pleurophyllum criniferum, Pleurophyllum hookeri, Pleurophyllum speciosum and Stilbocarpa polaris were historically found from the coast into the alpine, however the distribution and populations of these species have been severely impacted by the actions of introduced pigs.
== Marine mammals ==
Port Ross at the north end of Auckland Island is the only breeding site for the New Zealand population of southern right whales. Up to 400 may be found in the harbour during the winter months, and are regularly surveyed by the University of Otago.
A breeding population of New Zealand sea lions is found on the island. 80% of the total population live and breed in the archipelago. The New Zealand Department of Conservation has conducted an annual survey of the population on the islands since 1994.
== Bird life ==
The island is part of the Auckland Island group Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International because of the significance of the group as a breeding site for several species of seabirds.
The Gibson's albatross Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni, Auckland shag Leucocarbo colensoi, Auckland teal Anas aucklandica, Auckland rail Lewinia muelleri and Auckland snipe Coenocorypha aucklandica are all endemic to the Auckland Island group. Of these only shags are currently breeding on main Auckland Island, in areas where introduced cats and pigs cannot access their nests.
The Auckland Island merganser Mergus australis went extinct in 1902. The population is thought to have been 20–30 breeding pairs prior to predation by introduced pigs and cats. The last specimen was collected as a museum specimen in January 1902.
== Introduced species ==
There are currently introduced pigs, cats and mice on Auckland Island. Auckland Island is the only island within the New Zealand Subantarctic Island Area with invasive mammalian pests. A project proposed by the Department of Conservation aims to remove these pests from the island, with feasibility trials started in 2018.
DNA analysis suggests that mice—Mus musculus—did not colonise Auckland Island from a New Zealand population but instead arrived with whalers or sealers from North America. They eat invertebrates, seeds, other plant material, native fish eggs and can eat bird eggs and chicks. They severely deplete invertebrate populations, reduce the seedbank, eat seedlings & plants and compete with birds for food resources.
Domestic cats—Felis catus—were first recorded at Terror Cove in 1840, presumably introduced by sealers, but most likely arrived in the two decades prior to this. The impact of cats on the birds of Auckland Island was first noted by the Coastwatchers, who tamed some for company – the Ranui Station cats were recorded to kill 60 Antarctic prions over three months in 1942. Ornithologist Brian Bell found that prions were confined to cliff faces at Crozier Point in 1962 and noted "any bird landing...[fell] an immediate prey to the feral cats.". Gut content and scat analysis show that cats are feeding on small passerines and seabirds. A cat was seen feeding on a pre-fledging juvenile white-capped mollymawk at South West Cape.
Goats were introduced to the Auckland Islands several times in the second half of the nineteenth century, to serve as a source of food for castaway sailors, with at least one liberation in 1865 on the main Auckland Island. By the 1970s, only one population remained, a group of about 100 based on the northwest side of Port Ross, in the north-east of the main island. Browsing by goats caused significant damage to lowland tussock Chinochloa antarctica in particular. In 1986 and 1987, over 60 animals were removed from the island for captive breeding in New Zealand. A decision was made to eradicate the remaining animals, an operation which was completed by 1992. An investigation in 1999 into the fate of the translocated animals in New Zealand found that the breed had become extinct.
Pigs—Sus scrofa—were first introduced at Port Ross in the north of Auckland Island in 1807 by Captain Abraham Bristow and several further liberations occurred in the 19th century. The pigs were intended as a food source for shipwreck survivors and sealers. Auckland Island pigs are a feral race of domestic pigs which are considered a distinct breed by the Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand. Pigs have had a severe impact on populations of megaherbs, with populations of these plants on Auckland Island being almost totally depleted by the early 1900s.
Dunnocks, common redpolls, Eurasian blackbirds, song thrushes and common starlings which were introduced onto mainland New Zealand have naturally established on Auckland Island.
Olearia lyalli is a tree asterad native to New Zealand which may have arrived with humans in the 19th century. It is spreading from a historic settlement site at Erebus Cove and covers neighbouring Ewing Island. Harakeke, Phormium tenax, is found at Erebus Cove, Sealer's Creek, Ranui Cove and Tandy Inlet, and was introduced probably by the second wave of sealers to visit the island, to make rope, twine, baskets, mats etc. Koromiko, Veronica salicifolia, was first reported in 1975 around the Lindley Point farmhouse site at Deas Head, built in 1851.
In February 2025, the Department of Conservation (DOC) announced a pest eradication project on the island. The project, part of the Island-Ocean Connection Challenge (IOCC), targets three islands up to 15 times larger than any previously cleared of pests in New Zealand. The goal is to remove invasive species, restore ecosystems, and protect native wildlife, including kākāpō, seabirds, and rare plants. The total project cost is estimated at $202 million, with $54 million from the government and $11.5 million raised through philanthropy, leaving $137 million still needed.
== Human presence on the island ==
There is archaeological evidence that the Auckland Islands were briefly settled and abandoned by Polynesians around 600–700 years ago. Māori and Moriori from the Chatham Islands settled at Ranui Cove from 1842 till 1856. Auckland Island was the site of the failed settlement of Hardwicke, which was founded in 1849 but survived only three years before being disbanded in 1852.
Both the Grafton and the Invercauld were wrecked on Auckland Island in 1864, and groups of survivors lived unaware of each other on opposite ends of the island. The Grafton survivors lived for 18 months on the island before building a boat and sailing to New Zealand; the Invercauld survivors camped in the remains of Hardwicke; and all but three died before being rescued.
The German transit of Venus expedition of 1874 made observations from Terror Cove in Port Ross.
Coastwatchers from the Cape Expedition were stationed on the island from March 1941 to October 1945. Two stations were constructed: One at Ranui Cove in outer Port Ross and another at Tagua, on Musgrave Peninsula in Carnley Harbour. A base at Waterfall Inlet was the mooring point for the Ranui which serviced the stations. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_Touch | Out of Touch | "Out of Touch" is a song by American duo Daryl Hall & John Oates from their twelfth studio album Big Bam Boom (1984). The song was released as the lead single from Big Bam Boom on October 4, 1984, by RCA Records. This song was their sixth and final Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, topping the chart for two weeks in December 1984. It also became the duo's fourteenth consecutive top 40 hit since 1980.
The song often segued from "Dance on Your Knees", the opening song of Big Bam Boom. The accompanying music video for "Out of Touch", featuring a gigantic drum kit, also contains the "Dance on Your Knees" intro, which segues into an edit of the 12-inch remix version.
According to John Oates, he came up with the chorus while randomly playing around with a synthesizer that he did not know how to use. He thought it could be a song for the Stylistics, having a Philly sound. But in the studio the next day a co-producer told him it should be a hit for Hall & Oates themselves. Oates and Hall then co-wrote the verse.
== Music video ==
A video was made for the song, including scenes with Hall and Oates inside a gigantic drum set, which Oates bangs an equally gigantic bass drum pedal into, and from which both escape at the end of the video. The video also features the words "Big Bam Boom" in gigantic letters, with Hall and Oates dancing inside the two O's.
== Track listing and formats ==
US 7-inch vinyl single
"Out of Touch" — 3:55
"Cold, Dark and Yesterday" — 4:35
US 12-inch vinyl single
"Out of Touch" (Club Version) — 7:36
"Out of Touch" (Dub Version) — 7:24
"Cold, Dark and Yesterday" — 4:35
UK 12-inch vinyl single
"Out of Touch" (Video Mix)
"Dance on Your Knees" (Extended Mix)
"Everytime You Go Away" (Remix Version)
== Personnel ==
Daryl Hall – lead vocals and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
John Oates – synthesizers and backing vocals
G. E. Smith – lead guitar and backing vocals
Tom Wolk – bass and backing vocals
Wells Christy – synthesizer
Clive Smith – sampler
Jimmy Bralower – drum machine
== Charts ==
== Certifications ==
== Uniting Nations version ==
English dance music act Uniting Nations covered "Out of Touch" and released it as their debut single on November 15, 2004. This version peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart in January 2005 and remained in the top 75 for 21 weeks. Elsewhere, the cover reached number one in Romania—where it was the most successful single of 2005—and became a top-10 hit in Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway. The vocals on the recording were performed by vocalist and session artist Jinian Wilde.
=== Music video ===
The music video for the song features actors Paul Spicer, Charleene Rena, Hayley-Marie Coppin, Sophie Lovell Anderson, Daniela Martins, a participant of French Big Brother Secret Story, and one unidentified woman playing strip poker. The women realise Spicer is cheating by wearing an in-ear monitor which leads to a CCTV room with cameras watching the girls and their cards. The video continues with the women getting their own back, and Spicer losing his trousers during the poker game. The video ends with Spicer running out the room with his hair ruffled in his briefs, looking embarrassed, while the girls pop champagne corks and continue partying.
=== Track listings ===
UK CD single
"Out of Touch" (radio mix) – 2:46
"Out of Touch" (extended mix) – 6:16
"Out of Touch" (Skylab remix) – 7:03
"Out of Touch" (Tyrrell remix) – 6:50
"Out of Touch" (The Vanden Plas remix) – 7:20
"Out of Touch" (Paul Roberts remix) – 6:55
"Out of Touch" (video)
UK 12-inch single
A1. "Out of Touch" (extended mix) – 6:16
A2. "Out of Touch" (Hardfaze remix) – 7:55
B1. "Out of Touch" (Skylab remix) – 7:03
B2. "Out of Touch" (Tyrell remix) – 6:50
Australian and New Zealand CD single
"Out of Touch" (Love You So Much radio mix) – 3:31
"Out of Touch" (extended mix) – 6:16
"Out of Touch" (radio edit with Vox filter intro) – 2:46
"Out of Touch" (Skylab remix) – 7:03
"Out of Touch" (Outsiderz remix) – 7:05
"Out of Touch" (Paul Roberts remix) – 6:55
=== Charts ===
=== Certifications ===
=== Release history === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McKinley | William McKinley | William McKinley (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party, he led a realignment that made Republicans largely dominant in the industrial states and nationwide for decades. McKinley successfully led the U.S. in the Spanish–American War and oversaw a period of American expansionism, with the annexations of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and American Samoa.
McKinley was the last president to have served in the American Civil War; he was the only one to begin his service as an enlisted man and end it as a brevet major. After the war, he settled in Canton, Ohio, where he practiced law and married Ida Saxton. In 1876, McKinley was elected to Congress, where he became the Republican expert on the protective tariff, believing protectionism would bring prosperity. His 1890 McKinley Tariff was highly controversial and, together with a Democratic Party redistricting aimed at gerrymandering him out of office, led to his defeat in the Democratic landslide of 1890. He was elected governor of Ohio in 1891 and 1893, steering a moderate course between capital and labor interests.
McKinley secured the Republican nomination for president in 1896 amid a deep economic depression and defeated his Democratic rival William Jennings Bryan after a front porch campaign in which he advocated "sound money" (the gold standard unless altered by international agreement) and promised that high tariffs would restore prosperity. McKinley's presidency saw rapid economic growth. He rejected free silver in favor of keeping the nation on the gold standard, and raised protective tariffs, signing the Dingley Tariff of 1897 to protect manufacturers and factory workers from foreign competition and securing the passage of the Gold Standard Act of 1900.
McKinley's foreign policy emulated the era's overseas imperialism of the great powers in Oceania, Asia, and the Caribbean Sea. The United States annexed the independent Republic of Hawaii in 1898, and it became the Territory of Hawaii in 1900. McKinley hoped to persuade Spain to grant independence to rebellious Cuba without conflict. Still, when negotiations failed, he requested and signed Congress's declaration of war to begin the Spanish-American War of 1898, in which the United States saw a quick and decisive victory. As part of the peace settlement, Spain turned over to the United States its main overseas colonies of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, while Cuba was promised independence but remained under American control until after McKinley's death in 1902. In the Philippines, a pro-independence rebellion began; it was eventually suppressed. McKinley acquired what is now American Samoa when his administration partitioned the Samoan Islands with the empires of Britain and Germany in the Tripartite Convention, during a period of warming ties between the UK and US known as the Great Rapprochement.
McKinley defeated Bryan again in the 1900 presidential election in a campaign focused on imperialism, protectionism, and free silver. His second term ended early when he was shot on September 6, 1901, by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. McKinley died eight days later and was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, whose popularity overshadowed McKinley's legacy. Historians regard McKinley's 1896 victory as a realigning election in which the political stalemate of the post-Civil War era gave way to the Republican-dominated Fourth Party System, beginning with the Progressive Era. The United States retains control over the major territories McKinley annexed, aside from the Philippines which became independent in 1946. McKinley is generally ranked among the middle tier of presidents.
== Early life and family ==
William McKinley Jr. was born in 1843 in Niles, Ohio, the seventh of nine children of William McKinley Sr. and Nancy (née Allison) McKinley. The McKinleys were of English and Scots-Irish descent and had settled in western Pennsylvania in the 18th century. Their immigrant ancestor was David McKinley, born in Dervock, County Antrim, in present-day Northern Ireland. William McKinley Sr. was born in Pennsylvania, in Pine Township, Mercer County.
The family moved to Ohio when the senior McKinley was a boy, settling in New Lisbon (now Lisbon). He met Nancy Allison there, and they married later. The Allison family was of mostly English descent and among Pennsylvania's earliest settlers. The family trade on both sides was iron making. McKinley senior operated foundries throughout Ohio, in New Lisbon, Niles, Poland, and finally Canton. The McKinley household was, like many from Ohio's Western Reserve, steeped in Whiggish and abolitionist sentiment, the latter based on the family's staunch Methodist beliefs.
The younger William also followed in the Methodist tradition, becoming active in the local Methodist church at the age of sixteen. He was a lifelong pious Methodist.
In 1852, the family moved from Niles to Poland, Ohio, so that their children could attend its better schools. Graduating from Poland Seminary in 1859, McKinley enrolled the following year at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. He was an honorary member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He remained at Allegheny for one year, returning home in 1860 after becoming ill and depressed. He also studied at Mount Union College, now the University of Mount Union, in Alliance, Ohio, where he later served as a member of the board of trustees. Although his health recovered, family finances declined, and McKinley was unable to return to Allegheny. He began working as a postal clerk and later took a job teaching at a school near Poland, Ohio.
== Civil War ==
=== Western Virginia and Antietam ===
When the Confederate states seceded and the American Civil War began in 1861, thousands of men in Ohio volunteered for service. Among them were McKinley and his cousin William McKinley Osbourne, who enlisted as privates in the newly formed Poland Guards in June 1861. The men left for Columbus where they were consolidated with other small units to form the 23rd Ohio Infantry.
The men were unhappy to learn that, unlike Ohio's earlier volunteer regiments, they would not be permitted to elect their officers; these would be designated by Ohio's governor, William Dennison. Dennison appointed Colonel William Rosecrans as the commander of the regiment, and the men began training on the outskirts of Columbus. McKinley quickly took to the soldier's life: he wrote a series of letters to his hometown newspaper extolling the army and the Union cause. Delays in issuance of uniforms and weapons again brought the men into conflict with their officers, but Major Rutherford B. Hayes convinced them to accept what the government had issued them; his style in dealing with the men impressed McKinley, beginning an association and friendship that would last until Hayes's death in 1893.
After a month of training, McKinley and the 23rd Ohio, now led by Colonel Eliakim P. Scammon, set out for western Virginia (today part of West Virginia) in July 1861 as a part of the Kanawha Division. McKinley initially thought Scammon was a martinet, but when the regiment entered battle, he came to appreciate the value of their relentless drilling. Their first contact with the enemy came in September when they drove back Confederate troops at Carnifex Ferry in present-day West Virginia. Three days after the battle, McKinley was assigned to duty in the brigade quartermaster office, where he worked both to supply his regiment, and as a clerk. In November, the regiment established winter quarters near Fayetteville (today in West Virginia). McKinley spent the winter substituting for a commissary sergeant who was ill, and in April 1862 he was promoted to that rank. The regiment resumed its advance that spring with Hayes in command (Scammon led the brigade) and fought several minor engagements against the rebel forces.
That September, McKinley's regiment was called east to reinforce General John Pope's Army of Virginia at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Delayed in passing through Washington, D.C., the 23rd Ohio did not arrive in time for the battle but joined the Army of the Potomac as it hurried north to cut off Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia as it advanced into Maryland. The 23rd was the first regiment to encounter the Confederates at the Battle of South Mountain on September 14. After severe losses, Union forces drove back the Confederates and continued to Sharpsburg, Maryland, where they engaged Lee's army at the Battle of Antietam, one of the bloodiest battles of the war. The 23rd was in the thick of the fighting at Antietam, and McKinley came under heavy fire when bringing rations to the men on the line. McKinley's regiment suffered many casualties, but the Army of the Potomac was victorious, and the Confederates retreated into Virginia. McKinley's regiment was detached from the Army of the Potomac and returned by train to western Virginia.
=== Shenandoah Valley and promotion ===
While the regiment went into winter quarters near Charleston, Virginia (present-day West Virginia), McKinley was ordered back to Ohio with some other sergeants to recruit fresh troops. When they arrived in Columbus, Governor David Tod surprised McKinley with a commission as second lieutenant in recognition of his service at Antietam. McKinley and his comrades saw little action until July 1863, when the division skirmished with John Hunt Morgan's cavalry at the Battle of Buffington Island. Early in 1864, the Army command structure in West Virginia was reorganized, and the division was assigned to George Crook's Army of West Virginia. They soon resumed the offensive, marching into southwestern Virginia to destroy salt and lead mines used by the enemy. On May 9, the army engaged Confederate troops at Cloyd's Mountain, where the men charged the enemy entrenchments and drove the rebels from the field. McKinley later said the combat there was "as desperate as any witnessed during the war". Following the rout, the Union forces destroyed Confederate supplies and skirmished with the enemy again successfully.
McKinley and his regiment moved to the Shenandoah Valley as the armies broke from winter quarters to resume hostilities. Crook's corps was attached to Major General David Hunter's Army of the Shenandoah and soon back in contact with Confederate forces, capturing Lexington, Virginia, on June 11. They continued south toward Lynchburg, tearing up railroad track as they advanced. Hunter believed the troops at Lynchburg were too powerful, however, and the brigade returned to West Virginia. Before the army could make another attempt, Confederate General Jubal Early's raid into Maryland forced their recall to the north.
Early's army surprised them at Kernstown on July 24, where McKinley came under heavy fire and the army was defeated. Retreating into Maryland, the army was reorganized again: Major General Philip Sheridan replaced Hunter, and McKinley, who had been promoted to captain after the battle, was transferred to General Crook's staff. By August, Early was retreating south in the valley, with Sheridan's army in pursuit. They fended off a Confederate assault at Berryville, where McKinley had a horse shot out from under him, and advanced to Opequon Creek, where they broke the enemy lines and pursued them farther south. They followed up the victory with another at Fisher's Hill on September 22 and were engaged once more at Cedar Creek on October 19. After initially falling back from the Confederate advance, McKinley helped to rally the troops and turn the tide of the battle.
After Cedar Creek, the army stayed in the vicinity through election day, when McKinley cast his first presidential ballot, for the incumbent Republican, Abraham Lincoln. The next day, they moved north up the valley into winter quarters near Kernstown. In February 1865, Crook was captured by Confederate raiders. Crook's capture added to the confusion as the army was reorganized for the spring campaign, and McKinley served on the staffs of four different generals over the next fifteen days—Crook, John D. Stevenson, Samuel S. Carroll, and Winfield S. Hancock. Finally assigned to Carroll's staff again, McKinley acted as the general's first and only adjutant.
Lee and his army surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant a few days later, effectively ending the war. McKinley joined a Freemason lodge (later renamed after him) in Winchester, Virginia, before he and Carroll were transferred to Hancock's First Veterans Corps in Washington. Just before the war's end, McKinley received his final promotion, a brevet commission as major. In July, the Veterans Corps was mustered out of service, and McKinley and Carroll were relieved of their duties. Carroll and Hancock encouraged McKinley to apply for a place in the peacetime army, but he declined and returned to Ohio the following month.
McKinley, along with Samuel M. Taylor and James C. Howe, co-authored and published a twelve-volume work, Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861–1866, published in 1886.
== Legal career and marriage ==
After the war ended in 1865, McKinley decided on a career in the law and began studying in the office of an attorney in Poland, Ohio. The following year, he continued his studies by attending Albany Law School in New York state. After studying there for less than a year, McKinley returned home and in March 1867 was admitted to the bar in Warren, Ohio.
That same year, he moved to Canton, the county seat of Stark County, Ohio, and set up a small office. He soon formed a partnership with George W. Belden, an experienced lawyer and former judge. His practice was successful enough for him to buy a block of buildings on Main Street in Canton, which provided him with a small but consistent rental income for decades.
When his Army friend Rutherford B. Hayes was nominated for governor in 1867, McKinley made speeches on his behalf in Stark County, his first foray into politics. The county was closely divided between Democrats and Republicans, but Hayes carried it that year in his statewide victory. In 1869, McKinley ran for the office of prosecuting attorney of Stark County, an office that had historically been held by Democrats, and was unexpectedly elected. When McKinley ran for re-election in 1871, the Democrats nominated William A. Lynch, a prominent local lawyer, and McKinley was defeated by 143 votes.
As McKinley's professional career progressed, so too did his social life blossom: he wooed Ida Saxton, a daughter of a prominent Canton family. They were married on January 25, 1871, in the newly built First Presbyterian Church of Canton. Ida soon joined her husband's Methodist church. Their first child, Katherine, was born on Christmas Day 1871. A second daughter, Ida, followed in 1873 but died the same year. McKinley's wife descended into a deep depression at her baby's death and her health, never robust, declined. Two years later, Katherine died of typhoid fever. Ida never recovered from their daughters' deaths, and the McKinleys had no more children. Ida McKinley developed epilepsy around the same time and depended strongly on her husband's presence. He remained a devoted husband and tended to his wife's medical and emotional needs for the rest of his life.
Ida insisted that her husband continue his increasingly successful career in law and politics. He attended the state Republican convention that nominated Hayes for a third term as governor in 1875, and campaigned again for his old friend in the election that fall. The next year, McKinley undertook a high-profile case defending a group of striking coal miners, who were arrested for rioting after a clash with strikebreakers. Lynch, McKinley's opponent in the 1871 election, and his partner, William R. Day, were the opposing counsel, and the mine owners included Mark Hanna, a Cleveland businessman. Taking the case pro bono, McKinley
was successful in getting all but one of the miners acquitted. The case raised McKinley's standing among laborers, a crucial part of the Stark County electorate, and also introduced him to Hanna, who would become his strongest backer in years to come.
McKinley's good standing with labor became useful that year as he campaigned for the Republican nomination for Ohio's 17th congressional district. Delegates to the county conventions thought he could attract blue-collar voters, and in August 1876, McKinley was nominated. By that time, Hayes had been nominated for president, and McKinley campaigned for him while running his own congressional campaign. Both were successful. McKinley, campaigning mostly on his support for a protective tariff, defeated the Democratic nominee, Levi L. Lamborn, by 3,300 votes. Hayes won a hotly disputed election to reach the presidency. McKinley's victory came at a personal cost: his income as a congressman would be half of what he earned as a lawyer.
== Rising politician (1877–1895) ==
=== Spokesman for protection ===
McKinley took his congressional seat in October 1877, when President Hayes summoned Congress into special session. With the Republicans in the minority, McKinley was given unimportant committee assignments, which he undertook conscientiously. McKinley's friendship with Hayes did McKinley little good on Capitol Hill, as the president was not well regarded by many leaders there. The young congressman broke with Hayes on the question of the currency, but it did not affect their friendship. The United States had effectively been placed on the gold standard by the Coinage Act of 1873; when silver prices dropped significantly, many sought to make silver again a legal tender, equally with gold. Such a course would be inflationary, but advocates argued that the economic benefits of the increased money supply would be worth the inflation; opponents warned that "free silver" would not bring the promised benefits and would harm the United States in international trade. McKinley voted for the Bland–Allison Act of 1878, which mandated large government purchases of silver for striking into money, and also joined the large majorities in each house that overrode Hayes's veto of the legislation. In so doing, McKinley voted against the position of the House Republican leader, James Garfield, a fellow Ohioan and his friend.
From his first term in Congress, McKinley was a strong advocate of protective tariffs. The primary intention of such imposts was not to raise revenue, but to allow American manufacturing to develop by giving it a price advantage in the domestic market over foreign competitors. McKinley biographer Margaret Leech noted that Canton had become prosperous as a center for the manufacture of farm equipment because of protection, and that this may have helped form his political views. McKinley introduced and supported bills that raised protective tariffs, and opposed those that lowered them or imposed tariffs simply to raise revenue. Garfield's election as president in 1880 created a vacancy on the House Ways and Means Committee; McKinley was selected to fill it, gaining a spot on the most powerful committee after only two terms.
McKinley increasingly became a significant figure in national politics. In 1880, he served a brief term as Ohio's representative on the Republican National Committee. In 1884, he was elected a delegate to that year's Republican convention, where he served as chair of the Committee on Resolutions and won plaudits for his handling of the convention when called upon to preside. By 1886, McKinley, Senator John Sherman, and Governor Joseph B. Foraker were considered the leaders of the Republican party in Ohio. Sherman, who had helped to found the Republican Party, ran three times for the Republican nomination for president in the 1880s, each time failing, while Foraker began a meteoric rise in Ohio politics early in the decade. Hanna, once he entered public affairs as a political manager and generous contributor, supported Sherman's ambitions, as well as those of Foraker. The latter relationship broke off at the 1888 Republican National Convention, where McKinley, Foraker, and Hanna were all delegates supporting Sherman. Convinced Sherman could not win, Foraker threw his support to Maine Senator James G. Blaine, the unsuccessful Republican 1884 presidential nominee. When Blaine said he was not a candidate, Foraker returned to Sherman, but the nomination went to former Indiana senator Benjamin Harrison, who was elected president. In the bitterness that followed the convention, Hanna abandoned Foraker. For the rest of McKinley's life, the Ohio Republican Party was divided into two factions, one aligned with McKinley, Sherman, and Hanna, and the other with Foraker. Hanna came to admire McKinley and became a friend and close adviser to him. Although Hanna remained active in business and in promoting other Republicans, in the years after 1888, he spent an increasing amount of time boosting McKinley's political career.
In 1889, with the Republicans in the majority, McKinley sought election as Speaker of the House. He failed to gain the post, which went to Thomas B. Reed of Maine; however, Speaker Reed appointed McKinley chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. The Ohioan guided the McKinley Tariff of 1890 through Congress; although McKinley's work was altered through the influence of special interests in the Senate, it imposed a number of protective tariffs on foreign goods.
=== Gerrymandering and defeat for re-election ===
Recognizing McKinley's potential, the Democrats, whenever they controlled the Ohio legislature, sought to gerrymander or redistrict him out of office. In 1878, McKinley was redistricted to the 16th congressional district; he won anyway, causing Hayes to exult, "Oh, the good luck of McKinley! He was gerrymandered out and then beat the gerrymander! We enjoyed it as much as he did." After the 1882 election, McKinley was unseated on an election contest by a near party-line House vote. Out of office, he was briefly depressed by the setback, but soon vowed to run again. The Democrats again redistricted Stark County for the 1884 election; McKinley was returned to Congress anyway.
For 1890, the Democrats gerrymandered McKinley one final time, placing Stark County in the same district as one of the strongest pro-Democrat counties, Holmes, populated by solidly Democratic Pennsylvania Dutch. Based on past results, Democrats thought the new boundaries should produce a Democratic majority of 2,000 to 3,000. The Republicans could not reverse the gerrymander, as legislative elections would not be held until 1891, but they could throw all their energies into the district. The McKinley Tariff was a main theme of the Democratic campaign nationwide, and there was considerable attention paid to McKinley's race. The Republican Party sent its leading orators to Canton, including Blaine (then Secretary of State), Speaker Reed, and President Harrison. The Democrats countered with their best spokesmen on tariff issues. McKinley tirelessly stumped his new district, reaching out to its 40,000 voters to explain that his tariff:
was framed for the people ... as a defense to their industries, as a protection to the labor of their hands, as a safeguard to the happy homes of American workingmen, and as a security to their education, their wages, and their investments ... It will bring to this country a prosperity unparalleled in our own history and unrivalled in the history of the world."
Democrats ran a strong candidate in former lieutenant governor John G. Warwick. To drive their point home, they hired young partisans to pretend to be peddlers, who went door to door offering 25-cent tinware to housewives for 50 cents, explaining the rise in prices was due to the McKinley Tariff. In the end, McKinley lost by 300 votes, but the Republicans won a statewide majority and claimed a moral victory.
=== Governor of Ohio (1892–1896) ===
Even before McKinley completed his term in Congress, he met with a delegation of Ohioans urging him to run for governor. Governor James E. Campbell, a Democrat, who had defeated Foraker in 1889, was to seek re-election in 1891. The Ohio Republican party remained divided, but McKinley quietly arranged for Foraker to nominate him at the 1891 state Republican convention, which chose McKinley by acclamation. The former congressman spent much of the second half of 1891 campaigning against Campbell, beginning in his birthplace of Niles. Hanna, however, was little seen in the campaign; he spent much of his time raising funds for the election of legislators pledged to vote for Sherman in the 1892 senatorial election (state legislators still elected US Senators). McKinley won the 1891 election by some 20,000 votes; the following January, Sherman, with considerable assistance from Hanna, turned back a challenge by Foraker to win the legislature's vote for another term in the US Senate.
Ohio's governor had relatively little power—for example, he could recommend legislation, but not veto it—but with Ohio a key swing state, its governor was a major figure in national politics. Although McKinley believed that the health of the nation depended on that of business, he was evenhanded in dealing with labor. He procured legislation that set up an arbitration board to settle work disputes and obtained passage of a law that fined employers who fired workers for belonging to a union.
President Harrison had proven unpopular; there were divisions even within the Republican party as the year 1892 began and Harrison began his re-election drive. Although no declared Republican candidate opposed Harrison, many Republicans were ready to dump the president from the ticket if an alternative emerged. Among the possible candidates spoken of were McKinley, Reed, and the aging Blaine. Fearing that the Ohio governor would emerge as a candidate, Harrison's managers arranged for McKinley to be permanent chairman of the convention in Minneapolis, requiring him to play a public, neutral role. Hanna established an unofficial McKinley headquarters near the convention hall, though no active effort was made to convert delegates to McKinley's cause. McKinley objected to delegate votes being cast for him; nevertheless he finished second, behind the renominated Harrison, but ahead of Blaine, who had sent word he did not want to be considered. Although McKinley campaigned loyally for the Republican ticket, Harrison was defeated by former President Cleveland in the November election. In the wake of Cleveland's victory, McKinley was seen by some as the likely Republican candidate in 1896.
Soon after Cleveland's return to office, hard times struck the nation with the Panic of 1893. A businessman in Youngstown, Robert Walker, had lent money to McKinley in their younger days; in gratitude, McKinley had often guaranteed Walker's borrowings for his business. The governor had never kept track of what he was signing; he believed Walker a sound businessman. In fact, Walker had deceived McKinley, telling him that new notes were actually renewals of matured ones. Walker was ruined by the recession; McKinley was called upon for repayment in February 1893. The total owed was over $100,000 (equivalent to $3.6 million in 2025) and a despairing McKinley initially proposed to resign as governor and earn the money as an attorney. Instead, McKinley's wealthy supporters, including Hanna and Chicago publisher H. H. Kohlsaat, became trustees of a fund from which the notes would be paid. Both William and Ida McKinley placed their property in the hands of the fund's trustees (who included Hanna and Kohlsaat), and the supporters raised and contributed a substantial sum of money. All of the couple's property was returned to them by the end of 1893, and when McKinley, who had promised eventual repayment, asked for the list of contributors, it was refused him. Many people who had suffered in the hard times sympathized with McKinley, whose popularity grew. He was easily re-elected in November 1893, receiving the largest percentage of the vote of any Ohio governor since the Civil War.
McKinley campaigned widely for Republicans in the 1894 midterm congressional elections; many party candidates in districts where he spoke were successful. His political efforts in Ohio were rewarded with the election in November 1895 of a Republican successor as governor, Asa Bushnell, and a Republican legislature that elected Foraker to the Senate. McKinley supported Foraker for the Senate and Bushnell (who was of Foraker's faction) for governor; in return, the new senator-elect agreed to back McKinley's presidential ambitions. With party peace in Ohio assured, McKinley turned to the national arena.
== Election of 1896 ==
=== Obtaining the nomination ===
It is unclear when William McKinley began to seriously prepare a run for president. As McKinley biographer Kevin Phillips notes, "No documents, no diaries, no confidential letters to Mark Hanna (or anyone else) contain his secret hopes or veiled stratagems." From the beginning, McKinley's preparations had the participation of Hanna, whose biographer William T. Horner noted, "What is certainly true is that in 1888 the two men began to develop a close working relationship that helped put McKinley in the White House." Sherman did not run for president again after 1888, and so Hanna could support McKinley's ambitions for that office wholeheartedly.
Backed by Hanna's money and organizational skills, McKinley quietly built support for a presidential bid through 1895 and early 1896. When other contenders such as Speaker Reed and Iowa Senator William B. Allison sent agents outside their states to organize Republicans in support of their candidacies, they found that Hanna's agents had preceded them. According to historian Stanley Jones in his study of the 1896 election:
Another feature common to the Reed and Allison campaigns was their failure to make headway against the tide which was running toward McKinley. In fact, both campaigns from the moment they were launched were in retreat. The calm confidence with which each candidate claimed the support of his own section [of the country] soon gave way to ... bitter accusations that Hanna by winning support for McKinley in their sections had violated the rules of the game.
Hanna, on McKinley's behalf, met with the eastern Republican political bosses, such as Thomas Platt of New York and Senator Matthew Quay of Pennsylvania, who were willing to guarantee McKinley's nomination in exchange for promises regarding patronage and offices. McKinley, however, was determined to obtain the nomination without making deals, and Hanna accepted that decision. Many of their early efforts were focused on the South; Hanna obtained a vacation home in southern Georgia where McKinley visited and met with Republican politicians from the region. McKinley needed 453½ delegate votes to gain the nomination; he gained nearly half that number from the South and border states. Platt lamented in his memoirs, "[Hanna] had the South practically solid before some of us awakened."
Quay and Platt still hoped to deny McKinley a first-ballot majority at the convention by boosting support for local favorite son candidates such as Quay himself, New York Governor (and former vice president) Levi P. Morton, and Illinois Senator Shelby Cullom. Delegate-rich Illinois proved a crucial battleground, as McKinley supporters, such as Chicago businessman (and future vice president) Charles G. Dawes, sought to elect delegates pledged to vote for McKinley at the national convention in St. Louis. Cullom proved unable to stand against McKinley despite the support of local Republican machines; at the state convention at the end of April, McKinley completed a near-sweep of Illinois' delegates. Former president Harrison had been deemed a possible contender if he entered the race; when Harrison made it known he would not seek a third nomination, the McKinley organization took control of Indiana with a speed Harrison privately found unseemly. Morton operatives who journeyed to Indiana sent word back that they had found the state alive for McKinley. Wyoming Senator Francis Warren wrote, "The politicians are making a hard fight against him, but if the masses could speak, McKinley is the choice of at least 75% of the entire [body of] Republican voters in the Union".
By the time the national convention began in St. Louis on June 16, 1896, McKinley had an ample majority of delegates. The former governor, who remained in Canton, followed events at the convention closely by telephone, and was able to hear part of Foraker's speech nominating him over the line. When Ohio was reached in the roll call of states, its votes gave McKinley the nomination, which he celebrated by hugging his wife and mother as his friends fled the house, anticipating the first of many crowds that gathered at the Republican candidate's home. Thousands of partisans came from Canton and surrounding towns that evening to hear McKinley speak from his front porch. The convention nominated Republican National Committee vice chairman Garret Hobart of New Jersey for vice president, a choice actually made, by most accounts, by Hanna. Hobart, a wealthy lawyer, businessman, and former state legislator, was not widely known, but as Hanna biographer Herbert Croly pointed out, "if he did little to strengthen the ticket he did nothing to weaken it".
=== General election campaign ===
Before the Republican convention, McKinley had been a "straddle bug" on the currency question, favoring moderate positions on silver such as accomplishing bimetallism by international agreement. In the final days before the convention, McKinley decided, after hearing from politicians and businessmen, that the platform should endorse the gold standard, though it should allow for bimetallism through coordination with other nations. Adoption of the platform caused some western delegates, led by Colorado Senator Henry M. Teller, to walk out of the convention. However, compared with the Democrats, Republican divisions on the issue were small, especially as McKinley promised future concessions to silver advocates.
The bad economic times had continued and strengthened the hand of forces for free silver. The issue bitterly divided the Democratic Party; President Cleveland firmly supported the gold standard, but an increasing number of rural Democrats wanted silver, especially in the South and West. The silverites took control of the 1896 Democratic National Convention and chose William Jennings Bryan for president; he had electrified the delegates with his Cross of Gold speech. Bryan's financial radicalism shocked bankers—they thought his inflationary program would bankrupt the railroads and ruin the economy. Hanna approached them for support for his strategy to win the election, and they gave $3.5 million for speakers and over 200 million pamphlets advocating the Republican position on the money and tariff questions.
Bryan's campaign had at most an estimated $500,000. With his eloquence and youthful energy his major assets in the race, Bryan decided on a whistle-stop political tour by train on an unprecedented scale. Hanna urged McKinley to match Bryan's tour with one of his own; the candidate declined on the grounds that the Democrat was a better stump speaker: "I might just as well set up a trapeze on my front lawn and compete with some professional athlete as go out speaking against Bryan. I have to think when I speak." Instead of going to the people, McKinley would remain at home in Canton and allow the people to come to him; according to historian R. Hal Williams in his book on the 1896 election, "it was, as it turned out, a brilliant strategy. McKinley's 'Front Porch Campaign' became a legend in American political history."
McKinley made himself available to the public every day except Sunday, receiving delegations from the front porch of his home. The railroads subsidized the visitors with low excursion rates—the pro-silver Cleveland Plain Dealer disgustedly stated that going to Canton had been made "cheaper than staying at home". Delegations marched through the streets from the railroad station to McKinley's home on North Market Street. Once there, they crowded close to the front porch—from which they surreptitiously whittled souvenirs—as their spokesman addressed McKinley. The candidate then responded, speaking on campaign issues in a speech molded to suit the interest of the delegation. The speeches were carefully scripted to avoid extemporaneous remarks; even the spokesman's remarks were approved by McKinley or a representative. This was done as the candidate feared an offhand comment by another that might rebound on him, as had happened to Blaine in 1884.
Most Democratic newspapers refused to support Bryan, the major exception being the New York Journal, controlled by William Randolph Hearst, whose fortune was based on silver mines. In biased reporting and through the sharp cartoons of Homer Davenport, Hanna was viciously characterized as a plutocrat, trampling on labor. McKinley was drawn as a child, easily controlled by big business. Even today, these depictions still color the images of Hanna and McKinley: one as a heartless businessman, the other as a creature of Hanna and others of his ilk.
The Democrats had pamphlets too, though not as many. Jones analyzed how voters responded to the education campaigns of the two parties:
For the people it was a campaign of study and analysis, of exhortation and conviction—a campaign of search for economic and political truth. Pamphlets tumbled from the presses, to be read, reread, studied, debated, to become guides to economic thought and political action. They were printed and distributed by the million ... but the people hankered for more. Favorite pamphlets became dog-eared, grimy, fell apart as their owners laboriously restudied their arguments and quoted from them in public and private debate.
McKinley always thought of himself as a tariff man and expected that the monetary issues would fade away in a month. He was mistaken, silver and gold dominated the campaign.
The battleground proved to be the Midwest—the South and most of the West were conceded to Bryan—and the Democrat spent much of his time in those crucial states. The Northeast was considered most likely safe for McKinley after the early-voting states of Maine and Vermont supported him in September. By then, it was clear that public support for silver had receded, and McKinley began to emphasize the tariff issue. By the end of September, the Republicans had discontinued printing material on the silver issue and were entirely concentrating on the tariff question. On November 3, 1896, the voters had their say. McKinley won the entire Northeast and Midwest; he won 51% of the vote and an ample majority in the Electoral College. Bryan had concentrated entirely on the silver issue and had not appealed to urban workers. Voters in cities supported McKinley; the only city outside the South of more than 100,000 population carried by Bryan was Denver, Colorado.
=== Realignment of 1896 ===
The 1896 presidential election was a realigning election, in which McKinley's view of a stronger central government building American industry through protective tariffs and a dollar based on gold triumphed. The voting patterns established then displaced the near-deadlock the major parties had seen since the Civil War in the Third Party System. The new Republican dominance began the Fourth Party System that would end in 1932, another realigning election with the ascent of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal coalition. Phillips argues that McKinley was probably the only Republican who could have defeated Bryan—he concludes that Eastern candidates would have done badly against the Illinois-born Bryan in the crucial Midwest. While Bryan was popular among rural voters, "McKinley appealed to a very different industrialized, urbanized America."
== Presidency (1897–1901) ==
=== Inauguration and appointments ===
McKinley was sworn in as president on March 4, 1897, as his wife and mother looked on. The new president gave a lengthy inaugural address; he urged tariff reform and stated that the currency issue would have to await tariff legislation. He warned against foreign interventions, "We want no wars of conquest. We must avoid the temptation of territorial aggression."
McKinley's most controversial Cabinet appointment was that of John Sherman as Secretary of State. Sherman had an outstanding reputation, but old age was fast reducing his abilities. McKinley needed to have Hanna appointed to the Senate, so Senator Sherman was moved up. Sherman's mental faculties were decaying even in 1896; this was widely spoken of in political circles, but McKinley did not believe the rumors. Nevertheless, McKinley sent his cousin, William McKinley Osborne, to have dinner with the 73-year-old senator; he reported back that Sherman seemed as lucid as ever. McKinley wrote once the appointment was announced, "the stories regarding Senator Sherman's 'mental decay' are without foundation ... When I saw him last I was convinced both of his perfect health, physically and mentally, and that the prospects of life were remarkably good."
Maine Representative Nelson Dingley Jr. was McKinley's choice for Secretary of the Treasury; he declined it, preferring to remain as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Charles Dawes, who had been Hanna's lieutenant in Chicago during the campaign, was considered for the Treasury post but by some accounts Dawes considered himself too young. Dawes eventually became Comptroller of the Currency; he recorded in his published diary that he had strongly urged McKinley to appoint as secretary the successful candidate, Lyman J. Gage, president of the First National Bank of Chicago and a Gold Democrat. The Navy Department was offered to former Massachusetts Congressman John Davis Long, an old friend from the House, on January 30, 1897. Although McKinley was initially inclined to allow Long to choose his own assistant, there was considerable pressure on the President-elect to appoint Theodore Roosevelt, head of the New York City Police Commission and a published naval historian. McKinley was reluctant, stating to one Roosevelt booster, "I want peace and I am told that your friend Theodore is always getting into rows with everybody." Nevertheless, he made the appointment.
In addition to Sherman, McKinley made one other ill-advised Cabinet appointment, that of Secretary of War, which fell to Russell A. Alger, former general and Michigan governor. Competent enough in peacetime, Alger proved inadequate once the conflict with Spain began. With the War Department plagued by scandal, Alger resigned at McKinley's request in mid-1899. Vice President Hobart, as was customary at the time, was not invited to Cabinet meetings. However, he proved a valuable adviser both for McKinley and for his Cabinet members. The wealthy Vice President leased a residence close to the White House; the two families visited each other without formality, and the Vice President's wife, Jennie Tuttle Hobart, sometimes substituted as Executive Mansion hostess when Ida McKinley was unwell. For most of McKinley's administration, George B. Cortelyou served as his personal secretary. Cortelyou, who served in three Cabinet positions under Theodore Roosevelt, became a combination press secretary and chief of staff to McKinley.
=== Cuba crisis and war with Spain ===
For decades, rebels in Cuba had waged an intermittent campaign for freedom from Spanish colonial rule. By 1895, the conflict had expanded to a war for Cuban independence. As war engulfed the island, Spanish reprisals against the rebels grew ever harsher. American public opinion favored the rebels, and McKinley shared in their outrage against Spanish policies. However while public opinion called for war to liberate Cuba, McKinley favored a peaceful approach, hoping that through negotiation, Spain might be convinced to grant Cuba independence, or at least to allow the Cubans some measure of autonomy. The United States and Spain began negotiations on the subject in 1897, but it became clear that Spain would never concede Cuban independence, while the rebels (and their American supporters) would never settle for anything less.
In January 1898, Spain promised some concessions to the rebels, but when American consul Fitzhugh Lee reported riots in Havana, McKinley agreed to send the battleship USS Maine. On February 15, the Maine exploded and sank with 266 men killed. Public attention focused on the crisis and the consensus was that regardless of who set the bomb, Spain had lost control over Cuba. McKinley insisted that a court of inquiry first determine whether the explosion was accidental. Negotiations with Spain continued as the court considered the evidence, but on March 20, the court ruled that the Maine was blown up by an underwater mine. As pressure for war mounted in Congress, McKinley continued to negotiate for Cuban independence. Spain refused McKinley's proposals, and on April 11, McKinley turned the matter over to Congress. He did not ask for war, but Congress made the decision and declared war on April 20, with the addition of the Teller Amendment, which disavowed any intention of annexing Cuba. Historian Nick Kapur argues that McKinley's actions were based on his values of arbitrationism, pacifism, humanitarianism, and manly self-restraint, and not on external pressures.
The expansion of the telegraph and the development of the telephone gave McKinley greater control over the day-to-day management of the war than previous presidents had enjoyed, and he used the new technologies to direct the army's and navy's movements as far as he was able. McKinley found Alger inadequate as Secretary of War, and did not get along with the Army's commanding general, Nelson A. Miles. Bypassing them, he looked for strategic advice first from Miles's predecessor, General John Schofield, and later from Adjutant General Henry Clarke Corbin. The war led to a change in McKinley's cabinet, as the president accepted Sherman's resignation as Secretary of State. William R. Day agreed to serve as secretary until the war's end.
Within a fortnight, the navy had its first victory when Commodore George Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines. Dewey's overwhelming victory expanded the scope of the war from one centered in the Caribbean to one that would determine the fate of all of Spain's Pacific colonies. The next month, McKinley increased the number of troops sent to the Philippines and granted the force's commander, Major General Wesley Merritt, the power to set up legal systems and raise taxes—necessities for a long occupation. By the time the troops arrived in the Philippines at the end of June 1898, McKinley had decided that Spain would be required to surrender the archipelago to the United States. He professed to be open to all views on the subject; however, he believed that as the war progressed, the public would come to demand retention of the islands as a prize of war.
Meanwhile, in the Caribbean theater, a large force of regulars and volunteers gathered near Tampa, Florida, for an invasion of Cuba. After lengthy delays, the army, led by Major General William Rufus Shafter, on June 22, landed near Santiago de Cuba. Shafter's army engaged the Spanish forces on July 2 in the Battle of San Juan Hill. In an intense day-long battle, the American force was victorious, although both sides suffered heavy casualties. The next day, Spain's Caribbean squadron, which had been sheltering in Santiago's harbor, broke for the open sea and was destroyed by the North Atlantic Squadron in the largest naval battle of the war. Shafter laid siege to the city of Santiago, which surrendered on July 17, placing Cuba under effective American control. McKinley and Miles also ordered an invasion of Puerto Rico, which met little resistance when it landed in July. The distance from Spain and the destruction of the Spanish navy made resupply impossible, and the Spanish government began to look for a way to end the war.
=== Peace and territorial gain ===
McKinley's cabinet agreed with him that Spain must leave Cuba and Puerto Rico, but they disagreed on the Philippines, with some wishing to annex the entire archipelago and some wishing only to retain a naval base in the area. Although public sentiment seemed to favor annexation of the Philippines, several prominent political leaders—including Democrats Bryan, and Cleveland, and the newly formed American Anti-Imperialist League—made their opposition known.
McKinley proposed to open negotiations with Spain on the basis of Cuban liberation and Puerto Rican annexation, with the final status of the Philippines subject to further discussion. He stood firmly in that demand even as the military situation in Cuba began to deteriorate when the American army was struck with yellow fever. Spain ultimately agreed to a ceasefire on those terms on August 12, and treaty negotiations began in Paris in September 1898. The talks continued until December 18, when the Treaty of Paris was signed. The United States acquired Puerto Rico and the Philippines as well as the island of Guam, and Spain relinquished its claims to Cuba; in exchange, the United States agreed to pay Spain $20 million (equivalent to $774 million in 2025). McKinley had difficulty convincing the Senate to approve the treaty by the requisite two-thirds vote, but his lobbying, and that of Vice President Hobart, eventually saw success, as the Senate voted in favor on February 6, 1899, 57 to 27.
==== Hawaii ====
During the war, McKinley also pursued the annexation of the Republic of Hawaii. The new republic, dominated by business interests, had overthrown the Queen in 1893 when she attempted to restore the powers of the monarchy by nullifying the bayonet constitution. There was strong American support for annexation, and the need for Pacific bases in wartime became clear after the Battle of Manila. McKinley came to office as a supporter of annexation, and lobbied Congress to act, warning that to do nothing would invite a royalist counter-revolution or a Japanese takeover. Foreseeing difficulty in getting two-thirds of the Senate to approve a treaty of annexation, McKinley instead supported the effort of Democratic Representative Francis G. Newlands of Nevada to accomplish the result by joint resolution of both houses of Congress. The resulting Newlands Resolution passed both houses by wide margins, and McKinley signed it into law on July 8, 1898. McKinley biographer H. Wayne Morgan notes, "McKinley was the guiding spirit behind the annexation of Hawaii, showing ... a firmness in pursuing it"; the president told Cortelyou, "We need Hawaii just as much and a good deal more than we did California. It is manifest destiny."
=== Expanding influence overseas ===
==== Open door in China ====
Even before peace negotiations began with Spain, McKinley asked Congress to set up a commission to examine trade opportunities in Asia and espoused an "Open Door Policy", in which all nations would freely trade with China and none would seek to violate that nation's territorial integrity.
American missionaries were threatened with death when the Boxer Rebellion menaced foreigners in China. Americans and other westerners in Peking were besieged and, in cooperation with other western powers, McKinley ordered 5000 troops to the city in June 1900 in the China Relief Expedition. The westerners were rescued the next month, but several Congressional Democrats objected to McKinley dispatching troops without consulting the legislature. McKinley's actions set a precedent that led to most of his successors exerting similar independent control over the military. After the rebellion ended, the United States reaffirmed its commitment to the Open Door policy, which became the basis of American policy toward China.
==== Panama canal ====
Closer to home, McKinley and Hay engaged in negotiations with Britain over the possible construction of a canal across Central America. The Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which the two nations signed in 1850, prohibited either from establishing exclusive control over a canal there. The war had exposed the difficulty of maintaining a two-ocean navy when the Navy had to sail all the way around South America to reach the Pacific. Now, with American business and military interests even more involved in Asia, a canal seemed more essential than ever, and McKinley pressed for a renegotiation of the treaty. Hay and the British ambassador, Julian Pauncefote, agreed that the United States could control a future canal, provided that it was open to all shipping and not fortified. McKinley was satisfied with the terms, but the Senate rejected them, demanding that the United States be allowed to fortify the canal. Hay was embarrassed by the rebuff and offered his resignation, but McKinley refused it and ordered him to continue negotiations to achieve the Senate's demands. He was successful, and a new treaty was drafted and approved, but not before McKinley's assassination in 1901. The result under Roosevelt was the Panama Canal.
=== Tariffs and bimetallism ===
McKinley had built his reputation in Congress on high tariffs, promising protection for American business and well-paid U.S. factory workers. With the Republicans in control of Congress, Ways and Means chairman Dingley introduced the Dingley Act, which would raise tariff rates on wool, sugar, and luxury goods. Congress passed the legislation with McKinley's support, and he signed it into law on July 24, 1897, less than five months into his presidency.
American negotiators soon concluded a reciprocity treaty with France, and the two nations approached Britain to gauge British enthusiasm for bimetallism. Prime Minister Lord Salisbury and his government showed some interest in the idea and told American envoy Edward O. Wolcott that he would be amenable to reopening the mints in India to silver coinage if the Viceroy's Executive Council there agreed. News of a possible departure from the gold standard stirred up immediate opposition from its partisans, and misgivings by the Indian administration led Britain to reject the proposal. With the international effort a failure, McKinley turned away from silver coinage and embraced the gold standard. Even without the agreement, agitation for free silver eased as prosperity began to return to the United States and gold from recent strikes in the Yukon and Australia increased the monetary supply even without silver coinage. In the absence of international agreement, McKinley favored legislation to formally affirm the gold standard, but was initially deterred by the silver strength in the Senate. By 1900, with another campaign ahead and good economic conditions, McKinley urged Congress to pass such a law, and signed the Gold Standard Act on March 14, 1900, using a gold pen to do so.
=== Civil rights ===
In the wake of McKinley's election in 1896, black people were hopeful of progress towards equality. McKinley had spoken out against lynching while governor, and most black people who could still vote supported him in 1896. McKinley's priority, however, was in ending sectionalism, and they were disappointed by his policies and appointments. Although McKinley made some appointments of black people to low-level government posts, and received some praise for that, the appointments were less than they had received under previous Republican administrations.
The McKinley administration's response to racial violence was minimal, causing him to lose black support. When black postmasters at Hogansville, Georgia, in 1897, and at Lake City, South Carolina, the following year, were assaulted, McKinley issued no statement of condemnation. Although black leaders criticized McKinley for inaction, supporters responded by saying there was little that the president could do to intervene. Critics replied by saying that he could at least publicly condemn such events, as Harrison had done.
When a group of white supremacists violently overthrew the duly elected government of Wilmington, North Carolina, on November 10, 1898, in an event that came to be recognized as the Wilmington insurrection of 1898, McKinley refused requests by black leaders to send in federal marshals or federal troops to protect black citizens, and ignored city residents' appeals for help to recover from the widespread destruction of the predominantly black neighborhood of Brooklyn.
According to historian Clarence A. Bacote, "Before the Spanish–American War, the Negroes, in spite of some mistakes, regarded McKinley as the best friend they ever had." Under pressure from black leaders, McKinley required the War Department to commission black officers above the rank of lieutenant. McKinley toured the South in late 1898, promoting sectional reconciliation. He visited Tuskegee Institute and the famous black educator Booker T. Washington. He also visited Confederate memorials. In his tour of the South, McKinley did not mention the racial tensions or violence. Although the president received a rapturous reception from Southern whites, many blacks, excluded from official welcoming committees, felt alienated by the president's words and actions. Gould concluded regarding race, "McKinley lacked the vision to transcend the biases of his day and to point toward a better future for all Americans".
=== 1900 election ===
Republicans were generally successful in state and local elections around the country in 1899, and McKinley was optimistic about his chances at re-election in 1900. McKinley's popularity in his first term assured him of renomination for a second. The only question about the Republican ticket concerned the vice presidential nomination; McKinley needed a new running mate as Hobart had died in late 1899. McKinley initially favored Elihu Root, who had succeeded Alger as Secretary of War, but McKinley decided that Root was doing too good a job at the War Department to move him. He considered other prominent candidates, including Allison and Cornelius Newton Bliss, but none were as popular as the Republican party's rising star, Theodore Roosevelt. After a stint as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Roosevelt had resigned and raised a cavalry regiment; they fought bravely in Cuba, and Roosevelt returned home covered in glory. Elected governor of New York on a reform platform in 1898, Roosevelt had his eye on the presidency. Many supporters recommended him to McKinley for the second spot on the ticket, and Roosevelt believed it would be an excellent stepping stone to the presidency in 1904. McKinley remained uncommitted in public, but Hanna was firmly opposed to the New York governor. The Ohio senator considered the New Yorker overly impulsive; his stance was undermined by the efforts of political boss and New York Senator Thomas C. Platt, who, disliking Roosevelt's reform agenda, sought to sideline the governor by making him vice president.
When the Republican convention began in Philadelphia that June, no vice presidential candidate had overwhelming support, but Roosevelt had the broadest range of support from around the country. McKinley affirmed that the choice belonged to the convention, not to him. On June 21, McKinley was unanimously renominated and, with Hanna's reluctant acquiescence, Roosevelt was nominated for vice president on the first ballot. The Democratic convention convened the next month in Kansas City and nominated William Jennings Bryan, setting up a rematch of the 1896 contest.
The candidates were the same, but the issues of the campaign had shifted: free silver was still a question that animated many voters, but the Republicans focused on victory in war and prosperity at home as issues they believed favored their party. Democrats knew the war had been popular, even if the imperialism issue was less sure, so they focused on the issue of trusts and corporate power, painting McKinley as the servant of capital and big business. As in 1896, Bryan embarked on a speaking tour around the country while McKinley stayed at home, this time making only one speech, to accept his nomination. Roosevelt emerged as the campaign's primary speaker and Hanna helped the cause by working to settle a coal miners strike in Pennsylvania. Bryan's campaigning failed to excite the voters as it had in 1896, and McKinley never doubted that he would be re-elected. On November 6, 1900, he was proven correct, winning the largest victory for any Republican since 1872. Bryan carried only four states outside the solid South, and McKinley even won Bryan's home state of Nebraska.
=== Second term ===
Soon after his second inauguration on March 4, 1901, William and Ida McKinley undertook a six-week tour of the nation. Traveling mostly by rail, the McKinleys were to travel through the South to the Southwest, and then up the Pacific coast and east again, to conclude with a visit on June 13, 1901, to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. However, the first lady fell ill in California, causing her husband to limit his public events and cancel a series of speeches he had planned to give urging trade reciprocity. He also postponed the visit to the fair until September, planning a month in Washington and two in Canton before the Buffalo visit.
== Assassination ==
Although McKinley enjoyed meeting the public, Cortelyou was concerned with his security because of recent assassinations by anarchists in Europe, such as the assassination of King Umberto I of Italy the previous year. Twice he tried to remove a public reception from the president's rescheduled visit to the exposition. McKinley refused, and Cortelyou arranged for additional security for the trip. On September 5, McKinley delivered his address at the fairgrounds before a crowd of 50,000. In his final speech, McKinley urged reciprocity treaties with other nations to assure American manufacturers access to foreign markets. He intended the speech as a keynote to his plans for a second term.
A man in the crowd named Leon Czolgosz hoped to assassinate McKinley. After hearing a speech by anarchist Emma Goldman in Cleveland, Czolgosz had decided to take action that he believed would advance the cause. He had managed to get close to the presidential podium, but did not fire, uncertain of hitting his target. After his failure to get close enough on September 5, Czolgosz waited until the next day at the Temple of Music on the exposition grounds, where the president was to meet the public. Czolgosz concealed his gun in a handkerchief and, when he reached the head of the line, shot McKinley twice in the abdomen at close range.
McKinley urged his aides to break the news gently to Ida, and to call off the mob that had set upon Czolgosz, a request that may have saved his assassin's life. McKinley was taken to the exposition aid station, where the doctor was unable to locate the second bullet. Although a primitive X-ray machine was being exhibited on the exposition grounds, it was not used. McKinley was taken to the home of John G. Milburn, president of the Pan-American Exposition Company.
In the days after the shooting, McKinley appeared to improve and doctors issued increasingly optimistic bulletins. Members of the Cabinet, who had rushed to Buffalo on hearing the news, dispersed, and Vice President Roosevelt departed on a camping trip to the Adirondacks.
Leech wrote:
It is difficult to interpret the optimism with which the President's physicians looked for his recovery. There was obviously the most serious danger that his wounds would become septic. In that case, he would almost certainly die, since drugs to control infection did not exist ... [Prominent New York City physician] Dr. McBurney was by far the worst offender in showering sanguine assurances on the correspondents. As the only big-city surgeon on the case, he was eagerly questioned and quoted, and his rosy prognostications largely contributed to the delusion of the American public.
On the morning of September 13, McKinley's condition deteriorated. Specialists were summoned; although at first some doctors hoped that McKinley might survive with a weakened heart, by afternoon they knew that the case was hopeless. Unknown to the doctors, gangrene was growing on the walls of McKinley's stomach and slowly poisoning his blood. McKinley drifted in and out of consciousness all day, but when awake he was a model patient. By evening, McKinley too knew he was dying, "It is useless, gentlemen. I think we ought to have prayer." Relatives and friends gathered around the death bed. The first lady sobbed over him, saying, "I want to go, too. I want to go, too." Her husband replied, "We are all going, we are all going. God's will be done, not ours", and with final strength put an arm around her. He may also have sung part of his favorite hymn, "Nearer, My God, to Thee", although some other accounts have the first lady singing it softly to him.
At 2:15 a.m. on September 14, 1901, McKinley died. Theodore Roosevelt rushed back to Buffalo and took the oath of office as president. Czolgosz, put on trial for murder nine days after McKinley's death, was found guilty, sentenced to death on September 26 and executed by electric chair on October 29, 1901.
== Funeral, memorials, and legacy ==
=== Funeral and resting place ===
According to Gould, "The nation experienced a wave of genuine grief at the news of McKinley's passing." The stock market, faced with sudden uncertainty, suffered a steep decline that went nearly unnoticed in the mourning. The nation focused its attention on the casket that first lay in the East Room of the Executive Mansion and then lay in state in the Capitol before being transported to Canton by train. Approximately 100,000 people passed by the open casket in the Capitol Rotunda, many having waited hours in the rain. In Canton, an equal number did the same at the Stark County Courthouse on September 18. The following day, a funeral service was held at the First Methodist Church. The casket was next sealed and taken to the McKinley house, where relatives paid their final respects. It was then transported to the receiving vault at West Lawn Cemetery in Canton to await the construction of the memorial to McKinley already being planned.
There was a widespread expectation that Ida McKinley would not long survive her husband; one family friend stated, as William McKinley lay dying, that they should be prepared for a double funeral. However, this did not occur, and the former first lady accompanied her husband on the funeral train. Leech noted "the circuitous journey was a cruel ordeal for the woman who huddled in a compartment of the funeral train, praying that the Lord would take her with her Dearest Love." She was thought too weak to attend the services in Washington or Canton, although she listened at the door to the service for her husband in her house on North Market Street. She remained in Canton for the remainder of her life, setting up a shrine in her house and often visiting the receiving vault, until her death at age 59 on May 26, 1907. She died only months before the completion of the large marble monument to her husband in Canton, which was dedicated by President Roosevelt on September 30, 1907. William and Ida McKinley are interred there with their daughters atop a hillside overlooking the city of Canton.
=== Other memorials ===
In addition to the Canton site, many other memorials honor McKinley. The William McKinley Monument stands in front of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus and a large marble statue of McKinley is situated at his birthplace in Niles. Twenty Ohio schools bear McKinley's name, and several more schools in the United States are named McKinley School. Nearly a million dollars was pledged by contributors or allocated from public funds for the construction of McKinley memorials in the year after his death. McKinley biographer Kevin Phillips suggests that the significant number of major memorials to McKinley in Ohio reflect the expectation among Ohioans in the years after McKinley's death that he would be ranked among the great presidents.
Statues bearing McKinley's image may be found in more than a dozen states, and his name has been bestowed on streets, civic organizations and libraries. In 1896, a gold prospector gave McKinley's name to Denali, the tallest mountain in North America at 20,310 feet (6,190 m). The Alaska Board of Geographic Names reverted the name of the mountain to Denali, its local appellation, in 1975. The Department of the Interior followed suit in August 2015 as a part of a visit to Alaska by President Barack Obama. On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to restore McKinley's name to the mountain. Denali National Park was known as Mount McKinley National Park until December 2, 1980, when it was changed by legislation signed by President Jimmy Carter.
=== Legacy and historical image ===
McKinley's biographer H. Wayne Morgan remarks that McKinley died the most beloved president in history. However, the young, enthusiastic Roosevelt quickly captured public attention. The new president made little effort to secure the trade reciprocity that McKinley had intended to negotiate with other nations. Controversy and public interest surrounded Roosevelt throughout the seven and a half years of his presidency as memories of McKinley faded; by 1920, according to Gould, McKinley's administration was deemed no more than "a mediocre prelude to the vigor and energy of Theodore Roosevelt's." Beginning in the 1950s, McKinley received more favorable evaluations; nevertheless, in surveys ranking American presidents, he has generally been placed near the middle, often trailing contemporaries such as Hayes and Cleveland. Morgan suggests that this relatively low ranking is the result of a perception among historians that while many decisions during McKinley's presidency profoundly affected the nation's future, he more followed public opinion than led it, and that McKinley's standing has suffered from altered public expectations of the presidency.
There has been broad agreement among historians that McKinley's election occurred at a time of a transition between two political eras, dubbed the Third and Fourth Party Systems. Kenneth F. Warren emphasizes the national commitment to a pro-business, industrial, and modernizing program represented by McKinley. Historian Daniel P. Klinghard argued that McKinley's personal control of the 1896 campaign gave him the opportunity to reshape the presidency—rather than simply follow the party platform—by representing himself as the voice of the people. Republican Karl Rove exalted McKinley as the model for a sweeping political realignment behind George W. Bush in the 2000s—a realignment that did not happen. Historian Michael J. Korzi argued in 2005 that while it is tempting to see McKinley as the key figure in the transition from congressional domination of government to the modern, powerful president, this change was an incremental process through the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Phillips writes that McKinley's low rating is undeserved, and that he should be ranked just after the great presidents such as Washington and Lincoln. He pointed to McKinley's success at building an electoral coalition that kept the Republicans mostly in power for a generation. Phillips believes that part of McKinley's legacy is the men whom he included in his administration who dominated the Republican Party for a quarter century after his death. These officials included Cortelyou, who served in three Cabinet positions under Roosevelt, and Dawes, who became vice president under Coolidge. Other McKinley appointees who later became major figures include Day, whom Roosevelt elevated to the Supreme Court where he remained nearly 20 years, and William Howard Taft, whom McKinley had made Governor-General of the Philippines and who succeeded Roosevelt as president. After the assassination, the present United States Secret Service came into existence when the Congress deemed it necessary that presidential protection be part of its duties.
A controversial aspect of McKinley's presidency is territorial expansion and the question of imperialism; with the exception of the Philippines, granted independence in 1946, the United States still retains the territories taken under McKinley. The territorial expansion of 1898 is often seen by historians as the beginning of an American empire. Morgan sees that historical discussion as a subset of the debate over the rise of America as a world power; he expects the debate over McKinley's actions to continue indefinitely without resolution, and notes that however one judges McKinley's actions in American expansion, one of his motivations was to change the lives of Filipinos and Cubans for the better.
A political conservative, McKinley presided over an administration that pursued conservative policies in relation to foreign policy, civil rights and the economy. In regards to the latter, one historian has argued that "Concerning government intervention in the economy under McKinley, the approach remained decidedly laissez-faire."
Morgan alludes to the rise of interest in McKinley as part of the debate over the more assertive American foreign policy of recent decades:
McKinley was a major actor in some of the most important events in American history. His decisions shaped future policies and public attitudes. He usually rises in the estimation of scholars who study his life in detail. Even those who disagree with his policies and decisions see him as an active, responsible, informed participant in charge of decision making. His dignified demeanor and subtle operations keep him somewhat remote from public perception. But he is once again at the center of events, where he started.
=== Gallery of memorials === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius# | Confucius# | Confucius (c. 551 – c. 479 BCE), born Kong Qiu, was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the philosophy and teachings of Confucius. His philosophical teachings, called Confucianism, emphasized personal and governmental morality, harmonious social relationships, righteousness, kindness, sincerity, and a ruler's responsibilities to lead by virtue.
Confucius considered himself a transmitter for the values of earlier periods which he claimed had been abandoned in his time. He advocated for filial piety, endorsing strong family loyalty, ancestor veneration, and the respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives. Confucius recommended a robust family unit as the cornerstone for an ideal government. He championed the Silver Rule, or a negative form of the Golden Rule, advising, "Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself."
The time of Confucius's life saw a rich diversity of thought, and was a formative period in China's intellectual history. His ideas gained in prominence during the Warring States period, but experienced setback immediately following the Qin conquest. Under Emperor Wu of Han, Confucius's ideas received official sanction, with affiliated works becoming mandatory readings for career paths leading to officialdom. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Confucianism developed into a system known in the West as Neo-Confucianism. In the 20th century, an intellectual movement emerged in the Republic of China that sought to apply Confucian ideology in a modern context, known as New Confucianism. From ancient dynasties to the modern era, Confucianism has integrated into the Chinese social fabric and way of life.
Traditionally, Confucius is credited with having authored or edited many of the ancient texts including all of the Five Classics. However, modern scholars exercise caution in attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself, for at least some of the texts and philosophy associated with him were of a more ancient origin. Aphorisms concerning his teachings were compiled in the Analects, but not until many years after his death.
== Name ==
The name "Confucius" is a Latinized form of the Mandarin Chinese Kǒngfūzǐ (孔夫子)—roughly meaning "Great Master Kong" or "Wise Teacher Kong"—that was coined in the late 16th century by early Jesuit missionaries to China. The more common name in Mandarin Chinese today is Kǒngzǐ (孔子), simply meaning "Master Kong". Confucius's family name was Kong (孔, OC:*kʰˤoŋʔ) and his given name was Qiu (丘, OC:*[k]ʷʰə). His courtesy name, a capping (guan: 冠) given at his coming of age ceremony, and by which he would have been known to all but his older family members, was Zhongni (仲尼, OC:*N-truŋ-s nr[əj]), the "Zhòng" indicating that he was the second son in his family.
== Life ==
=== Early life ===
It is thought that Confucius was born on 28 September 551 BCE, in Zou (陬, in modern Qufu, Shandong). The area was notionally controlled by the kings of Zhou but effectively independent under the local lords of Lu, who ruled from the nearby city of Qufu. His father Kong He (or Shuliang He) was an elderly commandant of the local Lu garrison. His ancestry traced back through the dukes of Song to the Shang dynasty which had preceded the Zhou. Traditional accounts of Confucius's life relate that Kong He's grandfather had migrated the family from Song to Lu. Not all modern scholars accept Confucius's descent from Song nobility.
Kong He died when Confucius was three years old, and Confucius was raised by his mother Yan Zhengzai (顏徵在) in poverty. His mother later died at less than 40 years of age. At age 19, he married Lady Qiguan (亓官氏), and a year later the couple had their first child, their son Kong Li (孔鯉). Qiguan and Confucius later had two daughters together, one of whom is thought to have died as a child and one was named Kong Jiao (孔姣).
Confucius was educated at schools for commoners, where he studied and learned the Six Arts.
Confucius was born into the class of shi (士), between the aristocracy and the common people. He is said to have worked in various government jobs during his early 20s, and as a bookkeeper and a caretaker of sheep and horses, using the proceeds to give his mother a proper burial. When his mother died, Confucius (aged 23) is said to have mourned for three years, as was the tradition.
=== Political career ===
In Confucius's time, the state of Lu was headed by a ruling ducal house. Under the duke were three aristocratic families, whose heads bore the title of viscount and held hereditary positions in the Lu bureaucracy. The Ji family held the position "Minister over the Masses", who was also the "Prime Minister"; the Meng family held the position "Minister of Works"; and the Shu family held the position "Minister of War". In the winter of 505 BCE, Yang Hu—a retainer of the Ji family—rose up in rebellion and seized power from the Ji family. However, by the summer of 501 BCE, the three hereditary families had succeeded in expelling Yang Hu from Lu. By then, Confucius had built up a considerable reputation through his teachings, while the families came to see the value of proper conduct and righteousness, so they could achieve loyalty to a legitimate government. Thus, that year (501 BCE), Confucius came to be appointed to the minor position of governor of a town. Eventually, he rose to the position of Minister of Crime. The Xunzi says that once assuming the post, Confucius ordered the execution of Shaozheng Mao, another Lu state official and scholar whose lectures attracted the three thousand disciples several times except Yan Hui. Shaozheng Mao was accused of 'five crimes', each worth execution, including 'concealed evilness, stubborn abnormality, eloquent duplicity, erudition in bizarre facts and generosity to evildoers'.
Confucius desired to return the authority of the state to the duke by dismantling the fortifications of the city—strongholds belonging to the three families. This way, he could establish a centralized government. However, Confucius relied solely on diplomacy as he had no military authority himself. In 500 BCE, Hou Fan—the governor of Hou—revolted against his lord of the Shu family. Although the Meng and Shu families unsuccessfully besieged Hou, a loyalist official rose up with the people of Hou and forced Hou Fan to flee to the state of Qi. The situation may have been in favor for Confucius as this likely made it possible for Confucius and his disciples to convince the aristocratic families to dismantle the fortifications of their cities. Eventually, after a year and a half, Confucius and his disciples succeeded in convincing the Shu family to raze the walls of Hou, the Ji family in razing the walls of Bi, and the Meng family in razing the walls of Cheng. First, the Shu family led an army towards their city Hou and tore down its walls in 498 BCE.
Soon thereafter, Gongshan Furao, a retainer of the Ji family, revolted and took control of the forces at Bi. He immediately launched an attack and entered the capital Lu. Earlier, Gongshan had approached Confucius to join him, which Confucius considered as he wanted the opportunity to put his principles into practice but he gave up on the idea in the end. Confucius disapproved the use of a violent revolution by principle, even though the Ji family dominated the Lu state by force for generations and had exiled the previous duke. Creel states that, unlike the rebel Yang Hu before him, Gongshan may have sought to destroy the three hereditary families and restore the power of the duke. However, Dubs is of the view that Gongshan was encouraged by Viscount Ji Huan to invade the Lu capital in an attempt to avoid dismantling the Bi fortified walls. Whatever the situation may have been, Gongshan was considered an upright man who continued to defend the state of Lu, even after he was forced to flee.
During the revolt by Gongshan, Zhong You had managed to keep the duke and the three viscounts together at the court. Zhong You was one of the disciples of Confucius and Confucius had arranged for him to be given the position of governor by the Ji family. When Confucius heard of the raid, he requested that Viscount Ji Huan allow the duke and his court to retreat to a stronghold on his palace grounds. Thereafter, the heads of the three families and the duke retreated to the Ji's palace complex and ascended the Wuzi Terrace. Confucius ordered two officers to lead an assault against the rebels. At least one of the two officers was a retainer of the Ji family, but they were unable to refuse the orders while in the presence of the duke, viscounts, and court. The rebels were pursued and defeated at Gu. Immediately after the revolt was defeated, the Ji family razed the Bi city walls to the ground.
The attackers retreated after realizing that they would have to become rebels against the state and their lord. Through Confucius' actions, the Bi officials had inadvertently revolted against their own lord, thus forcing Viscount Ji Huan's hand in having to dismantle the walls of Bi—as it could have harbored such rebels—or confess to instigating the event by going against proper conduct and righteousness as an official. Dubs suggests that the incident brought to light Confucius' foresight, practical political ability, and insight into human character.
When it was time to dismantle the city walls of the Meng family, the governor was reluctant to have his city walls torn down and convinced the head of the Meng family not to do so. The Zuo Zhuan recalls that the governor advised against razing the walls to the ground as he said that it made Cheng vulnerable to Qi, and cause the destruction of the Meng family. Even though Viscount Meng Yi gave his word not to interfere with an attempt, he went back on his earlier promise to dismantle the walls.
Later in 498 BCE, Duke Ding of Lu personally went with an army to lay siege to Cheng in an attempt to raze its walls to the ground, but he did not succeed. Thus, Confucius could not achieve the idealistic reforms that he wanted including restoration of the legitimate rule of the duke. He had made powerful enemies within the state, especially with Viscount Ji Huan, due to his successes so far. According to accounts in the Zuo Zhuan and the Records of the Grand Historian, Confucius departed his homeland in 497 BCE after his support for the failed attempt of dismantling the fortified city walls of the powerful Ji, Meng, and Shu families. He left the state of Lu without resigning, remaining in self-exile and unable to return as long as Viscount Ji Huan was alive.
=== Exile ===
The Shiji stated that the neighboring Qi state was worried that Lu was becoming too powerful while Confucius was involved in the government of the Lu state. According to this account, Qi decided to sabotage Lu's reforms by sending 100 good horses and 80 beautiful dancing girls to the duke of Lu. The duke indulged himself in pleasure and did not attend to official duties for three days. Confucius was disappointed and resolved to leave Lu and seek better opportunities, yet to leave at once would expose the misbehavior of the duke and therefore bring public humiliation to the ruler Confucius was serving. Confucius therefore waited for the duke to make a lesser mistake. Soon after, the duke neglected to send to Confucius a portion of the sacrificial meat that was his due according to custom, and Confucius seized upon this pretext to leave both his post and the Lu state.
After Confucius's resignation, he travelled around the principality states of north-east and central China including Wey, Song, Zheng, Cao, Chu, Qi, Chen, and Cai (and a failed attempt to go to Jin). At the courts of these states, he expounded his political beliefs but did not see them implemented.
=== Return home ===
According to the Zuozhuan, Confucius returned home to his native Lu when he was 68, after he was invited to do so by Ji Kangzi, the chief minister of Lu. The Shiji depicts him spending his last years teaching 3000 pupils, with 72 or 77 accomplished disciples that mastered the Six Arts. Meanwhile, Confucius dedicated himself in transmitting the old wisdom by writing or editing the Five Classics.
During his return, Confucius sometimes acted as an advisor to several government officials in Lu, including Ji Kangzi, on matters including governance and crime.
Burdened by the loss of both his son and his favorite disciples, he died at the age of 71 or 72 from natural causes. Confucius was buried on the bank of the Sishui River, to the north of Qufu City in Shandong Province. Starting as a humble tomb, the cemetery of Confucius had been expanded by emperors since the Han dynasty. To date, the Cemetery of Confucius (孔林) covers an area of 183 hectares with more than 100,000 graves of the Kong descendants, it is included in the World Heritage List for its cultural and architectural value.
== Philosophy ==
In the Analects, Confucius presents himself as a "transmitter who invented nothing". He puts the greatest emphasis on the importance of study, and it is the Chinese character for study (學) that opens the text. Far from trying to build a systematic or formalist theory, he wanted his disciples to master and internalize older classics, so that they can capture the ancient wisdoms that promotes "harmony and order", to aid their self-cultivation to become a perfect man. For example, the Annals would allow them to relate the moral problems of the present to past political events; the Book of Odes reflects the "mood and concerns" of the commoners and their view on government; while the Book of Changes encompasses the key theory and practice of divination.
Although some Chinese people follow Confucianism in a religious manner, many argue that its values are secular and that it is less a religion than a secular morality. Proponents of religious Confucianism argue that despite the secular nature of Confucianism's teachings, it is based on a worldview that is religious. Confucius was considered more of a humanist than a spiritualist, his discussions on afterlife and views concerning Heaven remained indeterminate, and he is largely unconcerned with spiritual matters often considered essential to religious thought, such as the nature of souls.
=== Ethics ===
One of the deepest teachings of Confucius may have been the superiority of personal exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. His moral teachings emphasized self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules. Confucian ethics may, therefore, be considered a type of virtue ethics. His teachings rarely rely on reasoned argument, and ethical ideals and methods are conveyed indirectly, through allusion, innuendo, and even tautology. His teachings require examination and context to be understood. A good example is found in this famous anecdote:
廄焚。子退朝，曰：傷人乎？不問馬。
When the stables were burnt down, on returning from court Confucius said, "Was anyone hurt?" He did not ask about the horses.
This remark was considered a strong manifestation of Confucius' advocacy in humanism.
One of his teachings was a variant of the Golden Rule, sometimes called the "Silver Rule" owing to its negative form:
子貢問曰：有一言而可以終身行之者乎？子曰：其恕乎！己所不欲、勿施於人。
Zi Gong [a disciple] asked: "Is there any one word that could guide a person throughout life?" The Master replied: "How about 'reciprocity'! Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself."
Often overlooked in Confucian ethics are the virtues to the self: sincerity and the cultivation of knowledge. Virtuous action towards others begins with virtuous and sincere thought, which begins with knowledge. A virtuous disposition without knowledge is susceptible to corruption, and virtuous action without sincerity is not true righteousness. For Confucius, learning about ancient rituals, practices, music, social institutions, and relationship norms is both essential and the starting point for becoming a junzi. By "learning," Confucius refers to moral cultivation that transforms a student into a superior man, rather than the mere accumulation of knowledge.
The Confucian theory of ethics as exemplified in lǐ (禮) is based on three important conceptual aspects of life: (a) ceremonies associated with sacrifice to ancestors and deities of various types, (b) social and political institutions, and (c) the etiquette of daily behavior. Some believed that lǐ originated from the heavens, but Confucius stressed the development of lǐ through the actions of sage leaders in human history. His discussions of lǐ seem to redefine the term to refer to all actions committed by a person to build the ideal society, rather than those conforming with canonical standards of ceremony.
In the early Confucian tradition, lǐ was doing the proper thing at the proper time; balancing between maintaining existing norms to perpetuate an ethical social fabric, and violating them in order to accomplish ethical good. Training in the lǐ of past sages, cultivates virtues in people that include ethical judgment about when lǐ must be adapted in light of situational contexts.
In Confucianism, the concept of li is closely related to yì (義), which is based upon the idea of reciprocity. Yì can be translated as righteousness, though it may mean what is ethically best to do in a certain context. The term contrasts with action done out of self-interest or profitableness (利). While pursuing one's own self-interest is not necessarily bad, one would be a better, more righteous person if one's life was based upon following a path designed to enhance the greater good. Thus an outcome of yì is doing the right thing for its own sake, without regarding the material gains.
Just as action according to lǐ should be adapted to conform to the aspiration of adhering to yì, so yì is linked to the core value of rén (仁). Rén consists of five basic virtues: seriousness, generosity, sincerity, diligence, and kindness. Rén is the virtue of perfectly fulfilling one's responsibilities toward others, most often translated as "benevolence", "humaneness", or "empathy"; translator Arthur Waley calls it "Goodness" (with a capital G), and other translations that have been put forth include "authoritativeness" and "selflessness". Confucius's moral system was based upon empathy and understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. To develop one's spontaneous responses of rén so that these could guide action intuitively was even better than living by the rules of yì. Confucius asserts that virtue is a mean between extremes. For example, the properly generous person gives the right amount – not too much and not too little.
=== Politics ===
Confucius's political thought is based upon his ethical thought. He argued that the best government is one that rules through "rites" (lǐ) and morality, and not by using incentives and coercion. He explained that this is one of the most important analects: "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of the shame, and moreover will become good." (Analects 2.3, tr. Legge). This "sense of shame" is an internalization of duty. Confucianism prioritizes creating a harmonious society over the ruler's interests, opposes material incentives and harsh punishments, and downplays the role of institutions in guiding behavior as in Legalism, emphasizing moral virtues instead.
Confucius looked nostalgically upon earlier days, and urged the Chinese, particularly those with political power, to model themselves on earlier examples. In times of division, chaos, and endless wars between feudal states, he wanted to restore the Mandate of Heaven (天命) that could unify the "world" (天下, "all under Heaven") and bestow peace and prosperity on the people. Because his vision of personal and social perfections was framed as a revival of the ordered society of earlier times, Confucius is often considered a great proponent of conservatism, but a closer look at what he proposes often shows that he used (and perhaps twisted) past institutions and rites to push a new political agenda of his own: a revival of a unified royal state, whose rulers would succeed to power on the basis of their moral merits instead of lineage. These would be rulers devoted to the well-being of their people, striving to be a role model in virtue and ritual, and such a ruler would spread his own virtues to the people instead of imposing proper behavior with laws and edicts.
In discussing the relationship between a king and his subject (or a father and his son), he underlined the need to give due respect to superiors. This demanded that the subordinates must advise their superiors if the superiors are considered to be taking a course of action that is wrong. Confucius believed in ruling by example, if you lead correctly, orders by force or punishment are not necessary.
=== Music and poetry ===
Music was one of the six arts that students needed to master, together with archery, charioteering, mathematics, calligraphy, and a partner to music, the purpose of rituals. Confucius heavily promoted the use of music with rituals or the rites order. Unlike other philosophers around the world, Confucius viewed music and music theory beyond a mere art form or curriculum subject, and stated that it was intrinsically intertwined with rites in structuring man. "Music is that which moves man from the internal; rites are that which affects man
on the external. Music brings about harmony. Rites ensure obedience." To Confucius, music created the focus necessary to unite and harmonize man. Thus, music and rites together were more than beneficial but were to make people act in a manner compatible with heaven and earth. The scholar Li Zehou argued that Confucianism is based on the idea of rites. Rites serve as the starting point for each individual and that these sacred social functions allow each person's human nature to be harmonious with reality. Given this, Confucius believed that "music is the harmonization of heaven and earth; the rites is the order of heaven and earth." Therefore, the application of music in rites creates the order that makes it possible for society to prosper.
The Confucian approach to music was heavily inspired by the Shijing or Classic of Poetry and the Classic of Music, which was said to be the sixth Confucian classic until it was lost during the Han dynasty. The Classic of Poetry serves as one of the current Confucian classics and is a book on poetry that contains a diversified variety of poems as well as poems meant for folk songs. Confucius is traditionally ascribed with compiling these classics within his school. In the Analects, Confucius described the importance of poetry in the intellectual and moral development of an individual:
Confucians in later generations had conservative and mixed views on international musical influences encroaching on China, in particular those with varying styles that did not traditionally accompany rites, and some preached against sentimental tendencies from the Persians, the Greco-Bactrians, and the Mongols.
== Legacy ==
Confucius's teachings were later turned into an elaborate set of rules and practices by his numerous disciples and followers, who organized his teachings into the Analects. Confucius's disciples and his only grandson, Zisi, continued his philosophical school after his death. These efforts spread Confucian ideals to students who then became officials in many of the royal courts in China, thereby giving Confucianism the first wide-scale test of its dogma.
Two of Confucius's most famous later followers emphasized radically different aspects of his teachings. In the centuries after his death, Mencius (孟子) and Xunzi (荀子) both composed important teachings elaborating in different ways on the fundamental ideas associated with Confucius. Mencius (4th century BCE) articulated the innate goodness in human beings as a source of the ethical intuitions that guide people towards rén, yì, and lǐ, while Xunzi (3rd century BCE) underscored the realistic and materialistic aspects of Confucian thought, stressing that morality was inculcated in society through tradition and in individuals through training. In time, their writings, together with the Analects and other core texts came to constitute the philosophical corpus of Confucianism.
Towards the end of the Warring States periods, Legalism gained momentum amid the intensified power struggle. Considered an "antithesis of Confucian thinking", Legalism held that humanity and righteousness were not sufficient in government, and that rulers should instead rely on statecrafts, punishments, vigorous administration of law, and warfare. Legalism seemed to "win out over the other school of political thoughts" in 221 BCE when the Qin state conquered all of China and adopted legalism as its official doctrine. Li Si, Prime Minister of the Qin dynasty, convinced Qin Shi Huang to completely abolish feudal ranks and privileges of the Zhou dynasty, and to centralize power through the prefectures and county system.
It was not until the Han dynasty that Confucian teachings gained widespread prominence over other thinkers. Under Emperor Wu of Han, the works attributed to Confucius were made the official imperial philosophy and required reading for civil service examinations in 140 BCE which was continued nearly unbroken until the end of the imperial China in 1912. As Mohism lost support by the time of the Han, the main philosophical contenders were Legalism, which Confucian thought somewhat absorbed, the teachings of Laozi, whose focus on more spiritual ideas kept it from direct conflict with Confucianism, and the new Buddhist religion, which gained acceptance during the Southern and Northern Dynasties era. Both Confucian ideas and Confucian-trained officials were relied upon in the Ming dynasty and even the Yuan dynasty, although the Mongol rulers somehow distrusted Confucian scholar-officials and excluded them from some of the top government positions.
During the Song dynasty, Confucianism was revitalized in a movement known as Neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism was a revival of Confucianism that expanded on classical theories by incorporating metaphysics and new approaches to self-cultivation and enlightenment, influenced by Buddhism and Daoism. The most renowned scholar of this period was Zhu Xi. There are clear Buddhist and Daoist influences in the Neo-Confucian advocacy of "quiet sitting" (meditation) as a technique of self-cultivation that leads to transformative experiences of insight." In his life, Zhu Xi was largely ignored, but not long after his death, his ideas became the new orthodox view of what Confucian texts actually meant. Modern historians view Zhu Xi as having created something rather different and call his way of thinking Neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism held sway in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam until the 19th century.
The works of Confucius were first translated into European languages by Jesuit missionaries in the 16th century during the late Ming dynasty. The first known effort was by Michele Ruggieri, who returned to Italy in 1588 and carried on his translations while residing in Salerno. Matteo Ricci started to report on the thoughts of Confucius, and a team of Jesuits—Prospero Intorcetta, Philippe Couplet, and two others—published a translation of several Confucian works and an overview of Chinese history in Paris in 1687. François Noël, after failing to persuade Clement XI that Chinese veneration of ancestors and Confucius did not constitute idolatry, completed the Confucian canon at Prague in 1711, with more scholarly treatments of the other works and the first translation of the collected works of Mencius. It is thought that such works had considerable importance on European thinkers of the period, particularly among the Deists and other philosophical groups of the Enlightenment who were interested by the integration of the system of morality of Confucius into Western civilization.
In the modern era Confucian movements, such as New Confucianism, still exist, but during the Cultural Revolution, Confucianism was frequently attacked by leading figures in the Chinese Communist Party. This was partially a continuation of the condemnations of Confucianism by intellectuals and activists in the early 20th century as a cause of the ethnocentric close-mindedness and refusal of the Qing dynasty to modernize that led to the tragedies that befell China in the 19th century.
Confucian teachings, values, and practices permeated and influenced East Asian countries—particularly Korea, Japan, and Vietnam—in areas such as education systems, civil service selection, and ethical and social relations.
Among Tibetans, Confucius is often worshipped as a holy king and master of magic, divination and astrology. Tibetan Buddhists see him as learning divination from the Buddha Manjushri (and that knowledge subsequently reaching Tibet through Princess Wencheng), while Bon practitioners see him as being a reincarnation of Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche, the legendary founder of Bon.
The Ahmadiyya believes Confucius was a Divine Prophet of God, as were Lao-Tzu and other eminent Chinese personages.
According to the Siddhar tradition of Tamil Nadu, Confucius is one of the 18 esteemed Siddhars of yore, and is better known as Kalangi Nathar or Kamalamuni. The Thyagaraja Temple in Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu is home to his Jeeva Samadhi.
In modern times, Asteroid 7853, "Confucius", was named after the Chinese thinker.
=== Teaching and Disciples ===
Confucius was regarded as the first teacher who advocated for public welfare and the spread of education in China. Confucius devoted his entire life, from a relatively young age, to teaching. He pioneered private education adopting a curriculum known as the Six Arts, aimed at making education accessible to all social classes, and believed in its power to cultivate character rather than merely vocational skills. Confucius not only made teaching his profession but also contributed to the development of a distinct class of professionals in ancient China—the gentlemen who were neither farmers, artisans, merchants, nor officials but instead dedicated themselves to teaching and potential government service.
Confucius began teaching after he turned 30, and taught more than 3,000 students in his life, about 70 of whom were considered outstanding. His disciples and the early Confucian community they formed became the most influential intellectual force in the Warring States period. The Han dynasty historian Sima Qian dedicated a chapter in his Records of the Grand Historian to the biographies of Confucius's disciples, accounting for the influence they exerted in their time and afterward. Sima Qian recorded the names of 77 disciples in his collective biography, while Kongzi Jiayu, another early source, records 76, not completely overlapping. The two sources together yield the names of 96 disciples. Twenty-two of them are mentioned in the Analects, while the Mencius records 24.
Confucius did not charge any tuition, and only requested a symbolic gift of a bundle of dried meat from any prospective student. According to his disciple Zigong, his master treated students like doctors treated patients and did not turn anybody away. Most of them came from Lu, Confucius's home state, with 43 recorded, but he accepted students from all over China, with six from the state of Wey (such as Zigong), three from Qin, two each from Chen and Qi, and one each from Cai, Chu, and Song. Confucius considered his students' personal background irrelevant, and accepted noblemen, commoners, and even former criminals such as Yan Zhuoju and Gongye Chang. His disciples from richer families would pay a sum commensurate with their wealth which was considered a ritual donation.
Confucius's favorite disciple was Yan Hui, most probably one of the most impoverished of them all. Sima Niu, in contrast to Yan Hui, was from a hereditary noble family hailing from the Song state. Under Confucius's teachings, the disciples became well learned in the principles and methods of government. He often engaged in discussion and debate with his students and gave high importance to their studies in history, poetry, and ritual. Confucius advocated loyalty to principle rather than to individual acumen, in which reform was to be achieved by persuasion rather than violence. Even though Confucius denounced them for their practices, the aristocracy was likely attracted to the idea of having trustworthy officials who were studied in morals as the circumstances of the time made it desirable. In fact, the disciple Zilu even died defending his ruler in Wey.
Yang Hu, who was a subordinate of the Ji family, had dominated the Lu government from 505 to 502 and even attempted a coup, which narrowly failed. As a likely consequence, it was after this that the first disciples of Confucius were appointed to government positions. A few of Confucius's disciples went on to attain official positions of some importance, some of which were arranged by Confucius. By the time Confucius was 50 years old, the Ji family had consolidated their power in the Lu state over the ruling ducal house. Even though the Ji family had practices with which Confucius disagreed and disapproved, they nonetheless gave Confucius's disciples many opportunities for employment. Confucius continued to remind his disciples to stay true to their principles and renounced those who did not, all the while being openly critical of the Ji family.
=== In the West ===
The influence of Confucius has been observed on multiple Western thinkers, including Niels Bohr, Benjamin Franklin, Allen Ginsberg, Thomas Jefferson, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Robert Cummings Neville, Alexander Pope, Ezra Pound, François Quesnay, Friedrich Schiller, Voltaire, and Christian Wolff.
=== Visual portraits ===
No contemporary painting or sculpture of Confucius survives, and it was only during the Han dynasty that he was portrayed visually. Carvings often depict his legendary meeting with Laozi. Since that time there have been many portraits of Confucius as the ideal philosopher. An early verbal portrayal of Confucius is found in the chapter "External Things" (外物; Wàiwù) of the book Zhuangzi (莊子; Zhuāngzǐ), finished in about 3rd BCE, long after Confucius's death. The oldest known portrait of Confucius has been unearthed in the tomb of the Han dynasty ruler Marquis of Haihun (died 59 BCE). The picture was painted on the wooden frame to a polished bronze mirror.
In former times, it was customary to have a portrait in Confucius Temples; however, during the reign of Hongwu Emperor (Taizu) of the Ming dynasty, it was decided that the only proper portrait of Confucius should be in the temple in his home town, Qufu in Shandong. In other temples, Confucius is represented by a memorial tablet. In 2006, the China Confucius Foundation commissioned a standard portrait of Confucius based on the Tang dynasty portrait by Wu Daozi.
The South Wall Frieze in the courtroom of the Supreme Court of the United States depicts Confucius as a teacher of harmony, learning, and virtue.
=== Fictional portrayals ===
There have been two film adaptations of Confucius' life: the 1940 film Confucius starring Tang Huaiqiu, and the 2010 film Confucius starring Chow Yun-fat.
Confucius appears as a leader in Civilization VII, leading China.
=== Memorials ===
Throughout the imperial periods, Qufu, Confucius' birthplace and burial site, remained a place of devotion and reverence. The Records of the Grand Historian records the first state sacrifice by Emperor Gaozu of Han at Confucius' tomb, followed by worship of ministers, dukes, and scholar politicians. From the Tang dynasty onward, temples honoring Confucius and Confucian sages were erected across the country by imperial decree. These temples have been used for ceremonies paying tribute to Confucius as the master of teachers, as well as the Confucian virtues that have shaped the Chinese civilization.
When the Communist regime take control of mainland China in 1949, this tradition was interrupted for at least three decades during the Maoist Era in the campaign purging the Four Olds, and the subsequent campaign denouncing Lin Biao and Confucius. The official stance of the Chinese Communist Party during the Cultural Revolution was that Confucius and Confucianism represented reactionary ideologies of the slave-owning aristocracy. All Confucian ceremonies and rites were therefore banned, and Confucius tomb attacked by the Red Guards. In the early 1980s, the anti-Confucius sentiments were over, and Confucius veneration was resumed with Communist officials in attendance. By the 21st century, Confucius' birthday in Qufu becomes a week long celebration attended by diplomats, scholars, and government representatives.
In Taiwan, where the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) strongly promoted Confucian beliefs in ethics and behavior, the tradition of the memorial ceremony of Confucius is supported by the government and has continued without interruption. In May 2025, Confucius' birthday - September 28 - previously designated as "Teacher' Day", was made a public holiday by legislation.
In South Korea, a grand-scale memorial ceremony called Seokjeon Daeje is held twice a year on Confucius's birthday and the anniversary of his death, at Confucian academies across the country and Sungkyunkwan in Seoul.
=== Descendants ===
Confucius's descendants were repeatedly identified and honored by successive imperial governments with titles of nobility and official posts. They were honored with the rank of a marquis 35 times since Gaozu of the Han dynasty, and they were promoted to the rank of duke 42 times from the Tang dynasty to the Qing dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang first bestowed the title of "Duke Wenxuan" on Kong Suizhi of the 35th generation. In 1055, Emperor Renzong of Song first bestowed the title of "Duke Yansheng" on Kong Zongyuan of the 46th generation.
During the Southern Song dynasty, the Duke Yansheng Kong Duanyou fled south with the Song Emperor to Quzhou in Zhejiang, while the newly established Jin dynasty (1115–1234) in the north appointed Kong Duanyou's brother Kong Duancao who remained in Qufu as Duke Yansheng. From that time up until the Yuan dynasty, there were two Duke Yanshengs, one in the north in Qufu and the other in the south at Quzhou. An invitation to come back to Qufu was extended to the southern Duke Yansheng Kong Zhu by the Yuan-dynasty Emperor Kublai Khan. The title was taken away from the southern branch after Kong Zhu rejected the invitation, so the northern branch of the family kept the title of Duke Yansheng. The southern branch remained in Quzhou where they live to this day. Confucius's descendants in Quzhou alone number 30,000. The Hanlin Academy rank of Wujing boshi 五經博士 was awarded to the southern branch at Quzhou by a Ming Emperor while the northern branch at Qufu held the title Duke Yansheng. The leader of the southern branch was 孔祥楷 Kong Xiangkai.
In 1351, during the reign of Emperor Toghon Temür of the Yuan dynasty, 54th-generation Kong Shao (孔昭) moved from China to Korea during the Goryeo dynasty, and was received courteously by Princess Noguk (the Mongolian-born queen consort of the future king Gongmin). After being naturalized as a subject of Goryeo, he changed the hanja of his name from "昭" to "紹" (both pronounced so in Korean), married a Korean woman and bore a son (Gong Yeo (Korean: 공여; Hanja: 孔帤), 1329–1397), therefore establishing the Changwon Gong clan (Korean: 창원 공씨; Hanja: 昌原 孔氏), whose ancestral seat was located in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. In 1794, during the reign of King Jeongjo, the clan then changed its name to Gokbu Gong clan (Korean: 곡부 공씨; Hanja: 曲阜 孔氏) in honor of Confucius's birthplace Qufu (Korean: 곡부; Hanja: 曲阜; RR: Gokbu).
Famous descendants include actors such as Gong Yoo (real name Gong Ji-cheol (공지철)) and Gong Hyo-jin (공효진); and artists such as male idol group B1A4 member Gongchan (real name Gong Chan-sik (공찬식)), singer-songwriter Minzy (real name Gong Min-ji (공민지)), as well as her great-aunt, traditional folk dancer Gong Ok-jin (공옥진).
Despite repeated dynastic change in China, the title of Duke Yansheng was bestowed upon successive generations of descendants until it was abolished by the Nationalist government in 1935. The last holder of the title, Kung Te-cheng of the 77th generation, was appointed Sacrificial Official to Confucius. Kung Te-cheng died in October 2008, and his son, Kung Wei-yi, the 78th lineal descendant, died in 1989. Kung Te-cheng's grandson, Kung Tsui-chang, the 79th lineal descendant, was born in 1975; his great-grandson, Kung Yu-jen, the 80th lineal descendant, was born in Taipei on 1 January 2006. Te-cheng's sister, Kong Demao, lives in mainland China and has written a book about her experiences growing up at the family estate in Qufu. Another sister, Kong Deqi, died as a young woman. Many descendants of Confucius still live in Qufu today.
A descendant of Confucius, H. H. Kung, was the Premier of the Republic of China. One of his sons, Kong Lingjie (孔令傑), married Debra Paget who gave birth to Gregory Kung (孔德基).
Confucius's family, the Kongs, have the longest recorded extant pedigree in the world today. The father-to-son family tree, now in its 83rd generation, has been recorded since the death of Confucius. According to the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee (CGCC), he has two million known and registered descendants, and there are an estimated three million in all. Of these, several tens of thousands live outside of China. In the 14th century, a Kong descendant went to Korea, where an estimated 34,000 descendants of Confucius live today. One of the main lineages fled from the Kong ancestral home in Qufu during the Chinese Civil War in the 1940s and eventually settled in Taiwan. There are also branches of the Kong family who have converted to Islam after marrying Muslim women, in Dachuan in Gansu province in the 1800s, and in 1715 in Xuanwei in Yunnan province. Many of the Muslim Confucius descendants are descended from the marriage of Ma Jiaga (馬甲尕), a Muslim woman, and Kong Yanrong (孔彥嶸), 59th generation descendant of Confucius in the year 1480, and are found among the Hui and Dongxiang peoples. The new genealogy includes the Muslims. Kong Dejun (孔德軍) is a prominent Islamic scholar and Arabist from Qinghai province and a 77th generation descendant of Confucius.
Because of the huge interest in the Confucius family tree, there was a project in China to test the DNA of known family members of the collateral branches in mainland China. Among other things, this would allow scientists to identify a common Y chromosome in male descendants of Confucius. If the descent were truly unbroken, father-to-son, since Confucius's lifetime, the males in the family would all have the same Y chromosome as their direct male ancestor, with slight mutations due to the passage of time. The aim of the genetic test was to help members of collateral branches in China who lost their genealogical records to prove their descent. However, in 2009, many of the collateral branches decided not to agree to DNA testing. Bryan Sykes, professor of genetics at Oxford University, understands this decision: "The Confucius family tree has an enormous cultural significance ... It's not just a scientific question." The DNA testing was originally proposed to add new members, many of whose family record books were lost during 20th century upheavals, to the Confucian family tree. The main branch of the family which fled to Taiwan was never involved in the proposed DNA test at all.
In 2013, a DNA test performed on multiple different families who claimed descent from Confucius found that they shared the same Y chromosome as reported by Fudan University.
The fifth and most recent edition of the Confucius genealogy was printed by the CGCC. It was unveiled in a ceremony at Qufu on 24 September 2009. Women are now included for the first time.
== Criticism ==
=== During the Cultural Revolution ===
During the Cultural Revolution, criticism of Confucius increased, coming to a head when Red Guard soldiers removed the body of Kong Jingyi, a 76th generation Duke Yansheng, from his grave at the Cemetery of Confucius. His body was then hung naked from a tree.
Anti-Confucian sentiment continued to increase in 1973, when Mao Zedong started a Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius (simplified Chinese: 批林批孔运动; traditional Chinese: 批林批孔運動; pinyin: pī lín pī kǒng yùndòng) campaign, branding Confucius with the name "Kong Lao'er" 孔老二, a pun on a Mandarin word for penis. It persisted until 1976 as the Cultural Revolution subsided.
During this time, Confucius was perceived as a reflection of Xia and Zhou dynasty slavedriving practice. Specifically, by promoting the upkeep of the Rites of Zhou, which itself involved the keeping of slave, he was seen as complicit in its persistence across the ages. This position was justified through entries in Records of the Grand Historian. With this context, the Spring and Autumn Annals attributed to Confucius were seen as his attempt to defend the State of Lu as a slave state. Furthermore, the execution of Shao Zhengmao was seen as a reflection of bourgeois power games, the charges against the minister being seen as trumped-up. It was from this that Confucian principles such as ren 仁 and Zhong 忠 were abstracted as symbols of elitism. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_longest_winning_streaks | List of Major League Baseball longest winning streaks | This is a list of the longest team winning streaks in Major League Baseball history. Streaks started at the end of one season are carried over into the following season. The lists below include streaks that consist entirely of regular season games, streaks from the predecessor National Association (1871–1875), streaks of playoff games, and streaks of World Series games.
The National League’s 1916 New York Giants hold the record of winning 26 consecutive games. The longest American League winning streak is 22, by the 2017 Cleveland Indians.
The longest winning streak consisting only of playoff games stands at 12 consecutive wins, by the 1927, 1928 and 1932 New York Yankees (who swept the World Series all three seasons) and tied by the 1998–99 Yankees.
According to Major League Baseball's policy on winning streaks, tie games do not end a team's winning streak. The list below includes streaks with ties.
== Key ==
== Game streaks ==
=== Regular season ===
This list contains the top 25 streaks (including ties) consisting entirely of regular season games.
==== National Association ====
1Denotes season in which team won a pennant in the American Association
=== Postseason ===
This list contains the top 10 streaks (including ties) consisting entirely of postseason games.
=== World Series ===
This list contains the top 10 streaks consisting entirely of World Series games.
== Series streaks ==
=== Regular season – single opponent ===
The longest winning streak against a single opponent is 23 games by the Baltimore Orioles over the Kansas City Royals from May 10, 1969, to August 2, 1970.
Baltimore had won more than 90 games in three of the previous four seasons, with a World Series title in 1966. The Royals were an expansion team in their first season. Kansas City won the first meeting on May 9, 1969, but Baltimore took the final 11 that season and swept all 12 in 1970 before the Royals finally took a walk-off win in their first confrontation of 1971.
=== Postseason ===
This list contains only the top 10 streaks consisting entirely of postseason series. For the purpose of this list, one-game wild card matchups, such as the 2012 Cardinals' win, are counted. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usain_Bolt | Usain Bolt | Usain St. Leo Bolt ( YOO-sayn; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.
Bolt is the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012, and 2016). He also won two 4 × 100 relay gold medals. He gained worldwide fame for his double sprint victory in world record times at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which made him the first person to hold both records since fully automatic time became mandatory.
An eleven-time World Champion, Bolt won consecutive World Championship 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 metres relay gold medals from 2009 to 2015, with the exception of a 100 m false start in 2011. He is the most successful male athlete of the World Championships. He is the first athlete to win four World Championship titles in the 200 m and is one of the most successful in the 100 m with three titles, being the first person to run sub-9.7s and sub-9.6s races.
Bolt improved upon his second 100 m world record of 9.69 with 9.58 seconds in 2009 – the biggest improvement since the start of electronic timing. He has twice broken the 200 metres world record, setting 19.30 in 2008 and 19.19 in 2009. He has helped Jamaica to three 4 × 100 metres relay world records, with the current record being 36.84 seconds set in 2012. Bolt's most successful event is the 200 m, with three Olympic and four World titles. The 2008 Olympics was his international debut over 100 m; he had earlier won numerous 200 m medals (including 2007 World Championship silver) and held the world under-20 and world under-18 records for the event until being surpassed by Erriyon Knighton in 2021.
His achievements as a sprinter have earned him the media nickname "Lightning Bolt", and his awards include the IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track & Field Athlete of the Year, BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year (three times), and Laureus World Sportsman of the Year (four times). Bolt was included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2016. Bolt retired after the 2017 World Championships, when he finished third in his last solo 100 m race, opted out of the 200 m, and pulled up injured in the 4 × 100 m relay final.
== Early years ==
Usain St. Leo Bolt was born on 21 August 1986 to parents Wellesley Bolt (1957–2025) and Jennifer Bolt in Sherwood Content, a small town in Jamaica. Jennifer named her son Usain at the suggestion of her nephew-in-law, who suggested the name as he had a classmate of that name, while Bolt's middle name, St. Leo, was given to him by his aunt. He has a brother, Sadiki, and a sister, Sherine. His parents ran the local grocery store in the rural area, and Bolt spent his time playing cricket and football in the street with his brother, later saying, "When I was young, I didn't really think about anything other than sports." As a child, Bolt attended Waldensia Primary, where he began showing his sprinting potential when he ran in his parish's annual national primary school meet. By the age of twelve, Bolt had become the school's fastest runner over the 100 metres distance. Bolt also developed an affection for European football teams Real Madrid and Manchester United.
Upon his entry to William Knibb Memorial High School, Bolt continued to focus on other sports, but his cricket coach noticed Bolt's speed on the pitch and urged him to try track and field events. Pablo McNeil, a former Olympic sprint athlete, and Dwayne Jarrett coached Bolt, encouraging him to focus his energy on improving his athletic abilities. The school had a history of success in athletics with past students, including sprinter Michael Green. Bolt won his first annual high school championships medal in 2001; he took the silver medal in the 200 metres with a time of 22.04 seconds. McNeil soon became his primary coach, and the two enjoyed a positive partnership, although McNeil was occasionally frustrated by Bolt's lack of dedication to his training and his penchant for practical jokes.
=== Early competitions ===
Representing Jamaica in his first Caribbean regional event, Bolt clocked a personal best time of 48.28 s in the 400 metres in the 2001 CARIFTA Games, winning a silver medal. The 200 m also yielded a silver, as Bolt finished in 21.81 s.
He made his first appearance on the world stage at the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. Running in the 200 m event, he failed to qualify for the finals, but he still set a new personal best of 21.73 s. Bolt still did not take athletics or himself too seriously, however, and he took his mischievousness to new heights by hiding in the back of a van when he was supposed to be preparing for the 200 m finals at the CARIFTA Trials. He was detained by the police for his practical joke, and there was an outcry from the local community, which blamed coach McNeil for the incident. However, the controversy subsided, and both McNeil and Bolt went to the CARIFTA Games, where Bolt set championship records in the 200 m and 400 m with times of 21.12 s and 47.33 s, respectively. He continued to set records with 20.61 s and 47.12 s finishes at the Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships.
Bolt is one of only eleven athletes (along with Valerie Adams, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Armand Duplantis, Jacques Freitag, Yelena Isinbayeva, Kirani James, Faith Kipyegon, Jana Pittman, Dani Samuels, and David Storl) to win World Championships titles at the youth, junior, and senior levels of an athletic event. Former Prime Minister P. J. Patterson recognised Bolt's talent and arranged for him to move to Kingston, along with Jermaine Gonzales, so he could train with the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) at the University of Technology, Jamaica.
=== Rise to prominence ===
The 2002 World Junior Championships were held in front of a home crowd in Kingston, Jamaica, and Bolt was given a chance to prove his credentials on a world stage. By the age of 15, he had grown to 1.95 metres (6 ft 5 in) tall, and he physically stood out among his peers. He won the 200 m in a time of 20.61 s, which was 0.03 s slower than his personal best of 20.58 s, which he set in the 1st round. Bolt's 200 m win made him the youngest world-junior gold medallist ever. The expectation from the home crowd had made him so nervous that he had put his shoes on the wrong feet, although he realized the mistake before the race began. However, it turned out to be a revelatory experience for Bolt, as he vowed never again to let himself be affected by pre-race nerves. As a member of the Jamaican sprint relay team, he also took two silver medals and set national junior records in the 4 × 100 metres and 4 × 400 metres relay, running times of 39.15 s and 3:04.06 minutes respectively.
The rush of medals continued as he won four golds at the 2003 CARIFTA Games and was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the games. He won another gold at the 2003 World Youth Championships. He set a new championship record in the 200 m with a time of 20.40 s, despite a 1.1 m/s (4.0 km/h; 2.5 mph) head wind. Michael Johnson, the 200 m world-record holder, took note of Bolt's potential but worried that the young sprinter might be over-pressured, stating, "It's all about what he does three, four, five years down the line". Bolt had also impressed the athletics hierarchy, and he received the IAAF Rising Star Award for 2002.
Bolt competed in his final Jamaican High School Championships in 2003. He broke the 200 m and 400 m records with times of 20.25 s and 45.35 s, respectively. Bolt's runs were a significant improvement upon the previous records, beating the 200 m best by more than half a second and the 400 m record by almost a second. Bolt improved upon the 200 m time three months later, setting the former World youth best at the 2003 Pan American Junior Championships. The 400 m time remains No. 6 on the all-time youth list, surpassed only once since, by future Olympic champion Kirani James.
Bolt turned his main focus to the 200 m and equalled Roy Martin's world junior record of 20.13 s at the Pan-American Junior Championships. This performance attracted interest from the press, and his times in the 200 m and 400 m led to him being touted as a possible successor to Johnson. Indeed, at sixteen years old, Bolt had reached times that Johnson did not register until he was twenty, and Bolt's 200 m time was superior to Maurice Greene's season's best that year.
Bolt was growing more popular in his homeland. Howard Hamilton, who was given the task of Public Defender by the government, urged the JAAA to nurture him and prevent burnout, calling Bolt "the most phenomenal sprinter ever produced by this island". His popularity and the attractions of the capital city were beginning to be a burden to the young sprinter. Bolt was increasingly unfocused on his athletic career and preferred to eat fast food, play basketball, and party in Kingston's club scene. In the absence of a disciplined lifestyle, he became ever-more reliant on his natural ability to beat his competitors on the track.
As the reigning 200 m champion at both the World Youth and World Junior championships, Bolt hoped to take a clean sweep of the world 200 m championships in the Senior World Championships in Paris. He beat all comers at the 200 m in the World Championship trials. Bolt was pragmatic about his chances and noted that, even if he did not make the final, he would consider setting a personal best a success. However, he suffered a bout of conjunctivitis before the event, and it disrupted his training schedule. Realising that he would not be in peak condition, the JAAA refused to let him participate in the finals, on the grounds that he was too young and inexperienced. Bolt was dismayed at missing out on the opportunity, but focused on getting himself in shape to gain a place on the Jamaican Olympic team instead. Even though he missed the World Championships, Bolt was awarded the IAAF Rising Star Award for the 2003 season on the strength of his junior record-equalling run.
== Professional athletics career ==
=== 2004–2007 Early career ===
Under the guidance of new coach Fitz Coleman, Bolt turned professional in 2004, beginning with the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda. He became the first junior sprinter to run the 200 m in under twenty seconds, taking the world junior record outright with a time of 19.93 s. For the second time in the role, he was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 2004 CARIFTA Games. A hamstring injury in May ruined Bolt's chances of competing in the 2004 World Junior Championships, but he was still chosen for the Jamaican Olympic squad. Bolt headed to the 2004 Athens Olympics with confidence and a new record on his side. However, he was hampered by a leg injury and was eliminated in the first round of the 200 metres with a disappointing time of 21.05 s. American colleges offered Bolt track scholarships to train in the United States while continuing to represent Jamaica on the international stage, but the teenager from Trelawny refused them all, stating that he was content to stay in his homeland of Jamaica. Bolt instead chose the surroundings of the University of Technology, Jamaica, as his professional training ground, staying with the university's track and weight room that had served him well in his amateur years.
The year 2005 saw Bolt begin working with a new coach, Glen Mills. Mills recognised Bolt's potential and aimed to cease what he considered an unprofessional approach to the sport. Bolt began training with Mills in preparation for the upcoming athletics season, partnering with more seasoned sprinters such as Kim Collins and Dwain Chambers. The year began well, and in July, he knocked more than a third of a second off the 200 m CAC Championship record with a run of 20.03 s, then registered his 200 m season's best at London's Crystal Palace, running in 19.99 s.
Misfortune awaited Bolt at the next major event, the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. Bolt felt that both his work ethic and athleticism had much improved since the 2004 Olympics, and he saw the World Championships as a way to live up to expectations, stating, "I really want to make up for what happened in Athens. Hopefully, everything will fall into place". Bolt qualified with runs under 21 s, but he suffered an injury in the final, finishing in last place with a time of 26.27 s. Injuries were preventing him from completing a full professional athletics season, and the eighteen-year-old Bolt still had not proven his mettle in the major world-athletics competitions. However, his appearance made him the youngest ever person to appear in a 200 m world final. Bolt was involved in a car accident in November, and although he suffered only minor facial lacerations, his training schedule was further upset. His manager at the time, Norman Peart, made Bolt's training less intensive, and he had fully recuperated by the following week. Bolt had continued to improve his performances, and he reached the world top-5 rankings in 2005 and 2006. Peart and Mills stated their intentions to push Bolt to do longer sprinting distances with the aim of making the 400 m event his primary event by 2007 or 2008. Bolt was less enthusiastic, and demanded that he feel comfortable in his sprinting. He suffered another hamstring injury in March 2006, forcing him to withdraw from the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and he did not return to track events until May. After his recovery, Bolt was given new training exercises to improve flexibility, and the plans to move him up to the 400 m event were put on hold.
The 200 m remained Bolt's primary event when he returned to competition; he bested Justin Gatlin's meet record in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Bolt had aspired to run under twenty seconds to claim a season's best but, despite the fact that bad weather had impaired his run, he was happy to end the meeting with just the victory. However, a sub-20-second finish was soon his, as he set a new personal best of 19.88 s at the 2006 Athletissima Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland, finishing behind Xavier Carter and Tyson Gay to earn a bronze medal. Bolt had focused his athletics aims, stating that 2006 was a year to gain experience. Also, he was more keen on competing over longer distances, setting his sights on running regularly in both 200 m and 400 m events within the next two years.
Bolt claimed his first major world medal two months later at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany. He passed the finishing post with a time of 20.10 s, gaining a bronze medal in the process. The IAAF World Cup in Athens, Greece yielded Bolt's first senior international silver medal. Wallace Spearmon from the United States won gold with a championship record time of 19.87 s, beating Bolt's respectable time of 19.96 s. Further 200 m honours on both the regional and international stages awaited Bolt in 2007. He wished to run in the 100 metres but Mills was skeptical, believing that Bolt was better suited for middle distances. The coach cited the runner's difficulty in smoothly starting out of the blocks and poor habits such as looking back at opponents during sprints. Mills told Bolt that he could run the shorter distance if he broke the 200 m national record. In the Jamaican Championships, he ran 19.75 s in the 200 m, breaking the 36-year-old Jamaican record held by Don Quarrie by 0.11 s.
Mills complied with Bolt's demand to run in the 100 m, and he was entered to run the event at the 23rd Vardinoyiannia meeting in Rethymno, Crete. In his debut tournament, he won the gold medal in a time of 10.03 s, feeding his enthusiasm for the event.
He built on this achievement at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, winning a silver medal. Bolt recorded 19.91 s with a head wind of 0.8 m/s (2.9 km/h; 1.8 mph). The race was won by Tyson Gay in 19.76 s, a new championship record.
Bolt was a member of the silver medal relay team with Asafa Powell, Marvin Anderson, and Nesta Carter in the 4 × 100 metres relay. Jamaica set a national record of 37.89 s. Bolt did not win any gold medals at the major tournaments in 2007, but Mills felt that Bolt's technique was much improved, pinpointing improvements in Bolt's balance at the turns over 200 m and an increase in his stride frequency, giving him more driving power on the track.
=== World-record breaker ===
The silver medals from the 2007 Osaka World Championships boosted Bolt's desire to sprint, and he took a more serious, more mature stance towards his career. Bolt continued to develop in the 100 m, and he decided to compete in the event at the Jamaica Invitational in Kingston. On 3 May 2008, Bolt ran a time of 9.76 s, with a 1.8 m/s (6.5 km/h; 4.0 mph) tail wind, improving his personal best from 10.03 s. This was the second-fastest legal performance in the history of the event, second only to compatriot Asafa Powell's 9.74 s record set the previous year in Rieti, Italy. Rival Tyson Gay lauded the performance, especially praising Bolt's form and technique. Michael Johnson observed the race and said that he was shocked at how quickly Bolt had improved over the 100 m distance. The Jamaican surprised even himself with the time, but coach Glen Mills remained confident that there was more to come.
On 31 May 2008, Bolt set a new 100 m world record at the Reebok Grand Prix in the Icahn Stadium in New York City. He ran 9.72 s with a tail wind of 1.7 m/s (6.1 km/h; 3.8 mph). This race was Bolt's fifth senior 100 m. Gay again finished second and said of Bolt: "It looked like his knees were going past my face." Commentators noted that Bolt appeared to have gained a psychological advantage over fellow Olympic contender Gay.
In June 2008, Bolt responded to claims that he was a lazy athlete, saying that the comments were unjustified, and he trained hard to achieve his potential. However, he surmised that such comments stemmed from his lack of enthusiasm for the 400 metres event; he chose not to make an effort to train for that particular distance. Turning his efforts to the 200 m, Bolt proved that he could excel in two events – first setting the world-leading time in Ostrava, then breaking the national record for the second time with a 19.67 s finish in Athens, Greece. Although Mills still preferred that Bolt focus on the longer distances, the acceptance of Bolt's demand to run in the 100 m worked for both sprinter and trainer. Bolt was more focused in practice, and a training schedule to boost his top speed and his stamina, in preparation for the Olympics, had improved both his 100 and 200 m times.
=== 2008 Summer Olympics ===
Bolt doubled-up with the 100 metres and 200 metres events at the Beijing Summer Olympics. As the new 100 m world-record holder, he was the favourite to win both races. Michael Johnson, the 200 m and 400 m record holder, personally backed the sprinter, saying that he did not believe that a lack of experience would work against him. Bolt qualified for the 100 m final with times of 9.92 s and 9.85 s in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.
In the Olympic 100 m final (16 August), Bolt broke new ground, winning in 9.69 s (unofficially 9.683 s) with a reaction time of 0.165 s. This was an improvement upon his own world record, and he was well ahead of second-place finisher Richard Thompson, who finished in 9.89 s. Not only was the record set with no favourable wind (0.0 m/s), but he also visibly slowed down to celebrate before he finished and his shoelace was untied. Bolt's coach reported that, based upon the speed of Bolt's opening 60 m, he could have finished with a time of 9.52 s. After scientific analysis of Bolt's run by the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo, Hans Eriksen, and his colleagues also predicted a sub-9.60 second time. Considering factors such as Bolt's position, acceleration, and velocity in comparison with second-place-finisher Thompson, the team estimated that Bolt could have finished in 9.55±0.04 s had he not slowed to celebrate before the finishing line.
Bolt stated that setting a world record was not a priority for him, and that his goal was just to win the gold medal, Jamaica's first of the 2008 Games. Olympic medallist Kriss Akabusi construed Bolt's chest slapping before the finish line as showboating, noting that the actions cost Bolt an even faster record time. IOC president Jacques Rogge also condemned the Jamaican's actions as disrespectful. Bolt denied that this was the purpose of his celebration by saying, "I wasn't bragging. When I saw I wasn't covered, I was just happy". Lamine Diack, president of the IAAF, supported Bolt and said that his celebration was appropriate given the circumstances of his victory. Jamaican government minister Edmund Bartlett also defended Bolt's display, stating, "We have to see it in the glory of their moment and give it to them. We have to allow the personality of youth to express itself".
Bolt then focused on attaining a gold medal in the 200 m event, aiming to emulate Carl Lewis's double win in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Michael Johnson felt that Bolt would easily win gold, but believed that his own world record of 19.32 s set at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta would remain intact. Bolt eased through the first and second rounds of the 200 m, jogging towards the end of his run both times. He won his semi-final and progressed to the final as the favourite to win. Retired Jamaican sprinter Don Quarrie praised Bolt, saying he was confident that Johnson's record could be beaten. The following day, at the final, he won Jamaica's fourth gold of the Games, setting a new world and Olympic record of 19.30 s. Johnson's record fell despite the fact that Bolt was impeded by a 0.9 m/s (3.2 km/h; 2.0 mph) head wind. The feat made him the first sprinter since Quarrie to hold both 100 and 200 m world records simultaneously and the first to hold both records since the introduction of electronic timing. Furthermore, Bolt became the first sprinter to break both records at the same Olympics. Unlike in the 100 m final, Bolt sprinted hard all the way to the finishing line in the 200 m race, even dipping his chest to improve his time. Following the race, "Happy Birthday" was played over the stadium's sound system as his 22nd birthday would begin at midnight.
Two days later, Bolt ran as the third leg in the Jamaican 4 × 100 metres relay team, increasing his gold medal total to three. Along with teammates Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, and Asafa Powell, Bolt broke another world and Olympic record, their 37.10 s finish breaking the previous record by three-tenths of a second. Powell, who anchored the team to the finishing line, lamented the loss of his 100 m record to Bolt but showed no animosity towards his Jamaican rival, stating that he was delighted to help him set his third world record. Following his victories, Bolt donated US$50,000 to the children of Sichuan province in China to help those harmed by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. However, in January 2017, the Jamaican relay teammates were stripped of their gold medals when a blood sample taken from Carter after the race was retested and found positive for a banned substance.
Bolt's record-setting runs caused commentators not only to praise his achievements, but to speculate about his potential to become one of the most successful sprinters in history. Critics hailed his Olympic success as a new beginning for a sport that had long suffered through high-profile drug scandals. The previous six years had seen the BALCO scandal, Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin stripped of their 100 m world records, and Marion Jones returning three Olympic gold medals. All three sprinters were disqualified from athletics after drugs tests detected banned substances in their systems. Bolt's record-breaking performances caused suspicion among some commentators, including Victor Conte, and the lack of an independent Caribbean anti-doping federation raised more concerns. The accusations of drug use were vehemently rejected by Glen Mills (Bolt's coach) and Herb Elliott (the Jamaican athletics team doctor). Elliott, a member of the IAAF anti-doping commission, urged those concerned about the issue to "come down and see our programme, come down and see our testing, we have nothing to hide". Mills had been equally ardent that Bolt was a clean athlete, declaring to the Jamaica Gleaner: "We will test any time, any day, any part of the body ... [he] doesn't even like to take vitamins". Bolt stated that he had been tested four times prior to the Olympics, and all had tested negative for banned substances. He also welcomed anti-doping authorities to test him to prove that he was clean, stating, "We work hard and we perform well and we know we're clean".
I was slowing down long before the finish and wasn't tired at all. I could have gone back to the start and done it all over again.
=== After the 2008 Olympics ===
At the end of the 2008 athletics season, Bolt competed in the ÅF Golden League, beginning in Weltklasse Zürich. Despite having the slowest start among his competitors in the 100 m race, he still crossed the finishing line in 9.83 s. Even though the time was slower than both his newly set world record and Asafa Powell's track record, it was still among the top-fifteen 100 m finishes by any sprinter to that date. Bolt admitted that he was not running at full strength because he was suffering from a cold, but he concentrated on winning the race and finishing the season in good health. At the Super Grand Prix final in Lausanne, Bolt ran his second-fastest 200 m with a time of 19.63 s, equalling Xavier Carter's track record. However, it was the 100 m final, featuring Asafa Powell, that drew the most interest. Powell had moved closer to Bolt's world record after setting a new personal best of 9.72 s, reaffirming his status as Bolt's main contender. Bolt's final event of the season came three days later at the Golden League final in Brussels. This was the first 100 m race featuring both Bolt and Powell since the final in the Olympics. Both Jamaicans broke the track record, but Bolt came out on top with a time of 9.77 s, beating Powell by 0.06 s. Victory, however, did not come as smoothly as it had in Beijing. Bolt made the slowest start of the nine competitors and had to recover ground in cold conditions and against a 0.9 m/s (3.2 km/h; 2.0 mph) head wind. Yet, the results confirmed Jamaican dominance in the 100 m, with nine of the ten-fastest legal times in history at that time being recorded by either Bolt or Powell.
On his return to Jamaica, Bolt was honoured in a homecoming celebration and received an Order of Distinction in recognition of his achievements at the Olympics. Additionally, Bolt was selected as the IAAF Male Athlete of the year, won a Special Olympic Award for his performances, and was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year. Bolt turned his attention to future events, suggesting that he could aim to break the 400 metres world record in 2010 as no major championships were scheduled that year.
=== 2009 Berlin World Championships ===
Bolt started the season competing in the 400 metres in order to improve his speed, winning two races and registering 45.54 s in Kingston, with windy conditions giving him his first sub-10 seconds finish of the season in the 100 m in March. In late April, Bolt suffered minor leg injuries in a car crash. However, he quickly recovered following minor surgery and (after cancelling a track meet in Jamaica) he stated that he was fit to compete in the 150 metres street race at the Manchester Great City Games. Bolt won the race in 14.35 s, the fastest time ever recorded for 150 m. Despite not being at full fitness, he took the 100 and 200 m titles at the Jamaican national championships, with runs of 9.86 s and 20.25 s respectively. This meant he had qualified for both events at the 2009 World Championships. Rival Tyson Gay suggested that Bolt's 100 m record was within his grasp, but Bolt dismissed the claim and instead noted that he was more interested in Asafa Powell's return from injury. Bolt defied unfavourable conditions at the Athletissima meet in July, running 19.59 seconds into a 0.9 m/s (3.2 km/h; 2.0 mph) head wind and rain, to record the fourth fastest time ever over 200 m, one-hundredth of a second slower than Gay's best time.
The 2009 World Championships were held during August at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, which was coincidentally the same month and venue where Jesse Owens had achieved world-wide fame 73 years earlier. Bolt eased through the 100 m heats, clocking the fastest ever pre-final performance of 9.89 s. The final was the first time that Bolt and Gay had met during the season, and Bolt set a new world record–which stands to this day–with a time of 9.58 s to win his first World Championship gold medal. Bolt took more than a tenth of a second off his previous best mark with the largest-ever margin of improvement in the 100 m world record since the advent of electronic timing. Gay finished with a time of 9.71 s, 0.02 s off Bolt's 9.69 s world-record run in Beijing. With a top speed of 12.32 m/s (44.35 km/h; 27.56 mph), it was the recorded fastest speed a human has ever ran.
Although Gay withdrew from the second race of the competition, Bolt once again produced world record-breaking time in the 200 metres final. He broke his own record by 0.11 seconds, finishing with a time of 19.19 seconds. He won the 200 m race by the largest margin in World Championships history, even though the race had three other athletes running under 19.90 seconds, the greatest number ever in the event. Bolt's pace impressed even the more experienced of his competitors; third-placed Wallace Spearmon complimented his speed, and the Athens 2004 Olympic champion Shawn Crawford said "Just coming out there ... I felt like I was in a video game, that guy was moving – fast". Bolt pointed out that an important factor in his performance at the World Championships was his improved start to the races: his reaction times in the 100 m (0.146 s) and 200 m (0.133 s) were significantly faster than those he had produced in his world record runs at the Beijing Olympics. However, he, together with other members of Jamaican 4 × 100 m relay team, fell short of their own world record of 37.10 s set at 2008 Summer Olympics by timing 37.31 s, which is, however, a championship record and the second fastest time in history at that date.
On the last day of the Berlin Championships, the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, presented Bolt with a 12-foot high section of the Berlin Wall in a small ceremony, saying Bolt had shown that "one can tear down walls that had been considered as insurmountable." The nearly three-ton segment was delivered to the Jamaica Military Museum in Kingston.
Several days after Bolt broke the world records in 100 and 200 metres events, Mike Powell, the world record holder in long jump (8.95 metres set in 1991), argued that Bolt could become the first man to jump over 9 metres, the long jump event being "a perfect fit for his speed and height". At the end of the season, he was selected as the IAAF World Athlete of the Year for the second year running.
=== 2010 Diamond League and broken streak ===
Early on in the 2010 outdoor season, Bolt ran 19.56 seconds in the 200 m in Kingston, Jamaica for the fourth-fastest run of all time, although he stated that he had no record breaking ambitions for the forthcoming season. He took to the international circuit May with wins in East Asia at the Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting and then a comfortable win in his 2010 IAAF Diamond League debut at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. Bolt made an attempt to break Michael Johnson's best time over the rarely competed 300 metres event at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava. He failed to match Johnson's ten-year-old record of 30.85 and suffered a setback in that his 30.97-second run in wet weather had left him with an Achilles tendon problem.
After his return from injury a month later, Bolt asserted himself with a 100 m win at the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne (9.82 seconds) and a victory over Asafa Powell at Meeting Areva in Paris (9.84 seconds). Despite this run of form, he suffered only the second loss of his career in a 100 m final at the DN Galan. Tyson Gay soundly defeated him with a run of 9.84 to Bolt's 9.97 seconds, and the Jamaican reflected that he had slacked off in training early in the season while Gay had been better prepared and in a better condition. This marked Bolt's first loss to Gay in the 100 m, which coincidentally occurred in the same stadium where Powell had beaten Bolt for the first time two years earlier.
=== 2011 World Championships ===
Bolt went undefeated over 100 and 200 m in the 2011 season. He began with wins in Rome and Ostrava in May. He ran his first 200 m in over a year in Oslo that June and his time of 19.86 seconds was a world-leading one. Two further 200 m wins came in Paris and Stockholm the following month, as did a 100 m in Monaco, though he was a tenth of a second slower than compatriot Asafa Powell before the World Championships.
Considered the favourite to win in the 100 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, Bolt was eliminated from the final, breaking "ridiculously early" according to the starter in an interview for BBC Sport, and receiving a false start. This proved to be the highest profile disqualification for a false start since the IAAF changed the rules that previously allowed one false start per race. The disqualification caused some to question the new rule, with former world champion Kim Collins saying it was "a sad night for athletics". Usain Bolt's countryman, Yohan Blake, won in a comparatively slow 9.92 seconds.
In the World Championships 200 m, Bolt cruised through to the final which he won in a time of 19.40 s. Though this was short of his world record times of the two previous major tournaments, it was the fourth fastest run ever at that point, after his own records and Michael Johnson's former record, and left him three tenths of a second ahead of runner-up Walter Dix. This achievement made Bolt one of only two men to win consecutive 200 m world titles, alongside Calvin Smith. Bolt closed the championships with another gold with Jamaica in the 4 × 100 metres relay. Nesta Carter and Michael Frater joined world champions Bolt and Blake to set a world record time of 37.04 s.
Following the World Championships, Bolt ran 9.85 seconds for the 100 m to win in Zagreb before setting the year's best time of 9.76 seconds at the Memorial Van Damme. This run was overshadowed by Jamaican rival Blake's unexpected run of 19.26 seconds in the 200 m at the same meeting, which brought him within seven hundredths of Bolt's world record. Although Bolt failed to win the Diamond Race in a specific event, he was not beaten on the 2011 IAAF Diamond League circuit, taking three wins in each of his specialities that year.
In November 2011, Deadspin reported that Bolt had been training with Memo Heredia, an admitted steroid dealer and former star witness of the BALCO scandal, who was operating under the assumed name Angel Hernandez.
=== 2012 Summer Olympics ===
Bolt began the 2012 season with a leading 100 m time of 9.82 seconds in May. He defeated Asafa Powell with runs of 9.76 seconds in Rome and 9.79 seconds in Oslo. At the Jamaican Athletics Championships, he lost to Yohan Blake, first in the 200 m and then in the 100 m, with his younger rival setting leading times for the year.
However, at the 2012 London Olympics, he won the 100 metres gold medal with a time of 9.63 seconds, improving upon his own Olympic record and duplicating his gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Blake was the silver medallist with a time of 9.75 seconds. Following the race, seventh-place finisher Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago declared "There's no doubt he's the greatest sprinter of all time", while USA Today referred to Bolt as a Jamaican "national hero", noting that his victory came just hours before Jamaica was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence from the United Kingdom. With his 2012 win, Bolt became the first man to successfully defend an Olympic sprint title since Carl Lewis in 1988.
I'm now a legend. I'm also the greatest athlete to live.
Bolt followed this up with a successful defence of his Olympic 200 metres title with a time of 19.32 seconds, followed by Blake at 19.44 and Warren Weir at 19.84 to complete a Jamaican podium sweep. With this, Bolt became the first man in history to defend both the 100 and 200 m Olympic sprint titles. He was dramatic in victory: in the final metres of the 200 m race, Bolt placed his fingers on his lips, gesturing to silence his critics, and after crossing the line he completed five push-ups – one for each of his Olympic gold medals.
On the final day of the 2012 Olympic athletics, Bolt participated in Jamaica's gold medal-winning 4 × 100 metres relay team along with Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Blake. With a time of 36.84 seconds, they knocked two tenths of a second from their previous world record from 2011. He celebrated by imitating the "Mobot" celebration of Mo Farah, who had claimed a long-distance track double for the host nation.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge initially stated that Bolt was not yet a "legend" and would not deserve such acclaim until the end of his career, but later called him the best sprinter of all time. Following the 2012 Olympics, he was confirmed as the highest earning track and field athlete in history.
Bolt ended his season with wins on the 2012 IAAF Diamond League circuit; he had 200 m wins of 19.58 s and 19.66 s in Lausanne and Zürich before closing with a 100 m of 9.86 s in Brussels. The latter run brought him his first Diamond League title in the 100 m.
=== 2013 World Championships ===
Bolt failed to record below 10 seconds early season and had his first major 100 m race of 2013 at the Golden Gala in June. He was served an unexpected defeat by Justin Gatlin, with the American winning 9.94 s to Bolt's 9.95 s. Bolt denied the loss was due to a hamstring issue he had early that year and Gatlin responded: "I don't know how many people have beaten Bolt but it's an honour". With Yohan Blake injured, Bolt won the Jamaican 100 m title ahead of Kemar Bailey-Cole and skipped the 200 m, which was won by Warren Weir. Prior to the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, Bolt set world leading times in the sprints, with 9.85 for the 100 m at the London Anniversary Games and 19.73 for the 200 m in Paris.
Bolt regained the title as world's fastest man by winning the World Championships 100 metres in Moscow. In wet conditions, he edged Gatlin by eight hundredths of a second with 9.77 s, which was the fastest run that year. Gatlin was the sole non-Jamaican in the top five, with Nesta Carter, Nickel Ashmeade and Bailey-Cole finishing next.
Bolt was less challenged in the 200 m final. His closest rival was Jamaican champion Warren Weir but Bolt ran a time of 19.66 s to finish over a tenth of a second clear. This performance made Bolt the first man in the history of the 200 metres at the World Championships in Athletics to win three gold medals over the distance.
Bolt won a third consecutive world relay gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay final, which made him the most successful athlete in the 30-year history of the World Championships. The Jamaican team, featuring four of the top five from the 100 m final, were comfortable winners, with Bolt reaching the finish line on his anchor leg three tenths of a second ahead of the American team anchored by Gatlin. Bolt's performances were matched on the women's side by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, meaning Jamaica took a complete sweep of the short sprint medals at the 2013 World Championships.
After the championships, Bolt took 100 m wins on the 2013 IAAF Diamond League circuit in Zürich and Brussels. He remained unbeaten in the 200 m and his only loss that year was to Gatlin over 100 m in Rome. For the fifth time in six years, Bolt was named IAAF World Male Athlete of the Year.
=== 2014: Injury and Commonwealth Games ===
An injury to Bolt's hamstring in March 2014 caused him to miss nine weeks of training. Having recovered from surgery, Bolt competed in the 4 × 100 metres relay of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Not in peak form, Bolt said that he was attending the Games for the fans and to show his progress since the injury. Bolt and his teammates won the 4 × 100 metres relay in 37.58 seconds – a Commonwealth Games record. This was the foremost competition of the year for Bolt, given no Olympics or World Championships in 2014.
In August 2014, Bolt set the indoor 100 m world record in Warsaw with a time of 9.98 seconds. This was his sole individual outing of the 2014 season. Soon afterwards he ended his season early in order to be fit for the 2015 season. In Bolt's absence, Justin Gatlin had dominated the sprints, holding the year's fastest times, including seven of the top ten 100 m runs that season.
=== 2015 Beijing World Championships ===
At the start of 2015, he intended to make the 2017 World Championships in Athletics his last major competition before retirement.
Upon his return from injury, Bolt appeared a reduced figure at the start of the 2015 season. He ran only two 100 m and three 200 m before the major championship. He opened with 10.12 seconds for the 100 m and 20.20 for the 200 m. He won the 200 m in New York and Ostrava, but his season's best time of 20.13 seconds ranked him 20th in the world going into the championships. Two 100 m runs of 9.87 in July in London showed better form, but in comparison, Justin Gatlin was easily the top ranked sprinter – the American had times of 9.74 and 19.57 seconds, and had already run under 9.8 seconds on four occasions that season. Bolt entered the World Championships to defend his sprint titles, but was not the comfortable favourite he had been since 2008.
In the World Championships 100 m, Bolt won his semi-final in 9.96, which lagged Gatlin's semi-final win in 9.77 seconds. However, Gatlin did not match that form in the final while Bolt improved through the rounds. In a narrow victory, Bolt leaned at the line to beat Gatlin 9.79 to 9.80 seconds. Bolt joined Carl Lewis and Maurice Greene on a record three 100 m world titles.
A similar outcome followed in the 200 m World finals. In the semi-final, Gatlin outpaced Bolt – the Jamaican at 19.95 and the American at 19.87. Despite such slow times prior to Beijing, Bolt delivered in the final with his fifth fastest run ever for the 200 m at 19.55 seconds. Gatlin failed to reach his early season form and finished almost two-tenths of a second behind Bolt. Bolt's four consecutive wins over 200 m at the World Championships was unprecedented and established him clearly as the best ever sprinter at the competition.
There was also a fourth straight win in the 4 × 100 metres relay with the Jamaica team (Nesta Carter, Asafa Powell, Nickel Ashmeade, Usain Bolt). The Americans initially had a lead, but a poor baton exchange saw them disqualified and Jamaica defend their title in 37.36 seconds – well clear of the Chinese team who took a surprise silver for the host nation.
Conscious of his injuries at the start of the season, he did not compete after the World Championships, skipping the 2015 IAAF Diamond League final.
=== 2016 Rio Olympics ===
Bolt competed sparingly in the 200 m before the Olympics, with a run of 19.89 seconds to win at the London Grand Prix being his sole run of note over that distance. He had four races over 100 m, though only one was in Europe, and his best of 9.88 seconds in Kingston placed him fourth on the world seasonal rankings. As in the previous season, Gatlin appeared to be in better form, having seasonal bests of 9.80 and 19.75 seconds to rank first and second in the sprints. Doping in athletics was a prime topic before the 2016 Rio Olympics, given the banning of the Russian track and field team for state doping, and Bolt commented that he had no problem with doping controls: "I have no issue with being drug-tested ... I remember in Beijing every other day they were drug-testing us". He also highlighted his dislike of rival Tyson Gay's reduced ban for cooperation, given their close rivalry since the start of Bolt's career, saying "it really bothered me – really, really bothered me".
I want to be among greats Muhammad Ali and Pelé.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Bolt won the 100 metres gold medal with a time of 9.81 seconds. With this win, Bolt became the first athlete to win the event three times at the Olympic Games. Bolt followed up his 100 m win with a gold medal in the 200 m, which also makes him the first athlete to win the 200 m three times at the Olympic Games. Bolt ran the anchor leg for the finals of the 4 × 100 m relay and secured his third consecutive and last Olympic gold medal in the event. With that win, Bolt obtained the "triple-triple", three sprinting gold medals in three consecutive Olympics, and finished his Olympic career with a 100% win record in finals. However, in January 2017, Bolt was stripped of the 4 × 100 m relay gold from the Beijing Games in 2008 because his teammate Nesta Carter was found guilty of a doping violation.
=== 2017 season ===
Bolt took a financial stake in a new Australia-based track and field meeting series – Nitro Athletics. He performed at the inaugural meet in February 2017 and led his team (Bolt All-Stars) to victory. The competition featured variations on traditional track and field events. He committed himself to three further editions.
In 2017, the Jamaican team was stripped of the 2008 Olympics 4 × 100 metre title due to Nesta Carter's disqualification for doping offences. Bolt, who never failed a dope test, was quoted by the BBC saying that the prospect of having to return the gold was "heartbreaking". The banned substance in Carter's test was identified as methylhexanamine, a nasal decongestant sometimes used in dietary supplements.
At the 2017 World Athletics Championships, Bolt won his heat uncomfortably after a slow start in 10.07 s; in his semi-final he improved to 9.98 s but was beaten by Christian Coleman by 0.01 s. That race broke Bolt's four-year winning streak in the 100 m. In his final individual race, in the final, Bolt won the bronze medal in 9.95 s, 0.01 s behind silver medalist Coleman and 0.03 s behind World Champion Justin Gatlin. It was the first time Bolt had been beaten at a major championship since the 4 × 100 m relay of the 2007 World Athletics Championships. Also at the 2017 World Athletics Championships, Bolt participated as the anchor runner for Jamaica's 4 × 100 metres relay team in both the heats and the final. Jamaica won their heat comfortably in 37.95 seconds. In what was intended to be his final race, Bolt pulled up in agony with 50 metres to go and collapsed to the track after what was later confirmed to be another hamstring injury. He refused a wheelchair and crossed the finish line one last time with the assistance of his teammates Omar McLeod, Julian Forte, and Yohan Blake.
Following his 2017 season, Bolt had a statue of him unveiled in his honour at the National Stadium in Kingston on 3 December 2017. The statue shows him in his signature "lightning bolt" pose.
== Personal life ==
Bolt expresses a love for dancing and his character is frequently described as laid-back and relaxed. His Jamaican track and field idols include Herb McKenley and former Jamaican 100 and 200 m world record holder Don Quarrie. Michael Johnson, the former 200 m world and Olympic record holder, is also held in high esteem by Bolt.
Bolt has the nickname "Lightning Bolt" due to his name and speed. He is Catholic and known for making the sign of the cross before racing competitively, and he wears a Miraculous Medal during his races. His middle name is St. Leo.
In 2010, Bolt also revealed his fondness of music, when he played a reggae DJ set to a crowd in Paris. He is also an avid fan of the Call of Duty video game series, saying, "I stay up late [playing the game online], I can't help it."
In his autobiography, Bolt wrote that he suffered from scoliosis, a curvature of the spine which made his right leg 1⁄2 inch (13 mm) shorter than his left. This condition causes an uneven stride, with his left leg remaining on the ground for longer than his right, and hitting the ground with a lesser force. Biomechanics researchers have studied, with no firm conclusions, whether this asymmetry has helped or hurt Bolt in his sprinting career.
He popularised the "lightning bolt" pose, also known as "to di world" or "bolting", which he used both before races and in celebration. The pose consists of extending a slightly raised left arm to the side and the right arm folded across the chest, with both hands have the thumb and index finger outstretched. His performance of the pose during his Olympic and World Championship victories led to widespread copying of the move, from American President Barack Obama to small children. It has been suggested that the pose comes from Jamaican dancehall moves of the period, though Olympic sprint champion Bernard Williams also had performed similar celebration moves earlier that decade. His habit of fist bumping the volunteers for good luck has been noted in the media.
In 2021, Bolt told the BBC that his love for video games, such as Mario Kart and Mortal Kombat, had helped him during his Olympic career.
=== Financial crisis ===
On 19 January 2023, Bolt fell victim to a fraud scheme, resulting in the disappearance of more than $12 million from his retirement savings account, according to a letter from his attorneys obtained by the Associated Press. The account, held with Kingston-based investment firm Stocks and Securities Ltd., showed a balance of only $12,000, down from its previous $12.8 million. Bolt's legal team stated that if the allegations were true, a serious act of fraud or larceny had been committed against their client.
Two years later, The SSL announced plans to pay back the lost money. Former SSL employee Jean-Ann Panton was charged with orchestrating the fraud scheme. However, no such payout has occurred as of February 2025.
=== Family ===
Bolt had two or three girlfriends before he began dating Slovak fashion designer Lubica Kucerova in late 2011; their relationship ended in May 2012.
In either 2013 or 2014, Bolt began a relationship with Jamaican model Kasi Bennett. On 17 May 2020, Bennett gave birth to their first child, daughter Olympia Lightning. Bolt and Bennett then welcomed twin boys Thunder and Saint Leo in June 2021.
=== Other sports ===
Cricket was the first sport to interest Bolt, and he has said if he were not a sprinter, he would be a fast bowler instead. As a child, he admired the Pakistani cricket team and the bowling of Waqar Younis. He is also a fan of Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, West Indian opener Chris Gayle, and Australian opener Matthew Hayden. During a charity cricket match, Bolt clean-bowled Gayle, who was complimentary of Bolt's pace and swing. Bolt also struck a six off Gayle's bowling. Another bowler complimentary of Bolt's pace was former West Indies fast-bowling great Curtly Ambrose.
After talking with Australian cricketer Shane Warne, Bolt suggested that if he were able to get time off he would be interested in playing in the cricket Big Bash League. Melbourne Stars chief executive Clint Cooper said there were free spots on his team should he be available. Bolt stated that he enjoyed the Twenty20 version of the game, admiring the aggressive and constant nature of the batting. Of his own ability, he said, "I don't know how good I am. I will probably have to get a lot of practice in."
Bolt is also a fan of Premier League football team Manchester United. He has declared he is a fan of Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. Bolt was a special guest of Manchester United at the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final in London, where he stated that he would like to play for them after his retirement.
In 2013, Bolt played basketball in the NBA All-Star Weekend Celebrity Game. He scored two points from a slam dunk but acknowledged his other basketball skills were lacking.
In an interview with Decca Aitkenhead of The Guardian in November 2016, Bolt said he wished to play as a professional footballer after retiring from track and field. He reiterated his desire to play for Manchester United if given a chance and added, "For me, if I could get to play for Manchester United, that would be like a dream come true. Yes, that would be epic."
In 2018, after training with Norwegian football club Strømsgodset, Bolt played for the club as a forward in a friendly match against the Norway national under-19 team. He wore the number "9.58" in allusion to his 100 m world record. Bolt wore the same number whilst captaining the World XI during Soccer Aid 2018 at Old Trafford.
On 21 August 2018, on his 32nd birthday, Bolt started training with Australian football club Central Coast Mariners of the A-League. He made his friendly debut for the club as a substitute on 31 August 2018 against a Central Coast Select team, made up of players playing in the local area. On 12 October, he started in a friendly against amateur club Macarthur South West United and scored two goals, both in the second half, with his goal celebration featuring his signature "To Di World" pose.
Bolt was offered a two-year contract from Maltese football club Valletta, which he turned down on 18 October 2018. On 21 October 2018, Bolt was offered a contract by the Mariners. The Australian FA aided the Mariners to fund the contract. Later that month, Perth Glory forward Andy Keogh was critical of Bolt's ability, stating his first touch is "like a trampoline." He added Bolt has "shown a bit of potential but it's a little bit of a kick in the teeth to the professionals that are in the league."
Bolt left the Mariners in early November 2018 after eight weeks with the club. In January 2019, Bolt decided not to pursue a career in football, saying his "sports life is over."
Bolt, a Green Bay Packers fan, stated in July 2021 he could have considered a career as a wide receiver in the National Football League had the rules on violent tackles related to concussions been as tightly regulated 'back in the day' as they were by that stage. If he had switched to gridiron football, his concern was that he would have been a high-priced target for very heavy hits which made him back out of his desire to try the sport. He also felt certain that even at 34 and being retired he would comfortably be the fastest player in the league.
=== Documentary film ===
A documentary film based on the athletic life of Bolt to win three Olympic gold medals, titled I Am Bolt, was released on 28 November 2016 in the United Kingdom. The film was directed by Benjamin Turner and Gabe Turner.
== Sponsorships and advertising work ==
After winning the 200 m title in the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Bolt signed a sponsorship deal with Puma. To promote Bolt's chase for Olympic glory in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Puma released a series of videos including Bolt's then-world-record-setting run in Icahn Stadium and his Olympic preparations. After his record-breaking run in New York City, which was preceded by a lightning storm, the press frequently made puns on the Jamaican's name, nicknaming him "Lightning Bolt" and the "Bolt from the blue". During the 2008 Beijing 100 m final, Bolt wore golden Puma Complete Theseus spikes that had "Beijing 100 m Gold" emblazoned across them. Writing of Bolt's performance at the Olympics, The Associated Press said:
Almost single-handedly, Bolt has helped track transform itself from a dying sport to one with a singular, smiling, worldwide star.
In September 2010, Bolt travelled to Australia where his sponsor Gatorade was holding an event called the "Gatorade Bolt" to find Australia's fastest footballer. The event was held at the Sydney International Athletic Centre and featured football players from rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football, and association football. Prior to the race Bolt gave the runners some private coaching and also participated in the 10th anniversary celebrations for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games.
In January 2012, Bolt impersonated Richard Branson in an advertising campaign for Virgin Media. The campaign was directed by Seth Gordon and features the Virgin founder Branson to promote its broadband service. In March 2012, Bolt starred in an advert for Visa and the 2012 Summer Olympics. In July 2012, Bolt and RockLive launched Bolt!, an Apple iOS game based on his exploits. Bolt! quickly became the No. 1 app in Jamaica and climbed the UK iTunes charts to reach No. 2 on the list of Top Free Apps. Additionally, Bolt was added as a playable character to the mobile video game Temple Run 2 in 2013.
In 2012, Bolt collaborated with headphone maker Soul Electronics to design his own line of headphones. Bolt designed both an in-ear bud and over-ear model with the Jamaican color scheme and his signature "To Di World" pose.
Bolt's autobiography, My Story: 9.58: Being the World's Fastest Man, was released in 2010. Bolt had previously said that the book "...should be exciting, it's my life, and I'm a cool and exciting guy." His athletics agent is PACE Sports Management.
As part of his sponsorship deal with Puma, the manufacturer sends sporting equipment to his alma mater, William Knibb Memorial High School, every year. At Bolt's insistence, advertisements featuring him are filmed in Jamaica, by a Jamaican production crew, in an attempt to boost local enterprise and gain exposure for the country. In 2017, Bolt had the third highest earning social media income for sponsors among sportspeople (behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar), and he was the only non-footballer in the top seven.
Bolt is the highest paid athlete in the history of the sport. In 2016, Bolt earned about $33 million in one year putting him at No. 32 on Forbes list of The World's Highest-paid Athletes making him the only track and field athlete on the list.
== Entrepreneurship ==
Usain Bolt co-founded electric scooter company Bolt Mobility in 2018, created in his namesake. Bolt founded the micromobility company, which provides electric scooters and other yet-to-be released mobility devices, such as the company's upcoming Bolt Nano. Bolt appeared in Bolt Mobility's debut commercial, released through YouTube and his official Facebook account. Bolt appeared in a number of interviews for the company, alongside CEO Sarah Pishevar Haynes. Bolt made his first public appearance for the company in March 2019, during the company's New York City launch and in CNBC interviews on the NYSE.
In May 2019, the company expanded its services to Europe, introducing the product first in Paris.
In May 2019, Bolt spoke in Paris at the Viva Technology conference, where he introduced the company's future release of the Nano minicar. He also met with French president Emmanuel Macron while at the conference. While in France, Bolt participated in a CNN interview where he revealed his reasons for founding the company.
Bolt argues that his scooter is different, which allows storage for riders' bags, shopping, and mobile phones. The scooters have capabilities to reach up to 30 mph, but are typically capped at 15 mph depending on city regulation. The company has begun operations in a number of U.S. cities, and plans to expand throughout Europe and Asia.
In 2021, Usain Bolt partnered with SprintRay Inc, a company specializing in dental 3D printing, to launch "Bolt Labs powered by SprintRay" in Jamaica. This initiative aims to increase access to dental care across Jamaica and the Caribbean through the use of advanced 3D printing technology. Bolt Labs focuses on creating high-quality dental prosthetics quickly and cost-effectively, serving both urban and remote communities. Bolt's collaboration with SprintRay also includes outreach efforts via mobile dental clinics equipped with 3D printers, enabling accessible, on-site dental treatments for underserved populations. Through this partnership, Bolt has expanded his role in social impact, promoting innovations in healthcare in his home country.
In early July 2022, Bolt Mobility abruptly ceased operations, leaving bike-sharing programs up in the air, including in Burlington, Vermont; Portland, Oregon; Richmond, California; and Richmond, Virginia.
== Music production ==
In July 2019, Bolt made his debut as a dancehall music producer with the release of the Olympe Rosé riddim that featured 5 tracks from Jamaican dancehall artistes: Dexta Daps's "Big Moves", Munga Honorable's "Weekend", Christopher Martin's "Dweet", Ding Dong's "Top A Di Top", and football-player-turned-artist Ricardo "Bibi" Gardner's "Mount A Gyal".
In November 2019, he followed up with another compilation called Immortal Riddim that included tracks from Vybz Kartel, Masicka, Munga Honorable and Christopher Martin.
In early January 2021, Bolt released a single titled "Living the Dream" with his childhood friend and manager Nugent 'NJ' Walker.
== Recognition ==
IAAF World Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016
Track & Field Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2009
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017
Gazzetta Sports Awards World Sportsman of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016
BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2012
L'Équipe Champion of Champions: 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015
Jamaica Sportsman of the year: 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013
AIPS Male Athlete of the Year: 2015
Marca Leyenda (2009)
In October 2008, he was made a Commander of the Order of Distinction, which entitles him to use the post nominal letters CD.
In 2009, at age 23, Usain Bolt became the youngest member so far of the Order of Jamaica. The award was "for outstanding performance in the field of athletics at the international level". In the Jamaican honours system, this is considered the equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system, and entitles him to be formally styled "The Honourable", and to use the post nominal letters OJ.
== Statistics ==
=== Personal bests ===
Events tracked by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of athletics:
The following events are not regulated by World Athletics, and are not tracked as official world records:
=== Records ===
Bolt's personal best of 9.58 seconds in 2009 in the 100 metres is the fastest ever run. Bolt also holds the second fastest time of 9.63 seconds, the current Olympic record, and set two previous world records in the event. Bolt's personal best of 19.19 s in the 200 metres is the world record. This was recorded at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin against a head wind of −0.3 m/s (−1.1 km/h; −0.67 mph). This performance broke his previous world record in the event, his 19.30 s clocking in winning the 2008 Olympic 200 metres title.
Bolt has been on three world-record-setting Jamaican relay teams. The first record, 37.10 seconds, was set in winning gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics, although the result was voided in 2017 when the team was disqualified due to his team member Nesta Carter's urine sample being retested and found positive for the prohibited substance methylhexaneamine. The second record came at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, a time of 37.04 seconds. The third world record was set at the 2012 Summer Olympics, a time of 36.84 seconds.
Bolt also holds the 200 metres world teenage best results for the age categories 15 (20.58 s), 16 (20.13 s, former world youth record), 17 (19.93 s) and 18 (19.93 s, world junior record). He also holds the 150 metres world best set in 2009, during which he ran the last 100 metres in 8.70 seconds, the quickest timed 100 metres ever.
Bolt completed a total of 53 wind-legal sub-10-second performances in the 100 m during his career, with his first coming on 3 May 2008 and his last on 5 August 2017 at the World Championships. His longest undefeated streak in the 200 m was in 17 finals, lasting from 12 June 2008 to 3 September 2011. He also had a win-streak covering 14 100 m finals from 16 August 2008 to 16 July 2010.
=== Season's bests ===
World rank in parentheses
=== World rankings ===
=== International competitions ===
=== National titles ===
Jamaican Athletics Championships
100 m: 2008, 2009, 2013
200 m: 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009
=== Circuit wins ===
Other distances
Manchester GreatCity Games: 2010 (150 m)
Ostrava Golden Spike: 2010 (300 m)
== Publications ==
Allen, Matt; Bolt, Usain (2013). Faster Than Lightning: My Autobiography. London: HarperSport. ISBN 978-0-00-752364-1.
Bolt, Usain; Custis, Shaun (2010). Usain Bolt: 9.58. London: HarperSport. ISBN 978-0-00-737139-6.
Bolt, Usain; Custis, Shaun (2012). The Fastest Man Alive: The True Story of Usain Bolt. New York: Sports Publishing. ISBN 978-1-61321-067-3. |
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_Grand_Prix_Engineering | Williams Grand Prix Engineering | |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooby-Doo_(film) | Scooby-Doo (film) | Scooby-Doo (also known as Scooby-Doo: The Movie) is a 2002 American comedy horror film, based on the long-running animated franchise. The first installment in the Scooby-Doo live-action film series, the film was directed by Raja Gosnell and written by James Gunn. It features an ensemble cast consisting of Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini and Rowan Atkinson, along with Neil Fanning providing the voice of the titular character. The plot revolves around Mystery, Inc., a group of young adult sleuths and their talking Great Dane who solves mysteries. They reunite after a two-year disbandment to solve a mystery involving a series of paranormal events at a horror-themed tropical island resort.
Filming took place in and around Queensland, Australia, on a budget of $84 million. Reggae artist Shaggy and rock group MxPx performed different versions of the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! theme song for the film.
Scooby-Doo was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 14, 2002, and was a commercial success, grossing $275.7 million on a $84 million budget. The film received generally negative reviews from critics. The Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster, a ride based on the film, was built at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast, Queensland that same year. A sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, was released in 2004. Both films later gained a cult following.
== Plot ==
After Mystery, Inc. solved their latest mystery, long-brewing friction between Fred Jones, who has become a self-obsessed glory hog, Daphne Blake, who is tired of being the damsel in distress, and Velma Dinkley, who resents Fred for stealing credit for her plans, causes the gang to break into a heated argument. Subsequently, they disband, abandoning a dismayed Shaggy Rogers and Scooby-Doo, leaving them to care for their van, the Mystery Machine.
Two years later, they are all invited to solve a mystery on a horror-themed tropical resort called "Spooky Island" at the behest of its owner Emile Mondavarious, who believes the guests keep falling under a demonic curse. While Shaggy and Scooby hope this will bring the gang back together, Fred, Daphne, and Velma each intend to solve the mystery on their own. Velma attends a ritualistic performance given by actor N'Goo Tuana and his henchman, famous luchador Zarkos. N'Goo claims ancient demons once ruled the island, but have been plotting their revenge ever since the resort's establishment. Meanwhile, Shaggy falls for a sweet girl named Mary Jane, who is allergic to dogs, distancing himself from Scooby in the process. The gang are led separately to the resort's abandoned haunted house ride, so they decide to get along for the time being. Fred and Velma discover a film that educates inhuman creatures about human culture, while Daphne finds a pyramid-shaped artifact called the "Daemon Ritus".
Later, at the resort's hotel, Fred, Velma, and Mondavarious are kidnapped and possessed by the island's demons. Mary Jane calls the Coast Guard for help but they have also been possessed. The next day, after Scooby tries and fails to tell Shaggy that Mary Jane is secretly possessed, they have a falling-out that results in Scooby going missing as well. Zarkos steals back the Daemon Ritus from Daphne, who is also captured and possessed. Shaggy searches for his friends underground and finds a vat of protoplasm containing the souls of all those possessed. He frees the souls of Fred, Daphne, and Velma, who quickly discover that sunlight is lethal to the demons. A local voodoo priest informs the gang the demons are to perform a ritual which will see them rule the world for the next ten thousand years if a pure soul is sacrificed in the Daemon Ritus.
The gang realizes that the pure soul is Scooby's, whom Mondavarious was ultimately after. Finally realizing their mistakes, Fred, Daphne, and Velma put aside their differences for good and team up with Shaggy to save Scooby and the world. They infiltrate the ritual, where Shaggy foils Mondavarious in sacrificing Scooby's soul. Mondavarious turns out to be a robot controlled by Scooby's estranged nephew Scrappy-Doo, who has been plotting his revenge on the gang for abandoning him long ago, due to his increasingly power-hungry and egomaniacal nature. Using the Daemon Ritus, Scrappy transforms into a giant monster and tries to kill the gang.
Daphne knocks Zarkos into the vat, tipping it over and returning most of the other souls to their bodies, then reflects sunlight through a disco ball, vanquishing the released demons. Shaggy frees the rest of the souls from Scrappy, reversing his transformation in the process, and finds the real Mondavarious, who had been detained. Scrappy and his henchmen are arrested, and Mystery, Inc. reunites.
== Cast ==
Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred Jones
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne Blake
Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers
Linda Cardellini as Velma Dinkley
Rowan Atkinson as Emile Mondavarious
Isla Fisher as Mary Jane
Miguel A. Núñez Jr. as a voodoo priest who is the last living native of Spooky Island
Neil Fanning voices Scooby-Doo. Scott Innes reprises his role as the voice of Scrappy-Doo, with J. P. Manoux providing the voice of the monstrous form he enters using the power of the Daemon Ritus (credited as "Scrappy Rex"). Sam Greco portrays Zarkos; Steven Grives portrays N'Goo Tuana; Kristian Schmid portrays Brad; and Michala Banas portrays Carol.
Additionally, Holly Brisley appears in a training video, while Frank Welker and Jess Harnell provide the vocal effects of Spooky Island's resident demons. Sugar Ray, Pamela Anderson and Nicholas Hope (Old Man Smithers) appear in cameo roles.
== Production ==
=== Development ===
Producer Charles Roven began developing a live-action treatment of Scooby-Doo in 1994. By the end of the decade, the combined popularity of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, along with the addition of the script and updated digital animation, led Warner Bros. to fast track production of the film. In 1996, Kevin Smith was offered to write a script for the film, but would only accept if his producer Scott Mosier agreed to write with him. Writer Craig Titley wrote the original screenplay. His was an origin story, focusing on how the gang met in college and teamed up for the first time to find a hidden treasure. Titley's script included multiple references to the original series, including the use of the Kingston Mansion from the intro as a major setting, but his draft was ultimately unused after Titley was unavailable to perform rewrites. However, many elements from Titley's draft were incorporated into the final film, including a demonic cult creating monsters, Shaggy getting a girlfriend who creates tension between him and Scooby, and the use of profanity and adult humor. Mike Myers was reported to be co-writing the screenplay with Jay Kogan in July 1998, and was later on board to play Shaggy as well. In October 2000, the film was officially given the green light. Variety reported that Raja Gosnell had been hired to direct the film.
The film was shot on location in and around Queensland, Australia. Production was started on February 12, 2001, at the Warner Bros. Movie World theme park, with over 400 cast and crew also taking over Tangalooma Island Resort for six weeks to film all the scenes set on Spooky Island. Production wrapped in June 2001. The film was originally set to have a much darker tone, essentially poking fun at the original series, much like The Brady Bunch Movie, and was set for a PG-13 rating. Shaggy was set to be a stoner, and there were many marijuana references.
Several rumors about these aspects in the original cartoon series were passed around by fans of the original and were to be incorporated into the live-action film. In March 2001, one month into filming, the first official cast picture was released.
According to Sarah Michelle Gellar, after the cast had signed on there was a change, and the film became more family-friendly, though some of the original adult jokes are still in the film. They are also included in deleted scenes on the home media releases. Gellar said her character and Linda Cardellini's shared an onscreen kiss that did not make the final film. "It wasn't just, like, for fun," she said, explaining it took place in the body-switching scene. "Initially in the soul-swapping scene, Velma and Daphne couldn't seem to get their souls back together in the woods. And so the way they found was to kiss, and the souls went back into proper alignment."
The film was originally planned to have an anonymous, nameless, otherworldly monster mastermind as the main antagonist. James Gunn, the film's screenwriter, and the production team had problems choosing the villain of the film, since they did not feel comfortable with the idea of giving the role to an "anonymous monster", and much of the film had been shot with this ending in mind. Another ending was filmed with Old Man Smithers revealed as the antagonist. The team decided to make Scrappy-Doo the antagonist, as Gunn disliked the character.
In 2017, the 15th anniversary of the release of the film, Gunn revealed in a Facebook post that there was an R-rated cut of Scooby-Doo and that CGI was used to remove cleavage of the female cast members.
=== Casting ===
Actors Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar, who both previously worked together in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and portray Fred and Daphne, are romantically involved in both the film and reality. This film marks the first time in the franchise's history where the characters are portrayed as a couple. The pair married shortly after the film was released. Prinze said of his character, "[He] always showed more arrogance than everyone else. So in the movie, I took the opportunity to make him as narcissistic and self-loving as possible."
Jim Carrey was originally attached to play Shaggy, while Mike Myers also expressed interest in the role. Lochlyn Munro also auditioned for the role. The role was eventually given to Matthew Lillard. When asked about watching several cartoons before playing Shaggy, Lillard responded, "Everything I could get my hands on. If I ever have to see another episode of Scooby-Doo, it will be way too soon." Lillard would continue voicing Shaggy in the rest of the Scooby-Doo media starting in 2010, at the request of the character's original voice actor Casey Kasem, who had stepped down due to health issues; he would also poke fun at this appearance in the following year's Looney Tunes: Back in Action, where an animated Shaggy and Scooby voice their grievances over Lillard's portrayal during a lunch in the Warner Bros. studio cafeteria and threaten him to portray the character better in the sequel. Hadley Kay was selected by William Hanna to provide the voice of Scooby-Doo, but was later fired. Scott Innes was also going to voice Scooby in the film, but was replaced with Neil Fanning, an actor and stuntman who was performing in Warner Bros. Movie World's Police Academy Stunt Show at the time. Innes provided the voice of Scrappy, and also ad-libbed the character's dialogue for the ending scene when he is arrested.
Isla Fisher, who played Mary Jane, grew up watching Scooby-Doo in Australia, and said that the "best part of making this movie was being part of an institution, something that has been in people's childhoods and is something that means a lot to a lot of people." Linda Cardellini, who played Velma, was also a fan of the Scooby-Doo series.
=== Filming ===
Principal photography began on February 13, 2001, and wrapped on June 1, 2001. Filming took place throughout Queensland, Australia. Spooky Island was filmed on Tangalooma Island resort in Moreton Island. A life-sized puppet of Scooby was built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, but was dropped in favor of animating the character entirely in computer-generated imagery.
== Music ==
=== Soundtrack ===
The film's score was composed by David Newman, who previously worked with Gosnell on Never Been Kissed (1999) and scored films based on Hanna-Barbera productions including The Flintstones (1994) and its prequel Viva Rock Vegas (2000). A soundtrack was released on June 4, 2002, by Atlantic Records. It peaked at number 24 on the Billboard 200 and 49 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
== Release ==
=== Marketing ===
On November 16, 2001, the first trailer of Scooby-Doo was released in theaters with the opening of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. A second trailer debuted with the release of Ice Age and Showtime on March 15, 2002.
A video game based upon the film was released for Game Boy Advance shortly before the film was released. The game is played in third-person point of view and has multiple puzzle games and mini-games. The game's structure was similar to a board game. Metacritic rated it 64/100 based on five reviews, which they labeled as "mixed or average reviews". Meanwhile, Dairy Queen began promoting the film with kids meal toys, frozen cakes and a limited edition Mystery Crunch Blizzard flavor.
=== Home media ===
The film was released on VHS and DVD on October 11, 2002. The release included deleted scenes, among them an alternate opening animated in the style of the original television series, done by Kurtz & Friends. It was later released on Blu-ray on January 16, 2007. Said Blu-ray was given a double feature pack with its sequel, Monsters Unleashed, on November 9, 2010.
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
Scooby-Doo debuted with $19.2 million on its opening day and $54.1 million over the weekend from 3,447 theaters, averaging about $15,711 per venue and ranking No. 1 at the box office above The Bourne Identity. At the time, it had the second-highest June opening weekend, behind Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. During its theatrical run, Scooby-Doo also competed against another family-oriented film, Lilo & Stitch. The film closed on October 31, 2002, with a final gross of $153 million in the United States and Canada. It made an additional $122 million in other territories, bringing the total worldwide gross to $275.7 million, making it the fifteenth most successful film worldwide of 2002. The film was released in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2002, and topped the country's box office for the next two weekends, before being dethroned by Austin Powers in Goldmember.
=== Critical response ===
Scooby Doo received mostly negative reviews upon release. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 32% based on 147 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Though Lillard is uncannily spot-on as Shaggy, Scooby Doo is a tired live-action update, filled with lame jokes." On Metacritic, the film received a weighted average score of 35 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one out of four stars, stating that the film "exists in a closed universe, and the rest of us are aliens. The Internet was invented so that you can find someone else's review of Scooby-Doo. Start surfing." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said, "Get out your pooper-scoopers. Doo happens June 14th, warn the ads for Scooby-Doo. And they say there's no truth in Hollywood." Chris Hewitt of Empire gave the film two out of five stars.
Robin Rauzi of the Los Angeles Times called the film "entertainment more disposable than Hanna-Barbera's half-hour cartoons ever were." Although Jay Boyar of the Orlando Sentinel said that children who liked the animated version of Scooby-Doo will "probably like" the film, he urged parents to "know that the violence is a bit harder-edged than in the cartoon version". He would later go on to say that adults who remember the cartoon version "may get caught up in what Scooby would call the 'rostalgia'", but said that "adults who do not fondly recall the Scooby-Doo cartoons are strongly advised to steer clear." Robert K. Elder of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2 and 1/2 stars out of 4 and wrote, "Screenwriter James Gunn gets it mostly right, remaining fiercely faithful to Mystery Inc. mythology, from integrating Scooby's annoying nephew Scrappy-Doo to Velma's penchant for yelling 'jinkees!' Unlike the lead balloon adaptation 'Josie and the Pussycats,' Scooby-Doo knows when to take itself seriously and when to laugh at itself -- even if its audience isn't laughing along at every gag." James Gunn had previously stated that he felt that "kids [would]n't care" about the film's adult humor, but later admitted that he had not understood Scrappy-Doo's popularity with younger viewers, who had reacted poorly to the development of Scrappy as a villain.
Conversely, Hank Struever of The Washington Post gave the film a positive review, stating that "You don't want to love this, but you will. Although Scooby-Doo falls far short of becoming the Blazing Saddles of Generations X, Y and Z, it is hard to resist in its charms." Meanwhile, Lillard's performance was universally praised.
=== Accolades ===
Gellar won the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress – Comedy. Prinze was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor (Razzie), but he lost to Hayden Christensen for Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. It was also nominated for another Razzie, Most Flatulent Teen-Targeted Movie, but lost against Jackass: The Movie. It won the Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Fart in a Movie.
=== Legacy ===
Following the retirement of Casey Kasem as the voice of Shaggy, Lillard became the official voice of the character beginning with Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated. In the same series, Cardellini voiced the supporting character Hot Dog Water opposite Velma.
The film and its sequel have developed a cult following since their release, mainly among enthusiasts of James Gunn's later work.
== Franchise ==
=== Sequel ===
A sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, was released in 2004.
=== Canceled sequel ===
A third film was planned, but canceled after the poor critical and financial results of the second.
=== Reboot series ===
A live-action reboot series based on the franchise were released: the telefilms Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009) and Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster (2010).
=== Spin-off ===
The direct-to-video film Daphne & Velma (2018) was released. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming | Wyoming | Wyoming ( wy-OH-ming) is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the south. With an estimated population of 587,618 as of 2024, Wyoming is the least populous state despite being the tenth-largest by area, and it has the second-lowest population density. The state capital and most populous city is Cheyenne.
Wyoming's western half consists mostly of the ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains; its eastern half consists of high-elevation prairie, and is referred to as the High Plains. Wyoming's climate is semi-arid in some parts and continental in others, making it drier and windier overall than other states, with greater temperature extremes. The federal government owns just under half of Wyoming's land; the state ranks sixth in the amount of land—and fifth in the proportion of its land—that is owned by the federal government. Its federal lands include two national parks (Grand Teton and Yellowstone), two national recreation areas, two national monuments, and several national forests, as well as historic sites, fish hatcheries, and wildlife refuges.
Indigenous peoples have inhabited the region for thousands of years. Part of the land that became Wyoming came under American sovereignty via the Louisiana Purchase, part via the Oregon Treaty, and, lastly, via the Mexican Cession. With the opening of the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the California Trail, vast numbers of pioneers traveled through parts of the state that had once been traversed mainly by fur trappers, and this spurred the establishment of forts, such as Fort Laramie, that today serve as population centers. The Transcontinental Railroad supplanted the wagon trails in 1867 with a route through southern Wyoming, bringing new settlers and the establishment of founding towns, including the state capital of Cheyenne. On July 10, 1890, Wyoming became the union's 44th state. Wyoming was the first state to allow women the right to vote doing so since it was territory in 1869, and achieving statehood in 1890. It was also the first state to grant women the right to assume elected office, as well as the first state to elect a female governor, Nellie Tayloe Ross. In honor of this part of its history, its official nickname is "The Equality State" and its official state motto is "Equal Rights".
Farming and ranching, and the attendant range wars, feature prominently in the state's history. Wyoming's economy is largely based on tourism and the extraction of minerals such as coal, natural gas, oil, and trona. Its agricultural commodities include barley, hay, livestock, sugar beets, wheat, and wool.
== Etymology ==
The region had acquired the name Wyoming by 1865 when Representative James Mitchell Ashley of Ohio introduced a bill to Congress to provide a "temporary government for the territory of Wyoming". The territory was named after the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. Thomas Campbell wrote his 1809 poem "Gertrude of Wyoming", inspired by the Battle of Wyoming in the American Revolutionary War. The name ultimately derives from the Lenape Munsee word xwé:wamənk ('at the big river flat').
== History ==
Several Native American groups originally inhabited the region today known as Wyoming. The Crow, Arapaho, Lakota, and Shoshone were but a few of the original inhabitants European explorers encountered when they first visited the region. What is now southwestern Wyoming was claimed by the Spanish Empire, which extended through the Southwest and Mexico. With Mexican independence in 1821, it was considered part of Alta California. U.S. expansion brought settlers who fought for control. Mexico ceded these territories after its defeat in 1848 in the Mexican–American War.
From the late 18th century, French-Canadian trappers from Québec and Montréal regularly entered the area for trade with the tribes. French toponyms such as Téton and La Ramie are marks of that history.
American John Colter first recorded a description in English of the region in 1807. He was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which was guided by French Canadian Toussaint Charbonneau and his young Shoshone wife, Sacagawea. At the time, Colter's reports of the Yellowstone area were considered fictional. On a return from Astoria, Robert Stuart and a party of five men discovered South Pass in 1812.
The Oregon Trail later followed that route as emigrants moved to the west coast. In 1850, mountain man Jim Bridger first documented what is now known as Bridger Pass. Bridger also explored Yellowstone, and filed reports on the region that, like Colter's, were largely regarded at the time as tall tales. The Union Pacific Railroad constructed track through Bridger Pass in 1868. It was used as the route for construction of Interstate 80 through the mountains 90 years later.
After the Union Pacific Railroad reached Cheyenne in 1867, population growth was stimulated. The federal government established the Wyoming Territory on July 25, 1868. Lacking significant deposits of gold and silver, unlike mineral-rich Colorado, Wyoming did not have such a population boom. But South Pass City had a short-lived boom after the Carissa Mine began producing gold in 1867. Copper was mined in some areas between the Sierra Madre Mountains and the Snowy Range near Grand Encampment.
Once government-sponsored expeditions to the Yellowstone country began, Colter's and Bridger's descriptions of the region's landscape were confirmed. In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was created as the world's first, to protect this area. Nearly all of the park lies within the northwestern corner of Wyoming.
On December 10, 1869, territorial Governor John Allen Campbell extended the right to vote to women, making Wyoming the first territory to do so, and upon statehood became the first state to grant women's suffrage. Women first served on juries in Wyoming (Laramie in 1870). Wyoming was also a pioneer in welcoming women into electoral politics. It had the first female court bailiff (Mary Atkinson, Laramie, in 1870), and the first female justice of the peace in the country (Esther Hobart Morris, South Pass City, in 1870). In 1924, Wyoming was the first state to elect a female governor, Nellie Tayloe Ross, who took office in January 1925. Due to its civil-rights history, one of Wyoming's state nicknames is "The Equality State", and the official state motto is "Equal Rights".
Wyoming's constitution also included a pioneering article on water rights. Bills for Wyoming Territory's admission to the union were introduced in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives in December 1889. On March 27, 1890, the House passed the bill and President Benjamin Harrison signed Wyoming's statehood bill; Wyoming became the 44th state in the union on July 10, 1890.
Wyoming was the location of the Johnson County War of 1892, which erupted between competing groups of cattle ranchers. The passage of the Homestead Act led to an influx of small ranchers. A range war broke out when either or both of the groups chose violent conflict over commercial competition in the use of the public land.
== Geography ==
=== Climate ===
Wyoming's climate is generally semi-arid and continental (Köppen climate classification BSk) and is drier and windier in comparison to most of the United States with greater temperature extremes. Much of this is due to the topography of the state. Summers in Wyoming are warm with July high temperatures averaging between 80 and 90 °F (27 and 32 °C) in most of the state. With increasing elevation, however, this average drops rapidly with locations above 9,000 feet (2,700 m) averaging around 70 °F (21 °C). Summer nights throughout the state are characterized by a rapid cooldown with even the hottest locations averaging in the 50–60 °F (10–16 °C) range at night. In most of the state, most of the precipitation tends to fall in the late spring and early summer. Winters are cold but are variable with periods of sometimes extreme cold interspersed between generally mild periods, with Chinook winds providing unusually warm temperatures in some locations.
Wyoming is a dry state with much of the land receiving less than 10 inches (250 mm) of rainfall per year. Precipitation depends on elevation with lower areas in the Big Horn Basin averaging 5–8 inches (130–200 mm), making the area nearly a true desert. The lower areas in the North and on the eastern plains typically average around 10–12 inches (250–300 mm), making the climate there semi-arid. Some mountain areas do receive a good amount of precipitation, 20 inches (510 mm) or more, much of it as snow, sometimes 200 inches (510 cm) or more annually. The state's highest recorded temperature is 114 °F (46 °C) at Basin on July 12, 1900, and the lowest recorded temperature is −66 °F (−54 °C) at Riverside on February 9, 1933.
The number of thunderstorm days varies across the state with the southeastern plains of the state having the most days of thunderstorm activity. Thunderstorm activity in the state is highest during the late spring and early summer. The southeastern corner of the state is the most vulnerable part of the state to tornado activity. Moving away from that point and westwards, the incidence of tornadoes drops dramatically with the west part of the state showing little vulnerability. Tornadoes, where they occur, tend to be small and brief, unlike some of those that occur farther east.
=== Location and size ===
As specified in the designating legislation for the Territory of Wyoming, Wyoming's borders are lines of latitude 41°N and 45°N, and longitude 104°3'W and 111°3'W (27 and 34 west of the Washington Meridian) –a geodesic quadrangle. Wyoming is one of only three states (the others being Colorado and Utah) to have borders defined by only "straight" lines. Due to surveying inaccuracies during the 19th century, Wyoming's legal border deviates from the true latitude and longitude lines by up to one-half mile (0.80 km) in some spots, especially in the mountainous region along the 45th parallel. Wyoming is bordered on the north by Montana, on the east by South Dakota and Nebraska, on the south by Colorado, on the southwest by Utah, and on the west by Idaho. It is the tenth largest state in the United States in total area, containing 97,814 square miles (253,340 km2) and is made up of 23 counties. From the north border to the south border, it is 276 miles (444 km); and from the east to the west border is 365 miles (587 km) at its south end and 342 miles (550 km) at the north end.
=== Natural landforms ===
==== Mountain ranges ====
The Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. The state is a great plateau broken by many mountain ranges. Surface elevations range from the summit of Gannett Peak in the Wind River Mountain Range, at 13,804 feet (4,207 m), to the Belle Fourche River valley in the state's northeast corner, at 3,125 feet (952 m). In the northwest are the Absaroka, Owl Creek, Gros Ventre, Wind River, and the Teton ranges. In the north central are the Big Horn Mountains; in the northeast, the Black Hills; and in the southern region the Laramie, Snowy, and Sierra Madre ranges.
The Snowy Range in the south-central part of the state is an extension of the Colorado Rockies both in geology and in appearance. The Wind River Range in the west central part of the state is remote and includes more than 40 mountain peaks in excess of 13,000 ft (4,000 m) tall in addition to Gannett Peak, the highest peak in the state. The Bighorn Mountains in the north-central portion are somewhat isolated from the bulk of the Rocky Mountains.
The Teton Range in the northwest extends for 50 miles (80 km), part of which is included in Grand Teton National Park. The park includes the Grand Teton, the second-highest peak in the state.
The Continental Divide spans north–south across the central portion of the state. Rivers east of the divide drain into the Missouri River Basin and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. They are the North Platte, Wind, Bighorn, and Yellowstone rivers. The Snake River in northwest Wyoming eventually drains into the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean, as does the Green River through the Colorado River Basin.
The Continental Divide forks in the south-central part of the state in an area known as the Great Divide Basin where water that precipitates onto or flows into it cannot reach an ocean—it all sinks into the soil and eventually evaporates.
Several rivers begin in or flow through the state, including the Yellowstone River, Bighorn River, Green River, and the Snake River.
==== Basins ====
Much of Wyoming is covered with large basins containing different eco-regions, from shrublands to smaller patches of desert. Regions of the state classified as basins contain everything from large geologic formations to sand dunes and vast unpopulated spaces. Basin landscapes are typically at lower elevations and include rolling hills, valleys, mesas, terraces and other rugged terrain, but also include natural springs as well as rivers and artificial reservoirs. They have common plant species such as various subspecies of sagebrush, juniper and grasses such as wheatgrass, but basins are known for their diversity of plant and animal species.
==== Islands ====
Wyoming has 32 named islands; the majority are in Jackson Lake and Yellowstone Lake, within Yellowstone National Park in the northwest portion of the state. The Green River in the southwest also contains a number of islands.
=== Regions and administrative divisions ===
==== Counties ====
The state of Wyoming has 23 counties.
Wyoming license plates have a number on the left that indicates the county where the vehicle is registered, ranked by an earlier census. Specifically, the numbers are representative of the property values of the counties in 1930. The county license plate numbers are:
==== Cities and towns ====
The State of Wyoming has 99 incorporated municipalities.
In 2020, 51.1% of Wyomingites lived in one of the 12 most populous Wyoming municipalities.
==== Metropolitan areas ====
The United States Census Bureau has defined two metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) and eight micropolitan statistical areas (MiSA) for the state. In 2020, 31.3% of Wyomingites lived in either of the metropolitan statistical areas, and 80.4% lived in either a metropolitan or a micropolitan area.
== Demographics ==
=== Population ===
The 2020 United States census counted 576,851 people living in Wyoming. The center of population of Wyoming is in Natrona County. Sparsely populated, Wyoming is the least populous state of the United States. Wyoming has the second-lowest population density in the country (behind Alaska) and is the sparsest-populated of the 48 contiguous states. It is one of only two states with a population smaller than that of the nation's capital; the only other state with this distinction is Vermont.
According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 648 homeless people in Wyoming.
According to the 2020 census, the population's racial composition was 84.7% white (81.4% non-Hispanic white), 2.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Black or African American, 0.9% Asian American, and 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 3.5% from some other race, and 7.5% from two or more races. As of 2011, 24.9% of Wyoming's population younger than age 1 were minorities. According to data from the American Community Survey, as of 2018, Wyoming was the only U.S. state where African Americans earn a higher median income than white workers.
As of 2015, Wyoming had an estimated population of 586,107, which was an increase of 1,954, or 0.29%, from the prior year and an increase of 22,481, or 3.99%, since the 2010 census. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 12,165 (33,704 births minus 21,539 deaths) and an increase from net migration of 4,035 into the state. Immigration resulted in a net increase of 2,264 and migration within the country produced a net increase of 1,771. In 2004, the foreign-born population was 11,000 (2.2%). In 2005, total births in Wyoming were 7,231 (birth rate of 14.04 per thousand).
Wyoming experienced its first population decline since 1990, with a decrease of just over 1,000 people (0.2 percent) from July 2015 to July 2016. This decline was attributed to the downturn in the state's mineral extraction industry, particularly the oil and gas sector, which led to the loss of thousands of jobs. However, state economist Jim Robinson noted signs of economic stabilization. Job losses in the oil and gas industry appeared to have leveled off, and there was a slight increase in drilling activity in recent months. While the state's economy showed little growth, it was considered to have reached a more stable condition as of late 2016.
According to the 2000 census, the largest ancestry groups in Wyoming were: German (25.9%), English (15.9%), Irish (13.3%), and American Indian (4.7%). An additional 6.4% responded with "American" as their ancestry.
In 2018, the top countries of origin for Wyoming's immigrants were Mexico, China, Germany, England and Canada.
Birth data
Note: Births in table do not add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.
Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
=== Languages ===
In 2010, 93.39% (474,343) of Wyomingites over age 5 spoke English as their primary language; 4.47% (22,722) spoke Spanish, 0.35% (1,771) spoke German, and 0.28% (1,434) spoke French. Other common non-English languages included Algonquian (0.18%), Russian (0.10%), Tagalog, and Greek (both 0.09%).
In 2007, the American Community Survey reported 6.2% (30,419) of Wyoming's population over five spoke a language other than English at home. Of those, 68.1% were able to speak English very well, 16.0% spoke English well, 10.9% did not speak English well, and 5.0% did not speak English at all.
=== Religion ===
In 2020, the Public Religion Research Institute determined that about 55% of Wyoming's adult population was Christian, primarily evangelical and mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Mormon. The Public Religion Research Institute survey documented a decrease in religiosity from a 2014 separate Pew Research Center study; according to the Public Religion Research Institute, the unaffiliated made up 40% of the state population by 2020. According to a 2013 Gallup poll, Wyomingites' religious affiliations were 49% Protestant, 23% nonreligious or other, 18% Catholic, 9% Latter-day Saint (Mormons), and less than 1% Jewish.
A 2010 Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) report recognized as Wyoming's largest denominations the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), with 62,804 (11%); the Catholic Church, with 61,222 (10.8%); and the Southern Baptist Convention, with 15,812 (2.8%). The report counted 59,247 evangelical Protestants (10.5%), 36,539 mainline Protestants (6.5%), 785 Eastern Orthodox Christians; 281 Black Protestants; 65,000 adhering to other traditions; and 340,552 claiming no religious tradition. In 2020, ARDA reported the state's largest individual denominations as the following: the Catholic Church (69,500); the LDS Church (67,729); and the Southern Baptist Convention (11,082). Non-denominational Protestants were 23,410 in number.
According to ARDA's 2020 report, the Roman Catholics had an adherence rate of 120.48 per 1,000 people, Mormons 117.41 per 1,000 people, and Southern Baptists 19.21 per 1,000 people. Non-denominational Protestants had an adherence rate of 40.58 per 1,000 people; these trends reflected the separate 2014 Pew study's varying attendance at religious services. In 2014, 38% visited a religious service at least once a week, 28% once or twice a month, and 32% seldom/never. A 2018 research article by the National Christian Foundation cited non-churchgoing Christians nationwide did not attend religious services often through practicing the faith in other ways, not finding a house of worship they liked, disliking sermons and feeling unwelcomed, and logistics.
== Economy and infrastructure ==
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Wyoming's gross state product in 2024 was $52.9 billion. As of 2014, the population was growing slightly with the most growth in tourist-oriented areas, such as Teton County. Boom conditions in neighboring states, such as North Dakota, were drawing energy workers away. About half of Wyoming's counties showed population loss. The state makes active efforts through Wyoming Grown, an internet-based recruitment program, to find jobs for young people educated in Wyoming who have emigrated but may wish to return. As of May 2025, the state's unemployment rate was 3.3%.
In 2025, Wyoming experienced its highest growth in new business formations, up 35% from 2024 with 227,723 new businesses formed, according to Business Observer. That same year, small businesses made up 98.9% of businesses in the state, and employed 65.2% of its work force.
The mineral-extraction industry and travel and tourism sector are the main drivers of Wyoming's economy. The federal government owns about 42.3% of its landmass, while the state controls 6%. The total taxable value of mining production in Wyoming in 2007 was over $14.5 billion. In 2018, the tourism industry contributed approximately $3.8 billion in spending from domestic and international visitors.
In 2002, more than six million people visited Wyoming's national parks and monuments. Wyoming's main tourist attractions include Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Independence Rock and Fossil Butte National Monument. Yellowstone, established in 1872 as the world's first national park, attracts over three million visitors each year.
Historically, agriculture has been an important component of Wyoming's economy. Its overall importance to the economy has waned, but it is still an essential part of Wyoming's culture and lifestyle. The main agricultural commodities Wyoming produces include livestock (beef), hay, sugar beets, grain (wheat and barley), and wool. More than 91% of Wyoming's land is classified as rural.
Wyoming is the home of only a handful of companies with a regional or national presence. Taco John's and Sierra Trading Post, both in Cheyenne, are privately held. Cloud Peak Energy in Gillette and U.S. Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: USEG) in Riverton are Wyoming's only publicly traded companies.
Various initiatives have been put in place and legislation adopted to encourage the use of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in the state. Tyler Lindholm, a former state legislator, claimed that 500 member-owned limited liability companies built on blockchain had been established and that 17,000 businesses with "crypto" in their name were registered by 2023.
State legislators appointed a commission in 2023 to create a stablecoin, aiming to be the first cryptocurrency created by a U.S. state. It launched in August 2025.
=== Mineral and energy production ===
Wyoming's mineral commodities include coal, natural gas, coalbed methane, crude oil, uranium, and trona.
==== Coal ====
Wyoming produced 277 million short tons (251 million metric tons) of coal in 2019, a 9% drop from 2018. Wyoming's coal production peaked in 2008, when 514 million short tons (466 million metric tons) were produced. Wyoming has a reserve of 68.7 billion tons (62.3 billion metric tons) of coal. Major coal areas include the Powder River Basin and the Green River Basin. In 2002, coalbed methane extraction (CBM), a method for the extracting of methane, yielded 327.5 billion cubic feet (9.3 km3). In 2016, Wyoming produced 1.77 trillion cubic feet (50 billion m3) of natural gas, ranking the state sixth nationwide in natural gas production.
==== Oil ====
Wyoming produced 53.4 million barrels (8.49×10^6 m3) of crude oil in 2007, ranking fifth nationwide in oil production. By 2022, Wyoming ranked eighth nationally in the production of both crude oil and natural gas and was the second-largest producer of oil and gas on federal lands. At its peak in 2022, the state had 27,951 producing wells, including 10,120 oil wells and 17,800 gas wells. Wyoming's oil reserves were estimated at 978 million barrels at the end of 2021, representing 2.4% of U.S. reserves. The state had four operational refineries in 2022 with a combined refining capacity of 125,850 barrels per day, a significant reduction from the 14 refineries operating in 1981.
==== Wind energy ====
Because of its geography and altitude, the potential for wind energy in Wyoming is one of the highest of any U.S. state. The Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project is the largest commercial wind generation facility under development in North America. Carbon County is home to the largest proposed wind farm in the nation. Construction plans have been halted because of proposed new taxes on wind power energy production.
==== Other ====
The Kelsey Lake Diamond Mine in Colorado, less than 1,000 feet (300 m) from the Wyoming border, produced gem-quality diamonds for several years. The Wyoming craton, which hosts the kimberlite volcanic pipes that were mined, underlies most of Wyoming.
Wyoming possesses the world's largest known reserve of trona, a mineral used in manufacturing glass, paper, soaps, baking soda, water softeners, and pharmaceuticals. In 2008, Wyoming produced 46 million short tons (41.7 million metric tons) of trona, 25% of the world's production.
Although uranium mining in Wyoming is much less active than in previous decades, a sharp rise in uranium prices in 2007 spurred new interest in prospecting and mining. In 2024, the uranium industry in the state experienced a significant resurgence due to a sharp increase in uranium prices. Rare earth metals are also among Wyoming's mineral commodities.
=== Taxes ===
Unlike most other states, Wyoming levies no individual or corporate income tax. It also assesses no tax on retirement income earned and received from another state. Wyoming has a state sales tax of 4%. Counties have the option to collect an additional 1% tax for general revenue and a 1% tax for specific purposes, if approved by voters. Food for human consumption is not subject to sales tax. A county lodging tax varies from 2% to 5%. The state collects a use tax of 5% on items purchased elsewhere and brought into Wyoming. All property tax is based on the property's assessed value; Wyoming's Department of Revenue's Ad Valorem Tax Division supports, trains, and guides local government agencies in the uniform assessment, valuation and taxation of locally assessed property. "Assessed value" means taxable value; "taxable value" means a percentage of the fair market value of property in a particular class. Statutes limit property tax increases. For county revenue, the property tax rate cannot exceed 12 mills (or 1.2%) of assessed value. For cities and towns, the rate is limited to eight mills (0.8%). With very few exceptions, state law limits the property tax rate for all governmental purposes.
Personal property held for personal use is tax-exempt. Inventory held for resale, pollution control equipment, cash, accounts receivable, stocks and bonds are also exempt. Other exemptions include property used for religious, educational, charitable, fraternal, benevolent and government purposes and improvements for handicapped access. Mine lands, underground mining equipment, and oil and gas extraction equipment are exempt from property tax, but companies must pay a gross products tax on minerals and a severance tax on mineral production.
Wyoming does not collect capital gains tax, gift tax, or estate tax.
In 2008, the Tax Foundation reported that Wyoming had the most "business-friendly" tax climate of any U.S. state. Wyoming state and local governments in fiscal year 2007 collected $2.242 billion in taxes, levies, and royalties from the oil and gas industry. The state's mineral industry, including oil, gas, trona, and coal, provided $1.3 billion in property taxes from 2006 mineral production. As of 2017, Wyoming receives more federal tax dollars as a percentage of state general revenue than any state except Montana.
As of 2016, Wyoming does not require the beneficial owners of LLCs to be disclosed in the filing, which creates an opportunity for a tax haven, according to Clark Stith of Clark Stith & Associates. If fact, Wyoming was the first state to enact a statute authorizing the creation of LLCs. By 2024, company registrations were higher per capita in Wyoming than those in Delaware, which is historically the most prominent US tax haven. Entities linked to foreign adversaries have been observed exploiting Wyoming's business filing policies for fraudulent purposes, prompting state legislators to draft bills for increased oversight and restrictions. One of these bills, targeting foreign adversaries, was signed into law on February 24, 2025.
=== Transportation ===
Wyoming's largest airport is Jackson Hole Airport, with more than 500 employees. Three interstate highways and 13 U.S. highways pass through Wyoming. The Wyoming state highway system also serves the state.
Interstate 25 enters Wyoming south of Cheyenne and runs north, intersecting Interstate 80 immediately west of Cheyenne. It passes through Casper and ends at Interstate 90, near Buffalo. Interstate 80 crosses the Utah border west of Evanston and runs east through the southern third of the state, passing through Cheyenne before entering Nebraska near Pine Bluffs. Interstate 90 comes into Wyoming near Parkman and cuts through the northeastern part of the state. It serves Gillette and enters South Dakota east of Sundance.
U.S. Routes 14, 16, and the eastern section of U.S. 20 have their western terminus at the eastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park and pass through Cody. U.S. 14 runs eastward before joining I-90 at Gillette. U.S. 14 then follows I-90 to the South Dakota border. U.S. 16 and 20 split off of U.S. 14 at Greybull and U.S. 16 turns east at Worland while U.S. 20 continues south Shoshoni. U.S. Route 287 runs from Fort Collins, Colorado, to Laramie, Wyoming, through a pass between the Laramie Mountains and the Medicine Bow Mountains, then merges with US 30 and I-80 until it reaches Rawlins, where it continues north, passing Lander. Outside of Moran, U.S. 287 is part of a large interchange with U.S. Highways 26, 191, and 89, before continuing north to Yellowstone's southern entrance. U.S. 287 continues north of Yellowstone, but the park separates the two sections.
Other U.S. highways that pass through Wyoming are 18, 26, 30, 85, 87, 89, 189, 191, 212, and 287.
Wyoming is one of only two states (the other is South Dakota) in the 48 contiguous states not served by Amtrak. It was once served by Amtrak's San Francisco Zephyr and Pioneer lines. While no passenger trains roll through Wyoming today, intercity buses continue to connect residents across the state. Intercity bus carriers in the state include Express Arrow, Greyhound Lines, and Jefferson Lines.
=== Major interstates ===
I-25 (300.5 mi) connects Denver, Cheyenne, Casper and Buffalo. Most of the highway is connected with US 87. Major junctions include Interstate 80, US 30, US 85, US 26, US Routes 18 & 20 and US 16 before its northern terminus at Interstate 90 in Buffalo.
I-80 (402.8 mi) connects Evanston, Rock Springs, Rawlins, Laramie and Cheyenne. Major junctions include US 191, US 287, I-25, and US 85 & I-180.
I-90 (208.8 mi) connects Sheridan, Buffalo and Gillette. Primarily in northeastern Wyoming. Major junctions include US 14, I-25 and US 16.
==== Wind River Indian Reservation ====
The Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes share the Wind River Indian Reservation in central western Wyoming, near Lander. The reservation is home to 2,500 Eastern Shoshone and 5,000 Northern Arapaho.
Chief Washakie established the reservation in 1868 as the result of negotiations with the federal government in the Fort Bridger Treaty, but the federal government forced the Northern Arapaho onto the Shoshone reservation in 1876 after it failed to provide a promised separate reservation.
Today the Wind River Indian Reservation is jointly owned, with each tribe having a 50% interest in the land, water, and other natural resources. It is a sovereign, self-governed land with two independent governing bodies: the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and the Northern Arapaho Tribe. Until 2014, the Shoshone Business Council and Northern Arapaho Business Council met jointly as the Joint Business Council to decide matters that affect both tribes. Six elected council members from each tribe served on the joint council.
==== Public lands ====
The federal government owns nearly half of Wyoming's land (about 30,099,430 acres (121,808.1 km2)); the state owns another 3,864,800 acres (15,640 km2). Most of it is administered by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service in numerous national forests and a national grassland, not to mention vast swaths of public land and an air force base near Cheyenne.
There are also areas managed by the National Park Service and agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
National parks
Grand Teton National Park
Yellowstone National Park—first designated national park in the world
Memorial parkway
The John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway connects Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
National recreation areas
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area (managed by the Forest Service as part of Ashley National Forest)
National monuments
Devils Tower National Monument—first national monument in the U.S.
Fossil Butte National Monument
National historic trails, landmarks and sites
California National Historic Trail
Fort Laramie National Historic Site
Independence Rock National Historic Landmark
Medicine Wheel/Medicine Mountain National Historic Landmark
Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
National Register of Historic Places listings in Wyoming
Oregon National Historic Trail
Pony Express National Historic Trail
National fish hatcheries
Jackson National Fish Hatchery
Saratoga National Fish Hatchery
National wildlife refuges
National Elk Refuge
Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge
== Education ==
The state superintendent of public instruction, an elected state official, directs public education. The State Board of Education, a nine-member board appointed by the governor, sets educational policy. The constitution prohibits the state from establishing curriculum and textbook selections; these are the prerogative of local school boards. The Wyoming School for the Deaf was the only in-state school dedicated to supporting deaf students before it closed in the summer of 2000.
=== Higher education ===
Wyoming has a public four-year institution, the University of Wyoming in Laramie, and a private four-year college, Wyoming Catholic College, in Lander. There are also seven two-year community colleges.
Before the passing of a new law in 2006, Wyoming had hosted unaccredited institutions, many of them suspected diploma mills. The 2006 law requires unaccredited institutions to make one of three choices: move out of Wyoming, close down, or apply for accreditation. The Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization predicted in 2007 that in a few years the problem of diploma mills in Wyoming might be resolved.
== Media ==
Wyoming's media market consists of 16 broadcast TV stations, radio stations and dozens of small to medium-sized newspapers. There are also a few small independent news sources such as the nonprofit news site Wyofile.com and Oil City News.
== Government and politics ==
=== State government ===
Wyoming's Constitution established three branches of government: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The state legislature comprises a House of Representatives with 60 members and a Senate with 30 members. The executive branch is headed by the governor and includes a secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, and superintendent of public instruction. As Wyoming does not have a lieutenant governor, the secretary of state is first in the line of succession.
Wyoming's sparse population warrants the state only one at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, and hence only three votes in the Electoral College.
The Wyoming State Liquor Association is the state's sole legal wholesale distributor of spirits, making it an alcoholic beverage control state. With the exception of wine, state law prohibits the purchase of alcoholic beverages for resale from any other source.
=== Judicial system ===
Wyoming's highest court is the Supreme Court of Wyoming, with five justices presiding over appeals from the state's lower courts. Wyoming is unusual in that it does not have an intermediate appellate court, like most states. This is largely attributable to the state's population and correspondingly lower caseload. Appeals from the state district courts go directly to the Wyoming Supreme Court. Wyoming also has state circuit courts (formerly county courts), of limited jurisdiction, which handle certain types of cases, such as civil claims with lower dollar amounts, misdemeanor criminal offenses, and felony arraignments. Circuit court judges also commonly hear small claims cases as well.
Before 1972, Wyoming judges were selected by popular vote on a nonpartisan ballot. This earlier system was criticized by the state bar which called for the adoption of the Missouri Plan, a system designed to balance judiciary independence with judiciary accountability. In 1972, an amendment to Article 5 of the Wyoming Constitution, which incorporated a modified version of the plan, was adopted by the voters. Since the adoption of the amendment, all state court judges in Wyoming are nominated by the Judicial Nominating Commission and appointed by the Governor. They are then subject to a retention vote by the electorate one year after appointment.
=== Political history ===
Wyoming's political history defies easy classification. The state was the first to grant women the right to vote and to elect a woman governor. On December 10, 1869, John Allen Campbell, the first Governor of the Wyoming Territory, approved the first law in United States history explicitly granting women the right to vote. This day was later commemorated as Wyoming Day. On November 5, 1889, voters approved the first constitution in the world granting full voting rights to women.
While the state elected notable Democrats to federal office in the 1960s and 1970s, politics have become decidedly more conservative since the 1980s as the Republican Party came to dominate the state's congressional delegation. Today, Wyoming is represented in Washington by its two Senators, John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, and its one member of the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Harriet Hageman. All three are Republicans; a Democrat has not represented Wyoming in the Senate since 1977 or in the House since 1978. The state has not voted for a Democrat for president since 1964, one of only eight times since statehood. In the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush won his second-largest victory, with 69% of the vote. Former Vice President Dick Cheney was a Wyoming resident and represented the state in Congress from 1979 to 1989.
The last time a Democrat won a statewide election in Wyoming was in 2006, when Democratic governor Dave Freudenthal was re-elected to a second term by a wide margin, winning every county in the state. For 19 of Wyoming's 23 counties, 2006 marked the last time that they voted for the Democratic nominee in a statewide race. Of the remaining 4, Sweetwater County last voted Democratic in the 2008 U.S. House race and Laramie County last voted Democratic in the 2014 Superintendent of Public Instruction race, leaving Teton and Albany as the only counties that Democrats are able to win. Teton, which is composed of affluent resort communities, is reliably Democratic, except in Republican landslides like the 2022 gubernatorial election; Albany, which contains the college town of Laramie, is more competitive.
Republicans are dominant at the state level. They have held a majority in the state senate continuously since 1936 and in the state house since 1964, though Democrats held the governorship for all but eight years between 1975 and 2011. Uniquely, Wyoming elected Democrat Nellie Tayloe Ross as the first woman in United States history to serve as state governor. She served from 1925 to 1927, winning a special election after her husband, William Bradford Ross, unexpectedly died a little more than a year into his term.
Wyoming retains the death penalty. Authorized methods of execution include the gas chamber.
== Culture ==
=== Sports ===
Due to its sparse population, Wyoming lacks any major professional sports teams; the Gillette Mustangs, an indoor football team based in Gillette that began play in 2021 prior to their departure from the city in 2023, were previously the only professional team in the state. However, the Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls—particularly the football and basketball teams—are quite popular; their stadiums in Laramie are about 7,200 feet (2,200 m) above sea level, the highest in NCAA Division I. The Wyoming High School Activities Association also sponsors twelve sports and there are three junior ice hockey teams, all of which are members of the NA3HL. Casper has hosted the College National Finals Rodeo since 2001.
=== State symbols ===
List of all Wyoming state symbols:
State bird: western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
State coin: Sacagawea dollar
State dinosaur: Triceratops
State emblem: Bucking Horse and Rider
State fish: cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki)
State flag: Flag of the State of Wyoming
State flower: Wyoming Indian paintbrush (Castilleja linariifolia)
State fossil: Knightia
State gemstone: Wyoming nephrite jade
State grass: western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii)
State insect: Sheridan's green hairstreak butterfly (Callophrys sheridanii)
State mammal: American bison (Bison bison)
State motto: Equal Rights
State nicknames: Equality State; Cowboy State; Big Wyoming
State reptile: horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglassi brevirostre)
State seal: Great Seal of the State of Wyoming
State song: "Wyoming" by Charles E. Winter & George E. Knapp
State sport: rodeo
State tree: plains cottonwood (Populus sargentii) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Territory | Northern Territory | The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Australia to the west (129th meridian east), South Australia to the south (26th parallel south), and Queensland to the east (138th meridian east). To the north, the Northern Territory looks out to the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea, and the Gulf of Carpentaria, including Western New Guinea and various other islands of the Indonesian archipelago.
The NT covers 1,347,791 square kilometres (520,385 sq mi), making it the third-largest Australian federal division, and the 11th-largest country subdivision in the world. It is sparsely populated, with a population of only 260,400 as of March 2025 – fewer than half the population of Tasmania. The largest population centre is the capital city of Darwin, having about 52.6% of the Territory's population. The largest inland settlement is Alice Springs with a population of about 25,000 people.
The archaeological history of the Northern Territory may have begun more than 60,000 years ago when humans first settled this region of the Sahul Continent. From at least the 18th century, Makassan traders began a relationship with the indigenous people of the Northern Territory around the trading of trepang. The coast of the Territory was first seen by Europeans in the 17th century. The British were the first Europeans to attempt to settle the coastal regions. After three failed attempts to establish a settlement (1824–1828, 1838–1849, and 1864–1866), success was achieved in 1869 with the establishment of a settlement at Port Darwin.
The economy is based largely on mining and petroleum, which during 2018–2019 contributed 23% of the gross state product, or $5.68 billion, accounting for 92.4% of exports.
The Territory's population is concentrated in coastal regions and along the Stuart Highway. Besides the capital of Darwin, the major settlements are (in order of size) Palmerston, Alice Springs, Katherine, Nhulunbuy and Tennant Creek. Residents of the Northern Territory are often known as "Territorians".
== History ==
=== Pre-colonial ===
Humans have lived in the present area of the Northern Territory since at least 48,400 to 68,700 years ago.
From the 17th or 18th century AD onwards, traders from Sulawesi established extensive seasonal trade links with the Indigenous peoples of Kimberley region, the modern-day Northern Territory, and Arnhem Land. They collected trepang (sea cucumber) for Chinese markets and introduced several goods and technologies to the Indigenous peoples. There is significant evidence of contact with Makassan fishers in examples of Indigenous Australian rock art and bark painting of northern Australia, with the Makassan perahu a prominent feature.
=== Colonial administration ===
With the coming of the British, there were four early attempts to settle the harsh environment of the northern coast, of which three failed in starvation and despair. The land now occupied by the Northern Territory was part of colonial New South Wales from 1825 to 1863, except for a brief time from February to December 1846, when it was part of the short-lived colony of North Australia. The Northern Territory was part of South Australia from 1863 to 1911, and under its administration the Overland Telegraph Line was constructed between 1870 and 1872.
From its establishment in 1869, the Port Darwin was the major supply point for the Territory for many decades.
A railway was built between Palmerston and Pine Creek between 1883 and 1889 as part of the North Australia Railway. The economic pattern of cattle raising and mining was established so that by 1911 there were 513,000 cattle. Victoria River Downs Station, 686 kilometres (426 mi) west of Darwin, was at one time the largest cattle station in the world.
Gold was found at Grove Hill in 1872 and at Pine Creek (in 1871), Brocks Creek, Burundi, and copper was found at Daly River.
=== Federal territory ===
On 1 January 1911, a decade after Federation, the Northern Territory was separated from South Australia, alongside the Australian Capital Territory from NSW, and transferred to federal control. Alfred Deakin opined at this time "[t]o me the question has been not so much commercial as national, first, second, third and last. Either we must accomplish the peopling of the northern territory or submit to its transfer to some other nation."
In late 1912 there was growing sentiment that the name "Northern Territory" was unsatisfactory. The names "Kingsland" (after King George V and to correspond with Queensland), "Centralia" and "Territoria" were proposed with Kingsland becoming the preferred choice in 1913. However, the name change never went ahead.
==== Division into North Australia and Central Australia ====
For a brief time between 1927 and 1931 the Northern Territory was divided into North Australia and Central Australia at the 20th parallel south. Soon after this time, parts of the Northern Territory were considered in the Kimberley Plan as a possible site for the establishment of a Jewish Homeland, understandably considered the "Unpromised Land".
During the early 20th century, the southern part of the Territory was considered the "last frontier" of Australian settlement, where 'sympathetic whites' hoped that Aboriginal traditions would continue to be practised. Conflicts arose due to the resource scarcity and the fragility of the cattle industry and the area was rife with Indigenous 'bush bandits' who speared cattle for food for want of employment by ranchers. This was exacerbated by a drought between 1925 and 1929 that led to the deaths of 85 per cent of the children at the Hermannsburg Mission in Central Australia. In the meantime, white attitudes towards Aboriginal people were paternalistic, torn between the desire to help them in times of hunger and the fear of "pauperizing" them and reducing their incentives to work.
In the 1928 Coniston massacre, punitive expeditions were carried out by white colonists led by Northern Territory Police constable William George Murray in response to the murder of a dingo hunter, resulting in the deaths of dozens to hundreds of people of the Warlpiri, Anmatyerre, and Kaytetye groups. This was one of many massacres of Aboriginal people in the region.
==== Post-World War II ====
During World War II, most of the Top End was placed under military government. This is the only time since Federation that part of an Australian state or territory has been under military control. After the war, control for the entire area was handed back to the Commonwealth. The Bombing of Darwin occurred on 19 February 1942. It was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. Evidence of Darwin's World War II history is found at a variety of preserved sites in and around the city, including ammunition bunkers, airstrips, oil tunnels and museums. The port was damaged in the 1942 Japanese air raids. It was subsequently restored.
In the late 1960s improved roads in adjoining States linking with the territory, port delays and rapid economic development led to uncertainty in port and regional infrastructure development. As a result of the Commission of Enquiry established by the Administrator, port working arrangements were changed, berth investment deferred and a port masterplan prepared. Extension of rail transport was then not considered because of low freight volumes.
Aboriginal Australians in the territory struggled for rights to land and fair wages. In 1963, the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land submitted two petitions, known as the Yirrkala bark petitions, to the Australian Parliament to protest their land being taken for mining bauxite without prior consultation. Another important event in this struggle was the strike and walk off by the Gurindji people at Wave Hill Cattle Station in 1966. The Northern Territory Council for Aboriginal Rights (NTCAR) supported the strikers and provided publicity. The Federal government of Gough Whitlam set up the Woodward Royal Commission in February 1973, to enquire into how land rights might be achieved in the Northern Territory. Justice Woodward's first report in July 1973 recommended that a Central Land Council and a Northern Land Council be established to present to him the views of Aboriginal people. A Land Rights Bill was drafted, and the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 was passed by the Fraser government on 16 December 1976 and began operation on 26 January 1977). The Northern Territory Council for Aboriginal Rights was disestablished in 1976.
In 1974, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, Darwin was devastated by tropical Cyclone Tracy. Cyclone Tracy killed 66 people, caused A$837 million in damage (approximately A$8.38 billion as of 2024). and destroyed more than 70 per cent of Darwin's buildings, including 80 per cent of houses. Tracy left more than 41,000 out of the 47,000 inhabitants of the city homeless. The city was rebuilt with much-improved construction codes and is a modern, landscaped metropolis today.
=== Self-government ===
In 1978 the Territory was granted self-government by the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978, with a Legislative Assembly headed by a Chief Minister. The Administrator of the Northern Territory is another important position in the government and they act as the King's representative in the Territory and a part of their role is appointing the Chief Minister. The Territory also publishes official notices in its own Government Gazette.
In the 1980s, conservation-oriented areas in the Northern Territory such as Kakadu National Park and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their mix of natural heritage and Aboriginal culture.
During 1995–96 the Northern Territory was briefly one of the few places in the world with legal voluntary euthanasia, until the Federal Parliament overturned the legislation. Before the over-riding legislation was enacted, four people used the law supported by Dr Philip Nitschke.
== Geography ==
There are many very small settlements scattered across the Territory, but the larger population centres are located on the single paved road that links Darwin to southern Australia, the Stuart Highway, known to locals simply as "the track".
The Territory is home to many spectacular natural rock formations, including Uluru / Ayers Rock and Kata Tjuta / The Olgas in the Central Australian region and Kakadu National Park in the north. Each of these sites are sacred to the local Aboriginal people and which have become major International tourist attractions and recognised UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The northern portion of the Territory is principally tropical savannas, composed of several distinct ecoregions – Arnhem Land tropical savanna, Carpentaria tropical savanna, Kimberley tropical savanna, Victoria Plains tropical savanna, and Mitchell Grass Downs. The southern portion of the Territory is covered in deserts and xeric shrublands, including the Great Sandy-Tanami desert, Simpson Desert, and Central Ranges xeric scrub.
There are also an extensive series of river systems in the Territory. These rivers include: the Alligator Rivers, Daly River, Finke River, McArthur River, Roper River, Todd River and Victoria River. The Hay River is a river south-west of Alice Springs, with the Marshall River, Arthur Creek, Camel Creek and Bore Creek flowing into it.
=== National parks ===
=== Climate ===
The Northern Territory has two distinctive climate zones.
The northern end, including Darwin, has a tropical climate with high humidity and two seasons, the wet (October to April) and dry season (May to September). During the dry season nearly every day is warm and sunny, and afternoon humidity averages around 30%. There is very little rainfall between May and September. In the coolest months of June and July, the daily minimum temperature may dip as low as 14 °C (57 °F), but very rarely lower, and frost has never been recorded.
The wet season is associated with tropical cyclones and monsoon rains. The majority of rainfall occurs between December and March (the southern hemisphere summer), when thunderstorms are common and afternoon relative humidity averages over 70% during the wettest months. On average more than 1,570 mm (62 in) of rain falls in the north. Rainfall is highest in north-west coastal areas, where rainfall averages from 1,800 to 2,100 mm (71 to 83 in).
The central region is the desert centre of the country, which includes Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock), and is semi-arid with little rain usually falling during the hottest months from October to March. Seasons are more distinct in central Australia, with very hot summers and cool winters. Frost is recorded a few times a year. The region receives less than 250 mm (9.8 in) of rain per year.
The highest temperature recorded in the territory was 48.3 °C (118.9 °F) at Finke on 1 and 2 January 1960. The lowest temperature was −7.5 °C (18.5 °F) at Alice Springs on 17 July 1976.
== Governance ==
=== Parliament ===
The Northern Territory Parliament is one of the three unicameral parliaments in the country. Based on the Westminster System, it consists of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly which was created in 1974, replacing the Northern Territory Legislative Council. It also produces the Northern Territory of Australia Government Gazette.
The Northern Territory Legislative Council was the partly elected governing body from 1947 until its replacement by the fully elected Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1974. The total enrolment for the 1947 election was 4,443. The Northern Territory was split into five electorates: Darwin, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Batchelor, and Stuart.
While this assembly exercises powers similar to those of the parliaments of the states of Australia, it does so by legislated devolution of powers from the Commonwealth Government, rather than by any constitutional right. As such, the Commonwealth Government retains the right to legislate for the territory, including the power to override legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly. The Monarch is represented by the Administrator of the Northern Territory, who performs a role similar to that of a state governor.
Twenty-five members of the Legislative Assembly are elected to four-year terms from single-member electorates.
Numerous times since self government was granted there has been agitation for full statehood within the region. A referendum of voters in the Northern Territory was held on the issue in 1998, which resulted in a 'no' vote. This was a shock to both the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments, as opinion polls showed most Territorians supported statehood. But under the Australian Constitution, the federal government may set the terms of entry to full statehood. The Northern Territory was offered three senators, rather than the twelve guaranteed to original states (because of the difference in populations, equal numbers of Senate seats would mean a Territorian's vote for a senator would have been worth more than 30 such votes in New South Wales or Victoria). Alongside what was cited as an arrogant approach adopted by then chief minister Shane Stone, it is believed that most Territorians, regardless of their general views on statehood, were reluctant to adopt the particular offer that was made.
=== Chief minister and cabinet ===
The chief minister is the head of government of a self-governing territory (the head of a state government is a premier). The chief minister is appointed by the administrator, who in normal circumstances appoints the leader of whichever party holds the majority of seats in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly. The current chief minister is Lia Finocchiaro of the Country Liberal Party. The CLP defeated Territory Labor to win office on 24 August 2024.
=== Administrator ===
The Northern Territory became self-governing on 1 July 1978 under its own administrator appointed by the Governor-General of Australia. The federal government, not the NT government, advises the governor-general on the appointment of the administrator, but by convention consults first with the Territory government. The current administrator is David Connolly who commenced his term on 27 February 2026.
=== Federal government ===
The Northern Territory is represented in the federal parliament by two members in the House of Representatives and two members in the Senate. As of May 2022, resulting from the 2022 federal election, Marion Scrymgour from the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in Lingiari and Luke Gosling from the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in Solomon serve in the House of Representatives, and Malarndirri McCarthy from the ALP and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from the Country Liberal Party serve in the Senate.
=== Local government ===
The Northern Territory is divided into seventeen local government areas: two cities, three municipalities, nine regions, and three shires. Shire, city and town councils are responsible for functions delegated by the Northern Territory parliament, such as road infrastructure and waste management. Council revenue comes mostly from property taxes and government grants.
=== Aboriginal land councils ===
Aboriginal land councils in the Northern Territory are groups of Aboriginal landowners, set up under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976.
=== Political parties ===
The two historically dominant political parties in the Northern Territory are the conservative Country Liberal Party which governed the Territory from 1974 to 2001, from 2012 to 2016 and since 2024, and the social-democratic Australian Labor Party which governed the Territory from 2001 to 2012 and from 2016 to 2024. Minor parties that are also active in the NT include the Northern Territory Greens, the Shooters and Fishers Party and various others. It is common for independent politicians to win elections.
The CLP's rule was once so tight, that a former minister once said the CLP had a "'rightful inheritance of being the party that runs this place'".
The 2024 Northern Territory general election saw the NT Greens win a seat in the Legislative Assembly, with Kat McNamara defeating former Chief Minister Natasha Fyles in the seat of Nightcliff; this marked the first time the Greens entered the Legislative Assembly in the history of the Northern Territory.
As fewer parties and candidates contest Northern Territory general elections than they do Australian federal elections in the Northern Territory, the CLP, Labor and independents usually have a higher vote share at territory elections than at federal elections in the Northern Territory due to the absence of right-wing minor parties such as Pauline Hanson's One Nation and the fact that the Greens do not run in every seat at territory elections.
== Demographics ==
The population of the Northern Territory at the 2011 Australian census was 211,945, a 10 per cent increase from the 2006 census. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated a June 2015 resident population of 244,300, taking into account residents overseas or interstate. The territory's population represents 1% of the total population of Australia.
The Northern Territory's population is the youngest in Australia and has the largest proportion (23.2%) under 15 years of age and the smallest proportion (5.7%) aged 65 and over. The median age of residents of the Northern Territory is 31 years, six years younger than the national median age.
Indigenous Australians make up 30.3% of population and own some 49% of the land. The life expectancy of Aboriginal Australians is well below that of non-Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory, a fact that is mirrored elsewhere in Australia. ABS statistics suggest that Indigenous Australians die about 11 years earlier than the average non-Indigenous Australian. There are Aboriginal communities in many parts of the territory, the largest ones being the Pitjantjatjara near Uluru / Ayers Rock, the Arrernte near Alice Springs, the Luritja between those two, the Warlpiri further north, and the Yolngu in eastern Arnhem Land.
In 2019, 147,255 people lived in Darwin, an overwhelming majority of the Territory's population. Despite this, the Northern Territory is the least urbanised jurisdiction in the Commonwealth (followed by Tasmania).
=== Cities and towns ===
=== Ancestry and immigration ===
At the 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:
31.2% of the population was born overseas at the 2016 census. The five largest groups of overseas-born were from the Philippines (2.6%), England (2.4%), New Zealand (2%), India (1.6%) and Greece (0.6%).
25.5% of the population, or 58,248 people, identified as Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders) in 2016.
=== Languages ===
At the 2021 census, 57.3% of the population spoke only English at home. The other languages most commonly spoken at home were Kriol (2.2%), Djambarrpuyngu (1.7%), Greek (1.4%) and Nepali (1.3%).
There are more than 100 Aboriginal languages and dialects spoken in the Northern Territory, in addition to English which is most common in cities such as Darwin or Alice Springs. Major indigenous languages spoken in the Northern Territory include Murrinh-patha and Ngangikurrungurr in the northwest around Wadeye, Warlpiri and Warumungu in the centre around Tennant Creek, Arrernte around Alice Springs, Pintupi-Luritja to the south east, Pitjantjatjara in the south near Uluru / Ayers Rock, Yolngu Matha to the far north in Arnhem Land (where the dialect Djambarrpuyngu of Dhuwal is considered a lingua franca), and Burarra, Maung, Iwaidja and Kunwinjku in the centre north and on Croker Island and the Goulburn Islands. Tiwi is spoken on Melville Island and Bathurst Island. Literature in many of these languages is available in the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages.
=== Religion ===
In the 2021 census, Christianity is the major Religious affiliation in Northern Territory followed by 40.5% of its population. In 1971, Christianity was followed by 70.2% of the population and it has been declining since, while percentage of people who identified as having no religious affiliation has increased from 17.9% in 1971 to 38.5% in 2021.
Hinduism is the territory's largest non-Christian religion (2.7%), followed by Buddhism (2.1%) and Islam (1.4%).
== Education ==
=== Primary and secondary ===
A Northern Territory school education consists of six years of primary schooling, including one transition year, three years of middle schooling, and three years of secondary schooling. In the beginning of 2007, the Northern Territory introduced Middle School for Years 7–9 and High School for Years 10–12, however as of 2026, the territory is transitioning middle schools into high schools in order to align with the rest of the country. Northern Territory children generally begin school at age five. On completing secondary school, students earn the Northern Territory Certificate of Education and Training (NTCET). Students who successfully complete their secondary education also receive a tertiary entrance ranking, or ATAR score, to determine university admittance.
Northern Territory schools are either publicly or privately funded. Public schools, also known as state or government schools, are funded and run directly by the Department of Education. Private fee-paying schools include schools run by the Catholic Church and independent schools, some elite ones similar to English public schools. Some Northern Territory Independent schools are affiliated with Protestant, Lutheran, Anglican, Greek Orthodox or Seventh-day Adventist Churches, but include non-church schools and an Indigenous school.
As of 2009, the Northern Territory had 151 public schools, 15 Catholic schools and 21 independent schools. 39,492 students were enrolled in schools around the territory with 29,175 in public schools, and 9,882 in independent schools. The Northern Territory has about 4,000 full-time teachers.
=== Tertiary ===
The Northern Territory has one university which opened in 1989 under the name of the Northern Territory University. Now renamed as the Charles Darwin University, it had about 19,000 students enrolled: about 5,500 higher education students and about 13,500 students on vocational education and training (VET) courses. The first tertiary institution in the territory was the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education which was established in the mid-1960s.
=== Libraries and archives ===
Library & Archives NT is the Northern Territory's public research library and archival organisation and it supports the development of library services across the Territory by supporting public libraries. Library & Archives NT was formed in 2019 following the merge of the Northern Territory Archives Service and the Northern Territory Library.
The National Archives of Australia also have a repository in Darwin, this is collocated with the Library & Archives NT repository at the Northern Territory Archives Centre.
== Economy ==
=== Mining ===
The Northern Territory's economy is largely driven by mining, which is concentrated on energy producing minerals, petroleum and energy and contributes around $2.5 billion to the gross state product and employs over 4,600 people. Mining accounts for 14.9% of the gross state product in 2014–15 compared to just 7% nationally.
In recent years, largely due to the effect of major infrastructure projects and mine expansions, construction has overtaken mining as the largest single industry in the territory. Construction, mining and manufacturing, and government and community services, combine to account for about half of the territory's gross state product (GSP), compared to about a third of national gross domestic product (GDP).
The economy has grown considerably over the past decade, from a value of $15 billion in 2004–05 to over $22 billion in 2014–15. In 2012–13 the territory economy expanded by 5.6%, over twice the level of national growth, and in 2014–15 it grew by 10.5%, four times the national growth rate.
Between 2003 and 2006 the gross state product had risen from $8.67 billion to $11.476 billion, an increase of 32.4%. During the three years to 2006–2007 the Northern Territory gross state product grew by an average annual rate of 5.5%. Gross state product per capita in the Northern Territory ($72,496) is higher than any Australian state or territory and is also higher than the gross domestic product per capita for Australia ($54,606).
The Northern Territory's exports were up 12.9% or $681 million in 2012–13. The largest contributor to the territory's exports was: mineral fuels (largely LNG), crude materials (mainly mineral ores) and food and live animals (primarily live cattle). The main international markets for territory exports are Japan, China, Indonesia, the United States and Korea.
Imports to the Northern Territory totalled $2,887.8 million which consisted of mainly machinery and equipment manufacturing (58.4%) and petroleum, coal, chemical and associated product manufacturing (17.0%).
The principal mining operations are bauxite at Gove Peninsula where the production is estimated to increase 52.1% to $254 million in 2007–08, manganese at Groote Eylandt, production is estimated to increase 10.5% to $1.1 billion which will be helped by the newly developed mines include Bootu Creek and Frances Creek, gold which is estimated to increase 21.7 per cent to $672 million at the Union Reefs plant and uranium at Ranger Uranium Mine.
=== Tourism ===
Tourism is an important economic driver for the territory and a significant industry in regional areas. Iconic destinations such as Uluru / Ayers Rock and Kakadu make the Northern Territory a popular destination for domestic and international travellers. Diverse landscapes, waterfalls, wide open spaces, aboriginal culture and wild and untamed wildlife provides the opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in the natural wonder that the Northern Territory offers. In 2015, the territory received a total of about 1.6 million domestic and international visitors contributing an estimated $2.0 billion to the local economy. Holiday visitors made up the majority of total visitation (about 792,000 visitors).
Tourism has strong links to other sectors in the economy including accommodation and food services, retail trade, recreation and culture, and transport.
Wide Open Space is an annual festival of music, arts and culture that takes place over three days at the Ross River Resort in the McDonnell Ranges, around 80 km (50 mi) east of Alice Springs. over three days in April/May.
=== Other industries ===
The Northern Territory announced that it will undertake a project which will benefit its marine industry, including the development of a new Marine Industry Park near Darwin.
== Transport ==
The Northern Territory is the most sparsely populated state or territory in Australia.
The NT has a connected network of sealed roads, including two national highways, linking with adjoining states and connecting the major territory population centres, and other important centres such as Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks. The Stuart Highway, once known as "The Track", runs north to south, connecting Darwin and Alice Springs to Adelaide. Some of the sealed roads are single-lane bitumen. Many unsealed (dirt) roads connect the more remote settlements.
The fatigue resulting from long-distance driving and the hazards inherent in dirt roads, wildlife, water crossings and wild weather have led the Northern Territory Government to pursue road safety campaigns in English and several Aboriginal languages. Persuading people to drive at the right speed for the road conditions has been a key goal. As of 2021, the Northern Territory's road vehicle speed limit in built-up areas was 60 kilometres per hour unless the town had gazetted a lower default speed limit: many had chosen 50 km/h or lower. Outside most built-up areas the default speed limit was 110 km/h unless a speed limit sign stated otherwise. Reflecting the nature of the topography and very low population density, some sections of the Arnhem, Barkly, Stuart and Victoria highways had a maximum speed of 130 km/h.
In 2004, a standard gauge railway was opened between Alice Springs and Darwin, completing the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor and bringing to fruition the dream of a transcontinental railway initiated in 1878 with the Central Australia Railway from the south and the North Australia Railway from the north – but with a gap of more than 800 km (500 mi) between Alice Springs and Birdum still to be bridged when the antique 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge railway was closed in 1976. The line carries fast freight trains and one passenger train: The Ghan experiential tourism train that runs between Darwin and Adelaide, stopping in the NT at Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Kulgera.
Darwin International Airport is the major domestic and international airport for the territory. Several smaller airports are also scattered throughout the territory and are served by smaller airlines, including Alice Springs Airport, Ayers Rock Airport, Katherine Airport and Tennant Creek Airport.
== Media ==
=== Print ===
The Northern Territory has only one daily tabloid newspaper, News Corporation's Northern Territory News, or NT News. The Sunday Territorian is the sister paper to the NT News and is the only dedicated Sunday tabloid newspaper in the Northern Territory.
The Centralian Advocate is circulated around the Alice Springs region twice a week. There are also five weekly community newspapers. The territory receives the national daily, The Australian, while The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Guardian Weekly are also available in Darwin. Katherine's paper is the Katherine Times.
There is an LGBT community publication, QNews Magazine, which is published in Darwin and Alice Springs.
=== Television ===
Metropolitan Darwin has had five broadcast television stations:
ABC Northern Territory – (ABD)
SBS Northern Territory – (SBS)
Southern Cross Seven – (TND) – Seven Network Affiliate
Nine Network Darwin – (NTD)
Ten Darwin (or Darwin Digital Television) – (DTD) – Network Ten Affiliate
Darwin also has four open-narrowcast stations:
First Nations TV
Darwin TV
First Nations Tourism TV
Business TV
Regional Northern Territory has a similar availability of stations:
ABC Northern Territory – (ABD)
SBS Northern Territory – (SBS)
Seven Central – (QQQ) – Seven Network Affiliate
Imparja – (IMP) – Nine Network Affiliate
Ten Central (or Central Digital Television) – (CDT) – Network Ten Affiliate
Remote areas are generally required to receive television via the Viewer Access Satellite Television service, which carries the same channels as the regional areas, as well as some extra open-narrowcast services, including Indigenous Community Television and Westlink.
=== Radio ===
Darwin has radio stations on both AM and FM frequencies. ABC stations include ABC Radio Darwin (105.7FM), ABC Radio National (657AM), ABC News Radio (102.5FM), ABC Classic FM (107.3FM) and Triple J (103.3FM). The two commercial stations are Hot 100 FM (8HOT) and Mix 104.9 (8MIX). The leading community stations are 104.1 Territory FM (8TOP) and 94.5 Radio Larrakia (8KNB).
The radio stations in Alice Springs are also broadcast on the AM and FM frequencies. ABC stations include Triple J (94.9FM), ABC Classic FM (97.9FM), 783 ABC Alice Springs (783AM), ABC News Radio (104.1FM) and ABC Radio National (99.7FM). There are two community stations in the town—CAAMA (100.5FM) and 8CCC (102.1FM). The commercial stations, which are both owned by the same company are Sun 96.9 (96.9FM) and 8HA (900AM). Christian radio station Vision Christian Radio (88.0FM). Two additional stations, Territory FM (98.7FM) and Radio TAB (95.9FM) are syndicated from Darwin and Brisbane, respectively.
== Sport ==
Australian rules football in the Northern Territory is widely popular, particularly with Indigenous Australian communities in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Tiwi Islands. The governing body for football in the territory is the AFL Northern Territory.
== Culture ==
The Northern Territory is home to a number of cultural institutions of importance to the nation.
These include:
Araluen Art Centre and the Museum of Central Australia; within the Araluen Cultural Precinct
The Darwin Symphony Orchestra
The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
Library & Archives NT
The Strehlow Research Centre |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahore | Lahore | Lahore is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is the second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and 27th largest in the world, with a population of over 14 million. Lahore is one of Pakistan's major industrial, educational and economic hubs. It has been the historic capital and cultural centre of the wider Punjab region, and is one of Pakistan's most socially liberal, progressive, and cosmopolitan cities.
Lahore's origin dates back to antiquity. The city has been inhabited for around two millennia, although it rose to prominence in the late 10th century with the establishment of the Walled City, its fortified interior. Lahore served as the capital of several empires during the medieval era, including the Hindu Shahis, Ghaznavid Empire and Delhi Sultanate. It reached the height of its splendour under the Mughal Empire between the late 16th and early 18th centuries, being its capital city for many years. During this period, it was one of the largest cities in the world. The city was captured by the forces of the Afsharid ruler Nader Shah in 1739. Although the Mughal authority was re-established, it fell into a period of decay while being contested among the Afghans and the Sikhs between 1748 and 1798, eventually becoming capital of the Sikh Empire in the early 19th century. Lahore was annexed to the British Raj in 1849 and became the capital of British Punjab. Lahore was central to the independence movements of British India, with the city being the site of both the Declaration of Indian Independence and the resolution calling for the establishment of Pakistan. It experienced some of the worst rioting during the partition of British India preceding Pakistan's establishment. Following the success of the Pakistan Movement and the subsequent partition in 1947, Lahore was declared the capital of Pakistan's Punjab province.
Located in central-eastern Punjab, along the River Ravi, it is the largest Punjabi-speaking city in the world. Lahore exerts a strong cultural and political influence over Pakistan. A UNESCO City of Literature and major centre for Pakistan's publishing industry, Lahore remains the foremost centre of Pakistan's literary scene. The city is also a major centre of education, with some of Pakistan's leading universities based in the city. Lahore is home to Pakistan's Punjabi film industry, and is a major centre of Qawwali music. The city also hosts much of Pakistan's tourism industry, with major attractions including the Walled City, the famous Badshahi and Wazir Khan mosques, as well as several Sikh and Sufi shrines. Lahore is also home to the Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
== Etymology ==
The origin of Lahore's name is unclear. The city's name has been variously recorded by early Muslim historians as Luhawar, Lūhār, and Rahwar. The Iranian polymath and geographer, Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, referred to the city as Luhāwar in his 11th century work, Qanun, while the poet Amir Khusrow, who lived during the Delhi Sultanate period, recorded the city's name as Lāhanūr. Yaqut al-Hamawi records the city's name as Lawhūr, mentioning that it was famously known as Lahāwar. Persian historian Firishta mentions the city as Alahwar in his work, with al-Ahwar being another variation.
One theory suggests that Lahore's name is a corruption of the word Ravāwar, as R to L shifts are common in languages derived from Sanskrit. Ravāwar is the simplified pronunciation of the name Iravatyāwar, a name possibly derived from the Ravi River, known as the Iravati River in the Vedas. Another theory suggests the city's name may derive from the word Lohar, meaning "blacksmith".
According to a legend, Lahore's name derives from Lavpur or Lavapuri (City of Lava), and is said to have been founded by Prince Lava, the son of Sita and Rama. The same account attributes the founding of nearby Kasur to his twin brother Kusha, though it was actually established in the 16th century.
== History ==
=== Origins ===
No definitive record of Lahore's early history exists, and its ambiguous historical background has given rise to various theories about its establishment and history.
Alexander the Great's historians make no mention of any city near Lahore's location during his invasion in 326 BCE, suggesting the city had not been founded by that point or was not noteworthy. Ptolemy mentions in his Geography a city called Labokla situated near the Chenab and Ravi rivers which may have been in reference to ancient Lahore, or an abandoned predecessor of the city. Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang gave a vivid description of a large and prosperous unnamed city that may have been Lahore when he visited the region in 630 CE during his tour of India.
The first document that mentions Lahore by name is the Hudud al-'Alam ("The Regions of the World"), written in 982 CE, in which Lahore is mentioned as a town which had "impressive temples, large markets and huge orchards".
Few other references to Lahore remain from before its capture by the Ghaznavid Sultan Mahmud in the 11th century. During this time, Lahore appears to have served as the capital of Punjab under Raja Anandapala of the Üdi Shahi empire, who moved his capital there from Waihind.
=== Mediaeval era ===
==== Ghaznavid ====
Sultan Mahmud conquered Lahore between 1020 and 1027, making it part of Ghaznavid Empire. He appointed Malik Ayaz as its governor in 1021. During the reign of Sultan Ibrahim Malik Ayaz rebuilt and repopulated the city, which had been devastated after the Ghaznavid invasion. He also erected city walls and a masonry fort in 1037–1040 on the ruins of a previous one. During his tenure a confederation of Hindu princes unsuccessfully laid siege to Lahore in 1043–44.
Lahore was formally made the eastern capital of Ghaznavid Empire during the reign of Khusrau Shah in 1152. After the fall of Ghazni in 1163, It became the sole capital. Under their patronage, poets and scholars from other cities of Ghaznavid Empire congregated in Lahore. The city became a cultural and academic centre, renowned for poetry. The entire city of Lahore during the Ghaznavid era was probably located west of the modern Shah Alami Bazaar and north of the Bhatti Gate.
==== Mamluk ====
Following the siege of Lahore in 1186, the Ghurid ruler Muhammad captured the city and imprisoned Khusrau Malik, thus ending Ghaznavid rule over Lahore. Lahore was the first capital of the Mamluk dynasty of what would later come to be known as the Delhi Sultanate following the assassination of Muhammad of Ghor in 1206. Under the reign of Mamluk sultan Qutb-ud-Din Aibak, Lahore attracted poets and scholars from medieval Muslim World. Lahore at this time had more poets writing in Persian than any other city. Following the death of Aibak, Lahore first came under the control of the governor of Multan, Nasir ad-Din Qabacha, and then was briefly captured in 1217 by the sultan in Delhi, Iltutmish.
In an alliance with local Khokhars in 1223, the Khwarazmian sultan Jalal al-Din Mangburni captured Lahore after fleeing from Genghis Khan's invasion of his realm. Mangburni then fled from Lahore to the city of Uch Sharif after Iltutmish's army re-captured Lahore in 1228.
The threat of Mongol invasions and political instability in Lahore caused future sultans to regard Delhi as a safer capital for the sultanate, even though Delhi was considered a forward base while Lahore was widely considered as the centre of Islamic culture in northeastern Punjab.
Lahore came under progressively weaker central rule under Iltutmish's descendants in Delhi, to the point that governors in the city acted with great autonomy. Actual Sultanate rule on Lahore lasted only a few decades until the locals reclaimed their autonomy. Lahore was sacked and ruined by the Mongol army in 1241, with the Mongols holding the city for a few years under the rule of the Mongol chief Toghrul.
In 1266, sultan Balban reconquered Lahore, but in 1287 under the Mongol ruler Temür Khan, the Mongols again overran northern Punjab. Because of Mongol invasions, Lahore region became a city on a frontier, with the region's administrative centre shifted south to Dipalpur. The Mongols again invaded northern Punjab in 1298, though their advance was eventually stopped by Ulugh Khan, brother of Sultan Alauddin Khalji of Delhi. The Mongols again attacked Lahore in 1305.
==== Tughluq ====
Lahore briefly flourished again under the reign of Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq (Ghazi Malik) of the Tughluq dynasty between 1320 and 1325, though the city was again sacked in 1329 by Tarmashirin of the Central Asian Chagatai Khanate, and then again by the Mongol chief Hülechü. Khokhars seized Lahore in 1342, but the city was retaken by Ghazi Malik's son, Muhammad bin Tughluq. The weakened city then fell into obscurity and was captured once more by the Khokhar chief Shaikha in 1394. By the time the Mongol conqueror Timur captured the city in 1398 from Shaikha, he did not loot it because it was no longer wealthy.
==== Late Sultanates ====
Timur gave control of the Lahore region to Khizr Khan, governor of Multan, who later established the Sayyid dynasty in 1414 – the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. The city was twice besieged by Jasrat, the ruler of Sialkot, during the reign of Mubarak Shah, the longest of which being in 1431–32. To combat Jasrat, the city was granted by the Sayyid dynasty to Bahlul Lodi in 1441, though Lodi would then displace the Sayyids in 1451 by establishing himself upon the throne of Delhi.
Bahlul Lodi installed his cousin, Tatar Khan, to be governor of the city, though Tatar Khan died in battle with Sikandar Lodi in 1485. Governorship of Lahore was transferred by Sikandar Lodi to Umar Khan Sarwani, who quickly left the management of this city to his son Said Khan Sarwani. Said Khan was removed from power in 1500 by Sikandar Lodi, and Lahore came under the governorship of Daulat Khan Lodi, son of Tatar Khan and former employer of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
=== Mughals ===
==== Early Mughal ====
Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, captured and sacked Lahore and Dipalpur, although he retreated after the Lodi nobles backed away from assisting him. The city became a refuge to Humayun and his cousin Kamran Mirza when Sher Shah Suri rose in power in the Gangetic plains, displacing Mughals. Sher Shah Suri seized Lahore in 1540, though Humayun reconquered Lahore in February 1555. The establishment of Mughal rule eventually led to the most prosperous era of Lahore's history. Lahore's prosperity and central position has yielded more Mughal-era monuments in Lahore than either Delhi or Agra.
By the time of the rule of the Mughal empire's greatest emperors, a majority of Lahore's residents did not live within the walled city itself but instead lived in suburbs that had spread outside the city's walls. Only 9 of the 36 urban quarters around Lahore, known as guzars, were located within the city walls during the Akbar period. During this period, Lahore was closely tied to smaller market towns known as qasbahs, such as Kasur and Eminabad, as well as Amritsar and Batala in modern-day India, which in turn, linked to supply chains in villages surrounding each qasbah.
==== Akbar ====
Beginning in 1584, Lahore became the Mughal capital when Akbar began re-fortifying the city's ruined citadel, laying the foundations for the revival of the Lahore Fort. Akbar made Lahore one of his original twelve subah provinces, and in 1585–86, relegated governorship of the city and subah to Bhagwant Das, brother of Mariam-uz-Zamani, who was commonly known as "Jodhabhai".
Akbar also rebuilt the city's walls and extended their perimeter east of the Shah Alami bazaar to encompass the sparsely populated area of Rarra Maidan. The Akbari Mandi grain market was set up during this era, which continues to function to the present-day. Akbar also established the Dharampura neighbourhood in the early 1580s, which survives today. The earliest of Lahore's many havelis date from the Akbari era.
==== Jahangir ====
During the reign of Emperor Jahangir in the early 17th century, Lahore's bazaars were noted to be vibrant, frequented by foreigners, and stocked with a wide array of goods. In 1606, Jahangir's rebel son Khusrau Mirza laid siege to Lahore after obtaining the blessings of the Sikh Guru Arjan Dev. Jahangir quickly defeated his son at Bhairowal, and the roots of Mughal–Sikh animosity grew. Sikh Guru Arjan Dev was executed in Lahore in 1606 for his involvement in the rebellion. Emperor Jahangir chose to be buried in Lahore, and his tomb was built in Lahore's Shahdara Bagh suburb in 1637 by his wife Nur Jahan, whose tomb is also nearby.
==== Shah Jahan ====
Jahangir's son, Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658), was born in Lahore in 1592. He renovated large portions of the Lahore Fort with luxurious white marble and erected the iconic Naulakha Pavilion in 1633. Shah Jahan lavished Lahore with some of its most celebrated and iconic monuments, such as the Shalamar Gardens in 1641. His Punjabi viceroy and royal physician Wazir Khan also built a number of monuments in the city, including the extravagantly decorated Wazir Khan Mosque, the Wazir Khan Baradari, and the Shahi Hammam, during his tenure. The population of pre-modern Lahore probably reached its zenith during his reign, with suburban districts home to perhaps 6 times as many compared to within the Walled City.
==== Aurangzeb ====
Shah Jahan's son, Aurangzeb, last of the great Mughal Emperors, further contributed to the development of Lahore. Aurangzeb built the Alamgiri Bund embankment along the Ravi river in 1662 to prevent its shifting course from threatening the city's walls. The area near the embankment grew into a fashionable locality, with several nearby pleasure gardens laid by Lahore's gentry. The largest of Lahore's Mughal monuments, the Badshahi Mosque, was raised during Aurangzeb's reign in 1673, as well as the iconic Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore fort in 1674.
==== Late Mughal ====
Civil wars regarding succession to the Mughal throne following Aurangzeb's death in 1707 led to weakening control over Lahore from Delhi, and a prolonged period of decline in Lahore. Mughal preoccupation with the Marathas in the Deccan Plateau eventually resulted in Lahore being governed by a series of governors who pledged nominal allegiance to the ever-weaker Mughal emperors in Delhi.
Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah I died enroute to Lahore as part of a campaign in 1711 to subdue Sikh rebels under the leadership of Banda Singh Bahadur. His sons fought a battle outside Lahore in 1712 for succession to the Mughal crown, with Jahandar winning the throne. Sikh rebels were defeated during the reign of Farrukhsiyar when Abd as-Samad and Zakariyya Khan suppressed them.
Nader Shah's brief invasion of the Mughal Empire in early 1739 wrested control away from Zakariya Khan Bahadur. Though Khan was able to win back control after the Persian armies had left, the trade routes had shifted away from Lahore, and south towards Kandahar instead. Indus ports near the Arabian Sea that served Lahore also silted up during this time, reducing the city's importance even further.
Struggles between Zakariyya Khan's sons following his death in 1745 further weakened Muslim control over Lahore, thus leaving the city in a power vacuum, and vulnerable to foreign marauders.
=== Durrani invasions ===
The Durrani ruler Ahmad Shah occupied Lahore in 1748. Following Ahmed Shah Durrani's quick retreat, the Mughals entrusted Lahore to Mu’īn al-Mulk Mir Mannu. Ahmad Shah again invaded in 1751, forcing Mir Mannu into signing a treaty that nominally subjected Lahore to Durrani rule. Lahore was third time conquered by Ahmad Shah in 1752. The Mughal Grand Vizier Ghazi-Din Imad al-Mulk seized Lahore in 1756, provoking Ahmad Shah to invade for fourth time in 1757, after which he placed the city under the rule of his son, Timur Shah.
Durrani rule was interrupted when Lahore was conquered by Adina Beg Arain with the assistance of Marathas in 1758 during their campaigns against Afghans. After Adina Beg's untimely death in 1758, however, Marathas temporarily occupied the city. The following year, the Durranis again marched into Lahore and conquered it. After the Durranis withdrew from the city in 1765, Sikh forces quickly occupied it. By this time, the city had been ravaged several time and had lost all of its former grandeur. The Durranis invaded two more times — in 1797 and 1798 — under Shah Zaman, but the Sikhs re-occupied the city after both invasions as the Durranis were forced to attend to other problems on their western borders.
=== Sikh ===
==== Early ====
Expanding Sikh Misls secured control over Lahore in 1767, when the Bhangi Misl state captured the city. In 1780, the city was divided among three rulers: Gujjar Singh, Lahna Singh, and Sobha Singh. Instability resulting from this arrangement allowed nearby Amritsar to establish itself as the area's primary commercial centre in place of Lahore.
Ahmad Shah Durrani's grandson, Zaman Shah, captured Lahore in 1796, and again in 1798–99. Ranjit Singh negotiated with the Afghans for the post of subahdar to control Lahore following the second invasion.
By the end of the 18th century, the city's population drastically declined, with its remaining residents living within the city walls, while the extramural suburbs lay abandoned, forcing travellers to pass through abandoned and ruined suburbs for a few miles before reaching the city's gates.
==== Sikh Empire ====
In the aftermath of Zaman Shah's 1799 invasion of Punjab, Ranjit Singh, of nearby Gujranwala, began to consolidate his position. Singh was able to seize control of the region after a series of battles with the Bhangi chiefs who had seized Lahore in 1780. His army marched to Anarkali, where according to tradition, the gatekeeper of the Lohari Gate, Mukham Din Chaudhry, opened the gates allowing Ranjit Singh's army to enter Lahore. After capturing Lahore, Sikh soldiers immediately began plundering Muslim areas of the city until their actions were reined in by Ranjit Singh.
Ranjit Singh's rule restored some of Lahore's lost grandeur, but at the expense of destroying the remaining Mughal architecture for building materials. He established a mint in the city in 1800, and moved into the Mughal palace at the Lahore fort after repurposing it for his own use in governing the Sikh Empire. In 1801, he established a Gurdwara Ram Das to mark the site where Guru Ram Das was born in 1534.
Lahore became the empire's administrative capital, though the nearby economic centre of Amritsar had also been established as the empire's spiritual capital by 1802. By 1812, Singh had mostly refurbished the city's defences by adding a second circuit of outer walls surrounding Akbar's original walls, with the two separated by a moat. Singh also partially restored Shah Jahan's decaying Shalimar Gardens and built the Hazuri Bagh Baradari in 1818 to celebrate his capture of the Koh-i-Noor diamond from Shuja Shah Durrani in 1813. He erected the Gurdwara Dera Sahib to mark the site of Guru Arjan Dev's death (1606). The Sikh royal court also endowed religious architecture in the city, including a number of Sikh gurdwaras, Hindu temples, and havelis.
Under Ranjit Singh's rule, Mughal monuments suffered during the Sikh period as his armies plundered most of Lahore's most precious Mughal monuments, and stripped the white marble from several monuments to send to different parts of the Sikh Empire during his reign. Monuments plundered for decorative materials include the Tomb of Asif Khan, the Tomb of Nur Jahan, and the Shalimar Gardens. Ranjit Singh's army also desecrated the Badshahi Mosque by converting it into an ammunition depot and a stable for horses. The Sunehri Mosque in the Walled City was also converted to a gurdwara, while the Mariyam Zamani Mosque was repurposed into a gunpowder factory.
==== Late ====
The Lahore Durbar underwent a quick succession of rulers after the death of Ranjit Singh. His son Kharak Singh died on 6 November 1840, soon after taking the throne. On that same day, the next appointed successor to the throne, Nau Nihal Singh, died in an accident at the gardens of Hazuri Bagh. Maharaja Sher Singh was then selected as Maharajah, though his claim to the throne was quickly challenged by Chand Kaur, widow of Kharak Singh and mother of Nau Nihal Singh, who quickly seized the throne. Sher Singh raised an army that attacked Chand Kaur's forces in Lahore on 14 January 1841. His soldiers mounted weaponry on the minarets of the Badshahi Mosque to target Chand Kaur's forces in the Lahore fort, destroying the fort's historic Diwan-e-Aam. Kaur quickly ceded the throne, but Sher Sing was then assassinated in 1843 in Lahore's Chah Miran neighbourhood along with his wazir Dhiyan Singh. Dhyan Singh's son, Hira Singh, sought to avenge his father's death by laying siege to Lahore to capture his father's assassins. The siege resulted in the capture of his father's murderer, Ajit Singh.
Duleep Singh was then crowned Maharajah, with Hira Singh as his wazir, but his power would be weakened by the continued infighting among Sikh nobles, as well as confrontations against the British during the two Anglo-Sikh wars.
After the conclusion of the two Anglo-Sikh wars, the Sikh Empire fell into disarray, resulting in the fall of the Lahore Durbar, and commencement of British rule after they captured Lahore and the wider Punjab region.
=== British colonial period ===
The British East India Company seized control of Lahore in February 1846 from the collapsing Sikh state and occupied the rest of Punjab in 1848. Following the defeat of the Sikhs at the Battle of Gujrat, British troops formally deposed Maharaja Duleep Singh in Lahore that same year. Punjab was then annexed to the British Indian Empire in 1849.
At the commencement of British rule, Lahore was estimated to have a population of 120,000. Prior to annexation by the British, Lahore's environs consisted mostly of the Walled City surrounded by plains interrupted by settlements to the south and east, such as Mozang and Qila Gujar Singh, which have since been engulfed by modern Lahore. The plains between the settlements also contained the remains of Mughal gardens, tombs, and Sikh-era military structures.
The British viewed Lahore's Walled City as a bed of potential social discontent and disease epidemics, and so largely left the inner city alone, while focusing development efforts in Lahore's suburban areas and Punjab's fertile countryside. The British instead laid out their capital city in an area south of the Walled City that would first come to be known as "Donald's Town" before being renamed "Civil Station".
Under early British rule, formerly prominent Mughal-era monuments that were scattered throughout Civil Station were also re-purposed and sometimes desecrated – including the Tomb of Anarkali, which the British had initially converted to clerical offices before re-purposing it as an Anglican church in 1851. The 17th-century Dai Anga Mosque was converted into railway administration offices during this time, the tomb of Nawab Bahadur Khan was converted into a storehouse, and the tomb of Mir Mannu was used as a wine shop. The British also used older structures to house municipal offices, such as the Civil Secretariat, Public Works Department, and Accountant General's Office.
The British built the Lahore Railway Station just outside the Walled City shortly after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857; the station was therefore styled as a mediaeval castle to ward off any potential future uprisings, with thick walls, turrets, and holes to direct gun and cannon fire for the defence of the structure. Lahore's most prominent government institutions and commercial enterprises came to be concentrated in Civil Station in a half-mile wide area flanking The Mall, where unlike in Lahore's military zone, the British and locals were allowed to mix. The Mall continues to serve as the epicentre of Lahore's civil administration, as well as one of its most fashionable commercial areas. The British also laid the spacious Lahore Cantonment to the southeast of the Walled City at the former village of Mian Mir, where unlike around The Mall, laws did exist against the mixing of different races.
Lahore was visited on 9 February 1870 by Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh – a visit in which he received delegations from the Dogras of Jammu, Maharajas of Patiala, the Nawab of Bahawalpur, and other rulers from various Punjabi states. During the visit, he visited several of Lahore's major sights. British authorities built several important structures around the time of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria (1887) in the distinctive Indo-Saracenic style, including the Lahore Museum and Mayo School of Industrial Arts.
The British carried out a census of Lahore in 1901, and counted 20,691 houses in the Walled City. An estimated 200,000 people lived in Lahore at this time. Lahore's posh Model Town was established as a "garden town" suburb in 1921, while Krishan Nagar locality was laid in the 1930s near The Mall and Walled City.
Lahore played an important role in the independence movements of both India and Pakistan. The Declaration of the Independence of India was moved by Jawaharlal Nehru and passed unanimously at midnight on 31 December 1929 at Lahore's Bradlaugh Hall. The Indian Swaraj flag was adopted this time as well. Lahore's jail was used by the British to imprison independence activists such as Jatin Das, and was also where Bhagat Singh was hanged in 1931. Under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the All India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution in 1940, demanding the creation of Pakistan as a separate homeland for the Muslims of India.
=== Partition ===
The future of the city of Lahore was fiercely contested during partition. According to the 1941 census, the city of Lahore had a population of 671,659, of which was 64.5% Muslim, with the remainder 35% being Hindu and Sikh, alongside a small Christian community. This population figure was disputed by Hindus and Sikhs before the Boundary Commission that would draw the Radcliffe Line to demarcate the border of the two new states based on religious demography, who argued that the city was only 54% Muslim based on 1945 ration card figures, and that Hindu and Sikh domination of the city's economy and educational institutions should trump Muslim demography. Two-thirds of shops, and 80% of Lahore's factories belonged to the Hindu and Sikh community. Indian journalist Kuldip Nayar claimed that Cyril Radcliffe had told him in 1971 that he originally had planned to give Lahore to the new Dominion of India, but decided to place it within the Dominion of Pakistan, which he saw as lacking a major city as he had already awarded Calcutta to India.
As tensions grew over the city's uncertain fate, Lahore experienced Partition's worst riots. Carnage ensued in which all three religious groups were both victims and perpetrators. Early riots in March and April 1947 destroyed 6,000 of Lahore's 82,000 homes. Violence continued to rise throughout the summer, despite the presence of armoured British personnel. Hindus and Sikhs began to leave the city en masse as their hopes that the Boundary Commission would award the city to India came to be regarded as increasingly unlikely. By late August 1947, 66% of Hindus and Sikhs had left the city. The Shah Alami Bazaar, once a largely Hindu quarter of the Walled City, was entirely burnt down during subsequent rioting.
When Pakistan's independence was declared on 14 August 1947, the Radcliffe Line had not yet been announced, and so cries of "Long live Pakistan" and "God is greatest" were heard intermittently with "Long live Hindustan" throughout the night. On 17 August 1947, Lahore was awarded to Pakistan on the basis of its Muslim majority in the 1941 census and was made capital of the Punjab province in the new state of Pakistan. The city's location near the Indian border meant that it received large numbers of refugees fleeing eastern Punjab and northern India, though it was able to accommodate them given the large stock of abandoned Hindu and Sikh properties that could be re-distributed to newly arrived refugees. In post-partition India, the loss of Lahore catalyzed the development of the new modernist capital city of Chandigarh.
=== Modern ===
Partition left Lahore with a much-weakened economy, and a stymied social and cultural scene that had previously been invigorated by the city's Hindus and Sikhs. Industrial production dropped to one-third of pre-Partition level by the end of the 1940s, and only 27% of its manufacturing units were operating by 1950, and usually well-below capacity. Capital flight further weakened the city's economy while Karachi industrialised and became more prosperous. The city's weakened economy, and proximity to the Indian border, meant that the city was deemed unsuitable to be the Pakistani capital after independence. Karachi was therefore chosen to be the capital on account of its relative tranquility during the Partition period, stronger economy, and better infrastructure.
After independence, Lahore slowly regained its significance as an economic and cultural centre of western Punjab. Reconstruction began in 1949 of the Shah Alami Bazaar, the former Hindu-dominated commercial heart of the Walled City prior to its destruction in the 1947 riots. The Tomb of Allama Iqbal was built in 1951 to honour the philosopher-poet who provided the spiritual inspiration for the Pakistan movement. In 1955, Lahore was selected to be the capital of all West Pakistan during the single-unit period that lasted until 1970. Shortly afterwards, Lahore's iconic Minar-e-Pakistan was completed in 1968 to mark the spot where the Pakistan Resolution was passed. With support from the United Nations, the government was able to rebuild Lahore, and most scars from the communal violence of Partition were ameliorated.
The second Islamic Summit Conference was held in the city in 1974. In retaliation for the destruction of the Babri Masjid in India, riots erupted in 1992 in which several non-Muslim monuments were targeted, including the tomb of Maharaja Sher Singh, and the former Jain temple near The Mall. In 1996, the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup final match was held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
The Walled City of Lahore restoration project began in 2009, when the Punjab government restored the Royal Trail from Akbari Gate to the Lahore Fort with money from the World Bank.
== Geography ==
Lahore is in northeastern portion of Pakistan, lying between 31°15′—31°45′ N and 74°01′—74°39′ E. The city is bounded on the north and west by the Sheikhupura District, on the east by Wagah, and on the south by Kasur District. The Ravi River flows on the northern side of Lahore. Lahore city covers a total land area of 404 square kilometres (156 sq mi).
=== Climate ===
Lahore has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh), bordering on a humid subtropical climate. The hottest month is June, where temperatures routinely exceed 45 °C (113 °F). The monsoon season starts in late June, and the wettest months are July, August and September. with heavy rainfalls and evening thunderstorms with the possibility of cloudbursts and flash floods. The coolest month is January, with dense fog.
The city's record high temperature was 50.4 °C (122.7 °F), recorded on 5 June 2003. On 10 June 2007, a temperature of 48 °C (118 °F) was recorded; this was in the shade, and the meteorological office recording the figure reported a heat index in direct sunlight of 55 °C (131 °F). The highest rainfall in a 24-hour period is 337 millimetres (13.3 in), recorded on 1 August 2024.
According to the World Air Quality Report 2024, Lahore is one of the world's most polluted cities.
== Demographics ==
=== Population ===
The results of the 2017 Census determined the population of Lahore to be 11,126,285, with an annual growth rate of 4.07% since 1998. Gender-wise, 52.35% of the population are male, 47.64% are female, and 0.01% are transgender. Lahore is a demographically young city, with over 40% of its inhabitants below the age of 15.
=== Tribes and background ===
At the time of the 2017 Pakistani census, the largest tribal group were Arain Punjabis, constituting 40%, followed by Punjabi–Kashmiris at 30% with other tribes such as Rajput Punjabis and Kamboh Punjabis at 5% each. The majority of the rest 20% is constituted by other Punjabi tribes, with a minority constituted by other ethnic communities such as Muhajirs, Pashtuns and Meo.
==== Controversy about the city's Pashtun population ====
Some Pashtun nationalist parties argue that the Pashtun population of Lahore in the 2017 census has been underestimated, with Ameer Bahadur Khan, provincial general secretary of Awami National Party, putting their numbers at 1.5 million, while Gul Muhammad Regwal, a member of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, claiming more than 1 million including 300,000 in the Walled City alone, most of these having moved over the last 20 years, including due to military operations, but remaining uncounted as they're not considered permanent residents of Lahore.
=== Religion ===
According to the 2023 Census, the vast majority of Lahore's population are Muslims (95.26%), up from 94.7% in 2017. Other religions include Christians (4.64%, slightly less than 5.14% in 2017) and small numbers of Ahmadis, Baháʼís, Hindus, Parsis, and Sikhs. There is also a small but longstanding Zoroastrian community.
Since Lahore contains some of Sikhism's holiest sites, it is a major pilgrimage destination for Sikhs. Lahore's first church was built during the reign of Emperor Akbar in the late 16th century, but was then levelled by Shah Jahan in 1632. Due to the few numbers of Hindus living in Lahore, the only two functional Hindu temples in the city are the Shri Krishna Mandir and the Valmiki Mandir.
=== Languages ===
The Punjabi language is the most-widely spoken native language in Lahore, with 73.58% of Lahore counting it as their first language according to the 2023 Census. Lahore is the largest Punjabi-speaking city in the world. According to the 2023 Pakistani census 21.1% speak Urdu, 2.06% Pashto, 2.01% Mewati and 2.78% other mother tongues.
Urdu and English are used as official languages and as mediums of instruction and media administration. However, Punjabi is also taught at graduation level and used in theatres, films, and newspapers from Lahore. Several Lahore-based prominent educational leaders, researchers, and social commentators have demanded that the Punjabi language should be declared as the medium of instruction at the primary level and be used officially in the Punjab Assembly, Lahore.
== Cityscape ==
=== Old City ===
Lahore's modern cityscape consists of the historic Walled City of Lahore in the northern part of the city, which contains several World Heritage Sites and national heritage sites. Lahore's urban planning was not based on geometric design but was instead built piecemeal, with small cul-de-sacs, as katrahs and galis developed in the context of neighbouring buildings. Though certain neighbourhoods were named for particular religious or ethnic communities, the neighbourhoods themselves typically were diverse and were not dominated by the namesake group.
Lahore's urban typology is similar to other ancient cities in South Asia, such as Peshawar, Multan and Delhi – all of which were founded near a major river, and included an old walled city and royal citadel.
By the end of the Sikh rule, most of Lahore's massive haveli compounds had been occupied by settlers. New neighbourhoods occasionally grew up entirely within the confines of an old Mughal haveli, such as the Mohallah Pathan Wali, which grew within the ruins of a haveli of the same name, built by Mian Khan. By 1831, all Mughal Havelis in the Walled City had been encroached upon by the surrounding neighbourhood, leading to the modern-day absence of any Mughal Havelis in Lahore.
A total of thirteen gates once surrounded the historic walled city. Some of the remaining gates include the Raushnai Gate, Masti Gate, Yakki Gate, Kashmiri Gate, Khizri Gate, Shah Burj Gate, Akbari Gate, and Lahori Gate. Southeast of the walled city is the spacious British-era Lahore Cantonment.
=== Architecture ===
Lahore is home to numerous monuments from the Mughal Empire, Sikh Empire, and the British Indian Raj. The architectural style of the Walled City of Lahore has traditionally been influenced by Mughal and Sikh styles.
==== Sikh period ====
By the arrival of the Sikh Empire at the end of the 18th century, rebuilding efforts under Ranjit Singh and his successors were influenced by Mughal practices, and Lahore was known as the 'City of Gardens' during the Ranjit Singh period. Later, British maps of the area surrounding Lahore dating from the mid-19th century show many walled private gardens which were confiscated from the Muslim noble families bearing the names of prominent Sikh nobles – a pattern of patronage which was inherited from the Mughals.
While much of Lahore's Mughal-era fabric lay in ruins by the time of his arrival, Ranjit Singh's army's plundered most of Lahore's most precious Mughal monuments, and stripped the white marble from several monuments to send to different parts of the Sikh Empire. Monuments plundered of their marble include the Tomb of Asif Khan and the Tomb of Nur Jahan; the Shalimar Gardens was plundered of much of its marble, and its costly agate gate was stripped. The Sikh state also demolished a number of shrines and monuments laying outside the city's walls.
Still, Sikh rule left Lahore with several monuments, and a heavily altered Lahore Fort. Ranjit Singh's rule restored some of Lahore's previous grandeur, however also damaged or destroyed a number of Mughal historical monuments, Several havelis were built during the Sikh era, though only a few still remain.
==== British period ====
As the capital of British Punjab, the city derived much of its architecture from British colonialists. Structures were built predominantly in the Indo-Gothic style – a syncretic architectural style that blends elements of Victorian and Islamic architecture or in the distinct Indo-Saracenic style. The British also built neoclassical Montgomery Hall, which today serves as the Quaid-e-Azam Library.
Lawrence Gardens were also laid near Civil Station, and were paid for by donations solicited from both Lahore's European community, as well as from wealthy locals. The gardens featured over 600 species of plants, and were tended to by a horticulturist sent from London's Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.
The leafy suburbs to the south of the Old City, as well as the Cantonment southwest of the Old City, were largely developed under British colonial rule, and feature colonial-era buildings built alongside leafy avenues.
The British authorities built several important structures around the time of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887 in the distinctive Indo-Saracenic style, such as the Lahore Museum and Mayo School of Industrial Arts. Other prominent examples of the Indo-Saracenic style in Lahore include Lahore's prestigious Aitchison College, the Punjab Chief Court (today the Lahore High Court), Lahore Museum, and the University of the Punjab.
Many of Lahore's most important buildings were designed by civil engineer and architect Sir Ganga Ram, who is considered "the father of modern Lahore".
=== Parks and gardens ===
Lahore is also known as "the city of gardens" due to its large number of gardens. The Shahdara Bagh was one of the earliest Mughal gardens, laid out in 15th century, and contains the Tomb of Jahangir. The Shalimar Gardens were laid out during the reign of Shah Jahan and were designed to mimic the Islamic paradise of the afterlife described in the Qur'an. The gardens follow the familiar charbagh layout of four squares, with three descending terraces. In 1818, Hazuri Bagh was built during reign of Ranjit Singh to celebrate his capture of the Koh-i-Noor diamond from Shuja Shah Durrani.
The Lawrence Garden was established in 1862 and was originally named after Sir John Lawrence, late 19th-century British Viceroy to India. The Circular Garden, which surrounds the Walled City on three sides, was established by 1892. The former parade ground adjacent to Badshahi Mosque was also renamed during the British era as Minto Park, which after restoration was re-established as Iqbal Park.
The many other gardens and parks in the city include Hazuri Bagh, Iqbal Park, Mochi Bagh, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Model Town Park, Jilani Park, Nasir Bagh Lahore, Jallo Park, Lahore Zoo Safari Park, and Changa Manga, a human-made forest near Lahore in the Kasur district. Another example is the Bagh-e-Jinnah, a 141-acre (57 ha) botanical garden that houses entertainment and sports facilities as well as a library.
== Economy ==
As of 2008, the city's gross domestic product (GDP) by purchasing power parity (PPP) was estimated at $40 billion with a projected average growth rate of 5.6 per cent. This is on par with Karachi, Pakistan's economic hub, with Lahore (having half the population) fostering an economy that is 51% of the size of Karachi's ($78 billion in 2008). It is estimated that Lahore contributes 11.5% to the national economy, and 19% to the provincial economy of Punjab. As a whole, Punjab has a $115 billion economy, making it the first (and to date, only) Pakistani Subdivision with an economy of more than $100 billion, at the rank 144. Lahore's GDP is projected to be $102 billion by 2025, with a slightly higher growth rate of 5.6% per annum, as compared to Karachi's 5.5%.
A major industrial agglomeration with about 9,000 industrial units, Lahore has shifted in recent decades from manufacturing to service industries. Some 42% of its workforce is employed in finance, banking, real estate, community, cultural, and social services. The city is Pakistan's largest software and hardware producing centre, and hosts a growing computer-assembly industry. The city has always been a centre for publications; 80% of Pakistan's books are published in Lahore, and it remains the foremost centre of literary, educational, and cultural activity in Pakistan.
The Lahore Expo Centre is one of the biggest projects in the history of the city and was inaugurated on 22 May 2010. Defence Raya Golf Resort, now fully operational (as of the 2024), boasts Pakistan's largest and Asia's premier golf course. This luxurious project is a result of a partnership between DHA Lahore and BRDB Malaysia, offering world-class residential, recreational, and commercial facilities. The development of such large-scale projects continues to elevate Lahore's profile, contributing significantly to the national economy. Ferozepur Road of the Central business districts of Lahore contains high-rises and skyscrapers including Kayre International Hotel and Arfa Software Technology Park.
== Transport ==
=== Public transportation ===
Lahore's main public transportation system is operated by the Lahore Transport Company (LTC) and Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMTA). The backbone of its public transport network is the PMTA's Lahore Metrobus and the Orange Line of the Lahore Metro train. LTC and PMTA also operates an extensive network of buses, providing bus service to many parts of the city and acting as a feeder system for the Metrobus. The Orange Line metro spans 27.1 km (16.8 mi) around the city and operates at a speed of 80 km/h (50 mph).
==== Metrobus ====
The Lahore Metrobus is a bus rapid transit service operating in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Lahore Metrobus service is integrated with Lahore Transport Company's local bus service to operate as one urban transport system, providing a connected transit service across Lahore District with connections to neighbouring suburban communities.
==== Low occupancy vehicles ====
Low occupancy vehicle (LOVs)—functionally a medium-sized van or wagon—run on routes throughout the city. They function like buses and operate on many routes throughout the city.
=== Metro Train ===
==== Orange Line ====
The Orange Line Metro Train is an automated rapid transit system in Lahore. The Orange line is the first of the three proposed rail lines proposed for the Lahore Metro. As of 2020, it is the primary metro rail line in the city. The line spans 27.1 km (16.8 mi), with 25.4 km (15.8 mi) elevated and 1.72 km (1.1 mi) underground, and had a cost of 251.06 billion rupees ($1.6 billion). The line consists of 26 subway stations (Ali Town Station to Dera Gujran Station) and is designed to carry over 250,000 passengers daily. CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive rolled out the first of 27 trains for the metro on 16 May 2017. The train has speed up to 80 km/h (50 mph). For improved durability, its bogies are heat-resistant, can manage unstable voltage, and feature energy-saving air-conditioning. Successful initial test trials were run in mid-2018, and commercial operations began on 25 October 2020.
==== Blue Line ====
The Blue Line is a proposed 24 kilometres (15 mi) line from Chauburji to College Road Township. Along the way, it will connect places like Mozang Chungi, Shadman Chowk, Jail Road, Mian Boulevard Gulberg, Mian Boulevard Garden Town, and Faisal Town.
==== Purple Line ====
The Purple Line is a proposed 19 kilometres (12 mi) line from Bhaati Chowk to the Allama Iqbal International Airport. Along the way, it will connect places like Brandreth Road, Railway Station, Allama Iqbal Road, Dharampura, and Ghazi Road.
=== Taxi and rickshaw ===
Ride-sharing services such as Uber and Careem are available in the city. Motorcycle rides are also available in the city, which have been introduced by private companies.
Auto rickshaws play an important role of public transport in Lahore. As of 2019, there were approximately 82,000 auto rickshaws and 65,000 motorcycle rickshaws in the city. Motorcycle rickshaws, usually called chingchi (after the Chinese company Jinan Qingqi Motorcycle Co. Ltd, who first introduced these to the market) or chand gari ('moon car') are cheaper than auto rickshaws and provide a shared ride experience for multiple passengers and fares, whereas auto rickshaws cater to only one passenger or group for a fare. Since 2002, all auto rickshaws have been required to use compressed natural gas as fuel, and all-electric rickshaws were introduced in 2023.
=== Intercity transportation ===
==== Railways ====
Lahore Junction Station serves as the main railway station for Lahore, and serves as a major hub for all Pakistan Railways services in Northern Pakistan. It includes services to Peshawar and the national capital metropolitan area of Islamabad–Rawalpindi, and long-distance services to Karachi and Quetta. Lahore Cantonment Station also operates a few trains.
==== Buses ====
Lahore Badami Bagh Bus Terminal (known colloquially as "Lari Adda") serves as a hub for intercity bus services in Lahore, served by multiple bus companies providing a comprehensive network of services in Punjab and neighbouring provinces. Lahore Jinnah Bus Terminal is also a major bus stand in southern Lahore. Apart from these stations, multiple privately owned bus transportation companies operate from Band Road (referred to colloquially as Chowk Yateem Khana), offering intercity transport at varying fares and comfort levels.
=== Airports ===
Pakistan's third busiest airport, Allama Iqbal International Airport (IATA: LHE), straddles the city's eastern boundary. The new passenger terminal was opened in 2003, replacing the old terminal which now serves as a VIP and Hajj lounge. The airport was named after the national poet-philosopher, Muhammad Iqbal, and is a secondary hub for the national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines. Walton Airport in Askari neighbourhood provides general aviation facilities. Sialkot International Airport (IATA: SKT) and Faisalabad International Airport (IATA: LYP) also serve as alternate airports for the Lahore area, in addition to serving their respective cities.
Allama Iqbal International Airport connects Lahore with many cities worldwide (including domestic destinations) by both passenger and cargo flight including Ras al Khaimah, Guangzhou (begins 28 August 2018), Ürümqi, Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Beijing–Capital, Copenhagen, Dammam, Dera Ghazi Khan, Doha, Dubai–International, Islamabad, Jeddah, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur–International, London–Heathrow, Manchester, Medina, Milan–Malpensa, Multan, Muscat, Oslo–Gardermoen, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Peshawar, Quetta, Rahim Yar Khan, Riyadh, Salalah, Tokyo–Narita, Toronto–Pearson, Mashhad, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, and Tashkent.
=== Roads ===
There are a number of municipal, provincial and federal roads that serve Lahore.
Municipal roads
Canal Road – serves as the major north–south artery
Provincial highways
Lahore Ring Road
Lahore–Kasur Road (Ferozepur Road)
Lahore–Raiwind Road (Raiwind Road)
Lahore–Sharaqpur Road (Sagianwala Bypass Road)
Lahore–Wagah Road
Grand Trunk Road (G.T Road )
Federal highways
M-2 motorway
M-3 motorway
M-11 motorway
N-5 National Highway (Multan Road)
N-60 National Highway (Sargodha–Lahore road)
== Government ==
=== Metropolitan Corporation ===
Under Punjab Local Government Act 2013, Lahore is a metropolitan area under the authority of the Metropolitan Corporation Lahore. The Metropolitan Corporation Lahore is a body consisting of nine deputy mayors (one from each zone in the district) and the city's mayor – all of whom are elected in popular elections. The Metropolitan Corporation approves zoning and land use, coordinates urban design and planning, sets environmental protection laws, and provides municipal services.
==== Mayor ====
As per the Punjab Local Government Act 2013, the Mayor of Lahore is the elected head of the Metropolitan Corporation of Lahore. The mayor is directly elected in municipal elections every four years alongside 9 deputy town mayors. Mubashir Javed of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) was elected mayor of Lahore in 2016. The mayor is responsible for the administration of government services, the composition of councils and committees overseeing Lahore City District departments and serves as the chairperson for the meeting of the Lahore Council. The mayor also functions to help devise long-term development plans in consultation with other stakeholders and bodies to improve the condition, livability, and sustainability of urban areas.
=== Neighbourhoods ===
Lahore District is a subdivision of the Punjab, and is further divided into 9 administrative zones. Each town in turn consists of a group of union councils, of which there are 274 total.
== Festivals ==
The people of Lahore celebrate many festivals and events throughout the year, including Islamic, traditional Punjabi, Christian, and national holidays and festivals.
Some people decorate their houses and light candles to illuminate the streets and houses during public holidays; roads and businesses may be lit for days. Many of Lahore's dozens of Sufi shrines hold annual festivals called urs to honour their respective saints. For example, the mausoleum of Ali al-Hujwiri at the Data Darbar shrine has an annual urs that attracts up to one million visitors per year. The Mela Chiraghan festival in Lahore takes place at the shrine of Madho Lal Hussain, while other large urs take place at the shrines of Bibi Pak Daman, and at the Shrine of Mian Mir. Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha are celebrated in the city with public buildings and shopping centres decorated in lights. The people of Lahore also commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Husayn at Karbala with massive processions that take place during the first ten days of the month of Muharram.
Basant is a traditional Punjabi festival that marks the coming of spring. Basant celebrations in Pakistan are centred in Lahore, and people from all over the country and abroad come to the city for the annual festivities. Kite-flying competitions traditionally take place on city rooftops during Basant, while the Lahore Canal is decorated with floating lanterns. Courts have banned kite-flying because of casualties and power installation losses. The ban was lifted for two days in 2007, then immediately reimposed when 11 people were killed by celebratory gunfire, sharp kite-strings, electrocution, and falls related to the competition.
Lahore's churches are elaborately decorated for Christmas and Easter celebrations. Shopping centres and public buildings also feature Christmas installations to celebrate the holiday, even though Christians only constitute 5.1% of the total population of Lahore in 2024. See Religion in Lahore
== Tourism ==
Lahore remains a major tourist destination in Pakistan. The Walled City of Lahore was renovated in 2014 and is popular due to the presence of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Among the most popular sights are the Lahore Fort, adjacent to the Walled City, and home to the Sheesh Mahal, the Alamgiri Gate, the Naulakha Pavilion, and the Moti Masjid. The fort and adjoining Shalimar Gardens have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.
The city is home to Muslim historical religious sites, most prominently the Badshahi Mosque, constructed in 1673; it was the largest mosque in the world upon construction. Another popular sight is the Wazir Khan Mosque, constructed in 1635 and known for its extensive faience tile work. Data Darbar, near the Old City of Lahore, is the largest Sufi shrine in South Asia. Apart from Islam, two functional Hindu temples exist: the Krishna Temple and Valmiki Mandir. The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh, also located near the Walled City, houses the funerary urns of the Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Whereas the Walled City reflects Lahore's historic grandeur, Defence Raya Golf Resort contributes to the city's modern side. Other posh areas include Gulberg, Iqbal Town and the Nahr.
=== Cuisine ===
=== Religious sites ===
Well-known religious sites in the city include:
=== Museums ===
=== Tombs ===
=== Shrines ===
=== Samadhis ===
Bhai Vasti Ram
Ranjit Singh
Samadhi of Bhai Mani Singh
Sir Ganga Ram
Bhai Taru Singh
=== Havelis ===
There are many havelis inside the Walled City of Lahore, some in good condition while others need urgent attention. Many of these havelis are fine examples of Mughal and Sikh architecture. Some of the havelis inside the Walled City include:
=== Other landmarks ===
Shahi Hammam
Alhamra Art Council
Lahore Royal Fort
Greater Iqbal Park
=== Historic neighbourhoods ===
Anarkali
Badami Bagh
Baghbanpura
Begampura
Heera Mandi
Mughalpura
Shahdara Bagh
Walled City of Lahore
== Education ==
Lahore is sometimes considered Pakistan's educational capital, with more colleges and universities than any other city in Pakistan. The literacy rate of Lahore is 74%. The city is Pakistan's largest producer of professionals in the fields of science, technology, IT, law, engineering, medicine, nuclear sciences, pharmacology, telecommunication, biotechnology, microelectronics, and nanotechnology, and has the only future hyper high-tech centre in Pakistan.
Most of the reputable universities are public, but in recent years there has also been an upsurge in the number of private universities. Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) is the only AACSB accredited business school in Pakistan. Lahore hosts some of Pakistan's oldest and best educational institutes, including:
Aitchison College, established in 1886
Beaconhouse National University, established in 2003
Central Model School, established in 1883
Crescent Model Higher Secondary School, established in 1968
College of Home Economics, established in 1955
College of Statistical and Actuarial Sciences, established in 1950
Convent of Jesus and Mary, established in 1867
Dayal Singh College, established in 1910
De'Montmorency College of Dentistry, established in 1929
Fatima Jinnah Medical University, established in 1948
Forman Christian College, established in 1864
Government College University, Lahore, established in 1864
Hailey College of Commerce, established in 1927
Islamia College, established in 1892
Jamia Ashrafia, established in 1947
King Edward Medical University, established in 1860
Kinnaird College for Women University, established in 1913
Lady Maclagan Training College, established in 1933
Lady Willingdon Nursing School, established in 1933
Lahore College for Women University, established in 1922
Lahore Garrison University
Lahore Grammar School, established in 1979
Lahore Medical and Dental College, established in 1997
Lahore School of Economics, established in 1993
Lahore University of Management Sciences, established in 1986
M.A.O College, established in 1933
Muslim Model High School, established in 1890
National College of Arts, established in 1875
Oriental College, established in 1876
Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design, established in 1994
PakTurk International Schools and Colleges, established in 2006
Queen Mary College, established in 1908
Sacred Heart High School, established in 1906
Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Medical and Dental College, established in 2009
St. Anthony's High School, established in 1892
St. Francis High School, established in 1842
University College of Pharmacy, established in 1944
University Law College, established in 1868
University of Central Punjab, established in 2002
University of Education, established in 2002
University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, established in 1921
University of Health Sciences, Lahore, established in 2002
University of Lahore, established in 1999
University of Management and Technology (Lahore), established in 2002
University of the Punjab, established in 1882
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, established in 1882
== Notable people ==
== Sports ==
Lahore has successfully hosted many international sports events, including the finals of the 1990 Men's Hockey World Cup and the 1996 Cricket World Cup. The headquarters of all major sports governing bodies in Pakistan are located in Lahore, including cricket, hockey, rugby, and football. Lahore is also home to the head office of the Pakistan Olympic Association.
Gaddafi Stadium is a Test cricket ground in Lahore. It was completed in 1959, and renovations were carried out by Pakistani architect Nayyar Ali Dada in the 1990s.
The multi purpose Punjab Stadium located near the headquarters of the Pakistan Football Federation, is mainly used for football matches and has hosted several events including AFC President's Cup and FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Wohaib club from Lahore was one of the leading football clubs in Pakistan in the 1990s.
Lahore is home to several golf courses, including the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course, the Lahore Garrison Golf and Country Club, the Royal Palm Golf Club, and newly built Defence Raya Golf & Country Club. Lake City, a 9-hole course, opened in nearby Raiwind Road in 2011. The newly opened Oasis Golf and Aqua Resort is a state-of-the-art resort, featuring golf, water parks, and leisure activities like horse riding and archery.
The Lahore Marathon is part of an annual package of six international marathons sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. More than 20,000 athletes from Pakistan and all over the world participate in this event. It was first held on 30 January 2005, and again on 29 January 2006. More than 22,000 people participated in the 2006 race. The third marathon was held on 14 January 2007. Plans exist to build Pakistan's first sports city in Lahore, on the bank of the Ravi River.
Professional sports teams from Lahore
== Twin towns and sister cities ==
The following international cities have been declared twin towns and sister cities of Lahore.
== Awards ==
In 1966, the Government of Pakistan awarded a special flag, the Hilal-i-istaqlal, to the cities of Lahore, Sargodha, and Sialkot for showing severe resistance to the enemy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, as these cities were targets of the Indian aggression. Every year on Defence Day (6 September), this flag is hoisted in these cities in recognition of the will, courage, and perseverance of their people. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%22Weird_Al%22_Yankovic | "Weird Al" Yankovic | Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing comedy songs that often parody specific songs by contemporary musicians. He also performs original songs that are style pastiches of the work of other acts, as well as polka medleys of popular songs, most of which feature his trademark accordion. Since having one of his comedy songs aired on The Dr. Demento Radio Show in 1976 at age 16, Yankovic has sold more than 12 million albums (as of 2025), recorded more than 150 parodies and original songs, and performed more than 2,000 live shows.
Yankovic's success has been attributed to his effective use of music videos to further parody pop culture, the songs' original artists, and the original music videos themselves. He has directed some of his own music videos and also directed music videos for other artists including Ben Folds, Hanson, the Black Crowes, and the Presidents of the United States of America. With the decline of music television and the onset of social media, he used YouTube and other video sites to publish his videos; this strategy helped boost sales of his later albums. He has not released a full album since Mandatory Fun, opting instead for timely releases of singles.
Yankovic's work has earned him five Grammy Awards and a further eleven nominations, four gold records and six platinum records in the U.S. His first top ten Billboard album (Straight Outta Lynwood) and single ("White & Nerdy") were both released in 2006, nearly three decades into his career. His fourteenth studio album, Mandatory Fun (2014), became his first number-one album during its debut week. In addition to his music career, Yankovic wrote and starred in the film UHF (1989) and the television series The Weird Al Show (1997). He has produced two satirical films about his own life, The Compleat Al (1985) and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022). He has appeared in various television shows and web series, in addition to starring in Al TV specials on MTV. He has also written two children's books, When I Grow Up (2011) and My New Teacher and Me! (2013).
== Early life ==
Alfred Matthew Yankovic was born in Downey, California, on October 23, 1959, the only child of Mary Elizabeth (née Vivalda, 1923–2004) and Nick Yankovic (1917–2004). He was raised in nearby Lynwood, California. His father, who was born in the Strawberry Hill neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, was of Slovene and Croatian descent: Nick Yankovic was the son of Matthew Yankovich (baptized Matija Jankovič, 1887–1969), who was born in Weidendorf, Austria-Hungary (now Bedenj, Slovenia), and Mary Yankovich (née Braj, 1890–1968), also born in Austria-Hungary (now Croatia). Nick Yankovic began living in California after earning two Purple Hearts for his service as a medic during World War II. He believed "the key to success" was "doing for a living whatever makes you happy" and often reminded his son of this philosophy. Yankovic's mother, a stenographer from Kentucky of English and Italian descent, married his father in 1949. She moved to California a decade before Yankovic was born.
Yankovic's first accordion lesson, which sparked his interest in music, took place on the day before his seventh birthday. A door-to-door salesman traveling through Lynwood offered his parents a choice of accordion or guitar lessons at a local music school. Yankovic claims that his parents chose the accordion over the guitar because "they figured there should be at least one more accordion-playing Yankovic in the world"; this was in reference to Frankie Yankovic, to whom he is not related. He has also said that they chose the accordion because "they were convinced it would revolutionize rock". Since his mother did not let him outside the house often, he had plenty of time to practice the instrument at home. He continued lessons at the music school for three years before deciding to continue learning on his own.
In the 1970s, Yankovic was a big fan of Elton John and cites John's 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road as one of the reasons he "learned to play rock 'n' roll on the accordion". As for his influences in comedy and parody music, he has listed artists including Stan Freberg, Spike Jones, Tom Lehrer, Allan Sherman, Shel Silverstein, and Frank Zappa, as well as "all the other wonderfully sick and twisted artists" he found through The Dr. Demento Radio Show. Other sources of inspiration for his comedy came from Mad magazine, the British comedy troupe Monty Python, and the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker films. He had also enjoyed George Carlin's stand-up comedy album FM & AM so much that he transcribed it by typewriter.
Yankovic began kindergarten a year earlier than most children and skipped second grade, later saying, "My classmates seemed to think I was some kind of rocket scientist, so I was labeled a nerd early on." He attended Lynwood High School, where his unusual schooling experience meant he was two years younger than most of his classmates. He was not interested in sports or social events but was active in other extracurricular programs, including: the National Forensic League-sanctioned public speaking events; a play based on Rebel Without a Cause; the yearbook, for which he wrote most of the captions; and the Volcano Worshippers club, which he later said did "absolutely nothing" and was started "just to get an extra picture of [themselves] in the yearbook". He graduated in 1976, and was valedictorian of his senior class. He attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, earning a bachelor's degree in architecture. After graduation, he worked at Westwood One, first in the mail room and then calling stations confirming that paid advertisements had indeed run on air.
== Career ==
=== 1976–1981: Dr. Demento and early fame ===
Yankovic's music received its first on-air exposure via syndicated comedy radio personality Dr. Demento's Southern California–based show, later saying, "If there hadn't been a Dr. Demento, I'd probably have a real job now." Despite his mother having caught him listening to Dr. Demento's program and banning him from listening to it again, he found ways to do it discreetly. In 1976, Dr. Demento spoke at Yankovic's school, where the 16-year-old gave him a homemade cassette tape of original and parody songs on accordion and recorded in Yankovic's bedroom into a "cheesy little tape recorder". The tape's first song, "Belvedere Cruisin' "(about his family's Plymouth Belvedere) was played on Demento's radio show, launching Yankovic's career. Demento said, "'Belvedere Cruisin' might not have been the very best song I ever heard, but it had some clever lines [...] I put the tape on the air immediately."
Yankovic also played at local coffeehouses, accompanied by fellow dorm resident Joel Miller on bongos. He recalled in 2007:
It was sort of like amateur music night, and a lot of people were like wannabe Dan Fogelbergs. They'd get up on stage with their acoustic guitar and do these lovely ballads. And I would get up with my accordion and play the theme from 2001. And people were kind of shocked that I would be disrupting their mellow Thursday night folk fest.
During Yankovic's second year as an architecture student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, he became a disc jockey at KCPR, the university's radio station. Yankovic had been called "Weird Al" originally as a more derogatory nickname by others in his dormitory, since he was seen as the strange outcast compared to other residents. Though he initially took it as an insult, Yankovic eventually "took it on professionally" as his persona for the station. In 1978, he released his first recording (as Alfred Yankovic), "Take Me Down", on the LP Slo Grown, as a benefit for the Economic Opportunity Commission of San Luis Obispo County. The song mocked famous nearby landmarks such as Bubblegum Alley and the waterfall toilets at the Madonna Inn.
In mid-1979, shortly before his senior year, "My Sharona" by the Knack was on the charts. Yankovic took his accordion into the restroom across the hall from the radio station to take advantage of the echo chamber acoustics and recorded a parody titled "My Bologna". He sent it to Dr. Demento, who played it to good response from listeners. Yankovic met the Knack after a show at his college and introduced himself as the author of "My Bologna". The Knack's lead singer, Doug Fieger, said he liked the song and suggested that Capitol Records vice president Rupert Perry release it as a single. "My Bologna" was released with "School Cafeteria" as its B-side, and the label gave Yankovic a six-month recording contract. Yankovic, who was "only getting average grades" in his architecture degree, began to realize that he might make a career of comedic music.
On September 14, 1980, Yankovic was a guest on The Dr. Demento Show, where he was to record a new parody live. The song was called "Another One Rides the Bus", a parody of Queen's hit "Another One Bites the Dust". While practicing the song outside the sound booth, he met Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, who told him he was a drummer and agreed to bang on Yankovic's accordion case to help Yankovic keep a steady beat during the song. They rehearsed the song just a few times before the show began. "Another One Rides the Bus" became so popular that Yankovic's first television appearance was a performance of the song on The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder on April 21, 1981. On the show, Yankovic played his accordion, and again, Schwartz banged on the accordion case and provided comical sound effects. Yankovic's record label, TK Records, went bankrupt about two weeks after the single was released, so Yankovic received no royalties from its initial release.
=== 1981–1989: Band and fame ===
In 1981, Yankovic went on tour for the first time as part of Dr. Demento's stage show. His stage act in a Phoenix, Arizona, nightclub caught the eye of manager Jay Levey, who was "blown away". Levey asked Yankovic if he had considered creating a full band and doing his music as a career. Yankovic admitted that he had, so Levey held auditions. Steve Jay became Yankovic's bass player, and Jay's friend Jim West played guitar. Schwartz continued on drums. Yankovic's first show with his new band was on March 31, 1982. Several days later, Yankovic and his band were the opening act for Missing Persons.
Yankovic recorded "I Love Rocky Road" (a parody of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" originally recorded by The Arrows), which was produced by Rick Derringer, in 1982. The song was a hit on Top 40 radio, leading to Yankovic's signing with Scotti Brothers Records. In 1983, Yankovic's first self-titled album was released on Scotti Bros. The song "Ricky" (a parody of Toni Basil's hit "Mickey") was released as a single and the music video received exposure on the still-young MTV. "Ricky" broke the top 100 videos on MTV at the time, which Yankovic took as a sign that his career was in music, quitting his job as a mailroom clerk at the local offices of Westwood One to pursue the music career.
Yankovic released his second album "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D in 1984. The first single "Eat It", a parody of the Michael Jackson song "Beat It", became popular, thanks in part to the music video, a shot-for-shot parody of Jackson's "Beat It" music video, and what Yankovic sarcastically described as his "uncanny resemblance" to Jackson. Yankovic said he felt he had become an overnight success once the video for "Eat It" aired on MTV, as both the song and video, as well as Jackson's approval for the parody, drew attention to him from other musicians and made it easier for him to obtain permissions to use others' songs. "Eat It" was also aided by the first of Yankovic's Al TV specials that aired on MTV on April 1, 1984, the network looking to Yankovic's rising popularity to help fill its programming time. Peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 14, 1984, "Eat It" remained Yankovic's highest-charting single until "White & Nerdy" placed at No. 9 in October 2006. In Canada, "Eat It" reached No. 5.
In 1985, Yankovic co-wrote and starred in a mockumentary of his own life titled The Compleat Al (the title being a parody of the 1982 documentary The Compleat Beatles), which intertwined the facts of his life up to that point with fiction. The film also featured some clips from Yankovic's trip to Japan and some clips from the Al TV specials. The Compleat Al was co-directed by Jay Levey, who would direct UHF four years later. Also released around the same time as The Compleat Al was The Authorized Al, a biographical book based on the film. The book, resembling a scrapbook, included real and fictional humorous photographs and documents.
Yankovic and his band toured as the opening act for the Monkees in mid-1987 for their second reunion tour of North America. Yankovic claims to have enjoyed touring with the Monkees, even though he said that the promoter cheated them out of "a bunch of money". In 1988, Yankovic was the narrator on the Wendy Carlos recording of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. The album also included a sequel to Camille Saint-Saëns's composition The Carnival of the Animals, titled "The Carnival of the Animals Part II", with Yankovic providing humorous poems for each of the featured creatures in the style of Ogden Nash, who had written humorous poems for the original. That year, Yankovic made his theatrical film debut with a cameo appearance in the film Tapeheads, starring as himself. This was followed by a cameo appearance in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, also in 1988.
Yankovic's success led to a deal to make his film UHF, which premiered in July 1989. While the film has since become a cult title, its initial release was against mediocre reviews, and it was up against several other summer blockbusters, including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Ghostbusters II, Batman, and Licence to Kill. While Yankovic released an associated soundtrack album, UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff, it was not as successful as his previous albums. Yankovic fell into a slump over the next three years as a result of the poor performance of the film.
=== 1990–1997: Revived career ===
Yankovic had returned to the studio to prepare songs for his next album Off the Deep End around 1990. During production, Rubén Valtierra joined the band on keyboards in 1991, allowing Yankovic to concentrate more on singing and increasing his use of the stage space during concerts. Further, Yankovic took over production from Rick Derringer in 1992. While Derringer had produced six of Yankovic's previous albums, for which he won two Grammy Awards, Derringer's drug-related issues had become a problem, along with Yankovic's increasingly more complex musical vision (involving horns and other instruments).
By 1992, most of the original songs for Off the Deep End were complete, but Yankovic still did not have a strong parody and was waiting for the next big hit to work from, as he was still in a slump post-UHF. When Jackson released his next album, Dangerous, and its hit single "Black or White", Yankovic had quickly written a parody, "Snack All Night", from it, and hoped Jackson would allow him to use the parody. Jackson denied Yankovic this, as Jackson felt "Black or White" carried a serious message that would be undermined by the parody. Around this time, Nirvana and the grunge music scene began to take off. Yankovic wrote a parody of Nirvana's hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Smells Like Nirvana", and was able to secure the band's permission for the parody; Nirvana's lead singer Kurt Cobain reportedly said that getting Yankovic to parody their work was a sign their band had "made it". "Smells Like Nirvana" became the lead song on Off the Deep End, landing at No. 35 on the Billboard charts, his second top-40 hit in the United States. Off the Deep End reached No. 17 on the Billboard 200, and helped to revitalize Yankovic's career after the failure of UHF.
Yankovic's next two studio albums were modest successes in light of Off the Deep End. Alapalooza was released in 1993, and led with "Jurassic Park", a spoof of "MacArthur Park" by Richard Harris while mocking the 1993 film of the same name. Alapalooza peaked at No. 46 on the Billboard 200. Bad Hair Day in 1996 headlined with "Amish Paradise", a parody of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise". "Amish Paradise" reached No. 53 on the top Billboard Hot 100 singles, while the album reached No. 14 on the Billboard 200, and eventually was certified double platinum in sales by RIAA, making it one of Yankovic's more successful works.
In addition, Yankovic released a number of compilation works during this period, including Permanent Record: Al in the Box, a four-CD collection which included most of Yankovic's previous works as well as an informational booklet with contributions from Dr. Demento. Other compilations included Greatest Hits Volume II, a collection of songs that were not included on Permanent Record, and The TV Album, featuring songs loosely based on television shows.
=== 1998–2014: Reinvention ===
On January 23, 1998, Yankovic had LASIK eye surgery to correct his extreme myopia. Yankovic had the surgery for free when he agreed to let KTLA Morning News broadcast it live on television. When Running with Scissors debuted in 1999, he unveiled a radically changed look. In addition to shedding his glasses, he had shaved off his moustache and grown out his hair. He had previously shaved his moustache in 1983 for the video of "Ricky" to resemble Desi Arnaz, in 1989 for segments of the "UHF" music video and in 1996 for the "Amish Paradise" video. Yankovic reasoned, "If Madonna's allowed to reinvent herself every 15 minutes, I figure I should be good for a change at least once every couple of decades." He parodied the reaction to this "new look" in a commercial for his nonexistent MTV Unplugged special. The commercial featured Yankovic in the short-haired wig from the music video for Hanson's "River", claiming his new look was an attempt to "get back to the core of what I'm all about", that being "the music".
Running with Scissors was followed by his next studio album Poodle Hat in 2003. Poodle Hat was met with average reviews without any standout singles, though the album did peak at number 17 on the Billboard 200. Yankovic's following album was Straight Outta Lynwood in 2006, which featured the single "White & Nerdy", a parody of "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire. "White & Nerdy" became Yankovic's first Billboard Top Ten single, debuting at No. 29 and peaking at No. 9. "Canadian Idiot", a parody of "American Idiot" by Green Day, also charted in the Hot 100. The album as a whole reached No. 10 in the Billboard 200, and by 2008 was Yankovic's first certified platinum album, having reached over one million sales.
Following Straight Out of Lynwood, Yankovic started to explore digital distribution of his songs. On October 7, 2008, Yankovic released to the iTunes Store "Whatever You Like", a parody of the T.I. song of the same title, which Yankovic said he had come up with two weeks before. Yankovic said that the benefit of digital distribution is that "I don't have to wait around while my songs get old and dated—I can get them out on the Internet almost immediately." In 2009, Yankovic released four more songs: "Craigslist" on June 16, "Skipper Dan" on July 14, "CNR" on August 4, and "Ringtone" on August 25. These five digitally released songs were packaged as a digital EP titled Internet Leaks, with "Whatever You Like" retroactively included in the set.
In 2011, Yankovic completed his thirteenth studio album, titled Alpocalypse, which was released on June 21, 2011. The album contains the five songs from the previous Internet Leaks digital download release, a polka medley called "Polka Face", a song called "TMZ", for which Bill Plympton created an animated music video, and five other new songs.
Yankovic had reported an interest in parodying Lady Gaga's material, and on April 20 announced that he had written and recorded a parody of "Born This Way" titled "Perform This Way" to be the lead single for his new album. However, upon first submitting it to Lady Gaga's manager for approval (which Yankovic does as a courtesy), he was not given permission to release it commercially. As he had previously done under similar circumstances (with his parody of James Blunt's "You're Beautiful", which was titled "You're Pitiful"), Yankovic then released the song for free on the internet. Soon afterwards, Gaga's manager admitted that he had denied the parody of his own accord without forwarding the song to his client, and upon seeing it online, Lady Gaga granted permission for the parody. Yankovic has stated that all of his proceeds from the parody and its music video will be donated to the Human Rights Campaign, to support the human rights themes of the original song. Yankovic was also a judge for the 10th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.
Yankovic stated in September 2013 that he was working on a new album, and in 2014, he used social media websites to hint at a July 15 release of the new album. The album artwork and title, Mandatory Fun, were confirmed by his publisher. Mandatory Fun was released to strong critical praise and was the No. 1 debut album on the Billboard charts the week of its release, buoyed by Yankovic's approach for releasing eight music videos over eight continuous days that drew viral attention to the album as described below. It became Yankovic's first No. 1 album. Additionally, the song "Word Crimes" (a parody of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines") reached No. 39 on the Top 100 singles for the same week; this is Yankovic's fourth Top 40 single (following "Eat It", "Smells Like Nirvana", and "White & Nerdy") and made him the third musical artist, after Michael Jackson and Madonna, to have a Top 40 single in each decade since the 1980s.
=== 2015–present: Transition from studio albums ===
In an interview promoting Mandatory Fun, Yankovic said that, with the end of his recording contract, he was unlikely to release any more albums, in the sense of recording and releasing that many songs at a time. Instead, he said he would likely switch to releasing singles and EPs over the Internet, allowing him to release music faster, particularly parodies that that can quickly become dated.
He has released no albums, and indeed, few songs, since Mandatory Fun. In a 2017 interview, he told Rolling Stone, "I can't tell you when any material is coming out. Inspiration could strike tomorrow and I might have something out next month. There's no plan. It's just going to be whenever it winds up being."
After several years of fan-driven campaigns, Yankovic received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018.
In March 2018, Yankovic released, "The Hamilton Polka", a medley of several songs from the musical Hamilton written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Yankovic and Miranda had met and become friends before the latter's work on Hamilton and had discussed a possible music project together. After the success of Hamilton, Miranda provided Yankovic the score from the musical, hoping that Yankovic would create a few singles from it, but Yankovic ultimately created a full polka medley. The song was the first polka to chart on Billboard's Digital Songs Sales Chart. After Hamilton premiered on Disney+ in July 2020, Yankovic released a video version of "The Hamilton Polka" that synched his song to video clips from the show. Also in March, Yankovic released two remixes of songs by Portugal. The Man: "Feel It Still" and "Live in the Moment". In 2020, he collaborated with the band on their single "Who's Gonna Stop Me", which was released for Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Since Mandatory Fun, Yankovic has focused less on new songs than on projects such as his tours and the 2022 parody biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. That year, Yankovic told the Los Angeles Times that he was not writing many new parodies because it had become harder to tell which new songs would be big hits, due to what the newspaper described as popular music trending more towards "micro-niche[s]" than a "monoculture". Yankovic released a new polka medley, "Polkamania!", on July 19, 2024, featuring his take on "Flowers", "Bad Guy", and "Old Town Road", among others. Because he had not released a polka in ten years, he considered this the opportunity to include his "white whales", though limited the songs to those that reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts. The single included the release of video created by several animators that Yankovic had worked with in past videos, such as Bill Plympton, Augenblick Studios, Liam Lynch, and Jarrett Heather as well as new collaborations with artists like Cyriak and Vivienne Medrano.
Yankovic co-headlined Riot Fest in September 2025 Chicago along with Green Day, Blink-182, Jack White, Weezer, and Idles.
== Personal life ==
Yankovic became a vegetarian in 1992 when his girlfriend gave him a copy of the 1987 John Robbins book Diet for a New America, which he said "made a very compelling argument for a strict vegetarian diet". When asked how he can rationalize performing shows at events such as the Great American Rib Cook-Off as a vegetarian, he replied, "The same way I can rationalize playing at a college even though I'm not a student anymore." In a 2011 interview with OnMilwaukee, he clarified his stance on his diet, "I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece."
In 1998, Yankovic underwent LASIK eye surgery to correct his near-sightedness. As his glasses were part of his signature look prior to the surgery, Yankovic considered wearing fake glasses but decided against it. Around this time, he had also decided to shave off his trademark mustache.
Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski, a marketing executive with 20th Century Fox, after they met in 2001. They were introduced to each other on a blind date by their mutual friend Bill Mumy. Their daughter, Nina, was born in 2003. They live in Los Angeles, where they own a house previously owned by writer Jack S. Margolis and rapper Heavy D. In contrast to his stage persona, Yankovic is known by friends and associates to be polite, shy, and introverted, even among family. He is a Christian, and a married couple from the church he attends can be seen in the background on the cover of his album Poodle Hat. His religious upbringing is reflected in his abstinence from profanity, alcohol, and drugs.
On April 9, 2004, Yankovic's parents were found dead at their home in Fallbrook, California, the victims of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning from their fireplace. Hours after his wife notified him of this, he made the decision to go on with his concert in Appleton, Wisconsin. He later said, "Since my music had helped many of my fans through tough times, maybe it would work for me as well ... it would at least give me a break from sobbing all the time." Their deaths occurred following the release of Poodle Hat, which was Yankovic's lowest-selling album in 20 years. He considered the Appleton show and subsequent tour dates therapeutic: "If I didn't have anything to distract me, I probably would have spiraled into an even deeper depression. For a couple of hours each night, I could go onstage and put on a big fake smile and pretend like everything was just okay." In a 2014 interview, he cited the deaths of his parents as the worst thing that had ever happened to him, adding, "I knew intellectually, that at some point, probably, I'd have to, you know, live through the death of my parents, but I never thought it would be at the same time, and so abruptly."
== Musical style ==
=== Parodies ===
Yankovic is well known for creating parodies of contemporary radio hits, which typically make up about half of his studio releases. Unlike other parody artists such as Allan Sherman, Yankovic and his band strive to keep the backing music in his parodies the same as the original, transcribing the original song by ear and re-recording the song for the parody. In some cases, after Yankovic has requested that the original band allow his parody, the band will offer to help out with the recreation: Dire Straits members Mark Knopfler and Guy Fletcher perform on "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies*", Yankovic's parody of Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing", while Imagine Dragons provided Yankovic with advice on how to recreate some of the electronic sounds they used for "Radioactive" in Yankovic's parody "Inactive". Yankovic's career in novelty and comedy music has outlasted many of his "mainstream" parody targets, such as Toni Basil, MC Hammer, and Men Without Hats. Yankovic's continued success (including the top 10 single "White & Nerdy" and album Straight Outta Lynwood in 2006) has enabled him to escape the one-hit wonder stigma often associated with novelty music.
Yankovic considers his body of work to primarily feature parodies, rather than satires of the original song or artist, as he found that satire of songs or artists has already been done before. Most Yankovic songs consist of the original song's music, with a separate, unrelated set of amusing lyrics. Yankovic's humor normally lies more in creating unexpected incongruity between an artist's image and the topic of the song, contrasting the style of the song with its content (such as the songs "Amish Paradise", "White & Nerdy", and "You're Pitiful"), or in pointing out trends or works which have become pop culture clichés (such as "eBay" and "Don't Download This Song"). Yankovic's parodies are often satirical of popular culture, including television (see The TV Album), films ("The Saga Begins"), and food (see The Food Album). Yankovic claims he has no intention of writing "serious" music. In his reasoning, "There's enough people that do unfunny music. I'll leave the serious stuff to Paris Hilton and Kevin Federline."
Yankovic considered that his first true satirical song was "Smells Like Nirvana", which references unintelligible lyrics in Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Other satirical songs include "Achy Breaky Song", which refers to the song "Achy Breaky Heart", "(This Song's Just) Six Words Long", which refers to the repetitious lyrics in "Got My Mind Set on You", and "Perform This Way", set to Lady Gaga's "Born This Way", that drew inspiration from Lady Gaga's outlandish but confident attitude.
Yankovic is the sole writer for all his songs and, for "legal and personal reasons", does not accept parody submissions or ideas from fans. There exists, however, one exception to this rule: Madonna was reportedly talking with a friend and rhetorically asked when Yankovic was going to turn her "Like a Virgin" into "Like a Surgeon". Madonna's friend was a mutual friend of Yankovic's manager, Jay Levey, and eventually Yankovic himself heard the story from Levey. In writing his parodies as well as his original songs, Yankovic spends a great deal of time in deciding the right words that not only match the beat of the original song but that fit the theme of the parody. He says that the lyrics of some songs have taken him weeks to write as he permutes the various choices, sometimes entering a "zombie phase" as he mulls these over in his home. For example, Yankovic believes he could have written a completely different version of "White & Nerdy" based on the alternative choices of lyrics he had come up with and had discarded for the final song. He has also done significant research for other song parodies to get facts and keywords for certain areas of knowledge, such as for "I Think I'm a Clone Now" or hospitals for "Like a Surgeon". Yankovic has documented all these past lyrical attempts, first through binders and then computerized in case he needs to go back for future songs.
=== Polka medleys ===
Most of Yankovic's studio albums include a polka medley of about a dozen contemporary songs at the time of the album, with the choruses or memorable lines of various songs juxtaposed for humorous effect. In Yankovic's early career, before recording his first album, he had performed such polka medleys in live shows in California, though then using songs from lesser-known bands like Bad Brains and the Plasmatics. He had been inspired to do so from Spike Jones, who had transitioned from classical music into polka. Yankovic said that converting these songs to polka was "...the way God intended". Yankovic did not include a medley on his first album, but considered this for his second, In 3-D, recognizing that it would only work if he used well-known songs. The resulting "Polkas on 45", which featured songs from Devo, Deep Purple, Berlin, and The Beatles, was popular, and the polka medley became a staple of all but one of Yankovic's future albums. Yankovic said that "fans would be rioting in the streets, I think, if I didn't do a polka medley." More current polka medleys feature songs that Yankovic had wanted to parody but which had proved difficult, such as Daft Punk's "Get Lucky", which lacked sufficient lyrics to parody. The polkas are recorded in studio, including the sound effects which are performed live during recording, which Yankovic considered one of his favorite parts of recording. In 2018, Yankovic created a medley of songs from the musical Hamilton, "The Hamilton Polka".
=== Original songs ===
Yankovic has recorded numerous original humorous songs, such as "You Don't Love Me Anymore" and "One More Minute". Many of these songs are style pastiches of specific bands with allusions to specific songs. For example, "First World Problems" from Mandatory Fun is a style take on Pixies, with the opening stanza reminiscent of Pixies' "Debaser". Other style parodies includes those of Rage Against the Machine with "I'll Sue Ya" (which features many aspects of the hit song "Killing in the Name"), Devo with "Dare to Be Stupid", The B-52's with "Mr. Popeil", Talking Heads with "Dog Eat Dog", Frank Zappa with "Genius in France", Nine Inch Nails with "Germs", and Queen with "Ringtone". Some songs are pastiches of an overall genre of music, rather than a specific band (for example, country music with "Good Enough For Now", charity records with "Don't Download This Song" and college fight songs with "Sports Song"). Yankovic stated that he does not have any unreleased original songs, instead coming up and committing to the song ideas he arrives at for his albums and other releases.
Yankovic has contributed original songs to several films ("This Is the Life" from Johnny Dangerously; "Polkamon" from the film Pokémon: The Movie 2000; and a parody of the James Bond title sequence in Spy Hard), in addition to his own film, UHF. Other songs of his have appeared in films or television series as well, such as "Dare to Be Stupid" in The Transformers: The Movie. In 2017, Yankovic made a guest appearance on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, performing a new song "The North Korea Polka", as part of an episode about the political state of North Korea.
Since around 2015, most of Yankovic's output was his original works rather than parodies, with Yankovic explaining "I wanted to prove that I'm more than just the parody guy", and that there was more challenge in creating original works and pastiches.
=== Recurring themes ===
One of Yankovic's recurring jokes involves the number 27. It is mentioned in the lyrics of several songs, and seen on the covers for Running with Scissors, Poodle Hat and Straight Outta Lynwood. He had originally just pulled the number 27 as a random figure to use in filling out lyrics, but as his fans started to notice the reuse of the number after the first few times, he began to use 27 in his lyrics, videos, and album covers. He explains that "It's just a number I started using that people started attaching a lot of importance to."
Other recurring jokes revolve around the names Bob (the Al TV interviews often mention the name, David Bowe's character in UHF is named Bob, and a song called "Bob", which parodies Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan, is featured on Poodle Hat), Frank (e.g. "Frank's 2000" TV"), and the surname "Finkelstein" (e.g. the music video for "I Lost on Jeopardy", or Fran Drescher's character, Pamela Finkelstein, in UHF). A number of songs use the phrase "internal organs”. A hamster called Harvey the Wonder Hamster is a recurring character in The Weird Al Show and the Al TV specials, as well as the subject of an original song on Alapalooza. Other recurring jokes include Yankovic borrowing or being owed $5. In a number of Al TV interviews, he often asks if he can borrow $5, being turned down every time. This motif also occurs in "Why Does This Always Happen to Me?", in which his deceased friend owes him $5. Another recurring joke is his attraction to female nostrils or nostrils in general. This also appears in numerous Al TV interviews as well as in several of his songs (such as "Albuquerque" and "Wanna B Ur Lovr"). Yankovic also asks his celebrity guests if they could "shave his back for a nickel". This also appears in the song "Albuquerque". Yankovic has also put two backmasking messages into his songs. The first, in "Nature Trail to Hell", said "Satan Eats Cheez Whiz"; the second, in "I Remember Larry", said "Wow, you must have an awful lot of free time on your hands."
=== Music videos ===
While the lyrics of Yankovic's musical parodies generally do not allude to the subject songs or artists, his music videos sometimes parody their videos. The video for "Smells Like Nirvana" uses a set that closely resembles that of the video for Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and uses several of the same actors. This video contended with "Smells like Teen Spirit" at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Male Video. Other videos that draw directly from those of the original song include "Eat It", "Fat", "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies*", "Bedrock Anthem", "Bob", "Headline News", "It's All About the Pentiums", "Amish Paradise", "Like a Surgeon", and "White & Nerdy". Yankovic has said the video for "Dare to Be Stupid” parodies Devo videos in general.
Several videos include celebrity cameos. Dr. Demento appeared in several of Yankovic's earlier videos, such as "I Love Rocky Road" and "Ricky". Actor Dick Van Patten is featured in "Smells Like Nirvana" and "Bedrock Anthem"; Drew Carey, Emo Philips and Phil LaMarr appeared in "It's All About the Pentiums"; Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Donny Osmond, Judy Tenuta and Seth Green appeared in "White & Nerdy"; and Ruth Buzzi and Pat Boone appeared in "Gump". The video for "I Lost on Jeopardy" includes Greg Kihn, the artist whose song, "Jeopardy", was being parodied, along with Don Pardo and Art Fleming, Jeopardy's original announcer and host, as themselves. Florence Henderson plays an Amish seductress in "Amish Paradise".
While most videos that Yankovic creates are aired on music channels such as MTV and VH1, Yankovic worked with animation artists to create music videos for release with extended content albums. The DualDisc version of Straight Outta Lynwood features six videos set to songs from the release, including videos created by Bill Plympton and John Kricfalusi; one video, "Weasel Stomping Day" was created by the producers of the show Robot Chicken, and aired as a segment of that program. For the 2010 Alpocalypse, Yankovic produced videos for every song; four of those were previously released for each of the songs on the EP Internet Leaks, with the videos for the remaining songs released via social media sites and included in the deluxe edition of Alpocalypse. These live-action and animated videos were produced by both previous collaborators such as Plympton for "TMZ", video content providers like Jib-Jab and SuperNews!, and other directors and animators.
To help promote his 2014 album Mandatory Fun in social media circles, Yankovic produced eight music videos for the album releasing them over eight consecutive days with release of the album, believing it "would make an impact because people would be talking about the album all week long". RCA Records opted not to fund production of any of these videos, and Yankovic turned to various social media portals including Funny or Die and CollegeHumor which he had worked with in the past; these sites helped to cover the production cost of the videos with Yankovic foregoing any ad video revenue. He chose to distribute the videos to different portals to avoid burdening any single one with all of the costs and work needed to produce them. This approach proved to be successful, as the total collection of videos had acquired more than 20 million views in the first week. This release strategy was considered by The Atlantic as a "web-enabled precision video delivery operation, and evidence of some serious digital distributional forethought" as it allows the videos to be seen by different sets of audiences for each site. The approach was considered to be essential to promoting Mandatory Fun to reach the No. 1 position on the Billboard charts on its debut week. Businessweek attributed the sales success of Mandatory Fun to the viral music video campaign. ABC World News elaborated that Yankovic's success is in part due to the Internet's interest in viral and humorous videos catching up with what Yankovic has been doing for his entire career. Yankovic himself was amazed with the response he got from the album and video releases, stating that "I've been doing the same thing for 30 years and all of a sudden I'm having the best week of my life" and that he "kind of stumbled on my formula for the future".
In 2025, Yankovic announced the Bigger & Weirder Tour, a concert tour featuring performances at large venues such as Madison Square Garden and the Kia Forum. Following the release of his album Mandatory Fun in 2014, Yankovic has released limited new music, but the tour has seen strong ticket sales, marking it as one of his most commercially successful to date. The tour includes elaborate performances with approximately 20 costume changes for Yankovic and nine for his band, each completed in 45 seconds or less.
=== Reactions from original artists ===
The United States Supreme Court affirmed in the 1994 case Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. that certain parodies (even those sold commercially) can qualify under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law, which means that parody musicians such as Yankovic do not need to obtain permission from the original artists. However, as a personal rule, Yankovic has always sought permission from the original artist before commercially releasing a parody, to respect the original musicians, avoid lawsuits, and to work out agreeable royalty arrangements. Yankovic stated of these efforts: "I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. I don't want to be embroiled in any nastiness. That's not how I live my life. I like everybody to be in on the joke and be happy for my success. I take pains not to burn bridges." The communications are typically handled by his manager Jay Levey, but at times Yankovic has asked the artist directly, such as flying to Denver, Colorado, to attend an Iggy Azalea concert and speak to her personally about parodying her song "Fancy". He claims that only about two to three percent of the artists he approaches for permission deny his requests. Yankovic has stated that the holder of the publishing rights to the original song holds the publishing rights/royalties to his parodies, but that he works out an agreement to split the songwriting credit with the original songwriters.
Separately, Yankovic needs to negotiate for royalties to the original artists for including their songs within a polka medley, which is considered a cover in copyright law. This created difficulties in recording his first medley, "Polkas on 45", since it involved thirteen different royalty schemes, but since then, he has established a relationship with most large music publishers to easily secure the license to use their songs.
==== Positive ====
Many artists parodied by Yankovic have considered this as a rite of passage to show they have made it in the music industry.
Michael Jackson was a big fan of Yankovic, and Yankovic claimed Jackson "had always been very supportive" of his work. Jackson twice allowed him to parody his songs ("Beat It" and "Bad" became "Eat It" and "Fat", respectively). When Jackson granted Yankovic permission to do "Fat", Jackson allowed him to use the same set built for his own "Badder" video from the Moonwalker film. Yankovic said that Jackson's support helped to gain approval from other artists he wanted to parody. Though Jackson allowed "Eat It" and "Fat", he requested that Yankovic not record a parody of "Black or White", titled "Snack All Night", because he felt the message was too important. This refusal, coming shortly after the commercial failure of Yankovic's film UHF in theaters, had initially set Yankovic back; he later recognized this as a critical time as, while searching for new parodies, he came across Nirvana, leading to a revitalization of his career with "Smells Like Nirvana". Yankovic has performed a concert-only parody "Snack All Night" in some of his live shows. Yankovic was one of several celebrities who appeared in the 1989 music video for Jackson's song "Liberian Girl".
Dave Grohl of Nirvana said that the band felt they had "made it" after Yankovic recorded "Smells Like Nirvana", a parody of the grunge band's smash hit, "Smells Like Teen Spirit". On his Behind the Music special, Yankovic stated that when he called Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain to ask if he could parody the song, Cobain gave him permission, then paused and asked, "Um... it's not gonna be about food, is it?" Yankovic responded with, "No, it'll be about how no one can understand your lyrics." According to Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic interviewed for Behind the Music, when the band saw the video of the song, they were laughing hysterically. Additionally, Cobain described Yankovic as "America's modern pop-rock genious [sic]" in his posthumously released personal notebook.
Mark Knopfler approved Yankovic's parody of the Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing" for use in the film UHF on the provision that Knopfler himself be allowed to play lead guitar on the parody which was later titled "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies*". Yankovic commented on the legal complications of the parody in the DVD audio commentary for UHF, explaining "We had to name that song 'Money for Nothing "slash" Beverly Hillbillies "asterisk"' because the lawyers told us that had to be the name. Those wacky lawyers! What ya gonna do?" The Permanent Record: Al in the Box booklet referred to the song's "compound fracture of a title". When a fan asked about the song's title, Yankovic shared his feelings on the title, replying "That incredibly stupid name is what the lawyers insisted that the parody be listed as. I'm not sure why, and I've obviously never been very happy about it."
The Presidents of the United States of America were so pleased with "Gump", Yankovic's parody of their song "Lump", that they ended the song with his last line instead of their own ("And that's all I have to say about that") on the live recording of "Lump" featured on the compilation album Pure Frosting. In 2008, Yankovic directed the music video for their song "Mixed Up S.O.B."
Don McLean was reportedly pleased with "The Saga Begins", a parody of "American Pie" that summarizes Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and told Yankovic that the parody's lyrics sometimes enter his mind during live performances. His parody not only replicates the music from the original McLean song, but it replicates the multi-layered rhyming structure in the verses and chorus. Additionally, George Lucas loved the song and a Lucasfilm representative told Yankovic, "You should have seen the smile on his face."
Chamillionaire was also very pleased, even putting Yankovic's parody "White & Nerdy" (a parody of "Ridin'") on his official MySpace page before it was on Yankovic's own page. Chamillionaire stated in an interview, "He's actually rapping pretty good on it, it's crazy [...] I didn't know he could rap like that. It's really an honor when he does that. [...] Weird Al is not gonna do a parody of your song if you're not doing it big." In September 2007, Chamillionaire credited "White & Nerdy" for his recent Grammy win, stating "That parody was the reason I won the Grammy, because it made the record so big it was undeniable. It was so big overseas that people were telling me they had heard my version of Weird Al's song."
In 2011, Yankovic was initially denied permission to parody Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" for his song "Perform This Way" for release on a new album, but through his release of the song on YouTube and subsequent spread via Twitter, Lady Gaga and her staff asserted that her manager had made the decision without her input, and Gaga herself gave Yankovic permission to proceed with the parody's release. Gaga considered herself "a huge Weird Al fan", and she stated that the parody was a "rite of passage" for her musical career and considered the song "very empowering".
Yankovic states that his style parodies have also been met with positive remarks by the original artist. He noted that his friends and fellow musicians Ben Folds and Taylor Hanson helped to support their respective style parodies "Why Does This Always Happen To Me?" and "If That Isn't Love". He also noted positive reactions he got from friends his band members have, such as from Frank Black of Pixies for "First World Problems" and Southern Culture on the Skids for "Lame Claim to Fame", and a similar praise when he encountered Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, and Nash on the street, and was able to play his recently completed "Mission Statement" for him.
==== Negative ====
One of Yankovic's most controversial parodies was 1996's "Amish Paradise", based on "Gangsta's Paradise" by hip-hop artist Coolio, which, in turn, was based on "Pastime Paradise" by Stevie Wonder. Reportedly, Coolio's label gave Yankovic the impression that Coolio had granted permission to record the parody, but Coolio maintained that he never did. While Coolio claimed he was upset, legal action never materialized, and Coolio accepted royalty payments for the song. After this controversy, Yankovic has always made sure to speak directly with the artist of every song he parodied. At the XM Satellite Radio booth at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show, Yankovic and Coolio made peace. On his website, Yankovic wrote of this event, "I don't remember what we said to each other exactly, but it was all very friendly. I doubt I'll be invited to Coolio's next birthday party, but at least I can stop wearing that bulletproof vest to the mall." In an interview in 2014, Coolio extended his apology for refusing his permission, stating that at the time "I was being cocky and shit and being stupid and I was wrong and I should've embraced that shit and went with it", and that he considered Yankovic's parody "actually funny as shit".
In 1999, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea told Behind the Music that he was unimpressed and disappointed by Yankovic's 1993 song "Bedrock Anthem", which parodied the band's songs "Under the Bridge" and "Give It Away". He was quoted as stating, "I didn't think it was very good. I enjoy Weird Al's things, but I found it unimaginative."
==== Refused parodies ====
On numerous occasions, Prince refused Yankovic permission to record parodies of his songs. Yankovic had stated in interviews prior to Prince's death in 2016 that he had "approached him every few years [to] see if he's lightened up". Yankovic related one story where, before the American Music Awards where he and Prince were assigned to sit in the same row, he got a telegram from Prince's management company, demanding he not even make eye contact with the artist. Among parodies that Yankovic had ideas for included one based on "Let's Go Crazy" about The Beverly Hillbillies, "Yellow Snow" as a parody of "Purple Rain", "1999" as an infomercial with a call-in number ending in −1999, and parodies of "Kiss" and "When Doves Cry". Despite these refusals, Yankovic was able to gain permission to parody the "When Doves Cry" video as part of his music video for the song "UHF". He later wrote "Traffic Jam" for his album Alapalooza, in the style of "Let's Go Crazy", without Prince's express permission.
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is a self-proclaimed Yankovic fan, but when Yankovic suggested the idea of creating a polka medley of Led Zeppelin songs, Page was "less than thrilled with the prospect, so [Yankovic] didn't pursue it". Yankovic was, however, allowed the opportunity to re-record a sample of "Black Dog" for a segment of "Trapped in the Drive-Thru".
Paul McCartney, also a Yankovic fan, refused Yankovic permission to record a parody of Wings' "Live and Let Die", titled "Chicken Pot Pie", because, according to Yankovic, McCartney is "a strict vegetarian and he didn't want a parody that condoned the consumption of animal flesh". Though McCartney suggested possibly changing the parody to "Tofu Pot Pie", Yankovic, who is also a vegetarian, found this would not fit the lyrics he had written, which featured the sound of a chicken throughout the chorus. While never recorded for an album, Yankovic did play parts of "Chicken Pot Pie" as part of a larger medley in several tours during the 1990s.
In 2003, Yankovic was denied permission to make a video for "Couch Potato", his parody of Eminem's "Lose Yourself". Yankovic believes that Eminem thought that the video would be harmful to his image.
In 2006, Yankovic gained James Blunt's permission to record a parody of "You're Beautiful". However, after Yankovic had recorded "You're Pitiful", Blunt's label, Atlantic Records, rescinded this permission, despite Blunt's personal approval of the song. The parody was pulled from Yankovic's Straight Outta Lynwood because of his label's unwillingness to "go to war" with Atlantic. Yankovic released the song as a free download on his MySpace profile, as well as his official website, and plays it in concert, since it was not Blunt himself objecting to the parody. Yankovic referenced the incident in his video for "White & Nerdy" when he depicts himself vandalizing Atlantic Records' Wikipedia article.
Yankovic was considering a complete polka medley with only U2 songs, but the band's publisher did not accept the terms. Similarly, he had included Weezer's "Buddy Holly" in a polka medley, but had to pull it when the band's publisher refused to receive partial rates.
Yankovic had approached Beck asking for permission to parody his song "Loser", which Yankovic had created called "Schmoozer". At the time, Beck was just entering the music industry, and did not want his reputation to be seen as a one-hit wonder and refused the parody. Beck stated in 2022 that he wished he had given Yankovic permission, saying "I think it would have been an amazing video, I'm actually really sad it didn't happen." Although a parody never happened, "Loser" was later used in a polka medley.
Yankovic had planned to make a parody based on "Hedwig's Theme" from the Harry Potter film series, but had been refused by Warner Bros. Pictures. Yankovic said that perhaps if he did a parody based on a franchise, "it's usually better just to do it and ask for forgiveness rather than permission".
=== Live performances ===
Yankovic often describes his live concert performances as "a rock and comedy multimedia extravaganza" with an audience that "ranges from toddlers to geriatrics". Apart from Yankovic and his band performing his classic and contemporary hits, staples of Yankovic's live performances include a medley of parodies, many costume changes between songs, and a video screen on which various clips are played during the costume changes. A concert from Yankovic's 1999 tour, "Touring with Scissors", for the Running with Scissors album was released on VHS in 1999 and on DVD in 2000. Titled "Weird Al" Yankovic Live!, the concert was recorded at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California, on October 2, 1999. For legal reasons, video clips (apart from those for Yankovic's own music videos) could not be shown for the home release, and unreleased parodies were removed from the parody medley for the performance.
In 2003, Yankovic toured overseas for the first time. Before 2003, Yankovic and his band had toured only the United States and parts of Canada. Following the success of Poodle Hat in Australia, Yankovic performed eleven shows in Australia's major capital cities and regional areas in October of that year. Yankovic returned to Australia and toured New Zealand for the first time in 2007 to support the Straight Outta Lynwood album. On September 8, 2007, Yankovic performed his 1,000th live show at Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Yankovic has invited members of the 501st Legion on stage during performances of his Star Wars-themed songs "Yoda" and "The Saga Begins", recruiting members of local garrisons (club chapters) while on tour. In appreciation, the 501st inducted Yankovic as a "Friend of the Legion" in September 2007.
He performed his first ever European mini-tour, including an appearance at the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in Minehead, England in December 2010. Yankovic was picked to perform by the Canadian band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, who curated the festival's lineup. Yankovic played three other dates in the UK around his festival appearance before performing a single date in the Netherlands.
A second concert film, "Weird Al" Yankovic Live!: The Alpocalypse Tour, aired on Comedy Central on October 1, 2011, and was released on Blu-ray and DVD three days later. The concert was filmed at Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada, during Yankovic's tour supporting the album Alpocalypse. As before, video clips (apart from those for his own videos) and unreleased songs were edited out for legal reasons.
Yankovic performed George Harrison's "What Is Life" at the live-recorded George Fest (Los Angeles, 2014). DVD and Blu-Ray CD combos of the concert honoring Harrison became available in early 2016.
Following the release of Mandatory Fun, Yankovic toured across the United States, Canada, and selected overseas venues in the "Mandatory World Tour" from 2015 through 2016, principally featuring songs from this album. After taking a year off, Yankovic returned to tour in the United States and Canada from February to June 2018 in "The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour". On this tour, he performed mostly original songs (not parodies) and did not use costumes, props, or video screens. Comedian Emo Philips was the opening act. A further staple of this tour was Yankovic's cover performance of a different famous song at each venue, which Yankovic stated was something he and his band enjoyed doing.
Starting in June 2019, Yankovic went on his "Strings Attached Tour", where he performed every show backed by a forty-one piece orchestra assembled from local musicians. The tour was inspired by a 2016 performance he did with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, which he considered a "religious experience" and sought to replicate on tour. The shows were generally much shorter, as under union rules Yankovic could only perform 90 minutes per show with an orchestra, requiring him to select songs that he felt would be ones that he had either long wanted to perform with an orchestra, such as the deep-cut "Harvey the Wonder Hamster" from Alapalooza, or that fit best with the orchestra backing. Yankovic had the shows open with the orchestra performing a few instrumental themes, seemingly giving the concert a high-brow quality, before he and his band entered and played his songs backed by the orchestra. The concerts finished with a large flashy production of his Star Wars songs, including "The Saga Begins" and "Yoda".
Yankovic toured again in 2022, following up from his 2018 tour with the "Unfortunate Return Of The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour", focusing on his lesser-known songs. The tour included 133 shows, concluding with Yankovic's first performance at Carnegie Hall in October 2022. Yankovic said "I've loved doing every single incarnation of my live show, but honestly the Vanity tour is the most fun I've ever had on stage, so I've been dying to get back out there and torture everybody with it once again!"
Yankovic toured in 2025 with the "Bigger and Weirder Tour", with 65 different shows, including his first ever performance at Madison Square Garden.
=== Legacy and influence ===
With "Word Crimes" from Mandatory Fun debuting at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2014, Yankovic became the third musical artist after Michael Jackson and Madonna to have a song in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 over each decade since the 1980s, his other Top 40 songs being "Eat It", "Smells Like Nirvana", and "White & Nerdy". Since then, only U2 and Kenny G have also entered this group. Billboard named Yankovic No. 15 of the top 100 music video artists of all time in an August 2020 compilation, addressing that alongside his musical fame, "his accompanying video parodies are a vital part of the recipe".
With his four-decade career, Yankovic's work has also influenced newer artists. Andy Samberg of the group The Lonely Island considered Yankovic an influence during his childhood. Lin-Manuel Miranda directly credits Yankovic as an influence on his musical Hamilton. Television producer Michael Schur considered that Yankovic's music represented a "deep egalitarian spirit of our culture" that allowed his comedy writers to reflect on society within his shows.
Certain polka musicians (such as Nick Smyth of the Dreadnoughts) have criticized Yankovic's use of polka as comedy, saying that it contributes to the "dumb Euro" stereotype of portraying Central and Eastern European culture as goofy or unintelligent. Smyth says that Yankovic has "unwittingly taught the next two generations that polka is just a mashup comedy style", detracting from and reversing the community-building role that social dance music such as polka has always fulfilled.
In 2020, Mark Riedl, a researcher at Georgia Tech, created an algorithm that generates lyrics to match the rhyme and syllable schemes of preexisting songs. The algorithm was called "Weird A.I. Yankovic" in reference to Yankovic's similar song parodies.
== Other works ==
=== Films ===
==== UHF ====
In 1989, Yankovic starred in a feature film called UHF, co-written by himself and manager Jay Levey and filmed in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A satire of the television and film industries, also starring Michael Richards, Fran Drescher, and Victoria Jackson, it brought floundering studio Orion their highest test scores since the film RoboCop. However, it was unsuccessful in theaters due to both poor critical reception and competition from other summer blockbusters at the time such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Lethal Weapon 2, Batman and Licence to Kill. The failure of the film left Yankovic in a three-year slump, which was later broken by his inspiration to compose "Smells Like Nirvana".
The film has since become a cult classic; fans bought it on eBay for high prices before it came out on DVD. Yankovic occasionally shows clips from the film at his concerts (to which MGM, the film's current owner, initially objected in the form of a cease and desist letter). In an apparent attempt to make it more accessible to overseas audiences, where the term UHF is used less frequently to describe TV broadcasts, the film was titled The Vidiot From UHF in Australia and parts of Europe.
UHF shows the creation of Yankovic's signature food—the Twinkie Wiener Sandwich. The snack consists of an overturned Twinkie split open as a makeshift bun, a hot dog, and Easy Cheese put together and dipped in milk before eating. Yankovic has stated that he has switched to using tofu hot dogs since becoming a vegetarian, but still enjoys the occasional Twinkie Wiener Sandwich.
==== Weird: The Al Yankovic Story ====
In 2010, Eric Appel produced a Funny or Die trailer for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, a fictional biographical film that parodies other films based on musicians; Yankovic (played by Aaron Paul) is seen hiding his "weirdness" from his parents (Gary Cole and Mary Steenburgen), making it big using song parodies with the help of Dr. Demento (Patton Oswalt), falling in and out of love with Madonna (Olivia Wilde), and fading into alcoholism and being arrested, at which point his father finally admits he is "weird" as well. Yankovic himself plays a music producer in the short. Yankovic and Appel announced in January 2022 that they would be making a full-length biopic of the same name based on the trailer, starring Daniel Radcliffe as Yankovic, Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna, and Rainn Wilson as Dr. Demento. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022, and was released on the Roku Channel in November 2022. The film's soundtrack album includes several re-recorded parodies featured in the film along with an original song "Now You Know". Among other nominations and awards, the film won the Best Television Movie at the 75th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
=== Live television ===
In 2012, Yankovic extensively featured in the sixth-season episode of 30 Rock, "Kidnapped by Danger", in which Jenna Maroney desperately tries to come up with a "'Weird Al'-proof" song. In 2014, he performed at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, singing a comedic medley of songs based on the themes of several Emmy-nominated shows, including Mad Men and Game of Thrones. Yankovic and Miranda appeared on the July 21, 2025, episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert a few days after news that the program would be cancelled, showing support for Colbert along with a number of guest cameos from other late night talk show hosts.
=== Animation and voice work ===
Yankovic has done voice-overs for several animated series. He appeared in a 2003 episode of The Simpsons, singing "The Ballad of Homer & Marge" (a parody of John Mellencamp's "Jack & Diane") with his band. The episode, "Three Gays of the Condo", in which Marge hires Yankovic to sing the aforementioned song to Homer in an attempt to reconcile their marriage, later won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour)". Yankovic also had cameos in a 2008 episode, titled "That '90s Show", during which he records a parody of Homer's grunge hit "Shave Me" titled "Brain Freeze" (Homer's song, "Shave Me", was itself a parody of Nirvana's "Rape Me"), and in the couch gag of a 2023 episode, titled "Hostile Kirk Place", making Yankovic one of only a handful of celebrities to appear three times on the show playing themselves.
He appeared in the animated Adult Swim show Robot Chicken, which provided him with a music video for the song "Weasel Stomping Day". Yankovic is the voice for Squid Hat on the Cartoon Network show The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. He is also the announcer of the cartoon's eponymous video game adaptation.
Yankovic had a guest appearance voicing Wreck-Gar, a waste collection vehicle Transformer in the Transformers: Animated cartoon series; previously, Yankovic's "Dare to Be Stupid" song was featured in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie, during the sequence in which Wreck-Gar was first introduced; as such, the song is referenced in the episode. He also plays local TV talent show host Uncle Muscles on several episodes of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! along with other appearances on the show. Yankovic has also supplied the voice of one-shot character 'Petroleum Joe' on The Brak Show. He also voiced himself on a Back at the Barnyard episode, and he appeared as a ringmaster who helps the regular characters of Yo Gabba Gabba! organize a circus in a 2007 episode of the children's show.
In 2011, Yankovic appeared as himself in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Bat-Mite Presents: Batman's Strangest Cases!" In 2012, he appeared on two episodes of The Aquabats! Super Show!, playing two different characters as the superhero SuperMagic PowerMan and as the president of the United States. In 2014, he appeared in the fourth season My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode "Pinkie Pride" as Cheese Sandwich, a rival party planner to Pinkie Pie. He later reprised his role in the season 9 episode "The Last Laugh".
In 2015, Yankovic voiced the supervillain Darkseid in the Teen Titans Go! episode "Two Parter". He initially speaks with a deep, intimidating voice due to having a cold; after taking a lozenge, he speaks in his normal voice, and the heroes are no longer afraid of him. Cyborg points out that Darkseid sounds like Yankovic, and the villain replies that he was "a true monster" for "undercutting musicians by subverting their words and compromising their artistic integrity". Cyborg objects to this, and they battle.
In 2016, Yankovic appeared in two episodes of BoJack Horseman as Mr. Peanutbutter's brother, Captain Peanutbutter, and began portraying Milo Murphy in the Disney XD series Milo Murphy's Law. Yankovic guest voiced as Papa Kotassium in a 2016 episode of Cartoon Network's animated series, Mighty Magiswords, which was created by Weird Al fan, musician and accordionist Kyle Carrozza. Carrozza sent a FAQ to Weird Al when Carrozza was in college in 1999.
=== Web media ===
In 2008, Weird Al joined Michael J. Nelson as a guest on the RiffTrax audio commentary of Jurassic Park. On November 10, 2009, Weird Al was a guest "internet scientist" on Rocketboom's "Know Your Meme" video series, in the installment on the topic of Auto-Tune, hosted by Jamie Wilkinson. Yankovic later appeared in another Funny or Die short alongside Huey Lewis which parodied the ax murder scene in the film American Psycho, in which Christian Bale's character Patrick Bateman discusses the nature of Lewis's musical work before killing his victim.
For The Nerdist Podcast, Weird Al began hosting a new comedic celebrity interview web series, Face to Face with 'Weird Al' Yankovic, on April 3, 2012. The series features Al TV-esque fake interviews with film stars. Al has appeared on numerous other webshows, including CollegeHumor, LearningTown, Some Jerk with a Camera, Team Unicorn, and Epic Rap Battles of History appearing as Sir Isaac Newton in a battle against actors portraying Bill Nye, the Science Guy (YouTube star Nice Peter), and Neil deGrasse Tyson (Chali 2na of the group Jurassic 5).
Yankovic has collobrated with the Gregory Brothers on music videos satirizing American presidential election debates. The first music video was released in October 2016, titled "Bad Hombres, Nasty Women", shortly after the third debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, with Yankovic singing between autotuned snippets from the candidates. Yankovic collaborated with the Gregory Brothers on a similar video, titled "We're All Doomed" after the first debate in the 2020 campaign between Trump and Joe Biden. In 2024, Yankovic and the Gregory Brothers released "Deja Vu (But Worse)" about the presidential debate in June 2024 between Trump and then-candidate Joe Biden.
In 2018, Yankovic performed the theme song for the Dropout animated web series Cartoon Hell.
=== Directing ===
Yankovic has directed many of his own music videos; he has directed all of his music videos from 1993's "Bedrock Anthem" to 2006's "White & Nerdy". He also directed the end sequence of 1986's "Christmas at Ground Zero" (an original piece juxtaposing Christmas with nuclear warfare) from his Polka Party! album and the title sequence to Spy Hard, for which he sang the title song.
Yankovic wrote, directed and starred in the short 3-D film attraction "Al's Brain: A 3-D Journey Through The Human Brain", a $2.5 million project which was sponsored by and premiered at the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa, California, in 2009. The project included a brief cameo by Sir Paul McCartney, which Yankovic directed during McCartney's appearance at the 2009 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Fair CEO Steve Beazley, who supported the project, considered the project a success and explored leasing the exhibit to other fairs; the second appearance of the exhibit was at the 2009 Puyallup Fair in Washington.
He has also directed several videos for other artists, including Hanson (the Titanic sequences in "River"), The Black Crowes ("Only a Fool"), Ben Folds ("Rockin' the Suburbs"), Jeff Foxworthy ("Redneck Stomp" and "Party All Night"), Jon Spencer Blues Explosion ("Wail"), and the Presidents of the United States of America ("Mixed Up S.O.B"). He has cameo appearances in his videos for Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Hanson (as the interviewer), and Ben Folds (as the producer fixing Folds' "shitty tracks").
On January 25, 2010, Yankovic announced that he had signed a production deal with Warner Bros. to write and direct a live-action feature film for Cartoon Network. Although Yankovic previously wrote the script for UHF, this was to be the first film he directed. Yankovic stated that he would not be starring in the film, as Cartoon Network wanted a younger protagonist. During an interview on Comedy Death-Ray Radio, Yankovic revealed that though Cartoon Network "loved" his script, the network decided that they were no longer intending to produce feature films. Yankovic initially stated that he would instead shop the script around to other potential studios, but in 2013 revealed that the project had been scrapped as "it was really geared for Cartoon Network" and that he had "cannibalized jokes from that script to use for other projects".
=== Books ===
Yankovic wrote When I Grow Up, a children's book released on February 1, 2011, and published by HarperCollins. The book features 8-year-old Billy presenting to his class the wide variety of imaginative career possibilities that he is considering. Yankovic stated that the idea for the book was based on his own "circuitous" career path. The book allows Yankovic to apply the humorous writing style found in his music in another medium, allowing him to use puns and rhymes. Yankovic worked with HarperCollins' editor Anne Hoppe—the first time that Yankovic has had an editor—and found her help to be a positive experience. The book is illustrated by Wes Hargis, who, according to Yankovic, has "a childlike quality and a very fun quality and a very imaginative quality" that matched well with Yankovic's writing. The book reached the No. 4 position on The New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Picture Books for the week of February 20, 2011.
Yankovic also wrote a sequel to When I Grow Up, 2013's My New Teacher and Me!.
Yankovic became the first guest editor for Mad magazine for their 533rd issue, published in April 2015.
Yankovic partnered with Z2 Comics to produce The Illustrated Al: The Songs of "Weird Al" Yankovic, which was released on January 19, 2023. The book takes twenty of Yankovic's songs and illustrates them in comic form, each by different artists. Yankovic selected artists for the book based on past experience in working with the artists, but short of proofing the final work, was otherwise hands-off for various editorial choices. Following publication of The Illustrated Al, Yankovic started working with the illustrators to produce new videos for these older songs, the first which was released in January 2023.
=== Other media ===
Yankovic competed on a week of Wheel of Fortune taped at Disney's Hollywood Studios in March 1994. He also competed on Rock & Roll Jeopardy!
Yankovic joined the band Hanson in their music video for "Thinking 'bout Somethin'" in which he plays the tambourine.
Yankovic contributes backing vocals for the song "Time" on Ben Folds' album Songs for Silverman.
Yankovic was also one of many celebrities who took part in the NOH8 Campaign against Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California.
Yankovic was approached by a beer company to endorse their product. Yankovic had turned it down because he believed that "a lot of my fans were young and impressionable". Yankovic later posted on his Twitter account that he never regretted the decision.
In 2009, Yankovic was a special guest on an episode of G4's Web Soup where he came as Mark Gormley at first.
In 2011, Yankovic guest starred as the character "Banana Man" in an episode of Adventure Time. The same year, he appeared as himself in the How I Met Your Mother episode "Noretta".
In 2012, he appeared as himself along with Alice Cooper, Bret Michaels, and Maria Menounos in The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange for the Christmas special, and sung with Alice, Bret, and Orange.
On May 31, 2014, Yankovic won the ACE Award (Amateur Cartoonist Extraordinaire) from the National Cartoonists Society at its awards banquet in San Diego.
From 2014 until 2017, Yankovic appeared as a celebrity contestant in eight episodes of the game show Celebrity Name Game.
On November 19, 2014, a RadioShack ad was uploaded to YouTube which featured Al in the role of a RadioShack employee.
In 2015, Yankovic made an appearance on an episode of The Odd Couple as a yoga student in the class Felix takes over for one day.
Also in 2015, Yankovic was featured as Mad magazine's first ever guest editor for their 533rd issue.
In 2016, Yankovic became the bandleader on the IFC series Comedy Bang! Bang!, on which he had previously guest starred.
In the official video for Weezer's cover of "Africa" published in September 2018, which itself is parody of Weezer's video for "Undone – The Sweater Song", Yankovic stands in for Rivers Cuomo as vocalist and lead guitar.
Though he does not appear, Yankovic is mentioned directly by name in the 2021 television series Y: The Last Man adapted from the 2000s comic book series of the same name, which involves a post-apocalyptic alternative timeline where all the men of the world had died. Whereas the comic book had the characters reflect on the absence of the Rolling Stones, showrunner Eliza Clark opted to update the references for the show, and used Yankovic as a more modern artist that had been considered a great loss.
In 2025, Yankovic appeared in the music video for "Terrapin" by American indie musician Clairo, in which he plays Clairo. The music video was directed by American actress Ayo Edebiri, marking Yankovic's first collaboration with either of them.
Yankovic has cameos in all four of The Naked Gun films.
== Misattribution and imitators ==
Songs posted to file-sharing networks are often misattributed to him because of their humorous subject matter. Often, his surname is misspelled (and thus mispronounced) as "Yankovich", among other variations. Much to the disdain of Yankovic, these misattributed files include songs that are racist, sexually explicit, or otherwise offensive. A young listener who had heard several of these offensive tracks by way of a file-sharing service confronted Yankovic online, threatening a boycott because of his supposedly explicit lyrics. Quite a few of the songs, such as "Star Wars Cantina" by Mark Jonathan Davis (not, in a double misattribution, his lounge-singer character Richard Cheese), "Star Wars Gangsta Rap", "Yoda Smokes Weed", "Chewbacca", "The Devil Went to Jamaica", and several more have a Star Wars motif. Some songs misattributed to him are not songs, but spoken skits, such as "Sesame Street on Crack", which is also widely misattributed to Adam Sandler. A list of songs frequently misattributed to Yankovic can be found at The Not Al Page and a list of all commercially released songs recorded by Yankovic can be found on his website.
Yankovic cites these misattributions as his only real problem with peer-to-peer file-sharing sites:
If you do a search for my name on any one of those sites, I guarantee you that about half of the songs that come up will be songs I had absolutely nothing to do with. That particularly bothers me, because I really try to do quality work, and I also try to maintain a more-or-less family-friendly image—and some of these songs that are supposedly by me are just, well, vulgar and awful. I truly think my reputation has suffered in a lot of people's minds because of all those fake Weird Al songs floating around the Internet.
In terms of legitimate parodies of Yankovic, the Mr. Show sketch "Superstar Machine" features Bob Odenkirk as the character Daffy "Mal" Yinkleyankle. Yankovic was impressed by the parody, and stated that it "zeroed in on everything that's irritating about me".
== Fan-driven campaigns ==
The Weird Al Star Fund was a campaign started by Yankovic's fans to get him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Their mission was to "solicit, collect, and raise the necessary money, and to compile the information needed for the application to nominate "Weird Al" Yankovic for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame". Fans worldwide have sent donations to raise the US$40,000 needed for a nomination. In addition to the preferred method of cash donations, many methods were used to raise money for the cause, such as a live benefit show held April 11, 2006, and selling merchandise on the official website and eBay, including T-shirts, calendars, and cookbooks. On May 26, 2006, the campaign hit the then-$15,000 target, just five days before the May 31 deadline to submit the necessary paperwork. However, Yankovic was not included on the list of inductees for 2007. On February 9, 2007, the Hollywood Chamber Of Commerce raised the price to sponsor a new star to $25,000. Yankovic's application was resubmitted for consideration in 2007, but he was not included among 2008's inductees. In December 2010, the price was raised again to $30,000. and in 2017 the price was raised to $40,000. The campaign raised the new target each time and applications continued to be submitted yearly, until The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced in June 2017 that Yankovic would receive a star on the Walk of Fame as one of the 2018 inductees. In an official induction ceremony on August 27, 2018, Al received the 2,643rd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star is located at 6914 Hollywood Blvd, directly across the street from TCL Chinese Theatre. The ceremony was attended by 1,500 fans.
Similar to the Weird Al Star Fund, a second fan-driven campaign called "Make the Rock Hall 'Weird'" has tried to enshrine him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, for which he has been eligible since 2004. Previous attempts to raise awareness for the campaign and support Yankovic's nomination included a petition drive from 2006 to 2007, which raised over 9000 signatures; an art competition in 2005; additionally, a documentary film about the campaign is currently being developed. In addition to these efforts, an ongoing campaign is underway in which supporters of Yankovic's nomination are requested to send "sincere, thoughtful" letters to the Rock Hall Foundation's headquarters in New York. The Hall has not considered Yankovic for nomination since the campaign started in 2004. A 2009 Rolling Stone poll named Weird Al as the top artist that should be nominated for the Hall of Fame, followed by Rush (who were inducted in 2013) and The Moody Blues (inducted in 2018) in the top ten. According to the museum's chairperson John Sykes, while Yankovic has come up in various discussions on nominees, "he's never made it close to the ballot" due to the artists that vote towards the inductees.
A smaller ongoing effort has been made by fans to have Yankovic perform at the halftime show of a Super Bowl game. This inspired Yankovic to write the fight song parody "Sports Song" for Mandatory Fun to help round out his repertoire. Subsequent to the success of Mandatory Fun, another fan-driven campaign pushed for Yankovic to headline the then-upcoming Super Bowl XLIX at the highlight of the artist's career, which was noticed by many media outlets, including CNN and Wired, though the decision for this selection would reside within the management of the NFL (who instead chose Katy Perry for that position). Yankovic believed that he would never be selected as a standalone act for the Super Bowl, but could see other bands include him as a special guest if they were selected.
== Awards and nominations ==
=== Grammy Awards ===
=== Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards ===
=== Hollywood Music in Media Awards ===
=== Online Film and Television Association Awards ===
=== Primetime Emmy Awards ===
=== Producers Guild of America Awards ===
=== Society of Composers and Lyricists Awards ===
=== Streamy Awards ===
=== Writers Guild of America Awards ===
== Band members ==
Yankovic's core band, consisting of Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, Jim West, and Steve Jay, have performed with him for more than 40 years, and grew with the addition of Rubén Valtierra. Yankovic credits this group as having the flexibility to play any musical genre, allowing him to perform songs across a wide range of musical styles, in addition to "we’re kind of telepathic in the way we communicate now, so we’re a lot better than we were back in the day". With his 2025 "Bigger & Weirder tour, Yankovic added four additional members, Probyn Gregory, Scheila Gonzalez, Payton Velligan, and Monique Donnelly, all together that add a range of additional instruments that Yankovic can incorporate, in addition for three-part female vocal harmony with Gonzalez, Velligan, and Donnelly.
Current members
"Weird Al" Yankovic – lead vocals, accordion, keyboards, occasional live percussion (1976–present)
Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1980–present)
Jim "Kimo" West – guitar, mandolin, backing vocals, occasional banjo (1983–present)
Steve Jay – bass, banjo, backing vocals, occasional live keyboards (1983–present)
Rubén Valtierra – piano, keyboards, backing vocals, occasional live percussion (1991–present)
Touring members
Probyn Gregory – backing vocals, trumpet, trombone, tuba, guitars, percussion (2025–present)
Scheila Gonzalez – backing vocals, saxophone, clarinet, percussion (2025–present)
Payton Velligan – backing vocals, guitars, percussion (2025–present)
Monique Donnelly – backing vocals, keyboards, percussion (2025–present)
Former members
Rick Derringer – guitar, occasional mandolin, backing vocals (1982–1990; died 2025)
Timeline
== Discography ==
Studio albums
== Tours ==
== Videography ==
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
=== Video games ===
=== Pinball ===
=== Web series ===
=== Theater === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoxie,_Arkansas | Hoxie, Arkansas | Hoxie (HAAK-see) is a city in Lawrence County, Arkansas, United States. It lies immediately south of Walnut Ridge. As of the 2020 census, Hoxie had a population of 2,598.
== History ==
=== The third Arkansas school to integrate ===
Prior to 1955, Hoxie maintained a dual system of education for younger students, one for white students and another one for black students. Rather than maintain two high schools, white high school students were educated locally, while black high school students were bused to a black school in Jonesboro. The negro school for grades 1-8 had only one teacher. On June 25, 1955, in response to the recent Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Hoxie's superintendent, Kunkel Edward Vance, spearheaded plans to integrate the schools, and he received the unanimous support of Hoxie's school board. On July 11, 1955, Hoxie schools recommenced and allowed African American students to attend. In order to do "what was morally right in the sight of God" and to "uphold the law of the land", Vance insisted that all facilities, including restrooms and cafeterias, be integrated.
Although there were many nervous parents, the schools opening on July 11 went smoothly. The teachers and children got along fine, but unlike the two other school districts in Arkansas (Charleston and Fayetteville) that implemented partial integration, Hoxie attracted national attention. A team of photographers from Life Magazine was on hand to document the event. After the publication of the Life article, segregationists from outside the area converged on Hoxie in an unsuccessful attempt to reverse the school board decision. Handbills were printed making wild assertions including allegations of a plot between negroes, Communists, and Jews, and advocating for the death of "Race Mixers". A group of local citizens, led by soybean farmer Herbert Brewer, confronted the school board in an unproductive meeting. After the meeting, Brewer organized a White Citizen's Council, which called for students, both black and white to boycott the schools. Approximately one third of the white students refused to attend the schools beginning on August 4, 1955.
A lawyer, Amis Guthridge, the leader of White America, inc., attempted to draw more outside influence into the fray, inflaming passions with statements such as calling school integration a "plan that was founded in Moscow in 1924 to mongrelize the white race in America" and claimed that "white Methodist women" wanted integration so they could get negro men into their bedroom. Johnson, Guthridge and others fanned the flames, and were joined by Orval Faubus in trying to invoke fears of miscegenation in white husbands and parents. In one rally, a speaker shouted "they do not want equality, you know they don't want equality"..."They want what you've got, they want your women!"
The Hoxie School Board filed suit against the segregationist leaders from Hoxie and elsewhere in the state and charged them with trespassing on school property, threatening picket lines, organizing boycotts, and intimidating school officials. In November 1955, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas Thomas C. Trimble ruled that pro-segregationists had "planned and conspired" to prevent integration in Hoxie. In December 1955, he issued a permanent injunction and restraining order against the segregationists. Their appeal in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals was opposed by United States Attorney General Herbert Brownell and the U.S. Department of Justice. This marked the first intervention by the attorney general in support of any school district attempting to comply with the Brown decision. On October 25, 1956, the court ruled in favor of the Hoxie School Board.
U.S. Attorney Osro Cobb recalls that the situation at Hoxie
had reached the point of possible bloodshed. Guns were being carried; threats were being made, and violence could have erupted at any moment. Notwithstanding, a conference exploring the situation and its possible effects on the community with the individuals at the core of the problem had worked a minor miracle. It demonstrated that while passions and prejudice in race relations often hurl reason aside, reason can be restored at the conference table where there is dedication by the parties to the public interest. That is the lesson to be learned from Hoxie.
In 2003, David Appleby produced a documentary entitled Hoxie - The First Stand detailing the events of school integration in Hoxie. The film later received the Peabody Award and the Du Pont Award for Broadcast Journalism.
=== Train crash ===
On August 17, 2014, at 2:30 AM, two Union Pacific freight trains collided in Hoxie, killing two people and causing the evacuation of about 500 people within a 1.5 square mile radius. U.S. 67 was closed for approximately one week for cleanup and repair.
== Geography ==
Hoxie is located at 36°2′55″N 90°58′38″W (36.048616, -90.977296).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.0 square miles (10 km2), all land.
=== List of highways ===
U.S. 63
U.S. 67
U.S. 63 Business
Highway 367
U.S. Highways 63 and 67 intersect and cross each other in Hoxie. U.S. 63 enters Arkansas at the Missouri line at Thayer, Missouri, and Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, two contiguous cities. U.S. 63 then goes southeastward to connect with Interstate 55 near Turrell, in Crittenden County. It runs contiguous with I-55 and I-40 for a ways. Both those interstates cross the Mississippi River into Memphis, Tennessee. U.S. 63 is then contiguous with a number of other routes southward in Arkansas, leaving Arkansas for Louisiana at Junction City, in Union County. U.S. 67 is a southwest—northeast bisector of Arkansas.
Two railroads, the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe and the Union Pacific, have mainline tracks that cross each other at Hoxie—the BNSF in a generally northwest-southeast direction, and the UP in a generally north and south direction. This same situation also occurs in Jonesboro, in Craighead County.
== Demographics ==
=== 2020 census ===
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,598 people, 1,186 households, and 616 families residing in the city.
=== 2010 census ===
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,780 people, 1,108 households, and 797 families residing in the city. The population density was 707.5 inhabitants per square mile (273.2/km2). There were 1,241 housing units at an average density of 311.7 per square mile (120.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 98.15% White, 0.46% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. 1.49% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 1,108 households, out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.9% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,726, and the median income for a family was $30,085. Males had a median income of $26,583 versus $18,418 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,190. About 20.7% of families and 24.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.3% of those under age 18 and 28.0% of those age 65 or over.
== Education ==
Public education for elementary and secondary school students is provided by the Hoxie School District, which leads to graduation from Hoxie High School. The school mascot and athletic emblem is the Mustang with green and white serving as the school colors.
== Notable people ==
ShunDerrick Powell, professional football player
Billy Taylor, All-American football player
Miller Williams, poet
Raven Gates Gottschalk, reality show contestant |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_A._Knopf_Sr. | Alfred A. Knopf Sr. | Alfred Abraham Knopf Sr. (September 12, 1892 – August 11, 1984) was an American publisher of the 20th century, and co-founder of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. His contemporaries included the likes of Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, and (of the previous generation) Frank Nelson Doubleday, J. Henry Harper and Henry Holt. Knopf paid special attention to the quality of printing, binding and design in his books, and earned a reputation as a purist in both content and presentation.
== Biography ==
Knopf was born into a Jewish family in New York City. His father, Samuel Knopf, was an advertising executive and financial consultant, and his mother was Ida Japhe, a school teacher. Samuel Knopf was originally from Warsaw, Poland, but came to New York with his parents, where he worked his way up the directorship at a small mercantile bank. Alfred's mother, Ida, was from a Latvian Jewish family who settled in New York. For a time Knopf's parents lived in the Midwest and in Virginia. Ida committed suicide when Alfred was five years old and his sister Sophia was almost two. That same day, Alfred's father had filed for divorce in which he named Ida as an adulteress. His father later married Lillian Harris, who had a daughter, Bertha, from a previous marriage. With Lillian, Samuel had another son, Edwin H. Knopf, who worked for Alfred briefly, then became a film director and producer.
Alfred attended Columbia University, where he was a pre-law student and a member of the Peithologian Society (a debating and literary club) and the Boar's Head Society. He began to show an interest in publishing during his senior year, becoming advertising manager of an undergraduate magazine. His interest in publishing was allegedly fostered by a correspondence with British author John Galsworthy. Galsworthy was the subject of Knopf's senior thesis and after visiting Galsworthy in England, Knopf gave up his plans for a law career, and upon his return went into publishing.
Knopf was introduced to his future wife and business partner, Blanche Knopf, at a party at the Lawrence Athletic Club in 1911. Their relationship was built on their mutual interest in books. Blanche said of their relationship: "Alfred had realized I read books constantly and he had never met a girl who did ... I saw him and [all we did was] talk books, and nobody liked him—my family least of all. But I did, because I had someone to talk books to and we talked of making books...We decided we would get married and make books and publish them." Alfred and Blanche were married on April 4, 1916.
Knopf worked as a clerk at Doubleday (1912–1913), then as an editorial assistant to Mitchell Kennerley (1914).
Knopf, along with Blanche Knopf, founded the publishing house Alfred A. Knopf in 1915. The company initially emphasized European, especially Russian, literature, hence the choice of the borzoi as a colophon. At that time European literature was largely neglected by American publishers; Knopf published authors such as Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Joseph Conrad, E. M. Forster, Sigmund Freud, André Gide, Franz Kafka, D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, W. Somerset Maugham, T. F. Powys, Wyndham Lewis and Jean-Paul Sartre. While Blanche was known as a superb editor, Alfred was always interested in more of the sales side than in editing.
Knopf also published many American authors, including Conrad Aiken, James Baldwin, James M. Cain, Theodore Dreiser, Shirley Ann Grau, Dashiell Hammett, Langston Hughes, Vachel Lindsay, H. L. Mencken, George Jean Nathan, John Updike, and Knopf's own favorite, Willa Cather. From 1924 to 1934, he published the famous literary magazine founded by Mencken and Nathan, The American Mercury. He often developed a personal friendship with his authors. Knopf's personal interest in the fields of history, sociology and science led to close friendships in the academic community with such noted historians as Richard Hofstadter, Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and Samuel Eliot Morison. A prominent Republican until Watergate, Knopf often drew legislators into lengthy correspondence by mail. He was also a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1940 to 1946.
Knopf himself was also an author. His writings include Some Random Recollections, Women, Publishing Then and Now, Portrait of a Publisher, Blanche W. Knopf: July 30, 1894–June 4, 1966, and Sixty Photographs.
When the Knopfs' son Alfred A. Knopf Jr. left the company in 1959 to found Atheneum Publishers, Alfred and Blanche became concerned about the eventual fate of their publishing house, which had always been a family business. The problem was solved in 1960, when Knopf merged with Random House, which was owned by the Knopfs' close friends Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer. Knopf retained complete editorial control for five years, and then gave up only his right to veto other editors' manuscript selections. The editorial departments of the two companies remain separate, and Knopf, Inc., retains its distinctive character. Knopf called the merger "a perfect marriage."
Random House itself eventually became a division of Bertelsmann AG, a large multinational media company. The Knopf imprint remains in existence.
Blanche Knopf died in June 1966. Alfred remarried in April of the following year, to Helen Norcross Hedrick. He died of congestive heart failure on August 11, 1984, at his estate in Purchase, New York.
== Personality ==
Knopf had little enthusiasm for most of the changes that took place in the publishing industry during his lifetime. "Too many books are published, and they are overpriced", he told the Saturday Review. These are things "about which all publishers agree, and about which no publisher does anything." The most fundamental change he noted was the increased importance of the editor. "In the early days, things were quite simple. The books came in; we published them as written... A publisher was regarded—and so, in turn, was the writer—as a pro. A writer's job was to write a book and give it to you." And he remarked to Shenker: "I guess business became more complicated and publishers less literate. It ceased to be the fact that publishers publish and authors write. Today authors submit manuscripts and editors write books." The editor is now hired largely to acquire books, "and if he can't get good books, he usually takes what he can get—books that are not so good. And then he sometimes wrecks himself trying to make a silk purse out of what can never become anything but a sow's ear."
Knopf was generally unimpressed with current literature, though he admired John Hersey, John Updike, Jorge Amado and a few other contemporary authors. In Publishing Then and Now he wrote: "Frequently... our American author, whatever his age, experience in life, and technical knowledge, simply can't write. I don't mean that he is not the master of a prose style of elegance and distinction; I mean that he can't write simple straightforward and correct English. And here, only an exceptional editor will really help him." American authors are not very durable, he said in 1964, and "there are no giants in Europe now." Though twelve Knopf authors had won Nobel Prizes, Knopf acknowledged that "some Nobel Prize books aren't very good," calling Doctor Zhivago, for example, "incredibly tedious ... If Khrushchev had banned it for dullness instead of its political implications, he might have been in the clear."
Among other authors he rejected were Sylvia Plath, Jack Kerouac, Anne Frank, George Orwell, Jorge Luis Borges, Vladimir Nabokov, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Anaïs Nin. He turned down an early novel by Ursula K. Le Guin but encouraged her to keep writing.
Knopf also lamented the "shockingly bad taste" that he felt characterizes much modern fiction, and warned of the danger of a "legal backlash" against pornography, and a possible revival of censorship.
This outspoken aspect of his character sometimes found voice in letters of complaint to hotels, restaurants, and stores that failed to meet his high standards. These letters grew increasingly frequent and more severe as he aged. One striking example is the six-year-long war of words he waged against the Eastman Kodak Company over a roll of lost film.
Knopf did not support the creation of a Jewish commonwealth in Palestine. In response to Senator Robert Wagner's November 5, 1945 letter to Knopf's employees in support of the Jewish colonization of Palestine, Knopf replied to the senator's unexpected letter that he did not share his employees' views. Furthermore, he wrote that nothing was "more likely to destroy the possibility of peace than resurgent nationalism." And as a Jew, he thought it was "a great pity that Jews, above all people, should be advocates of still another national state." |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson_vs._Buster_Douglas | Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas | Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas, billed as Tyson is Back!, was a professional boxing match that occurred at the Tokyo Dome on Sunday, February 11, 1990. The then-undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion Tyson lost by knockout to the 42-1 underdog Douglas. The fight is widely regarded as the biggest upset in boxing history and one of the biggest in sports history.
== Background ==
Going into the fight, Mike Tyson was the undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and was very popular at the time. He held the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles. Despite several controversies that marred Tyson's profile at the time, such as his allegedly abusive relationship with Robin Givens, contractual battles between longtime manager Bill Cayton and promoter Don King, and Tyson's departure from longtime trainer Kevin Rooney, Tyson was still dominant in the ring. He scored a 93-second knockout against Carl "The Truth" Williams in his previous fight. Most considered this fight to be a warm-up bout for Tyson before meeting up with then-undefeated number-one heavyweight contender Evander Holyfield (who was ringside for the fight). Tyson was viewed as such a dominant champion that he was often considered the number-one fighter in the world pound-for-pound (including by Ring Magazine), a rarity for heavyweights.
Buster Douglas was ranked as the #7 heavyweight contender by Ring Magazine and had met with mixed success in his professional career up to that point. His previous title fight was against Tony Tucker in 1987, in which he was TKO'd in the 10th round. However, six consecutive wins since the Tucker fight—including victories over former world champion Trevor Berbick and future world champion Oliver McCall—gave him the opportunity to fight Tyson. In the time leading up to the fight, Douglas faced a number of personal setbacks, including the death of his mother, Lula Pearl, 23 days before the fight. Additionally, the mother of his son had a severe kidney ailment, and he had contracted the flu on the day before the fight.
HBO boxing analysts Larry Merchant and Jim Lampley expected to see "another 90-second annihilation." (When asked by a Japanese customs official how long he expected to be working in Japan, Ed Schuyler of the Associated Press replied, "Oh, about ninety seconds.") Instead of discussing Douglas's chances against Tyson, Merchant and Lampley compared their pets: Tyson had a white pitbull named "Duran" (after his idol Roberto Durán) while Douglas had a beagle named "Shakespeare." Merchant, after saying that "this fight is over before it begins or soon thereafter" and describing Douglas as "just another frozen tuna" from the Tokyo fish market, opined that "any prizefighter with a dog named Shakespeare can't be all-bad." In an interview given to HBO prior to the fight, Douglas told reporters that his favorite Shakespeare play was the romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Lampley suggested that if Tyson were asked the same question (assuming he had read Shakespeare), he would choose something more bloody and violent, such as Henry the Fifth or Macbeth.
Singer Bobby Brown wrote in his autobiography that he met with Tyson in Tokyo and the two partied extensively the night before the fight. Brown claims Tyson refused to go to sleep early for the fight, deeming Douglas "an amateur" he could beat "if I didn't sleep for five weeks".
== The fight ==
From the beginning of the fight, it was apparent that Douglas was not afraid. Douglas displayed a lot of spring in his body movement and was not cautious in letting his punches fly whenever he saw the opportunity to attack Tyson. He used his quick and accurate jab to prevent Tyson from getting inside, where Tyson was most dangerous. When Tyson tried to get inside, Douglas tied him up, moved away, or would immediately hit Tyson with multiple punches as Tyson came within Douglas' range. Early on, Douglas was more agile than Tyson and outlanded Tyson in exchanges. Douglas finished the second round with a snappy uppercut to Tyson's chin.
Seeming to regain his form, Tyson landed a punishing left to the body that had Douglas look at his corner. After an ineffectual and lackluster third round, Tyson cornerman Jay Bright screamed at his fighter "Don't just stand there and look at him, you've gotta work!" Boxer "Sugar" Ray Leonard, at ringside doing commentary for HBO, noted Douglas' dominance with the jab and right hand and said Tyson was having one of those occasional days in the ring where "you just don't have it...things just don't click in".
Douglas would still dominate the middle rounds, although Tyson managed to land a few of his signature uppercuts. Tyson was wobbled by a chopping right during the fifth round. Soon, Tyson's left eye began to swell from Douglas' right jabs, preventing him from seeing his opponent's punches well. Tyson's cornermen were caught unprepared; they were so confident Tyson would easily beat Douglas that they had not brought an endswell or ice packs, usually standard equipment for a fight. Instead, they filled a latex glove with ice water and held it on Tyson's eye between rounds. Aaron Snowell, Tyson's primary cornerman, at one point caught the chain from the identification badge hanging from his neck between the iced glove and Tyson's eye. Tyson winced in pain as Snowell moved dragging the chain from one side of his injured eye to the other. Confusion and panic grew in his corner as the fight went on. Despite Tyson's inability to execute an effective fight plan, his corner continued to give him the same advice between rounds to move his head, jab his way inside and deliver a right hand. In the eighth round -- a round Douglas dominated until the last few seconds -- HBO's Larry Merchant noted, "Douglas is asking of Tyson some questions he hasn't been asked before...in the last few rounds of a fight, you have to come back and win it."
Within the last ten seconds of the eighth round, Tyson, who had been backed onto the ropes, landed a big right uppercut that sent Douglas to the canvas. Although the knockdown timekeeper began when Douglas's backside touched the ring's surface, the referee was said to have started his own count behind by two beats. Douglas rose as the referee signaled nine, but the bell ended the round. In obvious annoyance at his own lapse, Douglas pounded his left fist on the mat. Tyson promoter Don King would later argue the validity of the referee count in vain.
In the ninth round, Tyson came out aggressively to try to end the fight and save his title, hoping that Douglas was still hurt from the knockdown. Douglas was able to fight off Tyson's attack and was able to close Tyson's eye completely. Both men traded punches before Douglas connected on a four-punch combination that staggered Tyson back to the ropes. With Tyson hurt along the ropes, Douglas closed in and unleashed a four-punch attack to try to knock Tyson out. Tyson withstood the punishment and barely survived the round.
In the tenth round, Tyson pushed forward, but he was still hurting from the accumulation of punishment he had absorbed throughout the match. As Tyson advanced, Douglas measured him with a few jabs before landing an uppercut that snapped Tyson's head upward, stopping Tyson in his tracks. As Tyson reeled back, Douglas immediately followed with four punches to the head, knocking Tyson down for the first time in his career. In a famous scene, Tyson fumbled for his mouthpiece on the canvas before sticking one end in his mouth with the other end hanging out. The champion attempted to make it back to his feet, but referee Octavio Meyran counted him out. Buster Douglas thus became the new undisputed heavyweight champion, engineering one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. The official scorecards through nine rounds were 87–86 for Tyson, 86–86, and 88–83 for Douglas.
During the post-fight interview, Douglas broke down in tears when asked why he was able to win this fight when no one thought he could. "Because of my mother...God bless her heart," said the emotional new champion.
Merchant concluded that it was the expulsion of Kevin Rooney, who still rooted for Tyson every time he watched him fight (despite their split), which led to the stunning knockout loss. Merchant said Tyson needed Rooney in much the same way that Muhammad Ali needed Angelo Dundee. Merchant speculated that with Rooney in his corner, Tyson would have managed to end the fight on his feet, and to change the tide of the fight, exactly as in the Tucker fight, after he was rocked in the first round but weathered the storm with Rooney's help and came back determined to win, outboxing his opponent. Butch Lewis shared the same opinion, believing that after he got rid of Rooney, Tyson found himself in a situation where there was no one to enforce compliance with the training regimen and a normal daily routine, and tell him "Back on track, Mike!" when needed. So did Jerry Izenberg, who commented: "They assemble a corner for that fight which looks like it was picked up out of the semi-finals of the Intercity Golden Gloves."
== Aftermath and legacy ==
As a 42-1 underdog, Douglas earned $1.3 million from the fight while Tyson got $6 million.
Tyson's camp, led by Don King, immediately protested the result, claiming that Douglas had been given a long count by referee Octavio Meyran. The WBA and WBC initially agreed and suspended recognition of Douglas as champion, although the IBF immediately accepted that the result was valid. After a public outcry and demands from boxing commissions around the world that they acknowledge Douglas as the champion, the protest was withdrawn and Douglas' win was recognized four days after the fight. In spite of Douglas' inspired and dominant performance, a sizable number of boxing fans viewed the fight outcome as an aberration, leading to interest in a rematch.
In an HBO studio interview with Merchant the following week, Douglas stated the protest and post-fight confusion ruined what should have been the best time of his life.
At the time of the fight, Don King was said to have been negotiating for Tyson's next fight to be in the fall in Berlin against former champion Greg Page, who had decked Tyson while sparring with him three weeks before the Douglas fight. A future Mike Tyson versus George Foreman fight to be promoted by the Sultan of Brunei was also shelved.
Plans for a rematch fell through, so Douglas' first title defence was against No. 1 contender Evander Holyfield. An overweight Douglas, weighing 14.5 pounds (6.6 kg) more than in the Tyson fight, was knocked out by Holyfield in the third round. Douglas retired after the fight. Six years later, he launched a comeback after almost dying in a diabetic coma and won a few fights against journeyman opposition. He fought for the last time in 1999. Despite rumours of a rematch with Tyson throughout the 1990s, they never faced each other again.
Tyson would fight four more times after the Douglas fight before being convicted of raping beauty pageant contestant Desiree Washington in 1991. Following his release from the Indiana Youth Center in 1995 he quickly regained the WBA and WBC world titles, before losing them to Holyfield and was never again a world champion. He fought on sporadically for another decade and lost in another title challenge against Lennox Lewis in 2002. He retired from boxing in 2005 after consecutive losses to journeymen.
Buster Douglas went down in sports lore as a prize fighter who defied the odds to pull off one of the biggest upsets in sports history. Among the honors was a cover photo on an issue of Sports Illustrated with the title "Rocky Lives!," after the popular film series about a similarly underestimated boxing hero. For Tyson, though he retained a menacing aura for years afterwards, "the mystique of the untouchable, invincible 'Baddest Man on the Planet' had been shattered." Tyson himself knew as much, stating after he ended his career by losing to unheralded Kevin McBride in 2005, "My career has been over since 1990." The fight is often ranked among the biggest upsets in sports history.
== In popular culture ==
The fight appeared in the Mike Tyson Mysteries episode "Help a Brother Out".
Douglas's upset against Tyson is the inspiration for the song "Tyson vs Douglas" by the Killers from their fifth studio album, Wonderful Wonderful (2017). Frontman Brandon Flowers used the childhood memory of watching the seemingly invincible Tyson lose as the motivation for a song that's about "me and my family, and the way I’m perceived by my kids. I don’t want them to see me go down like Tyson." The song also features audio of the commentators for the fight.
The fight is referenced in a short film by Paradigm Studios when a boxer, who came out of retirement, made a promise to his dying son; the short film also references how Douglas made a promise to his dying mother that he would win.
In 1990, In Living Color made references to the fight in the "Three Champs and a Baby/Little Lady" sketches. In the first, Tyson prank calls Buster demanding a rematch, while in "Little Lady" Tyson uses an action figure to mock Douglas's loss to Holyfield.
== Undercard ==
Confirmed bouts:
== Broadcasting == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_France | List of prime ministers of France | The head of the government of France has been called the prime minister of France (French: Premier ministre) since 1959, when Michel Debré became the first officeholder appointed under the Fifth Republic. During earlier periods of French history, the country's head of government was known by different titles. As was common in European democracies of the 1815–1958 period (the Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy, the Second, Third, and Fourth Republic, as well as the Vichy regime), the head of government was called "President of the Council of Ministers" (Président du Conseil des ministres), generally shortened to "President of the Council" (Président du Conseil). This should not be confused with the elected office of president of the French Republic, who, as head of state, appoints the prime minister as head of government.
== 16th century – 18th century ==
=== Kingdom of France (843–1792) ===
Under the Kingdom of France, there was no official title for the leader of the government as the monarch held absolute power. However, conventions developed that the monarch would not act without the advice of royal council. The chief ministers (principaux ministres) of these councils under certain kings of France exercised enough influence to lead the government de facto. This situation ended with the start of the French Revolution as the adoption of a constitution in 1791 reframed the power dynamics of the monarchy. As the revolution progressed, the power dynamics continued to shift and ultimately resulted in the execution of the monarch and the establishment of a republic.
== 18th century – 19th century ==
=== French First Republic (1792–1804) ===
During the First Republic, there were three arrangements for governance, the leadership of which changed frequently. The first government was that of the National Convention (20 September 1792 – 2 November 1795) and did not provide for a formal head of state or a head of government. The President of the National Convention would only serve for a term of 14 days at a time. Even though the President was re-eligible to return to the office after another term had passed, this rarely occurred. Notable Presidents during this period included:
Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve (20 September – 4 October 1792)
Georges Danton (25 July – 8 August 1793)
Maximilien Robespierre (22 August – 7 September 1793 and 4–19 June 1794)
Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès (7–22 October 1794)
Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès (20 April – 5 May 1795)
Given the dissatisfaction with the National Convention a new Constitution was adopted in 1795 which created the a five member executive called the Directory (2 November 1795 – 10 November 1799). The members of the Directory were elected by the legislature who themselves in turn elected a ceremonial President whose term lasted only three months. Paul Barras, who served two stints as President (4 December 1797 – 25 February 1798 and 26 November 1798 – 26 May 1799), came to be the dominant member of the group.
In 1799, the Directory was superseded when a coup d'état headed by Napoleon Bonaparte forced the sitting members to resign. A new constitution was written establishing the Consulate (10 November 1799 – 18 May 1804). While initially a coequal of the other Consuls, Napoleon quickly set himself up as "First Consul of France" and later "Consul for Life" under yet another constitution.
=== French First Empire (1804–1815) ===
On May 18, 1804 the French Senate bestowed the title of "Emperor of the French" on Napoleon and he crowned himself on December 2, 1804. As Emperor, Napoleon was both head of state and head of government under the new constitution.
=== First Restoration (1814–1815) ===
Following Napoleon's defeat in the War of the Sixth Coalition, he was exiled to the island of Elba. Louis XVIII, brother of the executed King Louis XVI, was placed on the newly restored throne of the French monarchy. Unlike the previous Ancien régime, the prerogative of the new monarch was limited by the Charter of 1814.
=== Hundred Days (1815) ===
In March 1815, Napoleon left his exile and returned to France. The government of the Louis XVIII fled to the city of Ghent. Napoleon reinstated his role as both head of state and head of government. Upon Napoleon's abdication, his son Napoleon II was named Emperor. This rule was nominal, and Napoleon II, then a four-year old child, remained in Austria throughout his nominal reign.
=== Bourbon Restoration (1815–1830) ===
Following his second defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon was again exiled, this time to the island of St. Helena. Louis XVIII returned to Paris and to his role as constitutional monarch.
==== Presidents of the Council of Ministers ====
=== July Monarchy (1830–1848) ===
When King Charles X was coronated he swore to uphold the constitutional Charter of 1814, but as his reign progressed he was seen to be increasingly in conflict with it. In 1830 the tension came to a climax when Charles dissolved the legislature, suspended certain liberties, and barred the middle class from participating in future elections. These July Ordinances in turn triggered outrage in Paris which resulted in the July Revolution. The revolution resulted in Charles X abdicating the throne in favor of his cousin Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans who promised to maintain a liberal constitutional monarchy under the Charter of 1830. Unlike the previous Charter, which was self-imposed by the monarch, the 1830 charter emanated from the people. This popular monarchy was reflected in Louis Philippe's title of "King of the French" (roi des Français) rather than "King of France" (roi de France).
==== Presidents of the Council of Ministers ====
Factions
Independent
Orléanist
Doctrinaires/Movement Party
Resistance Party
=== Second French Republic (1848–1852) ===
The popularity of the new "Citizen King" declined over concerns that the suffrage of the populace was extremely limited to certain property owners. The desire to expand the electorate to a more universal male suffrage was undercut by a 1835 law which prohibited public political assemblies. To circumvent this ban, in 1847 a series of private meeting known as the campagne des banquets were organized. When these banquets were themselves banned popular unrest spilled into the streets in the February Revolution of 1848, which resulted in King Louis Philippe abdicating the throne and triggered a series of revolutions across Europe. A provisional government proclaimed a Second Republic, which would organized under a new constitution which provided for the election of a President. Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, nephew of the former Emperor, won the subsequent election in a landslide.
==== Presidents of the Council of Ministers ====
=== Second French Empire (1852–1870) ===
Under the constitution of the Second Republic, the President was to serve only one non-renewable term of four years. Bonaparte attempted to pass a constitutional amendment to make him eligible to run for another term, and while the amendment did receive a majority in the legislature, it was not enough to overcome the 2/3 supermajority needed. Believing he had the support of the people to continue in his policies, Bonaparte staged a self-coup on December 2, 1851. A few weeks later, the action was legitimized through a referendum that voted 92% in favor of Bonaparte remaining in office and authorizing him to draft a new constitution. The conduct of this referendum was considered to be rigged. Under the new form of government, Bonaparte was immediately reelected to a new 10 year term with no limits on reelection. About a year later, Bonaparte held another rigged referendum which voted 97% in favor of reestablishing the French Empire. Subsequently, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte coronated himself Emperor Napoleon III, and as such was both head of state and head of government.
The legislative elections of 1869 resulted in an agreement which saw Émile Ollivier lead an independent government. While this was seen by some as a liberalization of the empire, a referendum in 1870 again showed overwhelming support for the Emperor's regime.
==== Cabinet Chiefs ====
== 19th century – 20th century ==
=== Third French Republic (1870–1940) ===
In 1870, Napoleon III was facing pressure to combat the growing power of Prussia which was conducting a campaign of unification. Fearing that a new unified German state would disrupt France's place as a world leader, war was declared. The Prussian army proved to be much more effective and during the Battle of Sedan Napoleon III was captured. When the news reached Paris on September 4, a crowd stormed the Palais Bourbon and proclaimed a new republic. A new Government of National Defense was formed with the intention of continuing the war against the Prussians, but Paris remained under siege for the remainder of the war. An armistice was ultimately agreed to and French forces surrendered in January 1871.
The defeated French organized a provisional government which negotiated the Treaty of Frankfurt ending the war. Post war instability and chaos, including the formation and fall of the Paris Commune, led to contentious debates about the formation of this new republic. It was even heavily considered that a third restoration of the monarchy was in order. However, disagreements continued and the organization of the provisional government became permanent with the enactment of the Constitutional Laws of 1875.
==== President of the Government of National Defense ====
==== Presidents of the Council of Ministers ====
=== French State (1940–1944) ===
Following the success of the German military in the Battle of France, the government under Marshal Philippe Pétain signed the Second Armistice at Compiègne. The armistice transferred the northern territory of the nation into a zone occupied by the German army, while the southern portion of the country would remain a Zone libre. Those opposed to the armistice, led by Charles de Gaulle, continued the war effort abroad and formed a government in exile. On 10 July 1940, the French parliament voted to give full powers to Pétain who days later proclaimed the État Français (the "French State"), commonly known as "Vichy France" due to its location. Pétain served as Chief of State and nominal President of the Council of Ministers, until 1942. From 1942, Pétain remained Chief of State, but Pierre Laval was named Chief of the Government.
When the war concluded, de Gaulle explicitly refused to declare a new republic, insisting that the Third Republic had never ceased to exist. The Ordinance of 9 August 1944 declared the Vichy government unconstitutional, and as such any actions taken by them were null and void.
==== Vice-Presidents of the Council of Ministers ====
==== Chief of the Government ====
=== Provisional Government of the French Republic (1944–1946) ===
A Provisional Government of the French Republic was set up by the Free France resistance leadership on June 3, 1944 in the leadup to the Allies' invasion of Normandy. The primary goals of this government were to oversee the war effort and secure French national sovereignty following the war and prevent allied military administration. Following the war, a constitutional referendum showed overwhelming support for reorganizing the government in a constituent assembly.
==== Chairmen of the Provisional Government ====
=== Fourth French Republic (1946–1958) ===
A series of referendums in 1946 resulted in the adoption of a new constitution. The new constitution split executive power between a President of the Republic and a President of the Council of Ministers. This marked the first time the role of the President of the Council of Ministers was explicitly laid out in a constitution, previously the role existed merely as a convention.
==== Presidents of the Council of Ministers ====
== 20th century – 21st century ==
=== Fifth French Republic (since 1958) ===
The Fourth Republic collapsed as the result of the Algiers Crisis of 1958. Charles de Gaulle returned from retirement and in order to prevent a civil war was granted extraordinary powers to restructure the government. The new constitution strengthened the powers of the executive, especially those of the President which had previously been mostly a ceremonial role.
==== Prime Ministers ====
== Living former prime ministers ==
The most recent death of a former prime minister was that of Lionel Jospin (1997–2002), who died on 22 March 2026 at the age of 88.
== Timeline ==
=== Executive Prime Ministers (1814–1959) ===
=== Semi-executive Prime Ministers (since 1959) === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Scottish_Parliament_election | 2016 Scottish Parliament election | The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary election in Scotland in which 16 and 17 year olds were eligible to vote, under the provisions of the Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Act (the voting age had previously been 16 in the 2014 Independence Referendum). It was also the first time the three largest parties were led by women.
Parliament went into dissolution on 24 March 2016, allowing the official period of campaigning to get underway. Five parties had MSPs in the previous parliament: Scottish National Party (SNP) led by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Labour led by Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Conservatives led by Ruth Davidson, Scottish Liberal Democrats led by Willie Rennie, Scottish Greens, led by their co-conveners Patrick Harvie and Maggie Chapman. Of those five parties, four changed their leader since the 2011 election.
During the campaign, a series of televised debates took place, including party leaders of the elected parties. BBC Scotland held the first leaders' debate on 24 March, STV broadcast the next on 29 March, and BBC Scotland hosted the final debate on 1 May.
The election resulted in a hung parliament with the Scottish National Party winning a third term in government, but falling two seats short of securing a second consecutive overall majority. The Conservatives saw a significant increase in support and replaced the Labour Party as the second-largest party and main opposition in the Scottish Parliament. This was the first time that Labour had finished in third place at a Scottish election in 98 years. The Scottish Greens won six seats on the regional list and overtook the Liberal Democrats, who remained on five seats.
Although the SNP had lost their majority, it was still by far the largest single party in the Scottish Parliament, with more than double the seats of the Conservatives. Accordingly, Sturgeon announced she would form a minority SNP government. She was voted in for a second term as First Minister on 17 May.
== Date ==
Under the Scotland Act 1998, an ordinary election to the Scottish Parliament would normally have been held on the first Thursday in May four years after the 2011 election, i.e. in May 2015. In May 2010, the new UK Government stated in its coalition agreement that the next general election would also be held in May 2015. This proposal was criticised by the Scottish National Party and Labour, as it had been recommended after the 2007 election that elections with different voting systems should be held on separate days: a recommendation which all of the political parties had then accepted. In response to this criticism, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg offered the right to vary the date of the Scottish Parliament election by a year either way. All the main political parties then stated their support for delaying the election by a year. The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, a statute of the UK Parliament, moved the date of the Scottish Parliament election to 5 May 2016.
The date of the poll may be varied by up to one month either way by the monarch, on the proposal of the Presiding Officer.
If Parliament itself resolves that it should be dissolved, with at least two-thirds of the Members (i.e. 86 Members) voting in favour, the Presiding Officer proposes a date for an extraordinary election and the Parliament is dissolved by the monarch by royal proclamation.
It does not necessarily require a two-thirds majority to precipitate an extraordinary election, because under the Scotland Act Parliament is also dissolved if it fails to nominate one of its members to be First Minister within certain time limits, irrespective of whether at the beginning or in the middle of a parliamentary term. Therefore, if the First Minister resigned, Parliament would then have 28 days to elect a successor (s46(2)b and s46(3)a). If no new First Minister was elected then the Presiding Officer would ask for Parliament to be dissolved under s3(1)a. This process could also be triggered if the First Minister lost a vote of confidence by a simple majority (i.e. more than 50%), as they must then resign (Scotland Act 1998 s45(2)). To date the Parliament has never held a vote of no confidence in a First Minister.
No extraordinary elections have been held to date. Any extraordinary elections would be in addition to ordinary elections, unless held less than six months before the due date of an ordinary election, in which case they supplant it. The subsequent ordinary election reverts to the first Thursday in May, a multiple of four years after 1999.
It was envisaged that the election would still have taken place as scheduled if Scotland had voted in favour of independence in 2014.
== Retiring MSPs ==
=== Deselected MSPs ===
Changes to the SNP's selection procedures the previous year in order to ensure gender balance of candidates meant that any incumbent constituency MSP who chose to retire would have their replacement selected from an all-woman shortlist. The only ways for a new male candidate to receive a constituency nomination would be to stand in a constituency currently held by an opposition MSP or to run a de-selection campaign against a sitting MSP. For that reason there were far more challenges than normal within the SNP, but only two were successful:
== Election system, seats, and regions ==
The total number of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) elected to the Parliament is 129.
The First Periodical Review of the Scottish Parliament's constituencies and regions by the Boundary Commission for Scotland, was announced on 3 July 2007. The Commission published its provisional proposals for the regional boundaries in 2009.
The Scottish Parliament uses an Additional Members System, designed to produce approximate proportional representation for each region. There are 8 regions, each sub-divided into smaller constituencies. There are a total of 73 constituencies. Each constituency elects one MSP by the plurality (first past the post) system of election. Each region elects 7 additional MSPs using an additional member system.
A modified D'Hondt method, using the constituency results, is used to elect these additional MSPs.
The Scottish Parliament constituencies have not been coterminous with Scottish Westminster constituencies since the 2005 general election, when the 72 former UK Parliament constituencies were replaced with a new set of 59, generally larger, constituencies (see Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004). The boundaries used for the Scottish Parliament elections were then revised for the 2011 election. The Boundary Commission also recommended changes to the electoral regions used to elect "list" members of the Scottish Parliament, which were also implemented in 2011.
== Campaign ==
On 29 February 2016, BBC Scotland's Scotland 2016 current affairs programme held a debate focusing on education featuring the Education Minister Angela Constance and three party leaders: Kezia Dugdale, Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie.
On 24 March 2016, BBC Scotland held a debate in Glasgow which was televised that featured Dugdale, Davidson, Rennie, Nicola Sturgeon, Patrick Harvie and David Coburn.
On 29 March 2016, STV hosted a televised leaders' debate, featuring the five leaders of the parties which held seats in the last Parliament.
From 5–26 April 2016, Scotland 2016 also held a series of weekly subject debates on Tuesday nights. The subjects were Tax, Health, Energy & Environment, and Housing. Of these, six parties (SNP, Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, the Scottish Greens and UKIP) were invited to the Tax debate.
== Parties contesting the election ==
The official nomination period closed on 1 April 2016, lists of candidates were then published by local councils once the applications had been processed.
In March 2015, the Scottish Greens balloted their members to select candidates for their regional lists. The SNP released their regional candidate list in October 2015. The Conservative regional candidate list followed in December. In January 2016, RISE – Scotland's Left Alliance announced list candidates for all regions except the North East. Labour had announced a new selection process for regional candidates in November 2013, then revealed their full list of regional candidates in February 2016. UKIP's regional candidates were picked by their executive committee, prompting one prospective candidate to resign his party membership.
=== Contesting constituency and regional ballot ===
The SNP, the Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservatives and the Scottish Liberal Democrats fielded candidates in all 73 constituencies.
Scottish National Party (SNP)
Scottish Labour
Scottish Conservatives
Scottish Liberal Democrats
Scottish Greens – contesting all regions and Coatbridge and Chryston, Edinburgh Central and Glasgow Kelvin constituencies.
Scottish Libertarian Party − contesting West of Scotland, Mid Scotland Fife, North East Scotland region only and Edinburgh Central constituency
=== Contesting regional ballot only ===
Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent – contesting South Scotland
Communist Party – contesting North East Scotland
National Front – contesting North East Scotland only
RISE – Respect, Independence, Socialism and Environmentalism – contesting all regions
Scottish Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ’s Lordship" – contesting Highlands and Islands and North East
Solidarity – Scotland's Socialist Movement – contesting all regions
UK Independence Party – contesting all regions
Women's Equality Party – contesting Lothian and Glasgow
=== Contesting constituency ballot only ===
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC): Glasgow Cathcart, Glasgow Pollok, Glasgow Shettleston, Renfrewshire North and West, Dundee City East and Dundee City West
Independent candidates
== Opinion polling ==
The chart shows the relative state of the parties since polling began from 2012, until the date of the election. The constituency vote is shown as semi-transparent lines, while the regional vote is shown in full lines.
== Result ==
=== Votes summary ===
=== Central Scotland ===
=== Glasgow ===
=== Highlands and Islands ===
=== Lothian ===
Margo MacDonald had been elected on the Lothian regional list in 2011, as an Independent; she died in 2014.
=== Mid Scotland and Fife ===
=== North East Scotland ===
=== South Scotland ===
=== West Scotland ===
== Target seats ==
Below are listed all the constituencies which required a swing of less than 5% from the 2011 result to change hands.
=== SNP targets ===
=== Labour targets ===
=== Conservative targets ===
=== Liberal Democrat targets ===
== Incumbents defeated ==
* Formerly SNP |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meryl_Streep | Meryl Streep | Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Recognized as one of the most versatile performers of her era, Streep is noted for her technical precision, command of dialects, and professional longevity. She is an alumna of Vassar College and the Yale School of Drama, holding a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Fine Arts. Her artistic process often includes refining her characters' dialogue so that their motivations possess a psychological depth and agency that transcend traditional archetypes. Beyond her creative work, she is a prominent advocate for gender parity, labor protections, and a challenge to the influence of the male gaze in film criticism and production.
Streep began her professional stage career in 1975 in Trelawny of the Wells and earned a Tony Award nomination the following year for 27 Wagons Full of Cotton. She transitioned to film in Julia (1977), followed by her first Academy Award nomination for The Deer Hunter (1978). For Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), she won her first Oscar after advocating to rewrite her character's courtroom testimony, shifting the role from a secondary antagonist to a portrayal focused on a woman's autonomy. She became a leading actress of the 1980s with performances in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Sophie's Choice (1982), Out of Africa (1985), and A Cry in the Dark (1988), for which she received the Best Actress Award at Cannes.
After expanding into various genres in the 1990s, Streep achieved a new level of commercial stardom in the 2000s. She transitioned from her established dramatic niche to lead high-grossing mainstream successes, portraying a formidable antagonist in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and a singing lead in the musical Mamma Mia! (2008). During this period, she continued to receive critical acclaim for her dramatic turns in Doubt (2008) and The Iron Lady (2011), the latter earning her a third Academy Award.
Her career honors include three Academy Awards, eight Golden Globe Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. She is a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award, the Honorary Palme d'Or, the Kennedy Center Honor, the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, and an Honorary César. In 2014, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She holds the record for the most Academy Award and Globe nominations of any performer, with 21 and 34 respectively. A prolific artist, her career spans over 64 films and 18 television projects, alongside more than 20 musical recordings and 30 audiobooks.
== Early life and education ==
Mary Louise Streep was born on June 22, 1949, in Summit, New Jersey, to artist Mary Wilkinson Streep and pharmaceutical executive Harry William Streep Jr. She has two younger brothers, Harry William Streep III and Dana David Streep, both actors. Streep's mother, who she claims looks like Dame Judi Dench, strongly encouraged her daughter and instilled confidence in her from a very young age. Streep said, "She was a mentor because she said to me, 'Meryl, you're capable. You're so great.' She was saying, 'You can do whatever you put your mind to. If you're lazy, you're not going to get it done. But if you put your mind to it, you can do anything.' And I believed her." Although she was naturally more introverted than her mother, when she later needed an injection of confidence in adulthood, she would consult her mother at times for advice.
Streep was raised as a Presbyterian in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and attended Cedar Hill Elementary School and the Oak Street School, which was a junior high school at that time. In her junior high debut, she starred as Louise Heller in the play The Family Upstairs. In 1963, the family moved to Bernardsville, New Jersey, where she attended Bernards High School. As a "gawky kid with glasses and frizzy hair", she liked to show off in front of the camera in family home movies from a young age. At age 12, Streep was selected to sing at a school recital, leading to her having opera lessons from Estelle Liebling. Despite her talent, she later remarked, "I was singing something I didn't feel and understand. That was an important lesson—not to do that. To find the thing that I could feel through." She quit after four years. Streep had many Catholic school friends and regularly attended Mass. She was a high school cheerleader for the Bernards High School Mountaineers. She was also chosen as the homecoming queen her senior year.
Although Streep appeared in numerous school plays during her high school years, she was uninterested in serious theater until acting in the play Miss Julie at Vassar College in 1969, in which she gained attention across the campus. Vassar drama professor Clinton J. Atkinson noted, "I don't think anyone ever taught Meryl acting. She really taught herself." Streep demonstrated an early ability to mimic accents and to quickly memorize her lines. She earned her AB in drama cum laude in 1971, before applying for a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from the Yale School of Drama. At Yale, she supplemented her course fees by working as a waitress and typist, and appeared in over a dozen stage productions per year; at one point, she became overworked and developed ulcers, so she contemplated quitting acting and switching to study law. Streep played a variety of roles on stage, from Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream to an 80-year-old woman in a wheelchair in a comedy written by then-unknown playwrights Christopher Durang and Albert Innaurato. She was a student of choreographer Carmen de Lavallade, whom she introduced at the 2017 Kennedy Center Honors. Another of her teachers was Robert Lewis, a co-founder of the Actors Studio. Streep disapproved of some of the acting exercises she was asked to do, remarking that one professor taught the emotional recall technique by delving into personal lives in a way she found "obnoxious". She earned her MFA in drama from Yale in 1975. She also enrolled as a visiting student at Dartmouth College in 1970 and received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from the college in 1981.
== Career ==
=== 1970s: Early work and breakthrough ===
One of Streep's first professional jobs in 1975 was at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference, during which she acted in five plays over six weeks. She moved to New York City in 1975, and was cast by Joseph Papp in a production of Trelawny of the Wells at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, opposite Mandy Patinkin and John Lithgow. She went on to appear in five more roles in her first year in New York, including in Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival productions of Henry V, The Taming of the Shrew with Raul Julia, and Measure for Measure opposite Sam Waterston and John Cazale. She entered into a relationship with Cazale at this time, and resided with him until his death three years later. She starred in the musical Happy End on Broadway, and won an Obie for her performance in the off-Broadway play Alice at the Palace.
Although Streep had not aspired to become a film actor, Robert De Niro's performance in Taxi Driver (1976) had a profound impact on her; she said to herself, 'That's the kind of actor I want to be when I grow up.' Streep began auditioning for film roles, and underwent an unsuccessful audition for the lead role in Dino De Laurentiis's remake of the action adventure King Kong which was released in 1976. De Laurentiis, referring to Streep as she stood before him, said in Italian to his son: "This is so ugly. Why did you bring me this?" Unknown to Laurentiis, Streep understood Italian, and she remarked, "I'm very sorry that I'm not as beautiful as I should be, but, you know – this is it. This is what you get." She continued to work on Broadway, appearing in the 1976 double bill of Tennessee Williams' 27 Wagons Full of Cotton and Arthur Miller's A Memory of Two Mondays. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Streep's other Broadway credits include Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and the Bertolt Brecht-Kurt Weill musical Happy End, in which she had originally appeared off-Broadway at the Chelsea Theater Center. She received Drama Desk Award nominations for both productions.
Streep's first feature film role came opposite Jane Fonda in the 1977 film Julia, in which she had a small role during a flashback sequence. Most of her scenes were edited out, but the brief time on screen horrified the actress, "I had a bad wig and they took the words from the scene I shot with Jane and put them in my mouth in a different scene. I thought, I've made a terrible mistake, no more movies. I hate this business." However, Streep stated in 2015 that Fonda had a lasting influence on her as an actress, and credited her with opening "probably more doors than I probably even know about". Robert De Niro, who had spotted Streep in her stage production of The Cherry Orchard, suggested that she play the role of his girlfriend in the war film The Deer Hunter (1978). Cazale, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer, was also cast in the film, and Streep took on the role of a "vague, stock girlfriend" to remain with Cazale for the duration of filming. Pauline Kael, who later became a strong critic of Streep, remarked that she was a "real beauty" who brought much freshness to the film with her performance. The film's success exposed Streep to a wider audience and earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In the 1978 miniseries Holocaust, Streep played the leading role of a German woman married to a Jewish artist played by James Woods in Nazi era Germany. She found the material to be "unrelentingly noble" and professed to have taken on the role for financial gain. Streep travelled to Germany and Austria for filming while Cazale remained in New York. Upon her return, Streep found that Cazale's illness had progressed, and she nursed him until his death on March 12, 1978. With an estimated audience of 109 million, Holocaust brought a wider degree of public recognition to Streep, who found herself "on the verge of national visibility". She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her performance. Despite the awards success, Streep was still not enthusiastic towards her film career and preferred acting on stage.
She played the supporting role of Leilah in Wendy Wasserstein's Uncommon Women and Others in a May 1978 "Theater in America" television production for PBS's Great Performances. She replaced Glenn Close, who played the role in the Off-Broadway production at the Phoenix Theatre. Hoping to divert herself from the grief of Cazale's death, Streep accepted a role in The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979) as the chirpy love interest of Alan Alda, later commenting that she played it on "automatic pilot". She performed the role of Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew for Shakespeare in the Park. That same year she played a supporting role as the former girlfriend turned lesbian in Manhattan (1979) for Woody Allen. Streep later said that Allen did not provide her with a complete script, giving her only the six pages of her own scenes, and did not permit her to improvise a word of her dialogue. Vincent Canby of The New York Times described her performance as being "beautifully played".
In the drama Kramer vs. Kramer, Streep was cast opposite Dustin Hoffman as an unhappily married woman who abandons her husband and child. Streep thought that the script portrayed the female character as "too evil" and insisted that it was not representative of real women who faced marriage breakdown and child custody battles. The makers agreed with her, and the script was revised. In preparing for the part, Streep spoke to her own mother about her life as a wife with a career, and frequented the Upper East Side neighborhood in which the film was set, watching the interactions between parents and children. The director Robert Benton allowed Streep to write her own dialogue in two key scenes, despite some objection from Hoffman, who "hated her guts" at first. Hoffman and producer Stanley R. Jaffe later spoke of Streep's tirelessness, with Hoffman commenting: "She's extraordinarily hard-working, to the extent that she's obsessive. I think that she thinks about nothing else, but what she's doing." The film was controversial among feminists, but it was a role which film critic Stephen Farber believed displayed Streep's "own emotional intensity", writing that she was one of the "rare performers who can imbue the most routine moments with a hint of mystery".
For the film, Streep won both the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, which she famously left in the ladies' room after giving her speech. She received awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Board of Review and National Society of Film Critics for her collective work in her three film releases of 1979. Both The Deer Hunter and Kramer vs. Kramer were major commercial successes and were consecutive winners of the Academy Award for Best Picture.
=== 1980s: Rise to prominence ===
In 1979, Streep began workshopping Alice in Concert, a musical version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with writer and composer Elizabeth Swados and director Joseph Papp; the show was put on at New York's Public Theater from December 1980. Frank Rich of The New York Times referred to Streep as the production's "one wonder", but questioned why she devoted so much energy to it. By 1980, Streep had progressed to leading roles in films. She was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine with the headline "A Star for the 80s"; Jack Kroll commented, "There's a sense of mystery in her acting; she doesn't simply imitate (although she's a great mimic in private). She transmits a sense of danger, a primal unease lying just below the surface of normal behavior".
Streep denounced her fervent media coverage at the time as "excessive hype". The story within a story drama The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) was Streep's first leading role. The film paired Streep with Jeremy Irons as contemporary actors, telling their modern story, as well as the Victorian era drama they were performing. Streep developed an English accent for the part, but considered herself a misfit for the role: "I couldn't help wishing that I was more beautiful". A New York magazine article commented that, while many female stars of the past had cultivated a singular identity in their films, Streep was a "chameleon", willing to play any type of role. Streep was awarded a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work. The following year, she re-united with Robert Benton for the psychological thriller, Still of the Night (1982), co-starring Roy Scheider and Jessica Tandy. Vincent Canby, writing for The New York Times, noted that the film was an homage to the works of Alfred Hitchcock, but that one of its main weaknesses was a lack of chemistry between Streep and Scheider, concluding that Streep "is stunning, but she's not on screen anywhere near long enough".
Greater success came later in the year when Streep starred in the drama Sophie's Choice (also 1982), portraying a Polish survivor of Auschwitz caught in a love triangle between a young naïve writer (Peter MacNicol) and a Jewish intellectual (Kevin Kline). Streep's emotional dramatic performance and her apparent mastery of a Polish accent drew praise. William Styron wrote the novel with Ursula Andress in mind for the role of Sophie, but Streep was determined to get the role. Streep filmed the "choice" scene in one take and refused to do it again, finding it extremely painful and emotionally exhausting. That scene, in which Streep is ordered by an SS guard at Auschwitz to choose which of her two children would be gassed and which would proceed to the labor camp, is her most famous scene, according to Emma Brockes of The Guardian who wrote in 2006: "It's classic Streep, the kind of scene that makes your scalp tighten, but defter in a way is her handling of smaller, harder-to-grasp emotions".
Among several acting awards, Streep won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance, and her characterization was voted the third greatest movie performance of all time by Premiere magazine. Roger Ebert said of her delivery, "Streep plays the Brooklyn scenes with an enchanting Polish-American accent (she has the first accent I've ever wanted to hug), and she plays the flashbacks in subtitled German and Polish. There is hardly an emotion that Streep doesn't touch in this movie, and yet we're never aware of her straining. This is one of the most astonishing and yet one of the most unaffected and natural performances I can imagine". Pauline Kael, on the contrary, called the film an "infuriatingly bad movie", and thought that Streep "decorporealizes" herself, which she believed explained why her movie heroines "don't seem to be full characters, and why there are no incidental joys to be had from watching her".
In 1983, Streep played her first non-fictional character, the nuclear whistleblower and labor union activist Karen Silkwood, who died in a suspicious car accident while investigating alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant, in Mike Nichols' biographical film Silkwood. Streep felt a personal connection to Silkwood, and in preparation, she met with people close to the woman, and in doing so realized that each person saw a different aspect of her personality. She said, "I didn't try to turn myself into Karen. I just tried to look at what she did. I put together every piece of information I could find about her ... What I finally did was look at the events in her life, and try to understand her from the inside". Jack Kroll of Newsweek considered Streep's characterization to have been "brilliant", while Silkwood's boyfriend Drew Stephens expressed approval in that Streep had played Karen as a human being rather than a myth, despite Karen's father Bill thinking that Streep and the film had dumbed his daughter down. Pauline Kael believed that Streep had been miscast.
Streep next played opposite Robert De Niro in the romance Falling in Love (1984), which was poorly received. She portrayed a fighter for the French Resistance during World War II in the British drama Plenty (1985), adapted from the play by David Hare. For the latter, Roger Ebert wrote that she conveyed "great subtlety; it is hard to play an unbalanced, neurotic, self-destructive woman, and do it with such gentleness and charm ... Streep creates a whole character around a woman who could have simply been a catalogue of symptoms." In 2008, Molly Haskell praised Streep's performance in Plenty, believing it to be "one of Streep's most difficult and ambiguous" films and "most feminist" role.
In her next film, Out of Africa (1985), Streep starred as the Danish writer Karen Blixen, opposite Robert Redford's Denys Finch Hatton. Director Sydney Pollack was initially dubious about Streep in the role, as he did not think she was sexy enough, and had considered Jane Seymour for the part. Pollack recalls that Streep impressed him in a different way: "She was so direct, so honest, so without bullshit. There was no shielding between her and me." Streep and Pollack often clashed during the 101-day shoot in Kenya, particularly over Blixen's voice. Streep had spent much time listening to tapes of Blixen, and began speaking in an old-fashioned and aristocratic fashion, which Pollack thought excessive. A significant commercial success, the film won a Golden Globe for Best Picture. It also earned Streep another Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, and the film ultimately won Best Picture. Film critic Stanley Kauffmann praised her performance, writing "Meryl Streep is back in top form. This means her performance in Out of Africa is at the highest level of acting in film today."
Streep's next films did not appeal to a wide audience; she co-starred with Jack Nicholson in the dramas Heartburn (1986) and Ironweed (1987). In Evil Angels (1988), she played Lindy Chamberlain, an Australian woman who had been convicted of the murder of her infant daughter despite claiming that the baby had been taken by a dingo. Filmed in Australia, Streep won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, a Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. Streep has said of developing the Australian accent in the film: "I had to study a little bit for Australian because it's not dissimilar [to American], so it's like coming from Italian to Spanish. You get a little mixed up." Vincent Canby of The New York Times referred to her performance as "another stunning performance", played with "the kind of virtuosity that seems to re-define the possibilities of screen acting".
In 1989, Streep lobbied to play the lead role in Oliver Stone's adaption of the play Evita, but two months before filming was due to commence, she dropped out, citing "exhaustion" initially, although it was later revealed that there was a dispute over her salary. By the end of the decade, Streep actively looked to star in a comedy. She found the role in She-Devil (1989), a satire that parodied societal obsession with beauty and cosmetic surgery, in which she played a glamorous writer. Though the film was not a success, Richard Corliss of Time wrote that Streep was the "one reason" to see it, and observed that it marked a departure from the dramatic roles she was known to play. Reacting to her string of poorly received films, Streep said: "Audiences are shrinking; as the marketing strategy defines more and more narrowly who they want to reach males from 16 to 25 – it's become a chicken-and-egg syndrome. Which came first? First, they release all these summer movies, then do a demographic survey of who's going to see them."
=== 1990s: Commercial fluctuations ===
Biographer Karen Hollinger described the early 1990s as a downturn in the popularity of Streep's films, attributing this partly to a critical perception that her comedies had been an attempt to convey a lighter image following several serious, but commercially unsuccessful, dramas, and, more significantly, to the lack of options available to an actress in her forties. Streep commented that she had limited her options by her preference to work in Los Angeles, close to her family, a situation that she had anticipated in a 1981 interview when she commented, "By the time an actress hits her mid-forties, no one's interested in her anymore. And if you want to fit a couple of babies into that schedule as well, you've got to pick your parts with great care." At the Screen Actor's Guild National Women's Conference in 1990, Streep keynoted the first national event, emphasizing the decline in women's work opportunities, pay parity, and role models within the film industry. She criticized the film industry for downplaying the importance of women both on screen and off.
After roles in the comedy-drama Postcards from the Edge (1990), and the comedy-fantasy Defending Your Life (1991), Streep starred with Goldie Hawn in the farcical black comedy, Death Becomes Her (1992), with Bruce Willis as their co-star. Streep persuaded writer David Koepp to re-write several of the scenes, particularly the one in which her character has an affair with a younger man, which she believed was "unrealistically male" in its conception. The seven-month shoot was the longest of Streep's career, during which she got into character by "thinking about being slightly pissed off all of the time". Due to Streep's allergies to numerous cosmetics, special prosthetics had to be designed to age her by ten years to look 54, although Streep believed that they made her look nearer 70. Although it was a commercial success, earning $15.1 million in just five days, Streep's contribution to comedy was generally not taken well by critics. Time's Richard Corliss wrote approvingly of Streep's "wicked-witch routine" but dismissed the film as "She-Devil with a make-over" and one which "hates women". Streep later admitted to having disliked filming the scenes involving heavy special effects, and vowed never to work again on a film with heavy special effects.
Streep appeared with Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close and Winona Ryder in The House of the Spirits (1993), set in Chile during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. The film was not well received by critics. Anthony Lane of The New Yorker wrote: "This is really quite an achievement. It brings together Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Winona Ryder, Antonio Banderas, and Vanessa Redgrave and insures that, without exception, they all give their worst performances ever". The following year, Streep starred in The River Wild, as the mother of children on a whitewater rafting trip who encounter two violent criminals (Kevin Bacon and John C. Reilly) in the wilderness. Though critical reaction was generally mixed, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone found her to be "strong, sassy and looser than she has ever been onscreen".
Streep's most successful film of the decade was the romantic drama The Bridges of Madison County (1995) directed by Clint Eastwood, who adapted the film from Robert James Waller's novel of the same name. It relates the story of Robert Kincaid (Eastwood), a photographer working for National Geographic, who has a love affair with a middle-aged Italian farm wife Francesca (Streep). Though Streep disliked the novel it was based on, she found the script to be a special opportunity for an actress her age. She gained weight for the part and dressed differently from the character in the book to emulate voluptuous Italian film stars such as Sophia Loren. Both Loren and Anna Magnani were an influence in her portrayal, and Streep viewed Pier Paolo Pasolini's Mamma Roma (1962) prior to filming. The film was a box office hit and grossed over $70 million in the United States. The film, unlike the novel, was warmly received by critics. Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that Eastwood had managed to create "a moving, elegiac love story at the heart of Mr. Waller's self-congratulatory overkill", while Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal described it as "one of the most pleasurable films in recent memory". Film critic Karina Longworth claimed it was the role in which Streep became "arguably the first middle-aged actress to be taken seriously by Hollywood as a romantic heroine".
Streep played the estranged sister of Bessie (Diane Keaton), a woman battling leukemia, in Marvin's Room (1996), an adaptation of the play by Scott McPherson. Streep recommended Keaton for the role. Roger Ebert stated that, "Streep and Keaton, in their different styles, find ways to make Lee and Bessie into much more than the expression of their problems." The film was well received, and Streep earned another Golden Globe nomination for her performance.
Streep's performance in ...First Do No Harm (1997) garnered her a second Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie. In 1998, Streep first appeared opposite Michael Gambon and Catherine McCormack in Pat O'Connor's Dancing at Lughnasa, another Broadway adaptation, which was entered into the Venice Film Festival in its year of release. Janet Maslin of The New York Times remarked that "Meryl Streep has made many a grand acting gesture in her career, but the way she simply peers out a window in Dancing at Lughnasa ranks with the best. Everything the viewer need know about Kate Mundy, the woman she plays here, is written on that prim, lonely face and its flabbergasted gaze." Later that year, she played a housewife dying of cancer in One True Thing. The film met with positive reviews. Mick LaSalle in the San Francisco Chronicle declared, "After One True Thing, critics who persist in the fiction that Streep is a cold and technical actress will need to get their heads examined. She is so instinctive and natural – so thoroughly in the moment and operating on flights of inspiration – that she's able to give us a woman who's at once wildly idiosyncratic and utterly believable." Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan noted that her role "is one of the least self-consciously dramatic and surface showy of her career," but she "adds a level of honesty and reality that makes [her performance] one of her most moving".
Streep portrayed Roberta Guaspari in the music drama Music of the Heart (1999). Streep received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance. Roger Ebert wrote: Meryl Streep is known for her mastery of accents; she may be the most versatile speaker in the movies. Here you might think she has no accent, unless you've heard her real speaking voice; then you realize that Guaspari's speaking style is no less a particular achievement than Streep's other accents. This is not Streep's voice, but someone else's – with a certain flat quality, as if later education and refinement came after a somewhat unsophisticated childhood.
=== 2000s: Career resurgence and stage work ===
Streep entered the 2000s with a voice cameo in Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), a science fiction film about a childlike android, played by Haley Joel Osment. The same year, Streep co-hosted the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert with Liam Neeson which was held in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2001, in honour of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the United Nations and Kofi Annan. In 2001, Streep returned to the stage for the first time in more than twenty years, playing Arkadina in The Public Theater's revival of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, directed by Mike Nichols and co-starring Kevin Kline, Natalie Portman, John Goodman, Marcia Gay Harden, Stephen Spinella, Debra Monk, Larry Pine and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
The same year, Streep began work on Spike Jonze's comedy-drama Adaptation. (2002), in which she portrayed real-life journalist Susan Orlean. Lauded by critics and viewers alike, the film won Streep her fourth Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category. A. O. Scott in The New York Times considered Streep's portrayal of Orlean to have been "played with impish composure", noting the contrast in her "wittily realized" character with love interest Chris Cooper's "lank-haired, toothless charisma" as the autodidact arrested for poaching rare orchids. Streep appeared alongside Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore in Stephen Daldry's The Hours (2002), based on the 1999 novel by Michael Cunningham. Focusing on three women of different generations whose lives are interconnected by the novel Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, the film was generally well received and won all three leading actresses a Silver Bear for Best Actress.
In 2003, Streep re-united with Mike Nichols to star with Al Pacino and Emma Thompson in the HBO's adaptation of Tony Kushner's six-hour play Angels in America, the story of two couples whose relationships dissolve amidst the backdrop of Reagan era politics. Streep, who was cast in four roles in the miniseries, received her second Emmy Award and fifth Golden Globe for her performance. She appeared in Jonathan Demme's moderately successful remake of The Manchurian Candidate in 2004, co-starring Denzel Washington, playing the role of a woman who is both a U.S. senator and the manipulative, ruthless mother of a vice-presidential candidate. The same year, she played the supporting role of Aunt Josephine in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events alongside Jim Carrey, based on the first three novels in Snicket's book series. The black comedy received generally favorable reviews from critics, and won the Academy Award for Best Makeup. Streep also narrated the film Monet's Palate. Streep was next cast in the comedy film Prime (2005), directed by Ben Younger. In the film, she played Lisa Metzger, the Jewish psychoanalyst of a divorced and lonesome business-woman, played by Uma Thurman, who enters a relationship with Metzger's 23-year-old son (Bryan Greenberg). A modest mainstream success, it eventually grossed US$67.9 million internationally. Roger Ebert noted how Streep had "that ability to cut through the solemnity of a scene with a zinger that reveals how all human effort is, after all, comic at some level".
In August and September 2006, Streep starred onstage at The Public Theater's production of Mother Courage and Her Children at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. The Public Theater production was a new translation by playwright Tony Kushner, with songs in the Weill/Brecht style written by composer Jeanine Tesori; veteran director George C. Wolfe was at the helm. Streep starred alongside Kevin Kline and Austin Pendleton in this three-and-a-half-hour play. Around the same time, Streep, along with Lily Tomlin, portrayed the last two members of what was once a popular family country music act in Robert Altman's final film A Prairie Home Companion (2006). A comedic ensemble piece featuring Lindsay Lohan, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Kline and Woody Harrelson, the film revolves around the behind-the-scenes activities at the long-running public radio show of the same name. The film grossed more than US$26 million, the majority of which came from domestic markets.
Commercially, Streep fared better with a role in The Devil Wears Prada (also 2006), a loose screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel of the same name. Streep portrayed the powerful and demanding Miranda Priestly, fashion magazine editor (and boss of a recent college graduate played by Anne Hathaway). Though the overall film received mixed reviews, her portrayal, of what Ebert calls the "poised and imperious Miranda", drew rave reviews from critics, and earned her many award nominations, including her record-setting 14th Oscar bid, as well as another Golden Globe. On its commercial release, the film became Streep's biggest commercial success to this point, grossing more than US$326.5 million worldwide.
She portrayed a wealthy university patron in Chen Shi-zheng's much-delayed feature drama Dark Matter, a film about a Chinese science graduate student who becomes violent after dealing with academic politics at a U.S. university. Inspired by the events of the 1991 University of Iowa shooting, and initially scheduled for a 2007 release, producers and investors decided to shelve Dark Matter out of respect for the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting in April 2007. The drama received negative to mixed reviews upon its limited 2008 release. Streep played a U.S. government official who investigates an Egyptian foreign national suspected of terrorism in the political thriller Rendition (2007), directed by Gavin Hood. Keen to get involved in a thriller film, Streep welcomed the opportunity to star in a film genre for which she was not usually offered scripts, and immediately signed on to the project. Upon its release, Rendition was less commercially successful, and received mixed reviews.
In this period, Streep had a short role alongside Vanessa Redgrave, Glenn Close, and her eldest daughter Mamie Gummer in Lajos Koltai's drama film Evening (2007), based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Susan Minot. Switching between the present and the past, it tells the story of a bedridden woman, who remembers her tumultuous life in the mid-1950s. The film was released to a lukewarm reaction from critics, who called it "beautifully filmed, but decidedly dull [and] a colossal waste of a talented cast". She had a role in Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs (also 2007), a film about the connection between a platoon of United States soldiers in Afghanistan, a U.S. senator, a reporter, and a California college professor. Like Evening, critics felt that the talent of the cast was wasted, and that it suffered from slow pacing, although one critic announced that Streep positively stood out, being "natural, unforced, quietly powerful", in comparison to Redford's forced performance.
Streep found major commercial success when she starred in Phyllida Lloyd's Mamma Mia! (2008), a film adaptation of the musical of the same name, based on the songs of Swedish pop group ABBA. Co-starring Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, and Christine Baranski, Streep played a single mother and a former girl-group singer, whose daughter (Seyfried), a bride-to-be who never met her father, invites three likely paternal candidates to her wedding on the idyllic Greek island of Skopelos known in the film as Kalokairi. An instant box office success, Mamma Mia! became Streep's highest-grossing film to date, with box office receipts of US$602.6 million, also ranking it first among the highest-grossing musical films. Nominated for another Golden Globe, Streep's performance was generally well received by critics, with Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe commenting: "The greatest actor in American movies has finally become a movie star."
Doubt (also 2008) features Streep with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis. A drama revolving around the stern principal nun (Streep) of a Bronx Catholic school in 1964 who brings accusations of pedophilia against a popular priest (Hoffman), the film became a moderate box office success, and was hailed by many critics as one of the best films of 2008. The film received five Academy Awards nominations, for its four lead actors and for John Patrick Shanley's script. Ebert, who awarded the film the full four stars, highlighted Streep's caricature of a nun, who "hates all inroads of the modern world", while Kelly Vance of The East Bay Express remarked: "It's thrilling to see a pro like Streep step into an already wildly exaggerated role, and then ramp it up a few notches just for the sheer hell of it. Grim, red-eyed, deathly pale Sister Aloysius may be the scariest nun of all time."
In 2009, Streep played chef Julia Child in Nora Ephron's Julie & Julia, co-starring with Stanley Tucci, and again with Amy Adams. (Tucci and Streep had worked together earlier in Devil Wears Prada.) The first major motion picture based on a blog, Julie and Julia contrasts the life of Child in the early years of her culinary career with the life of young New Yorker Julie Powell (Adams), who aspires to cook all 524 recipes in Child's cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy It's Complicated (also 2009), Streep starred with Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. She received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for both Julie & Julia and It's Complicated; she won the award for Julie & Julia, and later received her 16th Oscar nomination for it. She also lent her voice to Mrs. Felicity Fox in Wes Anderson's stop-motion film Fantastic Mr. Fox.
=== 2010s: Further critical and commercial success ===
Streep re-teamed with Mamma Mia director Phyllida Lloyd on The Iron Lady (2011), a British biographical film about Margaret Thatcher, which takes a look at the Prime Minister during the Falklands War and her years in retirement. Streep, who attended a session of the House of Commons to see British Members of Parliament (MPs) in action in preparation for her role as Thatcher, called her casting "a daunting and exciting challenge". While the film had a mixed reception, Streep's performance gained rave reviews, earning her Best Actress awards at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs, as well as her third win at the 84th Academy Awards. Former advisers, friends, and family of Thatcher criticized Streep's portrayal of her as "inaccurate" and "biased". The following year, after Thatcher's death, Streep issued a formal statement describing Thatcher's "hard-nosed fiscal measures" and "hands-off approach to financial regulation", while praising her "personal strength and grit".
Streep re-united with Prada director David Frankel on the set of the romantic comedy-drama film Hope Springs (2012), co-starring Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell. Streep and Jones play a middle-aged couple, who attend a week of intensive marriage counseling to try to bring back the intimacy missing in their relationship. Reviews for the film were mostly positive, with critics praising the "mesmerizing performances ... which offer filmgoers some grown-up laughs – and a thoughtful look at mature relationships". In 2013, Streep starred alongside Julia Roberts and Ewan McGregor in the black comedy drama August: Osage County (2013) about a dysfunctional family that re-unites into the familial house when their patriarch suddenly disappears. Based on Tracy Letts's Pulitzer Prize-winning eponymous play, Streep received positive reviews for her portrayal of the family's strong-willed and contentious matriarch, who is suffering from oral cancer and an addiction to narcotics. She was subsequently nominated for another Golden Globe, SAG, and Academy Award.
In 2014's The Giver, a motion picture adaptation of the young adult novel, Streep played a community leader. Set in 2048, the social science fiction film recounts the story of a post-apocalyptic community without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, where a young boy is chosen to learn the real world. Streep was aware of the book before being offered the role by co-star and producer Jeff Bridges. Upon its release, The Giver was met with generally mixed to negative reviews from critics. Streep also had a small role in the period drama film The Homesman (2014). Set in the 1850s midwest, the film stars Hilary Swank and Tommy Lee Jones as an unusual pair who help three women driven to madness by the frontier to get back East. Streep does not appear until near the end of the film, playing a preacher's wife, who takes the women into care. The Homesman premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival where it garnered largely positive reviews from critics.
Directed by Rob Marshall, Into the Woods (also 2014) is a Disney film adaptation of the Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim in which Streep plays a witch. A fantasy genre crossover inspired by the Grimm Brothers' fairy tales, it centers on a childless couple who set out to end a curse placed on them by Streep's vengeful witch. Though the film was dismissed by some critics such as Mark Kermode as "irritating naffness", Streep's performance earned her Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG, and Critic's Choice Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress. In July 2014, it was announced that Streep would portray Maria Callas in Master Class, but the project was pulled after director Mike Nichols's death in November of the same year.
In 2015, Streep starred in Jonathan Demme's Ricki and the Flash, playing a grocery store checkout worker by day who is a rock musician at night, and who has one last chance to reconnect with her estranged family. Streep learned to play the guitar for the semi-autobiographical drama-comedy film, which again featured Streep with her eldest daughter Mamie Gummer. Reviews of the film were generally mixed. Streep's other film of this time was director Sarah Gavron's period drama Suffragette (also 2015), co-starring Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter. In the film, she played the small, but pivotal, role of Emmeline Pankhurst, a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement who helped women win the right to vote. The film received mostly positive reviews, particularly for the performances of the cast, though its distributor earned criticism that Streep's prominent position within the marketing was misleading.
Following the duties of the president at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in 2016, Streep starred in the Stephen Frears-directed comedy Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), an eponymous biopic about a blithely unaware tone-deaf opera singer who insists upon public performance. Other cast members were Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg. Robbie Collin considered it to be one of her most "human performance" and felt that it was "full of warmth that gives way to heart-pinching pathos". She won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress in a Comedy, and received Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG, and BAFTA nominations.
Streep next starred as the first American female newspaper publisher, Katharine Graham, to Tom Hanks' Ben Bradlee, in Steven Spielberg's political drama The Post (2017), which centers on The Washington Post's publication of the 1971 Pentagon Papers. The film received positive reviews with praise directed to the performances of the two leads. Manohla Dargis wrote that "Streep creates an acutely moving portrait of a woman who in liberating herself helps instigate a revolution". It earned over $177 million against a budget of $50 million. Streep received her 31st Golden Globe nomination and 21st Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
In 2018, Streep briefly reprised her role in the musical sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. She also played a supporting part in Rob Marshall's Mary Poppins Returns, a musical sequel to the 1964 film Mary Poppins starring Emily Blunt in the titular role. Streep next featured in her first main role in a television series by starring in the second season of the HBO drama series Big Little Lies in 2019. She took on the part of Mary Louise Wright, the mother-in-law of Nicole Kidman's character. Liane Moriarty, author of the novel of the same name, on which the first season is based, wrote a 200-page novella that served as the basis for the second season. Moriarty decided to name the new character Mary Louise, after Streep's legal name. Streep subsequently agreed to the part without reading a script for the first time in her career. Writing for the BBC, Caryn James labeled her performance "delicious and wily" and found her to be the "embodiment of a passive-aggressive granny". She received an Emmy nomination for the show.
The same year, Streep then starred in the Steven Soderbergh-directed biographical comedy The Laundromat, about the Panama Papers, opposite Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas. It was the first movie distributed by Netflix in which Streep starred. She also played Aunt March in Greta Gerwig's Little Women, co-starring with Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Timothée Chalamet, and Laura Dern.
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praised Streep's performance writing, "Streep is clearly having a ball as the imperious snob who snorts with disapproval...[and] does her best to hide her affection for her nieces behind her narrowed gaze and all-purpose disdain". The film received critical acclaim and grossed over $218 million against its $40 million budget.
=== 2020s: Streaming and theatrical projects ===
In 2020, she voiced a role in the Apple TV+ animated short film Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth. Streep had leading roles in two films, both released by streaming services. She reunited with Nicole Kidman for Netflix, in Ryan Murphy's The Prom (2020), a film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name. That same year she also reunited with director Steven Soderbergh for his HBO Max comedy film Let Them All Talk (2020). Streep starred alongside Dianne Wiest, Candice Bergen, Lucas Hedges, and Gemma Chan. Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair noted, "Streep could, in some senses, be approaching the film as a meta commentary on her own ivied stature as the world's greatest living actor (in some people's estimation, anyway). If that is what's happening, she never betrays her motivations with a wink. It's all played pretty earnestly".
Streep then starred opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence in Don't Look Up (2021), directed by Adam McKay for Netflix. Streep played a comical role as the fictional President of the United States who waves off the fears of climate change. In his mixed review, Peter DeBruge of Variety stated she was "clearly having more fun than we are". Streep served as an executive producer on Sell/Buy/Date (2022), directed by Sarah Jones. She acted in the Apple TV+ anthology series Extrapolations (2023). Later that year, she began playing Loretta Durkin, a struggling actress, from the third season of the Hulu comedy series Only Murders in the Building, starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. Leila Latif of The Guardian wrote, "Streep, unsurprisingly, plays Loretta beautifully, truly tapping into the agony of a woman who's faced a lifetime of rejection but somehow kept her dream alive". She received Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won a Critics' Choice Television Award. In 2025, Streep attended the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special, in which she acted in an alien abduction skit portraying the mother of Colleen Rafferty, played by Kate McKinnon. It marked Streep's first SNL appearance. Streep then voiced Queen Butterfly in the Pixar Animation Studios film Hoppers, which released on March 6, 2026.
==== Upcoming projects ====
She is set to reprise the role of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada 2, which is scheduled for release on May 1, 2026. On August 18, 2025 it was announced that a biopic on the life and career of musician Joni Mitchell was in the works with Cameron Crowe set to direct the film. Streep has signed on to play Mitchell in present day with Anya Taylor-Joy playing Mitchell in the 1960s and 1970s.
== Other ventures ==
After Streep starred in Mamma Mia!, her rendition of the titular song rose to popularity on the Portuguese music charts, where it peaked at number eight in October 2008. At the 35th People's Choice Awards, her version of "Mamma Mia" won an award for "Favorite Song From A Soundtrack". In 2008, Streep was nominated for a Grammy Award (her fifth nomination) for her work on the Mamma Mia! soundtrack. Streep has narrated numerous audio books, including three by children's book author William Steig: Brae Irene, Spinky Sulks, and The One and Only Shrek!.
Streep is the spokesperson for the National Women's History Museum (NWHM), to which she has made significant donations (including her fee for The Iron Lady, which was $1 million), and hosted numerous events. In 2026, Streep made a seven-figure donation to the NWHM. In recognition of her contribution the NWHM established the Meryl Streep Educator Award "honoring an exceptional educator each year who advances the teaching of women's history and expands access to these vital narratives in classrooms and communities nationwide."
On October 4, 2012, Streep donated $1 million to The Public Theater in honor of both its late founder, Joseph Papp, and her friend, the author Nora Ephron. She also supports Gucci's "Chime for Change" campaign that aims to spread female empowerment.
In 2014, Streep established two scholarships for students at the University of Massachusetts Lowell – the Meryl Streep Endowed Scholarship for English majors, and the Joan Hertzberg Endowed Scholarship (named for Streep's former classmate at Vassar College) for math majors.
In April 2015, it was announced that Streep had funded a screenwriters lab for female screenwriters over forty years old, called the Writers Lab, to be run by New York Women in Film & Television and the collective IRIS. The Lab was the only one of its kind in the world for female screenwriters over forty years old. In 2015, Streep signed an open letter for which One Campaign had been collecting signatures; the letter was addressed to Angela Merkel and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, urging them to focus on women as they served as heads of the G7 in Germany and the AU in South Africa, respectively, in setting development funding priorities. Also in 2015, Streep sent each member of the U.S. Congress a letter supporting the Equal Rights Amendment. Each of her letters was sent with a copy of the book Equal Means Equal: Why the Time for the ERA is Now by Jessica Neuwirth, president of the ERA Coalition.
When asked in a 2015 interview with Time Out if she was a feminist, Streep replied, "I am a humanist, I am for nice easy balance." In March 2016, Streep, among others, signed a letter asking for gender equality throughout the world, in observance of International Women's Day; this was also organized by One Campaign. In 2018, she collaborated with 300 women in Hollywood to set up the Time's Up initiative to protect women from harassment and discrimination.
On April 25, 2017, Streep publicly backed the campaign to free Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker from Crimea who was subjected to a sham trial by Russia and jailed in Siberia for 20 years in August 2015. She was pictured alongside Ukrainian lawmaker Mustafa Nayyem with a "Free Sentsov" sign in a photograph taken during the PEN America Annual Literary Gala on April 25, at which Sentsov was honoured with a 2017 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write award.
== Reception and legacy ==
In 2004, Streep was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award by the board of directors of the American Film Institute. In 2011, she received a Kennedy Center Honors, introduced by Tracey Ullman, and speeches by 2009 Kennedy Center Honoree Robert De Niro and 2003 Kennedy Center Honoree Mike Nichols. Those also to honor Streep included, Kevin Kline, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, and Anne Hathaway. The tribute ended with the whole cast who sang "She's My Pal", a play on "He's My Pal" from Ironweed.
In November 2014, President Barack Obama bestowed upon Streep the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. The citation reads as follows, "Meryl Streep is one of the most widely known and acclaimed actors in history. Ms. Streep has captured our imaginations with her unparalleled ability to portray a wide range of roles and attract an audience that has only grown over time, portraying characters who embody the full range of the human experience." In January 2017, Viola Davis presented Streep with the Cecil B. DeMille at the Golden Globes. Davis stated to Streep "You make me proud to be an artist". In her acceptance speech, Streep quoted the recently departed Carrie Fisher, saying, "Take your broken heart and make it into art."
Vanity Fair commented that "it's hard to imagine that there was a time before Meryl Streep was the greatest-living actress". Emma Brockes of The Guardian notes that despite Streep's being "one of the most famous actresses in the world", it is "strangely hard to pin an image on Streep", in a career where she has "laboured to establish herself as an actor whose roots lie in ordinary life". Despite her success, Streep has always been modest about her own acting and achievements in cinema. She has stated that she has no particular method when it comes to acting, learning from the days of her early studies that she cannot articulate her practice. She said in 1987, "I have a smattering of things I've learned from different teachers, but nothing I can put into a valise and open it up and say 'Now, which one would you like?' Nothing I can count on, and that makes it more dangerous. But then, the danger makes it more exciting." She has stated that her ideal director is one who gives her complete artistic control, allowing her to have a degree of improvisation and to learn from her mistakes.
Streep is chameleon-like in her impersonation of characters, "subsuming herself into them, rather than personifying them". Early in her career, Streep was drawn to playing women who were difficult to like and lacked empathy. Streep has stated that many consider her to be a technical actor adding, "I come ready and I don't want to screw around and waste the first 10 takes on adjusting lighting and everybody else getting comfortable". Mike Nichols, who directed Streep in Silkwood, Heartburn, Postcards from the Edge, and Angels in America, praised Streep's ability to transform herself into her characters, remarking that, "In every role, she becomes a totally new human being. As she becomes the person she is portraying, the other performers begin to react to her as if she were that person." He said that directing her is "so much like falling in love that it has the characteristics of a time which you remember as magical, but which is shrouded in mystery". He also noted that Streep's acting ability had a profound impact on her co-stars, and that "one could improve by 1000% purely by watching her". Streep has at times infused a feminist point of view into her character portrayals; film critic Molly Haskell has stated, "None of her heroines are feminist, strictly speaking. Yet, they uncannily embody various crosscurrents of experience in the last twenty years, as women have re-defined themselves against the background of the women's movement".
Streep is well known for her ability to imitate a wide range of accents – from Danish in Out of Africa (1985) to British Received Pronunciation in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Plenty (1985), and The Iron Lady (2011); Italian in The Bridges of Madison County (1995); a southern American accent in The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979); a Minnesota accent in A Prairie Home Companion (2006); Upstate New York in Ironweed (1987); and a heavy Bronx accent in Doubt (2008). Streep has stated that she grew up listening to artists such as Barbra Streisand, the Beatles, and Bob Dylan, and she learned a lot about how to use her voice, her "instrument", by listening to Barbra Streisand's albums. In the film Evil Angels (1988, released in the U.S. as A Cry in the Dark), in which she portrays a New Zealand transplant to Australia, Streep developed a hybrid of Australian and New Zealand English. Her performance received the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, as well as Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress.
For her role in the film Sophie's Choice (1982), Streep spoke both English and German with a Polish accent, as well as Polish itself. In The Iron Lady, she reproduced the vocal style of Margaret Thatcher from the time before Thatcher became Britain's Prime Minister, and after she had taken elocution lessons to change her pitch, pronunciation, and delivery. Streep has commented that using accents as part of her acting is a technique she views as an obvious requirement in her portrayal of a character.
When questioned in Belfast as to how she reproduces different accents, Streep replied in a reportedly "perfect" Belfast accent: "I listen."
== Activism and advocacy ==
Politically, Streep has described herself as part of the American Left. She gave a speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in support of presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. In January 2017, she received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 74th Golden Globe Awards. During her acceptance speech, she criticized the conduct of then-President-elect Donald Trump, referring to him as "the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country." She specifically condemned his public mocking of disabled reporter Serge F. Kovaleski as an abuse of "privilege, power, and the capacity to fight back." Streep argued that such an "instinct to humiliate" from a powerful figure "filters down into everybody's life" and "gives permission for other people to do the same thing." The speech drew widespread media attention and became a focal point of national political discourse.
Streep has also focused her advocacy on systemic industry issues and labor rights. While promoting Suffragette in 2015, she challenged the male gaze in film criticism, citing a ratio of 760 men to 168 women among Rotten Tomatoes contributors. She argued that this imbalance creates a skewed consensus that adversely affects the commercial performance and perceived authenticity of female-driven narratives. In June 2023, she was among over 300 high-profile members of SAG-AFTRA who signed a letter threatening to strike to secure a "transformative" deal protecting performers' craft and likenesses from the unregulated rise of artificial intelligence.
== Personal life ==
=== Relationships and family ===
Streep met actor John Cazale in 1976, when they were both in a production of William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure at the Delacorte Theater. They were living together when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1977; Streep cared for him until he died in March 1978. Streep said of his death:
I didn't get over it. I don't want to get over it. No matter what you do, the pain is always there in some recess of your mind, and it affects everything that happens afterwards. I think you can assimilate the pain and go on without making an obsession of it.
Streep married sculptor Don Gummer six months after Cazale's death. They have four children: musician Henry Wolfe Gummer (born 1979), and actresses Mary Willa "Mamie" Gummer (born 1983), Grace Jane Gummer (born 1986), and Louisa Jacobson Gummer (born 1991). In 1985, the family moved into a $1.8-million private estate in Connecticut and lived there until they bought a $3-million mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles, in 1990. They later moved back to Connecticut. In 2023, it was reported that Streep and Gummer had been separated for more than six years. They were publicly last seen together at the 90th Academy Awards in 2018.
Streep is the godmother of Billie Lourd, daughter of the late actress Carrie Fisher, who was a close friend to Streep. Fisher wrote the screenplay for Streep's 1990 film Postcards from the Edge, based on Fisher's book.
=== Beliefs ===
When asked if religion plays a part in her life in 2009, Streep replied: "I follow no doctrine. I don't belong to a church or a temple or a synagogue or an ashram." In an interview in December 2008, she alluded to her lack of religious belief when she said: So, I've always been really, deeply interested because I think I can understand the solace that's available in the whole construct of religion. But I really don't believe in the power of prayer, or things would have been avoided that have happened, that are awful. So, it's a horrible position as an intelligent, emotional, yearning human being to sit outside of the available comfort there. But I just can't go there.
When asked where she draws consolation in the face of aging and death, Streep responded: Consolation? I'm not sure I have it. I have a belief, I guess, in the power of the aggregate human attempt – the best of ourselves. In love and hope and optimism – you know, the magic things that seem inexplicable. Why we are the way we are. I do have a sense of trying to make things better. Where does that come from?
== Acting credits and awards ==
One of the most prolific actresses of screen and stage since her career's inception in the late 1970s, Streep's most acclaimed and highest-grossing films, according to the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, include Julia (1977), The Deer Hunter (1978), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Sophie's Choice (1982), Silkwood (1983), A Cry in the Dark (1988), Postcards from the Edge (1990), Defending Your Life (1991), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), Marvin's Room (1996), Adaptation (2002), The Devil Wears Prada (2007), Mamma Mia (2008), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), The Homesman (2014), Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), Little Women (2019), and Let Them All Talk (2020). Her television projects include the miniseries Holocaust (1978), the television film ...First Do No Harm (1997), the miniseries Angels in America (2003), and the drama series Big Little Lies (2019). Her stage roles include the Broadway theatre productions A Memory of Two Mondays, 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (both 1976) and The Cherry Orchard (1977), as well as multiple plays at the Delacorte Theater.
Streep has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the following performances:
These nominations make Streep the most Academy Award-nominated performer in history, with 21 in total (17 for Best Actress and four for Best Supporting Actress), as well as one of only 13 performers to win an Oscar in both acting categories and one of only three performers to win three Academy Awards across the two acting categories (with Ingrid Bergman and Jack Nicholson being the only others to achieve this feat).
She has also received six Grammy Award nominations, six Primetime Emmy Award nominations (with three wins plus a Children's and Family Emmy Award win), and one Tony Award nomination. Streep is one of few performers to be nominated for the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. Her other accolades include two BAFTA Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (for The French Lieutenant's Woman and The Iron Lady), nine Golden Globe Awards (as well as the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award), a Silver Bear and Honorary Golden Bear in Berlin International Film Festival, Best Actress, Honorary Palme d'Or in Cannes Film Festival and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
== Discography ==
=== Albums ===
The Velveteen Rabbit (1984)
A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack (2008)
Into the Woods (2014)
Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again: The Movie Soundtrack (2018)
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
The Prom (2020)
Dream Requiem (2025)
=== Singles === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Winehouse | Amy Winehouse | Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was a British singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. She is known for her distinctive contralto vocals, expressive and autobiographical songwriting, and eclectic blend of genres such as soul, rhythm and blues, and jazz. Her music, along with her fashion and highly publicised personal life, made her an influential figure in popular culture.
Born to a Jewish family in Enfield, London, Winehouse grew up in a jazz-influenced household. She was a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in her youth, recording several songs before signing a publishing deal with EMI. After a friend passed her demo to a music executive, Winehouse signed with Island Records in 2002. She worked with producer Salaam Remi for debut studio album, Frank (2003), which was commercially successful in the UK and drew critical acclaim for its mature songwriting and jazz-imbued production. Its lead single, "Stronger Than Me", earned the singer an Ivor Novello Award.
Inspired by 1960s girl groups and soul music, Winehouse recorded her second studio album, Back to Black (2006), with Remi, the Dap-Kings and producer Mark Ronson. It became an international critical and commercial success and one of the best-selling albums of all time. Its lead single, "Rehab", was a worldwide top-ten song and won her a second Ivor Novello Award. At the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008, Winehouse won five awards, tying the then-record for the most Grammys won by a female artist in a single night and becoming the first British woman to win five Grammys. Her wins included three of the "Big Four" categories—Best New Artist, and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Rehab"—along with Best Pop Vocal Album.
Winehouse's career was often overshadowed by substance abuse, mental illness, and addiction, culminating in her death from alcohol poisoning at her Camden Square home in London at the age of 27. Her brother believed that bulimia was also a factor. Winehouse's life and career were depicted in the documentary Amy (2015) and dramatised in the biopic Back to Black (2024). In 2023, Rolling Stone included Winehouse on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2025, Back to Black was preserved in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.
== Early life ==
Amy Jade Winehouse was born at Chase Farm Hospital in Gordon Hill in Enfield, London, on 14 September 1983. She was born to Jewish parents: her father, Mitchell "Mitch" Winehouse, was an amateur singer and taxi driver; her mother, Janis "Jane" Winehouse (née Seaton), was a pharmacist. She had a brother named Alex, who was three years older than her. Winehouse was raised in Southgate, London; when she was five she began attending Osidge Primary School. She then started her secondary education at Ashmole School, where her grades were "surprisingly good" according to her mother. As a child, Winehouse attended a weekly cheder, a Jewish primary school. In a later interview, she expressed her dislike for the school, recalling that she often begged her father to let her stay home and felt she "learned nothing about being Jewish" from attending.
Many of Winehouse's maternal uncles were professional jazz musicians. Her paternal grandmother, Cynthia, had been a singer and dated jazz saxophonist Ronnie Scott. Cynthia, along with Winehouse's parents, nurtured Winehouse's early interest in jazz. Mitch would frequently sing and play the songs of jazz musicians like Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett around the house, and when reprimanded at school, Winehouse would sing "Fly Me to the Moon" before seeing the headmistress. Her parents separated when she was nine, after which she lived with her mother and her boyfriend in Whetstone, London, and spent weekends with her father and his girlfriend in Hatfield Heath, Essex.
In 1992, Cynthia encouraged Winehouse to attend the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School, where she spent Saturdays developing her singing, acting and tap dancing. With her childhood friend Juliette Ashby, she formed a short-lived rap duo called Sweet 'n' Sour. Winehouse later enroled at the Sylvia Young Theatre School; at her audition she sang "On the Sunny Side of the Street". Reports that she was expelled at 14 for "not applying herself" and for piercing her nose were denied by both Sylvia Young and her father, who clarified that she simply transferred schools at 15. One of her teachers there recalled her as a skilled writer, saying she could have become a novelist or journalist. She later attended the Mount School in Mill Hill and briefly went to the BRIT School in Selhurst, Croydon. After experimenting with her brother's guitar, Winehouse purchased her own and soon began writing her own songs. Around the same time, she worked as an entertainment journalist for the World Entertainment News Network and was a vocalist for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Her best friend, soul singer Tyler James, later sent a demo tape of hers to an A&R scout to help kickstart her professional career.
== Career ==
=== 2002–2005: Career beginnings and Frank ===
Winehouse was signed to Simon Fuller's 19 Management in 2002 and was initially paid £250 a week against future earnings. While being developed by the management company, Winehouse was kept as a recording industry secret, although she was a regular jazz standards singer at the Cobden Club. Her future A&R representative at Island, Darcus Beese, heard of her by chance when the manager of the Lewinson Brothers showed him some productions of his clients, which featured Winehouse as key vocalist. When he asked who the singer was, the manager told him he was not allowed to say. Having decided that he wanted to sign her, it took several months of asking around for Beese to eventually discover who the singer was. By that time, Winehouse had already recorded a number of songs, signed a publishing deal with EMI, and formed a working relationship with producer Salaam Remi.
Beese introduced Winehouse to his boss, Island head Nick Gatfield, who shared his enthusiasm in signing the young artist. Winehouse was signed to Island while rival interest in her had started to build with representatives of EMI and Virgin Records starting to make moves. Beese told HitQuarters that he felt the excitement over an artist who was an atypical pop star for the time was due to a backlash against reality TV music shows, whose audiences starved for fresh, genuine young talent.
Winehouse's debut album, Frank, was released on 20 October 2003. Produced mainly by Salaam Remi, many of the songs were influenced by jazz and, apart from two covers, Winehouse co-wrote every song. The album received wide critical acclaim with compliments given to the "cool, critical gaze" in its lyrics. Winehouse's voice was compared with those of Sarah Vaughan and Macy Gray, among others.
The album entered the upper reaches of the UK Albums Chart in 2004 when it was nominated for the Brit Awards in the categories of British Female Solo Artist and British Urban Act. It went on to achieve platinum sales. Later in 2004, she and Remi won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song, for their first single together, "Stronger Than Me". The album was also shortlisted for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize. In the same year, she performed at the Glastonbury Festival (on the Jazz World stage), the V Festival and the Montreal International Jazz Festival. After the release of the album, Winehouse commented that she was "only 80 percent behind [the] album" because Island Records had overruled her preferences for the songs and mixes to be included.
=== 2006–2008: Back to Black and international success ===
After the release of her first jazz-influenced album, Winehouse's focus shifted to the girl groups of the 1950s and 1960s. Winehouse hired New York singer Sharon Jones's longtime band, the Dap-Kings, to back her up in the studio and on tour. Mitch Winehouse relates in Amy, My Daughter how fascinating watching her process was: her perfectionism in the studio and how she would put what she had sung on a CD and play it in his taxi outside to know how most people would hear her music. In May 2006, Winehouse's demo tracks such as "You Know I'm No Good" and "Rehab" appeared on Mark Ronson's New York City radio show on East Village Radio. These were some of the first new songs played on the radio after the release of "Pumps" and both were slated to appear on her second album. The 11-track album, completed in five months, was produced entirely by Salaam Remi and Ronson, with the production credits being split between them. Ronson said in a 2010 interview that he liked working with Winehouse because she was blunt when she did not like his work. She in turn thought that when they first met, he was a sound engineer and that she was expecting an older man with a beard.
Promotion of Back to Black soon began and, in early October 2006, Winehouse's official website was relaunched with a new layout and clips of previously unreleased songs. Back to Black was released in the UK on 30 October 2006. It went to number one on the UK Albums Chart for two weeks in January 2007, dropping then climbing back for several weeks in February. In the US, it entered at number seven on the Billboard 200. It was the best-selling album in the UK of 2007, selling 1.85 million copies over the course of the year. The first single released from the album was the Ronson-produced "Rehab". The song reached the top ten in the UK and the US. Time magazine named "Rehab" the Best Song of 2007. Writer Josh Tyrangiel praised Winehouse for her confidence, saying, "What she is is mouthy, funny, sultry, and quite possibly crazy" and "It's impossible not to be seduced by her originality. Combine it with production by Mark Ronson that references four decades worth of soul music without once ripping it off, and you've got the best song of 2007." The album's second single and lead single in the US, "You Know I'm No Good", was released in January 2007 with a remix featuring rap vocals by Ghostface Killah. It ultimately reached number 18 on the UK singles chart. The title track, "Back to Black", was released in the UK in April 2007 and peaked at number 25, but was more successful across mainland Europe. "Tears Dry on Their Own" and "Love Is a Losing Game" were also released as singles, but failed to achieve the same level of success.
A deluxe edition of Back to Black was also released on 5 November 2007 in the UK. The bonus disc features B-sides, rare, and live tracks, as well as "Valerie". Winehouse's debut DVD I Told You I Was Trouble: Live in London was released the same day in the UK and 13 November in the US. It includes a live set recorded at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire and a 50-minute documentary charting the singer's career over the previous four years. Frank was released in the United States on 20 November 2007 to positive reviews. The album debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200 chart. In addition to her own album, she collaborated with other artists on singles. Winehouse was a vocalist on the song "Valerie" on Ronson's solo album Version. The song peaked at number two in the UK upon its October single release. "Valerie" was nominated for a 2008 Brit Award for British Single of the Year. Her work with ex-Sugababe Mutya Buena, "B Boy Baby", was released on 17 December 2007. It served as the fourth single from Buena's debut album, Real Girl. Winehouse was also in talks of working with Missy Elliott for her album Block Party.
Winehouse promoted the release of Back to Black with headline performances in late 2006, including a Little Noise Sessions charity concert at the Union Chapel in Islington, London. On 31 December 2006, Winehouse appeared on Jools Holland's Annual Hootenanny and performed a cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" along with Paul Weller and Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. She also performed Toots and the Maytals' "Monkey Man". At his request, actor Bruce Willis introduced Winehouse before her performance of "Rehab" at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards in Universal City, California, on 3 June 2007. During the summer of 2007, she performed at various festivals, including Glastonbury Festival, as well as Lollapalooza in Chicago.
The rest of her tour did not go as well. In November 2007, the opening night of a 17-date tour was marred by booing and walkouts at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. A critic for the Birmingham Mail said it was "one of the saddest nights of my life ... I saw a supremely talented artist reduced to tears, stumbling around the stage and, unforgivably, swearing at the audience." Other concerts ended similarly, with, for example, fans at her Hammersmith Apollo performance in London saying that she "looked highly intoxicated throughout," until she announced on 27 November 2007, that her performances and public appearances were cancelled for the remainder of the year, citing her doctor's advice to take a complete rest. A statement issued by concert promoter Live Nation blamed "the rigours involved in touring and the intense emotional strain that Amy has been under in recent weeks" for the decision. Mitch Winehouse wrote about her nervousness before public performances in his 2012 book, Amy, My Daughter. On 13 January 2008, Back to Black held the number-one position on the Billboard Pan European charts for the third consecutive week.
On 10 February 2008, Winehouse received five Grammy Awards, winning in the following categories: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the single "Rehab", and Best Pop Vocal Album. The singer also earned a Grammy as Best New Artist, earning her an entry in the 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of Records for Most Grammy Awards won by a British Female Act. Additionally, Back to Black was nominated for Album of the Year. Ronson's work with her won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, in the non-classical category. She ended her acceptance speech for Record of the Year with, "This is for London because Camden Town ain't burning down," in reference to the 2008 Camden Market fire. Performing "You Know I'm No Good" and "Rehab" via satellite from London's Riverside Studios at 3 a.m. UK time, she couldn't be at the ceremony in Los Angeles as her visa approval had not been processed in time.
After the Grammys, the album's sales increased, catapulting Back to Black to number two on the US Billboard 200, after it initially peaked in the seventh position. On 20 February 2008, Winehouse performed at the 2008 Brit Awards at Earls Court in London, performing "Valerie" with Mark Ronson, followed by "Love Is a Losing Game". She urged the crowd to "make some noise for my Blake." A special deluxe edition of Back to Black topped the UK album charts on 2 March 2008. Meanwhile, the original edition of the album was ranked at number 30 in its 68th week on the charts, while Frank charted at number 35.
In Paris, she performed what was described as a "well-executed 40-minute" set at the opening of a Fendi boutique in early March. By 12 March, the album had sold a total of 2,467,575 copies—318,350 copies had been sold in the previous 10 weeks—putting the album on the UK's top-10 best-selling albums of the 21st century for the first time. On 7 April, Back to Black was in the top position of the pan-European charts for the sixth consecutive and thirteenth aggregate week. Amy Winehouse – The Girl Done Good: A Documentary Review, a 78-minute DVD, was released on 14 April 2008. The documentary features interviews with those who knew her at a young age, people who helped her achieve success, jazz music experts, and music and pop culture specialists.
At the 2008 Ivor Novello Awards in May, Winehouse became the first-ever artist to receive two nominations for the top award: Best Song Musically & Lyrically. She won the award for "Love Is a Losing Game" and was nominated for "You Know I'm No Good". "Rehab", a Novello winner for best contemporary song in 2006, also received a 2008 nomination for best-selling British song. Winehouse was also nominated for a 2008 MTV Europe Music Award in the Act of the Year category.
Although her father, manager and various members of her touring team reportedly tried to dissuade her, Winehouse performed at the Rock in Rio Lisboa festival in Portugal in May 2008. Although the set was plagued by a late arrival and problems with her voice, the crowd warmed to her. In addition to her own material she performed two Specials covers. Winehouse performed at Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday Party concert at London's Hyde Park on 27 June 2008, and the next day at the Glastonbury Festival. On 12 July, at the Oxegen Festival in Ireland she performed a well-received 50-minute set which was followed the next day by a 14-song set at T in the Park.
On 16 August, she played at the Staffordshire leg of the V Festival, and the following day played the Chelmsford leg of the festival. Organisers said that Winehouse attracted the biggest crowds of the festival. Audience reaction was reported as mixed. On 6 September, Winehouse was Bestival's Saturday headliner, where she started 40 minutes late and was on stage for 35 minutes, before her performance was terminated because of a curfew. A clip of Winehouse's music was included in the "Roots and Influences" area that looked at connections between different artists at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC, which opened in December 2008. One thread started with Billie Holiday, continued with Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige, and then finished with Winehouse. Back to Black was the world's seventh-biggest-selling album of 2008. The album's sales meant that the market performance of Universal Music Group's recorded music division did not drop to levels experienced by the overall music market. The album has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.
=== 2009–2011: Final projects before death ===
In a 2009 poll of U.S. residents conducted for VisitBritain by Harris Interactive, one-fifth of the participants indicated they had listened to Winehouse's music during the previous year. She performed with Rhythms del Mundo on their cover of the Sam Cooke song "Cupid" for an Artists Project Earth benefit album released in July that year.
Winehouse and Ronson contributed a cover of Lesley Gore's "It's My Party" to the Quincy Jones tribute album Q Soul Bossa Nostra, released in November 2010. She had agreed to form a group with Questlove of the Roots, but her problems obtaining a visa delayed their working together. Salaam Remi had already created some material with Winehouse as part of the project. According to The Times, Universal Music pressed her for new material in 2008, but as of 2 September that year she had not been near a recording studio. In late October, Winehouse's spokesman was quoted as saying that Winehouse had not been given a deadline to complete her third album, for which she was learning to play drums.
In May 2009, Winehouse returned to performing at a jazz festival in Saint Lucia amid torrential downpours and technical difficulties. During her set, it was reported she was unsteady on her feet and had trouble remembering lyrics. She apologised to the crowd for being "bored" and ended the set in the middle of a song. During her stay in Saint Lucia, she worked on new music with Remi. On 23 August that year, Winehouse sang with the Specials at the V Festival on their songs "You're Wondering Now" and "Ghost Town".
Island claimed that a new album would be due for release in 2010. Island co-president Darcus Beese said, "I've heard a couple of song demos that have absolutely floored me." In July 2010, Winehouse was quoted as saying her next album would be released no later than January 2011, saying: "It's going to be very much the same as my second album, where there's a lot of jukebox stuff and songs that are... just jukebox, really." Ronson said at that time that he had not started to record the album. She performed "Valerie" with Ronson at a movie premiere but forgot some of the song's lyrics. In October, Winehouse performed a four-song set to promote her fashion line. In December 2010, she played a 40-minute concert at a Russian oligarch's party in Moscow, with the tycoon hand-selecting the songs.
In January 2011, Winehouse played five dates in Brazil, with opening acts of Janelle Monáe and Mayer Hawthorne. While performing in Florianópolis, Winehouse forgot the lyrics of her songs several times and had to be aided by the public and her band. During the concert, she only drank from a water bottle, but even so, on two occasions, she left the stage in the midst of the show for a period of about five minutes. Upon her return, the crowd showed strong compassion for her and praised Winehouse for continuing the performance. The following month, she cut a performance in Dubai short following booing from the audience. Winehouse was reported to be tired, distracted and "tipsy" during the performance.
On 18 June 2011, Winehouse started her 12-leg European tour in Belgrade. Local media described her performance as a scandal and disaster; she was booed off the stage due to her apparently being too drunk to perform. Serbian defence minister Dragan Šutanovac called Winehouse's performances "a huge shame and a disappointment". It was reported that she was unable to remember the city she was in, the lyrics of her songs or the names of the members of her band. She then pulled out of performances in Istanbul and Athens, which had been scheduled for the following week. On 21 June, it was announced that she had cancelled all shows of her tour and would be given "as long as it takes" to sort herself out.
Winehouse's last public appearance took place at Camden's Roundhouse on 20 July 2011, when she made a surprise appearance on stage to support her goddaughter Dionne Bromfield, who was singing "Mama Said" with the Wanted. Winehouse died three days later. Her last recording was a duet with American singer Tony Bennett for his album Duets II, released on 20 September 2011. Their single from the album, "Body and Soul", was released on 14 September 2011 on MTV and VH1 to commemorate what would have been her 28th birthday.
== Other ventures ==
=== Activism and philanthropy ===
Throughout her life, Winehouse donated her money, music and time to numerous charities and causes, particularly those concerned with children. She joined a campaign to stop a block of flats being built beside the George Tavern, a famous London East End music venue. Campaign supporters feared the residential development would end the spot's lucrative sideline as a film and photo location, on which it relies to survive. As part of a breast cancer awareness campaign, Winehouse appeared in a revealing photograph for the April 2008 issue of Easy Living magazine. In 2009, she appeared on a CD called Classics alongside musicians such as the Rolling Stones, the Killers and many Cuban musicians to raise awareness of climate change.
Winehouse loaned a vintage dress used in her video for "Tears Dry on Their Own" as well as a DVD to the British Music Experience, a new museum dedicated to the history of British pop music. The museum, located at the O2 Arena in London, opened on 9 March 2009. In March 2011, Winehouse donated over £20,000 worth of clothes to a local charity shop in London. A Caribbean man, Julian Jean DeBaptiste, revealed that Winehouse had paid for his urgent surgery costing £4,000 during her stay in Saint Lucia in 2009. "I had surgery on 1 July 2009... it cost a fortune and Amy paid for the whole thing. I tried to thank her but she just hugged me and told me not to say anything. Her generosity gave me my life back."
=== Business ===
Winehouse had an estimated £10m fortune, tying her for tenth place in the 2008 The Sunday Times listing of the wealth of musicians under age 30. The following year her fortune had dropped to an estimated £5m. Her finances are run by Mitch and Janis Winehouse. It was reported she earned about £1m singing at two private parties during Paris Fashion Week as well as another £1m to perform at a Moscow Art Gallery for Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
In January 2009, Winehouse announced that she was launching her own record label. The first act on her Lioness Records is Winehouse's 13-year-old goddaughter Dionne Bromfield. Her first album, featuring covers of classic soul records, was released on 12 October 2009. Winehouse is the backing singer on several tracks on the album and she performed backing vocals for Bromfield on the BBC's television programme Strictly Come Dancing on 10 October.
Winehouse and her family are the subject of a 2009 documentary shot by Daphne Barak titled Saving Amy. Winehouse entered into a joint venture in 2009 with EMI to launch a range of wrapping paper and gift cards containing song lyrics from her album Back to Black. On 8 January 2010, a television documentary, My Daughter Amy, aired on Channel 4. Saving Amy was released as a paperback book in January 2010.
Winehouse was a notable fan of the brand Fred Perry. She collaborated on a 17-piece fashion collection with the label, which was released for sale in October 2010. According to Fred Perry's marketing director, "We had three major design meetings where she was closely involved in product style selection and the application of fabric, colour and styling details," and gave "crucial input on proportion, colour and fit". The collection consists of "vintage-inspired looks including Capri pants, a bowling dress, a trench coat, pencil skirts, a longline argyle sweater and a pink-and-black checkerboard-printed collared shirt." At the behest of her family, three forthcoming collections up to and including autumn/winter 2012 that she had designed prior to her death were released. Following Winehouse's death, Fred Perry has donated 20% of the net revenue from the Amy Winehouse collection to the charity set up in Winehouse's name, the Amy Winehouse Foundation.
== Artistry ==
=== Musical style ===
Winehouse was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including rhythm and blues, soul, (sometimes labelled as blue-eyed soul and neo soul), and jazz. She was described as a "retro-soul" singer by Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Nation, and Billboard. The BBC's Garry Mulholland called Winehouse "the pre-eminent vocal talent of her generation". According to AllMusic's Cyril Cordor, she was one of the UK's premier singers during the 2000s. "Fans and critics alike embraced her rugged charm, brash sense of humor, and distinctively soulful and jazzy vocals". In The Guardian, Caroline Sullivan later wrote that "her idolisation of Dinah Washington and the Ronettes distinguished her from almost all newly minted pop singers of the early 2000s, and her exceptionally-susceptible-to-heartbreak voice did the rest".
=== Image ===
Winehouse's greatest love was 1960s girl groups. Her hairdresser, Alex Foden, borrowed her distinctive beehive hairdo (a weave) from the Ronettes and she borrowed her Cleopatra makeup from the same group. Her imitation was so successful that as The Village Voice reports, "Ronnie Spector—who, it could be argued, all but invented Winehouse's style in the first place when she took the stage at the Brooklyn Fox Theater with her fellow Ronettes more than 40 years ago—was so taken aback at a picture of Winehouse in the New York Post that she exclaimed, "I don't know her, I never met her, and when I saw that pic, I thought, 'That's me!' But then I found out, no, it's Amy! I didn't have on my glasses."
The New York Times style reporter Guy Trebay discussed the multiplicity of influences on Winehouse's style after her death. Trebay noted, "her stylish husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, may have influenced her look." Additionally, Trebay observed:
She was a 5-foot-3 almanac of visual reference, most famously to Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes, but also to the white British soul singer Mari Wilson, less famous for her sound than her beehive; to the punk god Johnny Thunders...; to the fierce council-house chicks... (see: Dior and Chanel runways, 2007 and 2008) ... to a lineage of bad girls, extending from Cleopatra to Louise Brooks's Lulu and including Salt-n-Pepa, to irresistible man traps that always seemed to come to the same unfortunate end.
Former Rolling Stone editor Joe Levy, who had put her on the magazine's cover, broke her look down this way:
Just as her best music drew on sampling – assembling sonic licks and stylistic fragments borrowed from Motown, Stax, punk and early hip-hop – her personal style was also a knowing collage. There was a certain moment in the '90s when, if you were headed downtown and turned left, every girl looked like Bettie Page. But they did not do what Winehouse did, mixing Bettie Page with Brigitte Bardot and adding that little bit of Ronnie Spector.
Winehouse's use of bold red lipstick, thick eyebrows and heavy eyeliner came from Latinas she saw in Miami, on her trip there to work with Salaam Remi on Back to Black. Her look was repeatedly denigrated by the British press. At the same time that the NME Awards nominated Winehouse in the categories of "Best Solo Artist" and "Best Music DVD" in 2008, they awarded her "Worst Dressed Performer". Winehouse was also ranked number two on Richard Blackwell's 48th annual "Ten Worst Dressed Women" list, behind Victoria Beckham.
== Contemporary media ==
Winehouse's dichotomous public image of critical and commercial success versus personal turmoil prompted significant media comment. The New Statesman called Winehouse "a filthy-mouthed, down-to-earth diva", while Newsweek called her "a perfect storm of sex kitten, raw talent and poor impulse control". Karen Heller with The Philadelphia Inquirer summarised the maelstrom this way:
She's only 24 with six Grammy nominations, crashing headfirst into success and despair, with a codependent husband in jail, exhibitionist parents with questionable judgement, and the paparazzi documenting her emotional and physical distress. Meanwhile, an haute designer Karl Lagerfeld appropriates her dishevelled style and eating issues to market to the elite while proclaiming her the new Bardot.
By 2008, her drug problems threatened her career. As Nick Gatfield, the president of Island Records, toyed with the idea of releasing Winehouse "to deal with her problems", he said, "It's a reflection of her status [in the US] that when you flick through the TV coverage [of the Grammys] it's her image they use." Post-Grammys, some questioned whether Winehouse should have been honoured with the awards given her recent personal and drug problems, including Natalie Cole, who introduced Winehouse at the ceremony and who herself battled substance-abuse problems while winning a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1975.
Winehouse was prevented from travelling to and performing at the Grammy Awards ceremony in the US due to failing a drug test, and the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, said that the alleged drug habits of Winehouse and other celebrities sent a bad message "to others who are vulnerable to addiction" and undermine the efforts of other celebrities trying to raise awareness of problems in Africa, now that more cocaine used in Europe passes through that continent. Winehouse's spokesperson noted that "Amy has never given a quote about drugs or flaunted it in any way. She's had some problems and is trying to get better. The U.N. should get its own house in order."
In January 2008, her record label stated it believed the extensive media coverage she had received increased record sales. In an April 2008 poll conducted by Sky News, Winehouse was named the second-greatest "ultimate heroine" by the UK population at large, topping the voting for that category of those polled under 25 years old. Psychologist Donna Dawson commented that the results demonstrated that women like Winehouse, who had "a certain sense of vulnerability or have had to fight against some adversity in their lives", received recognition.
In July 2008, BBC Radio Scotland's head, Jeff Zycinski, stated that the BBC, and media in general, were complicit in undermining celebrities, including Winehouse. He said that public interest in the singer's lifestyle did not make her lifestyle newsworthy. Rod McKenzie, editor of the BBC Radio One programme Newsbeat, replied: "If you play [Amy Winehouse's] music to a certain demographic, those same people want to know what's happening in her private life. If you don't cover it, you're insulting young licence fee payers." In The Scotsman, English singer and songwriter Lily Allen was quoted to have said – "I know Amy Winehouse very well. And she is very different to what people portray her as being. Yes, she does get out of her mind on drugs sometimes, but she is also a very clever, intelligent, witty, funny person who can hold it together. You just don't see that side."
With the paparazzi taking photographs of her wherever they could, Winehouse obtained an injunction against a leading paparazzi agency, Big Pictures, under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997; the resultant court order issued by the High Court in 2009 banned them from following her. Photographers were also banned from following her within 100 metres of her London home and photographing Winehouse in her home or the homes of her friends and relatives. According to a newspaper report, sources close to the singer said legal action was taken out of concern for the safety of Winehouse and those close to her.
== Personal life ==
Winehouse was raised Jewish and expressed pride in being Jewish, although she was not religious. During one interview, Winehouse said: "[B]eing Jewish to me is about being together as a real family. It's not about lighting candles and saying a bracha." Winehouse also frequently performed with a Star of David medallion.
In 2013, in memory of Winehouse, the Jewish Museum London ran an exhibition titled "Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait". The museum researched her paternal great-great-grandfather's arrival from Minsk in 1890, and how the family finally settled in London, starting out in working-class jobs before gradually moving to middle-class jobs. Winehouse had 14 known tattoos, including "Daddy's Girl" on her left arm for her father and a pin-up girl with the name "Cynthia" on her right arm in memory of her Jewish grandmother.
In 2011, there were reports that Winehouse was in the process of adopting a 10-year-old girl from St. Lucia named Dannika Augustine. According to Dannika and her family, Amy had formed a strong bond with the poverty-stricken girl during her lengthy stays on the Caribbean island. Dannika referred to Amy as her mother and said they had a close, loving relationship. Her grandmother, Marjorie Lambert, confirmed that Amy had expressed a strong desire to adopt Dannika and was even willing to move to St. Lucia to be her full-time mother; however, Winehouse's representative denied these claims, stating that the adoption story was not true.
=== Relationships ===
Winehouse dated chef-musician Alex Clare in 2006, while on a break from her on–off boyfriend and future husband, Blake Fielder-Civil. She and Clare lived together briefly, and in a pattern that Fielder-Civil would later repeat, Clare sold his story to the News of the World, which published it under the headline "Bondage Crazed Amy Just Can't Beehive in Bed."
Fielder-Civil, a former video production assistant, had dropped out of Bourne Grammar School and at the age of 16 moved to London from his native Lincolnshire. He married Winehouse on 18 May 2007, in Miami Beach, Florida. In a June 2007 interview, Winehouse admitted she could sometimes be violent toward him after she had been drinking, saying: "If he says one thing I don't like, then I'll chin him." In August 2007, they were photographed, bloodied and bruised, in the streets of London after an alleged fight, although she contended her injuries were self-inflicted. Winehouse's parents and in-laws publicly reported their numerous concerns, the latter citing fears that the two might commit suicide. Fielder-Civil's father encouraged fans to boycott Winehouse's music, and Mitch Winehouse said this would not help. Fielder-Civil was quoted in a British tabloid as saying he introduced Winehouse to crack cocaine and heroin. During a visit with Mitch Winehouse at the prison in July 2008, Fielder-Civil reportedly said that he and Winehouse would cut themselves to ease the pain of withdrawal. Winehouse also reportedly confessed to having an affair in 2008.
From 21 July 2008 to 25 February 2009, Fielder-Civil was imprisoned following his guilty plea on charges of trying to pervert the course of justice and of grievous bodily harm with intent. The incident, in July 2007, involved his assault of a pub landlord that broke the victim's cheekbone, and also saw Winehouse briefly arrested in connection with it. According to the prosecution, the landlord accepted £200,000 as part of a deal to "effectively throw the [court] case and not turn up", and he testified that the money belonged to Winehouse, but she pulled out of a meeting with the men involved in the plot, to attend an awards ceremony. Mitch Winehouse, as manager of his daughter's money, has denied the payoff came from her.
When Winehouse was spotted with aspiring actor Josh Bowman on holiday in Saint Lucia, in early January 2009, she said she was "in love again, and I don't need drugs." She commented that her "whole marriage was based on doing drugs" and that "for the time being I've just forgotten I'm even married." On 12 January, Winehouse's spokesman confirmed that "papers have been received" for what Fielder-Civil's solicitor said were divorce proceedings based on a claim of adultery. In March, Winehouse was quoted in a magazine as saying, "I still love Blake and I want him to move into my new house with me—that was my plan all along ... I won't let him divorce me. He's the male version of me and we're perfect for each other." Nonetheless, an uncontested divorce was granted on 16 July 2009 and became final on 28 August 2009. Fielder-Civil received no money in the settlement.
Winehouse was in a relationship with a British writer and film director Reg Traviss, from early 2010 until her death. According to media reports and a biography written by Winehouse's father, Traviss and Winehouse had planned to marry and intended to have children. Conflicting reports state that Winehouse and Fielder-Civil had begun a relationship that same year and had even discussed remarriage. In July 2008, when Rolling Stone reporter Claire Hoffman asked Winehouse if she was in a relationship with Pete Doherty, she replied, "We're just good friends", and added: "I asked Pete to do a concept EP, and he made this face, he looked at me like I'd pooed on the floor. He wouldn't do it. We're just really close." After Winehouse's death, Doherty said that he and Winehouse had been lovers at one point.
=== Substance use and mental health ===
Winehouse's substance use disorder was the subject of much media attention over the years. In 2005, she went through a period of drinking, heavy drug use, and weight loss. People who saw her during the end of that year and early 2006 reported a rebound that coincided with the writing of Back to Black. Her family believes that the mid-2006 death of her grandmother, who was a stabilising influence, set her off into addiction. In August 2007, Winehouse cancelled a number of shows in the UK and Europe, citing exhaustion and ill health. She was hospitalised during this period for what was reported as an overdose of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and alcohol. In various interviews, she admitted to having problems with self-harm, depression, and eating disorders. Because of her personal issues, The Washington Post prewrote an obituary.
Winehouse told the Los Angeles Times that the drugs were to blame for her hospitalisation and that "I really thought that it was over for me then." Soon afterwards, Winehouse's father commented that when he had made public statements regarding her problems he was using the media because it seemed the only way to get through to her. In an interview with The Album Chart Show on British television, Winehouse said she was manic depressive and not alcoholic, adding that that sounded like "an alcoholic in denial".
In December 2007, Winehouse's spokesman reported that the singer was in a physician-supervised programme and was channelling her difficulties by writing a lot of music. In January 2008, the British tabloid The Sun posted a video in which Winehouse appeared to be smoking crack cocaine and speaking of having taken ecstasy and Valium. The event took place on Friday, 18 January, in the early hours of the morning. Shortly after the alleged crack cocaine incident, Winehouse's father moved in with her, to keep her under '24-hour watch'. In late January, Winehouse reportedly entered a rehabilitation facility for a two-week treatment programme. On 26 March, Winehouse's spokesman said she was "doing well". By late April 2008, her erratic behaviour—including an allegation of assault—caused fear that her drug rehabilitation efforts had been unsuccessful. Winehouse's father and manager then sought to have her detained under the Mental Health Act of 1983. Her dishevelled appearance during and after a scheduled club night in September 2008 prompted new rumours of a relapse. Photographers were quoted as saying she appeared to have cuts on her arms and legs.
According to her physician, Winehouse quit using illegal substances in 2008. In an October 2010 interview, speaking of her decision to quit drugs, Winehouse said, "I literally woke up one day and was like, 'I don't want to do this any more.'" However, alcohol emerged as a problem, with Winehouse abstaining for a few weeks and then lapsing into alcohol use. Her physician said that Winehouse was treated with Librium for alcohol withdrawal and anxiety and underwent psychological and psychiatric evaluations in 2010, but refused psychological therapy. Before her death, Winehouse was examined by a psychiatrist and psychologist and doctors recommended that she undergo dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT). DBT is based upon the biosocial theory of mental illness and is the first therapy that has been experimentally demonstrated to be generally effective in treating borderline personality disorder.
=== Violence and legal difficulties ===
In 2006, Winehouse admitted to punching a female fan in the face for criticising her for having a relationship with then-boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil. She then attacked Fielder-Civil as he attempted to calm her down, kneeing him in the crotch. In October 2007, Winehouse and Fielder-Civil were arrested in Bergen, Norway, for possession of seven grams of cannabis. The couple were later released and fined 3850 kroner (around £350). Winehouse first appealed the fines, but later dropped the appeal. On 26 April 2008, Winehouse was cautioned after she admitted to police she slapped a 38-year-old man in the face, a "common assault" offence, her first of two. She voluntarily turned herself in and was held overnight. Police said that on her arrival, she was "in no fit state" to be interviewed.
Ten days later, Winehouse was arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs after a video of her apparently smoking crack cocaine was passed to the police in January, but was released on bail a few hours later because they could not confirm, from the video, what she was smoking. The Crown Prosecution Service considered charging her, but cleared her when it could not establish that the substance in the video was a controlled drug. Some members of Parliament criticised the decision not to bring charges. Two London residents were subsequently convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine and ecstasy to Winehouse, leading to a two-year prison sentence for one, and a two-year community order.
On 5 March 2009, Winehouse was arrested and charged with common assault following a claim by dancer Sherene Flash that Winehouse hit her in the eye at the September 2008 Prince's Trust charity ball. Winehouse's spokesperson announced the cancellation of the singer's US Coachella Festival appearance in light of the new legal issue, and Winehouse pleaded not guilty in court on 17 March. At her trial on 23–24 July she was charged with "deliberate and unjustifiable violence" while appearing to be under the influence of alcohol or another substance. She testified that she did not punch Flash, but tried to push her away because she was scared of her; she cited her worry that Flash would sell her story to a tabloid, Flash's height advantage, and Flash's "rude" behaviour. On 24 July Winehouse was found not guilty, citing that all but two of the witnesses were intoxicated at the time, and that medical evidence did not show "the sort of injury that often occurs when there is a forceful punch to the eye."
On 19 December 2009, Winehouse was arrested for a third time on charges of common assault and public order offence after assaulting the front-of-house manager of the Milton Keynes Theatre when he asked her to move to a different seat after noisy participation in the pantomime playing, and advised her not to drink more than she already had. Winehouse pleaded guilty and was given a conditional discharge.
=== Respiratory and other health problems ===
On 23 June 2008, Winehouse's publicist corrected earlier misstatements by Mitch Winehouse that his daughter had early-stage emphysema, saying that she instead had signs of what could lead to early-stage emphysema. Mitch Winehouse had also stated that his daughter's lungs were operating at 70 percent capacity and that she had an irregular heartbeat. He said that these problems had been caused by her chain smoking crack cocaine. The singer's father also reported that doctors had warned Winehouse that, if she continued smoking crack cocaine, she would have to wear an oxygen mask and would eventually die. In a radio interview, Mitch Winehouse said the singer was responding "fabulously" to treatment, which included being covered with nicotine patches. British Lung Foundation spokesman Keith Prowse noted that this type of condition could be managed with treatment. Prowse also said the condition was not normal for a person her age, but "heavy smoking and inhaling other substances like drugs can age the lungs prematurely." Norman H. Edelman of the American Lung Association explained that if she stopped smoking, her lung functions would decline at the rate of a normal person, but continued smoking would lead to a more rapid decline in lung function.
Winehouse was released from the London Clinic 24 hours after returning from a temporary leave to perform at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday celebration and at a concert in Glastonbury, and continued receiving treatment as an outpatient. In July 2008, Winehouse stated that she had been diagnosed with "some areas of emphysema" and said she was getting herself together by "eating loads of healthy food, sleeping loads, playing my guitar, making music and writing letters to my husband every day." She also kept a vertical tanning bed in her flat. Winehouse began precautionary testing on her lungs and chest on 25 October 2008 at the London Clinic for what was reported as a chest infection, leaving and returning at will. She returned to the hospital on 23 November 2008 due to a reported reaction to her medication.
== Death ==
Winehouse's bodyguard, Andrew Morris, said that he had arrived at her residence three days before her death and felt she had been somewhat intoxicated. Two days after, her mother likewise admitted she had acted "out of it." This was the same day Winehouse had been visited by her doctor for one of her routine check-ups due to her fragile state, although no abnormalities were noted: "The doctor was happy with her condition. When he left on Friday night he had no concerns. Less than 24 hours later she was found dead." After the check-up, Winehouse had called her doctor to confess her feelings regarding her codependency, stating "I don't want to die", alongside how she had attempted sobriety, but could not achieve it.
Morris continued to observe her drinking moderately over the next few days since his arrival, and later said she had been "laughing, listening to music and watching TV at 2 a.m. the day of her death". Another source claims she was watching old re-runs of past performances and reminiscing. At 10 a.m. BST on 23 July 2011, Morris observed her lying on her bed and tried (unsuccessfully) to rouse her. This did not raise much suspicion because she usually slept late after a night out. According to the bodyguard, shortly after 3 p.m., he checked on her again and observed her lying in the same position as before, leading to a further check, in which he concluded that she was not breathing and had no pulse; he said he called emergency services. At 3:54 p.m., two ambulances reached Winehouse's home in Camden, London. Winehouse was pronounced dead at the scene. Shortly afterwards, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that she had died.
After her death was announced, media and camera crews appeared near Winehouse's residence. Forensic investigators entered the flat as police cordoned off the street outside; they recovered one small and two large bottles of vodka from her room. After her death, the singer broke her second Guinness World Record: for the most songs by a woman to simultaneously appear on the UK singles chart, with eight. Winehouse's record label, Universal Republic, released a statement that read in part: "We are deeply saddened at the sudden loss of such a gifted musician, artist and performer."
With initially little verified information regarding the causes of Winehouse's death, there was considerable speculation on the subject. Various reports speculated on a fatal Class A drug, such as ecstasy overdose, or a lethal cocktail. Winehouse's father Mitch denied these claims, stating: "Three years ago, Amy conquered her drug dependency. She was the happiest she has been for years." By the following month, August 2011, speculation about substance abuse being a factor in Winehouse's death had been disproven by an official toxicology report released to the public which showed that no illegal substances had been identified in Winehouse's system. The coroner's report was released in October 2011, and it stated that Winehouse's blood alcohol content was 416 mg per 100 ml (0.416%) at the time of her death, more than five times the legal drink-drive limit. According to the coroner, the "unintended consequence" of so much drink was her "sudden and unexpected death", as it reached a "death by misadventure" verdict. On 17 December 2012, British authorities reopened the probe into Winehouse's death, when it was ruled that the first coroner was "not qualified" for the role. The second inquest, delivered on 8 January 2013, matched the conclusions of the first inquest, with coroner Dr. Shirley Radcliffe finding that "She (Winehouse) voluntarily consumed alcohol, a deliberate act that took an unexpected turn in that it caused her death." The second inquest reached the verdict of misadventure due to alcohol poisoning.
Initial reports after her death stated that Winehouse had left a will, which had been altered after her divorce from Blake Fielder-Civil; however, it transpired that Winehouse had not left a will, and her estate, worth around £4 million, was inherited by her parents. Winehouse's death at the age of 27 also prompted media comparisons to other musicians who died at that age, collectively referred to as the 27 Club. In a June 2013 interview, Alex Winehouse shared his belief that his sister's eating disorder and the consequent physical weakness were the primary cause of her death:
She suffered from bulimia very badly. That's not, like, a revelation — you knew just by looking at her ... She would have died eventually, the way she was going, but what really killed her was the bulimia ... I think that it left her weaker and more susceptible. Had she not had an eating disorder, she would have been physically stronger.
Winehouse's funeral, held on 26 July 2011 at Edgwarebury Lane Cemetery in North London, was a private ceremony attended by family and friends. Her mother and father, Janis and Mitch Winehouse, close friends Nick Grimshaw and Kelly Osbourne, producer Mark Ronson, goddaughter Dionne Bromfield and her boyfriend Reg Traviss were among those in attendance at the private service led by Rabbi Frank Hellner. Her father delivered the eulogy, saying "Goodnight, my angel, sleep tight. Mummy and Daddy love you ever so much." Carole King's "So Far Away" closed the service with mourners singing along as it was one of Winehouse's favourite songs. She was later cremated at Golders Green Crematorium. The family planned to sit a two-day shiva. On 16 September 2012, Winehouse's ashes were buried alongside those of her grandmother Cynthia Levy at Edgwarebury Lane Cemetery.
== Legacy ==
Soon after Winehouse's death, a number of prominent critics assessed the singer's legacy. Maura Johnston from The Village Voice said, "When she was on, Winehouse had few peers—she wasn't an octave-jumper like other big divas of the moment, but her contralto had a snap to it that enriched even the simplest syllables with a full spectrum of emotion". Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker proclaimed, "Nobody can match Winehouse's unique transitions or her utterly weird phrasings. She sounded like an original sixties soul star, developed when the landscape had no rules. But now untrammelled traditionalism is in the lead and her beautiful footnote has been cut short. American soul—through visionaries like Erykah Badu and Janelle Monáe and Jill Scott—had moved on. But Winehouse was a fine shepherd of the past."
Artists who have credited Winehouse as an influence or for paving the way for them include Adele, Duffy, Lady Gaga, Raphael Saadiq, Anthony Hamilton, John Legend, Bruno Mars, Tove Lo, Jessie J, Emeli Sandé, Victoria Justice, Paloma Faith, Lana Del Rey, Sam Smith, Florence Welch, Halsey, Alessia Cara, Estelle, Daya, Jorja Smith, Lauren Jauregui and Billie Eilish. Artists who have paid tribute to Winehouse include Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., Lady Gaga, Kelly Osbourne, Rihanna, George Michael, Adele, Dita Von Teese, Courtney Love, Patti Smith, who wrote "This Is the Girl" as an homage to Winehouse, and the rock band Green Day, who wrote a song in her tribute titled "Amy".
Winehouse's parents have each written memoirs about their daughter and donated the proceeds from both books to the Amy Winehouse Foundation. Mitch Winehouse's biography, titled Amy: My Daughter, was published in 2012. Her mother Janis published Loving Amy: A Mother's Story, in 2014. A documentary film, Amy (2015), directed by Asif Kapadia and produced by James Gay-Rees, was released on 3 July 2015. The film covers Winehouse's life, her relationships, her struggles with substance abuse both before and after her career blossomed, and her death. In 2018, a documentary film based on Winehouse's album Back to Black, Amy Winehouse – Back to Black, was released. In July 2021, a new documentary titled Reclaiming Amy aired on BBC Two to mark the 10th anniversary of Winehouse's death. The film was primarily based on the perspective and narrated by her mother Janis Winehouse-Collins and included intimate stories of those who were close to Winehouse until the end of her life, including close friends Naomi Parry (Winehouse's stylist), Catriona Gourlay and Chantelle Dusette.
On 9 October 2017, it was announced by Winehouse's father Mitch that a West End/Broadway musical on Amy is in the works. Mitch Winehouse revealed the news at the Amy Winehouse Foundation Gala event in London. In July 2022, it was reported that a feature film biopic, entitled Back To Black (2024) was to be produced by StudioCanal UK, distributed by Focus Features and directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. The script was written by Matt Greenhalgh and it was to be made with the full cooperation of Amy's father Mitch, and her estate.
=== Amy Winehouse Foundation ===
After the singer's death by alcohol intoxication in July 2011, the Amy Winehouse Foundation was set up by Winehouse's family and launched on 14 September 2011 (which would have been Winehouse's 28th birthday), with her brother Alex as an employee. Its aim is to help vulnerable or disadvantaged young people, and it works with other charitable organisations to provide frontline support. Its central office is in North London, but it also has an office in New York (operating under the name 'The Amy Winehouse Foundation US'). Jon Snow is a patron for the charity, with Barbara Windsor also before she died in 2020, and ambassadors include Jess Glynne, Patsy Palmer, Jessie Wallace, Keira Chaplin and Mica Paris. In October 2015, Mark Ronson became a patron. Amy's brother Alex works full-time for the foundation, having given up his career as an online music journalist.
The charity itself works to prevent the effects of drug and alcohol misuse on young people, and it also aims to support, inform and inspire vulnerable and disadvantaged young people to help them reach their full potential. On 12 March 2013, with the help of ex-addict Russell Brand, the Foundation launched the Amy Winehouse Foundation Resilience Programme For Schools across the UK which aims to provide effective education around drugs, alcohol and dealing with emotional issues.
== Achievements ==
Winehouse has sold over 30 million records worldwide. At the time of her death, Winehouse had sold over 1.75 million singles and over 3.98 million albums in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, she had sold about 3.4 million tracks and 2.7 million albums in the United States as of the same date.
Among the awards and recognition for her debut album Frank, Winehouse earned an Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters for Best Contemporary Song ("Stronger Than Me"), a Brit Award nomination for Best British Female Solo Artist, and an inclusion in Robert Dimery's 2006 book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Her second studio album, Back to Black, produced numerous nominations, including two Brit Awards (Best British Album, and won her Best British Female Solo Artist), six Grammy Awards (including five wins), four Ivor Novello Awards, four MTV Europe Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, three World Music Awards, and it was nominated for the Mercury Prize (Album of the Year) and a MOBO Awards (Best UK Female).
On 13 February 2012, Winehouse was ranked 26th on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music list. In March 2017, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan said he was enjoying listening to Winehouse's last record (Back to Black), and called her "the last real individualist around". In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Winehouse at number 83 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2025, The Guardian included Back To Black on their list of defining events in popular culture of the 21st century. Also in 2025, Back to Black was preserved in the United States National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.
== Discography ==
Frank (2003)
Back to Black (2006) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Wayans | Damon Wayans | Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. ( DAY-mən WAY-ənz; born September 4, 1960) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, and writer. A member of the Wayans family of entertainers, Damon performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a brief stint on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. He later joined his family on Fox's sketch comedy show In Living Color (1990–1992), and wrote and performed on his own animated series Waynehead (1996–1997) and live-action series Damon (1998). Since then, he has starred in a number of films and television shows, some of which he has co-produced or co-written, including Mo' Money, The Last Boy Scout, Major Payne, Bulletproof, and the sitcoms My Wife and Kids and Poppa's House, the latter featuring his son Damon Wayans Jr. From 2016 to 2019, he starred as Roger Murtaugh in the Fox television series Lethal Weapon.
== Early life ==
Wayans was born in Harlem in New York City, the fourth child of Elvira Alethia (née Green), a homemaker, singer and social worker, and Howell Stouten Wayans, a supermarket manager. His three older siblings are Dwayne, Keenen Ivory, and Diedra. His six younger siblings are Kim, Elvira, Nadia, Vonnie, Shawn, and Marlon. The Wayans children were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses. As a child, he had a club foot.
This attribute would also be given to his character in My Wife and Kids, and his character on the short-lived cartoon series Waynehead. Wayans attended Murry Bergtraum High School.
== Career ==
Wayans started doing stand-up comedy in 1982. His earliest film appearance was a brief cameo as an effeminate hotel employee in the Eddie Murphy film of 1984, Beverly Hills Cop. From 1985 to 1986, he appeared on Saturday Night Live as a featured player, before getting fired after just eleven episodes for improvising during a live sketch, playing his character as a flamboyant gay cop instead of a straight cop. Wayans later claimed that he wanted to be fired due to lack of creative freedom and screen time. Wayans further explained that Lorne Michaels did not want Wayans to do too much too soon and began drawing comparisons to Eddie Murphy who had just left the show. He also appeared in the syndicated television series Solid Gold during the 1980s as a comedian.
With his brother Keenen, Wayans created the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color, which had a mostly African-American cast. The show went on the air in April 1990. It continued running until May 1994, although Wayans left the show in 1992 to pursue a film career.
During and after In Living Color, he starred in films such as The Last Boy Scout (1991), Mo' Money (1992), Last Action Hero (1993), Major Payne (1995), Celtic Pride (1996), Bulletproof (1996), and The Great White Hype (1996), and wrote and starred in the film Blankman (1994). He also appeared in Janet Jackson's video "The Best Things in Life Are Free" and was considered for the role of the Riddler in Batman Forever (the role went to Jim Carrey, his co-star from In Living Color and Earth Girls Are Easy).
In October 1996, he produced Waynehead, a short-lived cartoon for The WB, loosely based on his own childhood growing up in a large family, starring a poor boy with a club foot. The show only lasted a season due to poor ratings. From 1997 to 1998, he was the executive producer of 413 Hope St., a short-lived drama on the FOX network starring Richard Roundtree and Jesse L. Martin.
In March 1998, he starred in the short-lived comedy television series Damon, in which he played a detective from Chicago. It aired on Fox. In 1999, his The New York Times bestselling book Bootleg, with co author David Asbery was published; it is a humorous compilation of his observations about family.
In October 2000, he was the lead in Spike Lee's Bamboozled. Wayans starred in the ABC comedy series My Wife and Kids from March 2001 to May 2005. He was also co-creator of the short lived ABC sitcom Rodney, starring Rodney Carrington and Jennifer Aspen, that ran from 2004–2006. In the end of 2006, he produced and starred in the Showtime sketch comedy series The Underground, which also featured his son, Damon Jr. He also hosted the June 2006 BET Awards.
In 2011, he also added author of a serious fictional novel to his credits with Red Hats, which is the story of a suicidal 65-year-old woman who finds friendship and happiness, when she joins the Red Hat Society. As of 2014, Wayans continues to perform stand-up comedy and has developed apps with his company of freelancers "MIMS" (Money in My Sleep). The company created applications such as Flick Dat, Diddeo and VHedz.
On November 12, 2015, at the Irvine Improv, Wayans announced his retirement from stand up commencing December 2015. In September 2016, he was cast as Roger Murtaugh in the television version of Lethal Weapon, a role originated by Danny Glover in the film series. On October 3, 2018, it was reported that Wayans would leave Lethal Weapon after filming of the first thirteen episodes of Season 3 wrapped. Lethal Weapon officially ended in February 2019, after three seasons.
Wayans returned to scripted television in the fall of 2024 with his son Damon Jr. on the CBS sitcom Poppa's House.
== Personal life ==
Wayans was married to Lisa Thorner; they divorced in 2000. He has four children with Thorner: sons Damon Wayans Jr. and Michael Wayans and daughters Cara Mia Wayans and Kyla Wayans. He is also a grandfather and a great grandfather. He is the uncle of Damien Dante Wayans, Chaunté Wayans and Craig Wayans.
Wayans was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in January 2014. In December 2015, Wayans successfully underwent brain surgery to remove a benign tumor on his pituitary gland. He retired from stand-up shortly thereafter, and spent three months recovering.
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
=== Documentary ===
== Books ==
Wayans, Damon (1999). Bootleg. Harper. ISBN 978-0060193669.
Wayans, Damon (2010). Red Hats: A Novel. Atria Books. ISBN 978-1439164617.
== Accolades == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypripedium_acaule | Cypripedium acaule | Cypripedium acaule, the pink lady's slipper or moccasin flower, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae native to eastern North America. It is currently the provincial flower of Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the state wildflower of New Hampshire, United States.
Indigenous peoples traditionally used this plant for medicinal purposes. For example, Algonquin people, who form part of the larger cultural group known as the Anishinaabeg, traditionally used C. acaule to treat menstrual disorders. Due to population decline, harvesting for medicinal purposes is no longer recommended. As C. acaule takes many years to go from seed to mature plant, the gathering of seed-bearing specimens is presently unsustainable.
== Name ==
Cypripedium acaule is commonly referred to in English as the pink lady's slipper or moccasin flower. The specific epithet acaule means "lacking an obvious stem", a reference to its short underground stem, for which reason the plant is also known as the stemless lady's-slipper. In Anishinaabemowin, it is known as makizinkewe.
== Description ==
Cypripedium acaule is a perennial plant. The plant has a solitary flower, which means only one flower blooms on its peduncle between the two large basal leaves per season. It grows slowly and up to 0.4 m (1 ft 4 in). The flowering season in their native range is between April and June and goes dormant after fruiting.
Unlike most other species of Cypripedium, the pouch of C. acaule opens in a slit that runs down the front of the labellum rather than a round opening. The plant consists of two plicate leaves near the ground. From between those leaves sprouts a long, pubescent stalk that bears a single pink flower. The sepals and petals tend to be yellowish-brown to maroon with a large pouch that is usually some shade of pink but can be white to nearly magenta. Leaves are simple, elliptical in shape and opposite in arrangement.
== Taxonomy ==
The genus Cypripedium is one of five genera in the subfamily of slipper orchids Cypripedioideae. Cypripedium acaule was first described in the Western European tradition by the Scottish botanist William Aiton in 1789. He referred to it as the two-leaved lady's slipper.
As of March 2021, Kew's Plants of the World Online (POWO) does not accept any infraspecific taxa. POWO lists a dozen synonyms, one of which is Cypripedium acaule f. albiflora E.L.Rand & Redfield, a form with a white pouch and green petals.
== Pollination ==
They get pollinated by attracting bees into the slit of the pink flower, but the bees eventually stop visiting them as it provides them with no benefits. Therefore, they are also called non-rewarding flowers because they offer no food or even produce any nectar but still get pollinated. The two main frequent pollinators observed visiting C. acaule are B. vagans and B. borealis queens, therefore it is believed that queen bees are their primary pollinators.
C.acaule, like many other orchids rely on pollinator deception, which means they attract insects via colour, shape and scent cues instead of providing nectar. The labellum in Cypripedium acuale acts like a one way trap, once a bee enters, it crawls past the pollen structure before exiting. In this process they pollinate the flower by first picking up pollen from the male counterpart and depositing it to the female counterpart.
Once pollinated, the ovary of the flower turns into a oblong shaped green seed pod with pointy ends. The seed pod supposedly stays green until the temperature drops and them splits open releasing tiny powdery seeds that resembles white pepper.
== Distribution and habitat ==
Cypripedium acaule can be found in the eastern third of the United States, particularly in the Great Lakes region and the Northeast in New Hampshire and Maine, south along the Appalachians to Alabama. It is widespread in Canada, where it is found in every province except British Columbia. It also occurs in the Northwest Territories and in St. Pierre & Miquelon. Within its geographic range, it can be found in a wide variety of environments, from coastal plains, to pine barrens, to mountaintops.
C. acaule requires highly acidic soil and tolerates a range of shade and moisture, though it prefers at least partial shade and well-drained slopes. It is usually found in pine forests with sandy soils, where it can be seen in large colonies, but it also grows in deciduous woods. Since they are highly sensitive to shade and soil disturbances, they are classified as forest habitat species, which means that they are typically associated with shaded, mature forest conditions and any kinds of changes to its environment can has a potential negative impact on their population. It was long speculated that a fungal association was needed for growth, and that C. acaule could not be artificially cultivated outside of these associations. However, a greater understanding of orchids in general has shown that this association is only needed to germinate orchid seeds and is not required once plants begin making true leaves. Some disturbances that affects C. acaule's survival and population include canopy removal, forest floor and soil disturbance, all of which likely reduce the habitat suitability (shade, moisture, mycorrhizal associations).
C. acaule is considered endangered in Illinois and Tennessee, Vulnerable in New York, and Unusual in Georgia.
== Cultivation ==
Seed germination labs have increased the commercial availability of C. acaule, although it still tends to be less commonly available than other Cypripedium species and hybrids. This is primarily due to the extra care that must be provided if the growing site is not naturally suitable for in-ground cultivation. This plant grows in soils below a pH of 5, often at 4–4.5. At this high acidity soil fungus is suppressed, and C. acaule can thrive. There is even evidence that it is partially myco-heterotrophic, parasitizing fungus that attempts to invade its roots. However, in soils above pH 5, soil microbes become more than C. acaule can manage, and the plants rot. Although, C. acaule is photosynthetic, it still relies on specific fungal partners for nutrient exchange. These fungi colonize the orchid roots and form structures called pelotons, which allows for nutrient transfer.
Seedlings germinated in a sterile environment can grow and thrive in a much higher pH than 5, but must be grown below 5 if removed from the sterility.
For artificial cultivation, container culture is a must, and the growing medium must be naturally acidic. Additionally, all other soil additives must be devoid of any calcium that could buffer the pH to above 5. High quality peat moss or pine duff work well, and pH neutral perlite can be added to improve porosity. Due to the risk of calcium bicarbonate, tap water is unsuitable. Rainwater or distilled water mixed with 2 ounces (57 g) of vinegar per gallon will assure that a reliably high acidity is maintained in the growing medium. Give bright dappled shade or morning sun. Sink pots in winter or store in a cold frame for insulation. Given these conditions, C. acaule can thrive indefinitely, but it will always require much more maintenance than other species/hybrids that can be grown in a wider pH range. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Color_of_Silence | The Color of Silence | The Color of Silence is the fifth studio album by American singer Tiffany, released on November 7, 2000. It marked a comeback for the artist, serving as her first studio album in seven years and her first U.S. release in a decade. The album followed Tiffany's return to California after several years living in Nashville, Tennessee, where she worked to develop her songwriting and explored a potential shift toward country music. The track "Open My Eyes" was later featured in the film BearCity (2010).
== Background ==
After the success of her first two albums, Tiffany and Hold an Old Friend's Hand, Tiffany shifted her musical direction from teen pop toward R&B and new jack swing for her third album, New Inside. Growing frustration with the music industry led her to adopt a more mature, sexier image as she attempted to gain greater creative control. New Inside was released on September 25, 1990, by MCA Records. It received mixed reviews; critics described the production as overly polished and felt Tiffany was unconvincing as an R&B vocalist. Commercially, the album failed to chart in the United States and produced no singles that entered the Billboard charts, though it achieved moderate success in Japan. Her fourth album, Dreams Never Die, marked a return to pop music, but it was released exclusively in Asia on November 21, 1993.
Struggling with alcohol and drug problems, Tiffany was persuaded by her longtime bodyguard, Frank D'Amato, to reassess her life and career. Exhausted by her residency at the Las Vegas Hilton and recognizing that the industry had moved on, she chose to take a hiatus to focus on family and personal recovery. In 1995, she moved to Nashville to work on songwriting while attempting a comeback as a country music artist. There, she collaborated with industry professionals who recognized her potential. Although she began recording demos for country material, she eventually concluded that she “isn't a country kind of girl.” She also admitted she had long been “shy as a writer” and unsure of how to translate her ideas into lyrics. After several years in Nashville, she moved back to California to begin work on her fifth album, which afforded her the greatest creative control of her career.
== Production ==
After moving back to California, Tiffany met producer Brad Schmidt through a mutual friend. For the first three months, their working relationship was difficult, as Tiffany struggled with relinquishing creative control after years of self-direction. Despite these challenges, she wrote several songs influenced by the works of Bonnie Raitt and Melissa Etheridge.
Tiffany also met and collaborated with Tim Feehan on a number of potential tracks for the album, but she ultimately felt they were "too adult contemporary" and decided not to include them. The first song written for the album, "Silence", endured despite the rocky collaboration; at one point, Tiffany and Feehan considered ending their partnership due to creative differences. Tiffany later said that completing the song made her feel "more confident" and helped her solidify a personal musical "style" through their work together.
Following the death of her longtime bodyguard Frank D'Amato from cancer at the age of 34, Tiffany composed the melody and wrote the first two lines of the lyrics for "If Only", which was later completed by Joe Brooks. She has said that beginning the song helped her process her grief over D'Amato's death. Brooks also wrote "Betty" and gave it to Tiffany, encouraging her to interpret it in her own way, even though she felt that his original version was already strong.
== Music and lyrics ==
=== Overview ===
The Color of Silence reflects Tiffany's life at the time of its creation. The album explores themes such as femme-power messaging and alternative angst. Recurring motifs include pain, frustration, longing, and desire. The Color of Silence is primarily a pop rock album, incorporating elements of dance, blues, gospel, and electronica. Tiffany co-wrote seven songs on the standard edition of the album.
Considered her most autobiographical work to date, Tiffany stated in a November 3, 2000 interview with Shawn Winstian of the Herald News Service that she contributed not only her voice but also her "heart and soul" by writing the majority of the tracks.
=== Songs ===
"Open My Eyes" is a "guitar-etched" pop rock song in which Tiffany asks a man to "open [her] eyes" so she can move on and find resolution. Tiffany described it as a "very strong song for a woman". "I'm Not Sleeping" is an emotional and verbal abuse song told from a female point of view, expressing that she "lost a big chunk of herself and regained her power", ultimately emancipating herself and refusing to "go back to try and prove anything to him." Music critic Melissa Ruggieri stated that the track is the album's "first indication of maturity". The song features a pop-rock hook, "rocky" rhythms, African drums, guitar strums, "slow-building" basslines, and minimal keyboard effects. It also includes a guest rap by Krayzie Bone. According to Tiffany, its production was inspired by "Voices Carry" by 'Til Tuesday.
Accompanied by melancholic guitars, a marching band cadence, and bagpipes, "Piss U Off" depicts Tiffany being "dumped", as she "succinctly puts it, but with a twist". The lyrics compare two lovers to hostile neighbors. "I Will Not Breakdown" features Tiffany singing in a "decidedly sassy mood" with a "touch of diva attitude". The song describes her refusal to break down under difficult circumstances or to "[give] in to people and their negative opinions of [her]". Ruggieri wrote that the "ghost of Alanis Morissette floats through the insinuating guitars and beefy chorus". "Keep Walking" is a "bittersweet" love song. Michael Paoletta of Billboard described its production as "reminiscent of an Oasis track".
"If Only" is a piano-driven ballad dedicated to Tiffany's bodyguard, Frank D'Amato. The first verses reflect Tiffany's feelings about his death. "Silence" is an autobiographical rock song influenced by Middle Eastern music, describing Tiffany's struggle with her past. "All the Talking" is an acoustic pop track about the tension between dreams and reality. "Good Enough for Me" expresses Tiffany's call for unity and nonjudgment. "Christening" is a funk song centered on female independence. "Betty" is a ballad offering a "bittersweet tale" about a girl who committed suicide. "Cinnamon" is a downtempo guitar-driven track about a girl who is a "Jezebel [and] a big mess". "Butterfly" focuses on Tiffany's theme of personal growth.
== Release ==
Originally, The Color of Silence was planned for release on Modern Records, but the project was later moved to Eureka Records. The album was initially scheduled for release on October 10, 2000. It was released on November 7, 2000.
== Critical reception ==
The Color of Silence received positive reviews and is considered Tiffany's most critically acclaimed album to date. A front-page article in Billboard described the record as "thoughtful, intelligent, and full of grace," and suggested it could be regarded as "Tiffany's equivalent to Alanis Morissette's landmark Jagged Little Pill." Music critic Melissa Rugglerl gave the album a "B+", praising "Piss U Off" as "clever".
Peter Fawthrop of AllMusic awarded it three out of five stars, highlighting "Piss U Off", "Silence", and "Betty". He commended "Piss U Off" for its "boasting, clever lyrics" and "one of the great melodies on an album filled with hooks", and characterized the album as "extravagant and unbridled, spilling with good ideas molded into eclectic rock pieces and passionate pop songs and ballads." MTV Asia also rated the album three out of five stars, selecting "Open My Eyes", "I'm Not Sleeping", "Silence", and "Good Enough For Me" as "Choice Cuts".
== Track listing ==
== Personnel ==
Tiffany – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 3, 7, 10, 12, 13)
Tim Feehan – keyboards (1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 13, 15), electric bass (1–4, 7–9, 11–13, 15), drum programming (1–4, 7–9, 11–13, 15), backing vocals (1, 4, 7–9, 13, 14), synthesizers (3, 6, 9, 11), accordion (3), bagpipes (3), guitars (9), all instruments (16)
Cary Devore – acoustic piano (5)
Joe Brooks – guitars (1–3, 6, 8, 9, 11–13), backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 13), synthesizers (2, 6, 11), Wurlitzer electric piano (3, 8), additional synthesizers (3, 9), harmonica (3, 8), acoustic piano (6, 11), keyboards (12)
David Frederic – additional electric guitars (1), guitars (4)
Gene Black – guitars (4, 7, 9, 15), electric sitar (7)
John Thomas – guitars (5)
Cisco De Luna – additional guitars (10)
Romeo Antonio – guitars (12)
Brent Hoffert – electric guitars (14)
Mark Dutton – bass (5)
Clark Souter – bass (14)
Herman Matthews – drums (2, 4, 7, 12)
Mark Wickliffe – drums (5)
Michael Fisher – percussion (2, 6, 9, 11), kalimba (2), vibraphone (9), tambora (9)
David "Ovis" Means – percussion (5), backing vocals (5, 7), additional synthesizers (8), all instruments (10), keyboards (14), drums (14)
Krayzie Bone – rap (2)
Doug Elkins – backing vocals (7)
Ked – backing vocals (8)
London Jones – backing vocals (9, 11, 15, 16)
== Production ==
Tiffany – production supervisor, exclusive management
Tim Feehan – producer (1–4, 7–9, 11–13, 15, 16), mixing (1–3, 6–9, 11–13, 15, 16)
David "Ovis" Means – producer (5, 14), mixing (5, 10, 14), recording (10, 14), Pro Tools mix engineer (10)
Joe Brooks – producer (6, 11)
Jerry Christie – recording (1–4, 6–9, 11–13, 15, 16), Pro Tools mix engineer (12)
Paul Wagner – recording (5, 10, 14)
David Frederic – Pro Tools mix engineer (1–9, 11, 13), recording (5), mixing (5)
Robert Biles – mixing (1–4, 6–9, 11–13, 15, 16)
Glenn Sweitzer – art direction, design
Ron Davis – photography, exclusive management
Brad Schmidt – exclusive management
Calvin Haugen – stylist
Lynn Rodgers – hair, make-up
Bulmaro Garcia – hair, make-up (center spread) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Spiezio | Scott Spiezio | Scott Edward Spiezio (; born September 21, 1972) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He is well known for his time as a member of the Anaheim Angels, when he hit a three-run home run in Game Six of the 2002 World Series against the San Francisco Giants, sparking the Angels to a dramatic come-from-behind victory. He also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, and St. Louis Cardinals, and is the son of former major leaguer Ed Spiezio.
In addition to Spiezio's pivotal moment helping the Angels win the World Series, 2002 was also his most productive full season, with a .807 OPS. Spiezio was a utility player on the St. Louis Cardinals 2006 World Series championship team.
== Amateur career ==
Spiezio attended Morris High School in Morris, Illinois, and was a letterman in baseball. In baseball, he was named his league's MVP and was an All-State selection.
Spiezio played college baseball for the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He made the All-Big 10 Team in baseball in 1992 and 1993. In 1992, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and returned to the league in 1993 to play for the Cotuit Kettleers.
== Professional career ==
=== Oakland A's ===
Spiezio was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 1993 player draft and signed later that year. He made his debut with the 1996 A's and established himself as a classic utility player, making starts at first base, second base, and third base, and as a switch hitter with more power when batting left-handed.
=== Anaheim Angels ===
Spiezio signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Angels ahead of the 2000 season. During his years with the Angels, he made appearances in left field and right field, as well as first, second, and third base. In 2002, he had a career year. Playing every day, he set career highs in batting average, on-base percentage and RBI. It was in the postseason that he had his greatest success. Spiezio batted 18 for 55 (.327) for Anaheim in the playoffs that year. In Game 6 of the 2002 World Series, with Anaheim trailing three games to two in the series, trailing 5–0 in the seventh inning of the game, and facing a Series loss, Spiezio hit a three-run homer off of Félix Rodríguez to pull his team to within two runs. A lead off homer by Darin Erstad followed by a two-run double by Troy Glaus in the next inning won the game for the Angels by a 6–5 score, and the Angels would go on to win their first ever World Series championship 4–3. Spiezio tied Sandy Alomar Jr.'s postseason record with 19 RBI in one postseason that was set in 1997.
=== Seattle Mariners ===
After the 2003 season, Spiezio became a free agent and signed a contract with the Seattle Mariners. The next two seasons were the worst of his career. He tripped over a mound during 2004 spring training, resulting in a debilitating back injury. At one point, there were concerns the injury could threaten his career and potentially leave him paralyzed. He hit .215 that season and played only 29 games the next year (compiling an .064 average) before the Mariners released him on August 19, 2005.
=== St. Louis Cardinals ===
On February 18, 2006, Spiezio signed a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals with an invitation to the club's spring training. Spiezio played well enough during the Cardinals' exhibition to secure a roster spot with the team as a reserve infielder entering the 2006 season. This move would reunite Spiezio with his former Angels teammate, shortstop David Eckstein.
Spiezio, used as a pinch hitter and all-around reserve player as well as the primary backup to Scott Rolen at third base, had his best season since 2002 for the 2006 Cardinals, hitting 13 home runs and driving in 52 runs despite only getting 276 at-bats. He would have another dramatic moment in the playoffs. With the Cardinals trailing, 6–4, in the seventh inning of Game 2 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, Spiezio hit a two-run triple to tie the score. The Cardinals went on to win the game and the series in seven games, then proceeded to win the 2006 World Series, earning Spiezio his second World Series ring.
On November 16, 2006, Spiezio signed a two-year contract to return to the Cardinals until the end of the 2008 season, with a club option for 2009. The deal was worth an estimated $4.5 million.
On June 15, 2007, Spiezio took the mound as a relief pitcher in the bottom of the eighth inning of a lopsided loss against the Athletics. His fastball was clocked as high as 87 mph. He pitched one inning, giving up one walk, no hits, no runs, and no strikeouts. After having pitched in one game, Spiezio played six positions in his career (seven counting designated hitter), missing catcher, shortstop, and center field.
=== Release ===
On August 7, 2007, Spiezio received IV fluids. He was described as being "irritable and anxious". Spiezio disconnected his IV and left the stadium rather than accept medical treatment. On August 9, 2007, the Cardinals placed him on the restricted list. The Cardinals stated that Spiezio would be seeking treatment for an unspecified substance abuse problem. On September 14, 2007, Spiezio was removed from the restricted list after 36 days and also reactivated to play in that evening's home game.
On February 27, 2008, the Cardinals released Spiezio after police in Irvine, California issued a warrant for his arrest. The warrant was issued on six charges relating to a car crash on December 30, 2007. According to Irvine police, a drunken Spiezio crashed his BMW into a fence, then ran from the scene. In April, he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to three years' probation and 80 hours community service. He was also ordered to undergo three months of alcohol treatment and attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
On March 31, 2008, Spiezio signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves and was assigned to their top affiliate, the Richmond Braves. He showed signs of his old form, batting .333 in five games. However, he was released on April 12 for being unprepared to play in a game. Spiezio later said that while he was sober at the time, he was in a deep depression after being released by the Cardinals and wasn't ready to take the field. Combined with a strained relationship with his first wife and the prospect of not being able to see his kids for two months, he decided to go home for the year.
=== Independent leagues ===
Spiezio believed he was finished with baseball after his major league career, but decided to give it another shot in 2009. The Angels put him in touch with the Orange County Flyers of the independent Golden Baseball League. Flyers manager Phil Nevin, a former major leaguer, decided to sign Spiezio after letting him work out for a week and getting assurances he was mentally ready to play. Spiezio signed another one-year deal to play the 2010 season for the Newark Bears. He hit .279 with three home runs and 35 RBI while appearing in 52 games.
== Personal life ==
Spiezio is the son of two-time World Series champion Ed Spiezio.
On April 7, 2015, at 2:30 AM, police in Ottawa, Illinois, responded to a call that Spiezio punched out a window at the apartment where his then-girlfriend and infant son lived. Spiezio fled police and was later found through the use of a K-9 tracker behind a building, resulting in him being tased in order to be brought into custody. No charges were immediately filed.
In a 2022 interview with The Athletic, Spiezio revealed that he had spent the better part of 13 years battling substance abuse. He traced his downward spiral to the 2004 spring training injury, when the strain of being sidelined led him to begin drinking heavily, eventually drinking as much as a gallon of vodka per day. Over the years, he also became a cocaine addict. He admitted that during his time with the Cardinals, he frequently drank during games. As early as 2006, he had alienated so many of his friends in his hometown that no one joined him to celebrate the 2006 World Series win; in contrast, his friends threw him a huge party after the 2002 Series. By 2022, he had 12 stints in rehab and five arrests. His drug habit cost him both of his marriages and strained relationships with his family. His parents did not speak to him at all from 2005 to 2007 and had only sporadic contact with him from 2007 to 2011. He finally bottomed out in 2018, when he went to the hospital with severe jaundice from a badly damaged liver. He has been sober since then. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Magnuson | Don Magnuson | Donald Hammer Magnuson (March 7, 1911 – October 5, 1979) was an American journalist and politician. Magnuson worked as an investigative journalist for The Daily Olympian and The Seattle Times before representing the state of Washington in the United States House of Representatives for five terms as a Democrat. He was not related to Washington's long-serving U.S. Senator Warren Magnuson.
== Early years ==
Magnuson was born on a farm near Freeman, Washington, in rural Spokane County, the son of Ellis William Magnuson and Ida (Hammer) Magnuson. He attended the public schools and Spokane University from 1926 to 1928, then transferred to the University of Washington in Seattle, earning a bachelor's degree in 1931. After graduation, he worked as a harvester and then as a riveter in an aircraft factory.
== Journalism career ==
Magnuson was a newspaper reporter for The Daily Olympian and The Seattle Times from 1934 to 1952. In 1942, he wrote a series of reports about loafing in the Seattle-Tacoma Shipyards. He was instrumental in obtaining the pardon of Clarence Boggie, who was wrongly convicted of murder. He earned a Heywood Broun Award for his coverage and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting in 1949 by the managing editor of The Seattle Times. His work was made into a radio episode on a national radio show, The Big Story, in February 1949. At another time, his reporting engendered so much response that 17-year-old Joe Maish's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment 66 minutes before he was to hang.
In 1950, Magnuson wrote a series on alcoholism. He interviewed 6,000 men who had been treated over 15 years. He described the "conditioned-reflect treatment" which was intended to create an aversion to alcohol. This treatment was based on Pavlov's work on conditioned reflex. The treatment for alcoholism was for the staff at the sanitarium to give a patient alcohol and at the same time induce nausea with an additive.
== Political career ==
Magnuson was elected in 1952 as a Democrat and was re-elected four times, serving from January 1953 until January 1963. Magnuson was named to the Committee on Merchant Marines and Fisheries in 1955. During his time in Congress he served on the Appropriations Committee subcommittee on Department of State, Justice and Judiciary, and the Department of the Interior. He also served on the Public Works Committee with oversight over the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and the Atomic Energy Commission.
Magnuson was on the House floor during the 1954 United States Capitol shooting, when Puerto Rican nationalists shot up the floor of the 83rd Congress in 1954, and he was shot through the sleeve. The nationalists, identified as Lolita Lebrón, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Andres Figueroa Cordero, and Irving Flores Rodríguez, unfurled a Puerto Rican flag and began shooting at the 240 representatives who were debating an immigration bill. He was on the phone quickly after with The Seattle Times during the ruckus to give them the scoop, which his colleague and future Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill recorded in his memoirs.
In 1958, Magnuson escaped serious injury in a plane crash. He appeared in a newspaper photo, a hospital identification tag pinned to his blood spotted shirt, sitting in Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, where he was taken following the Northwest Airlines plane crash. Magnuson was one of 60 passengers who escaped death when the plane crashed into a corn field and burst into flames. His opponent for Congress that year complained about all of the sympathetic free publicity Magnuson received as a result of the incident. At least 11 U.S. Army service members were on board, and Magnuson recommended that Private First Class Raymond C. Maruschak receive the Soldier's Medal, crediting him with saving many lives that day. Maruschak and another soldier ripped a hole in the fuselage large enough to get all of the passengers out.
On January 30, 1959, Magnuson introduced a bill to establish a shield law to keep reporters from having to reveal their sources. On February 2, 1959, he introduced a bill to grant a second income tax exemption to college students who held down a job. On February 7, 1959, he was named to the board of oversight of the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs for 4 consecutive years. On May 22, 1959, Magnuson voted for an addition to the public works bill in an Appropriations subcommittee for $724,000 to start the Greater Wenatchee reclamation project. On August 4, 1959, Magnuson said about the upcoming Khrushchev visit, "What Khrushchev sees here may help guard against a fatal miscalculation on his part."On January 21, 1960, the Bellingham Labor News said that as a member of the Public Works Committee, Magnuson sponsored a resolution to authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review flood control studies in western Washington. On that same day, he was appointed to become a charter member of the Democratic Study Group. In 1960, as a member of the Appropriations Committee, he voted against an additional $73 million for the development of nuclear airplanes, according to The Labor Journal.
Following an extremely close victory in 1960, Magnuson lost his bid for a sixth term in 1962. He was employed by the Department of the Interior from 1963 to 1969, and by the Department of Labor from 1969 to 1973.
== Death and legacy ==
After he retired in 1973, he resided in Seattle, where he died on October 5, 1979, and was interred in Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park in north Seattle. His papers are housed at the University of Washington Libraries; the collection contains 18 cubic feet (0.5 m3) of legislative papers and 8 film strip reels relating to his various political campaigns. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Trotter_(tennis) | James Trotter (tennis) | James Kent Trotter (born 29 July 1999) is a Japanese tennis player.
He has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 170 achieved on 21 April 2025 and a doubles ranking of No. 142 achieved on 9 September 2024.
Trotter has won two singles and six ATP Challenger doubles titles.
== Professional career ==
He won the Challenger doubles titles at the 2023 Columbus Challenger with Robert Cash, at the 2024 Cleveland Open and in Cherbourg with George Goldhoff, at the 2024 Tyler Tennis Championships and again in Columbus with Hans Hach Verdugo.
At the same tournament in Tyler, Texas, he also won his first ATP Challenger singles title defeating Brandon Holt in the final.
== College career ==
Trotter played college tennis at Ohio State, where he won the NCAA Division I tennis men's doubles championship in 2023.
== Performance timeline ==
=== Singles ===
== ATP Challenger Tour finals ==
=== Singles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up) ===
=== Doubles: 9 (7 titles, 2 runner-ups) === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Academy_Award_records | List of Academy Award records | This list of Academy Award records is current as of the 98th Academy Awards ceremony held on March 15, 2026.
== Most awards or nominations ==
Most awards won by a single film: 11
Three films have won 11 Academy Awards:
Ben-Hur (1959): nominated in 12 of the 15 possible categories
Titanic (1997): nominated in 14 of the 17 possible categories
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): nominated in 11 of the 17 possible categories
Most nominations received by a single film: 16
Sinners (2025): out of 17 possible categories
Most nominations lost by a single film: 12
Sinners (2025): won 4 of its 16 nominations
Most nominations received by a single film without winning an award: 11
Two films have received 11 nominations and won no awards:
The Turning Point (1977): from 14 possible categories
The Color Purple (1985): from 17 possible categories
Largest sweep (winning awards in every nominated category): 11
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) won in every category for which it was nominated: Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, Makeup, Costume Design, Film Editing, Original Score, Original Song, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects.
Most total awards won by a person: 22
Walt Disney
Dennis Muren holds the record for the most awards by a living person: 9
Most total nominations received and awards won by a woman: 35 and 8
Edith Head, all for Best Costume Design
Meryl Streep holds the record for the most nominations for a living woman: 21
Most total nominations for a person: 59
Walt Disney
John Williams holds the record for the most nominations by a living person: 54
Most nominations and awards for a person in a single year: 6 and 4
In 1954, Walt Disney received six nominations and won four awards, both records. He won Best Documentary, Features for The Living Desert; Best Documentary, Short Subjects for The Alaskan Eskimo; Best Short Subject, Cartoons for Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom; and Best Short Subject, Two-reel for Bear Country. He had two additional nominations in Best Short Subject, Cartoons for Rugged Bear; and Best Short Subject, Two-reel for Ben and Me.
In 2025, Sean Baker won four awards from four nominations. He won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing, all for Anora.
Most competitive awards won by a living person: 8
Composer Alan Menken has won eight competitive awards
Milena Canonero, Colleen Atwood, and Frances McDormand have all won four competitive awards, making them the most awarded living women
Note: Visual Effects Supervisor Dennis Muren has won nine Academy Awards: six competitive awards, two "Special Achievement" awards, and one "Technical Achievement" award
Most competitive awards won for Acting: 4
Katharine Hepburn, all for Best Actress
Most competitive awards won for Directing: 4
John Ford
Most competitive awards won for Writing: 3
Woody Allen, all for Best Original Screenplay
Charles Brackett, for both Best Adapted and Original Screenplay
Paddy Chayefsky, for both Best Adapted and Original Screenplay
Francis Ford Coppola, for both Best Adapted and Original Screenplay
Billy Wilder, for both Best Adapted and Original Screenplay
Most competitive awards won for Film Editing: 3
Ralph Dawson
Michael Kahn
Daniel Mandell
Thelma Schoonmaker
Most competitive awards won for Cinematography: 4
Joseph Ruttenberg
Leon Shamroy
Most competitive awards won for Film Music Composition and Songwriting: 9
Alfred Newman, all for Best Original Score
Note:
Alan Menken has won eight awards in musical categories
John Williams has won five awards and holds the record for the most nominations by a living person at 54.
Sammy Cahn won four awards, all for Best Original Song
Johnny Mercer won four awards, all for Best Original Song
Jimmy Van Heusen won four awards, all for Best Original Song
Most competitive awards won for Art Direction: 11
Cedric Gibbons, who designed the Oscar statuette, received 38 nominations
Most competitive awards won for Costume Design: 8
Edith Head has received 35 nominations in total and holds the records for the most nominations and awards for a woman
Most competitive awards won for Makeup: 7
Rick Baker, who has received 11 nominations in total
Most competitive awards won for Visual Effects: 8
Dennis Muren, who has received 15 nominations in total
Most competitive awards won for Special Effects (discontinued in 1962): 3
A. Arnold Gillespie, who received 12 nominations in total
Most awards won for Animated Feature Film: 3
Pete Docter, who has received four nominations in total
Most nominations received for Animated Feature Film: 4
Pete Docter, winning 3
Hayao Miyazaki, winning 2
Chris Sanders, winning 0
Byron Howard, winning 2
Most awards won by a country for Best International Feature Film: 14
Italy, which has received 33 nominations in total
Most nominations received by a country for Best International Feature Film: 43
France, which has won the award 12 times
Most nominations received by a country for Best International Feature Film without an award: 10
Israel
Most awards won by a non-English language film: 4
Four non-English language films have won four Academy Awards:
Fanny and Alexander (1982) won Best Foreign Language Film, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) won Best Foreign Language Film, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score
Parasite (2019) won Best International Feature Film, Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay
All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) won Best International Feature Film, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score
Most nominations received by a non-English language film: 13
One non-English language film has been nominated for thirteen Academy Awards:
Emilia Pérez (2024): Best International Feature Film, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song (x2)
== Awards for acting and directing debuts ==
These people won Academy Awards for their debut performances in film:
Best Actor
None
Best Actress
Shirley Booth (Come Back, Little Sheba, 1952)
Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins, 1964)
Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl, 1968)
Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God, 1986)
Best Supporting Actor
Harold Russell (The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946)
Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People, 1980)
Haing S. Ngor (The Killing Fields, 1984)
Best Supporting Actress
Gale Sondergaard (Anthony Adverse, 1936)
Katina Paxinou (For Whom the Bell Tolls, 1943)
Mercedes McCambridge (All the King's Men, 1949)
Eva Marie Saint (On the Waterfront, 1954)
Jo Van Fleet (East of Eden, 1955)
Tatum O'Neal (Paper Moon, 1973)
Anna Paquin (The Piano, 1993)
Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls, 2006)
Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave, 2013)
Honorary Award
Harold Russell (The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946)
Academy Juvenile Award
Claude Jarman Jr. (The Yearling, 1946)
Vincent Winter (The Little Kidnappers, 1954)
These people won Academy Awards for their directing debuts:
Best Director
Delbert Mann (Marty, 1955)
Jerome Robbins (West Side Story, 1961)
Robert Redford (Ordinary People, 1980)
James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, 1983)
Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves, 1990)
Sam Mendes (American Beauty, 1999)
== Big Five winners ==
Three films have received the Big Five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay (Original or Adapted; all won for Best Adapted Screenplay).
It Happened One Night (1934)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
== Most consecutive awards in each category ==
Any awards
Walt Disney received record 10 awards in the eight consecutive years from 1931/32 through 1939. Eight (listed below) are for Short Subject (Cartoon), and two were Special Awards: one for the creation of Mickey Mouse, and one recognizing the innovation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Best Picture
David O. Selznick produced two consecutive Best Picture winners Gone with the Wind in 1939 and Rebecca in 1940 (He himself was not awarded the Oscars as at the time the statuette went to the studio instead of the producer)
Best Director
Three directors have won two consecutive awards (of which, one of each of their films (in bold) won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and one did not):
John Ford – The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz – A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950)
Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) and The Revenant (2015)
Best Actor
Two actors have won two consecutive awards:
Spencer Tracy – Captains Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938)
Tom Hanks – Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994)
Best Actress
Two actresses have won two consecutive awards:
Luise Rainer – The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and The Good Earth (1937)
Katharine Hepburn – Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) and The Lion in Winter (1968)
Best Supporting Actor
Jason Robards won two consecutive awards for All the President's Men in 1976 and Julia in 1977
Best Supporting Actress
No consecutive winner for Best Supporting Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay
Two screenwriters have won two consecutive awards:
Joseph L. Mankiewicz – A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950)
Robert Bolt – Doctor Zhivago (1965) and A Man for All Seasons (1966)
Best Original Screenplay
No consecutive winner for Best Original Screenplay
Best Art Direction
Thomas Little won four consecutive awards for Best Art Direction. He won Best Art Direction, Black and White, for the films How Green Was My Valley in 1941, This Above All in 1942, and The Song of Bernadette in 1943, and then he won an Oscar the next year in 1944 for Best Art Direction, Color for the film Wilson
Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki won three consecutive awards for Gravity in 2013, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) in 2014 and The Revenant in 2015
Best Costume Design
Of Edith Head's eight awards won for Best Costume Design, three were won in consecutive years: in 1949 for The Heiress, in 1950 for All About Eve, and in 1951 for A Place in the Sun for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White; in 1950 she also won for Samson and Delilah for Best Costume Design, Color
Best Film Editing
Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter won for The Social Network in 2010, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in 2011
Best Original Score
Roger Edens won three consecutive awards for composing the scores for Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949), and Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
Alfred Newman won two consecutive awards in Best Scoring of a Musical Picture for With a Song in My Heart (1952), and Call Me Madam (1953).
André Previn won two consecutive awards on two occasions; first in Best Scoring of a Musical Picture for Gigi (1958) and Porgy and Bess (1959), then in Best Scoring of Music-Adaptation and Treatment for Irma La Douce (1963) and My Fair Lady (1964)
Alan Menken won two consecutive awards for composing the scores for Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Aladdin (1992)
Gustavo Santaolalla won two consecutive awards for composing the scores for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Babel (2006)
Best Original Song
Three composers have won two consecutive awards for best original song, but under different award names:
Henry Mancini (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) shared the awards in Best Music (Song) for "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1961, and "Days of Wine and Roses" from Days of Wine and Roses in 1962
Alan Menken (music) won twice consecutively in Best Music (Original Song) for "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast (lyrics by Howard Ashman) in 1991, and "A Whole New World" from Aladdin (lyrics by Tim Rice) in 1992
Best Sound Mixing
Thomas Moulton won three consecutive awards for The Snake Pit in 1948, Twelve O'Clock High in 1949, and All About Eve in 1950
Best Visual Effects
Glen Robinson won four consecutive non-competitive wins Earthquake in 1974, The Hindenburg in 1975, and both King Kong and Logan's Run in 1976
Of Dennis Muren's eight Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, three of them were consecutive wins (under different names); E.T. The Extra Terrestrial in 1982, Return of the Jedi in 1983, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984.
Jim Rygiel and Randall William Cook won three consecutive visual effects Oscars for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Best Documentary (Feature)
Walt Disney won two consecutive awards for The Living Desert in 1953 and The Vanishing Prairie in 1954
Best Short Subject (Cartoon)
Of Walt Disney's many awards for Best Animated Short, eight of these wins were in consecutive years, for Flowers and Trees in 1931/32, Three Little Pigs in 1932/33, The Tortoise and the Hare in 1934, Three Orphan Kittens in 1935, The Country Cousin in 1936, The Old Mill in 1937, Ferdinand the Bull in 1938, and The Ugly Duckling in 1939
Best Short Subject (Two-Reel)
Of Walt Disney's multiple awards for Best Live Action Short, four of his wins were in consecutive years, in 1950 for In Beaver Valley, in 1951 for Nature's Half Acre, in 1952 for Water Birds, and in 1953 for Bear Country
== Academy Award firsts ==
Overall firsts
First Best Picture winner
Wings (1927)
First Best Picture winning sound film
The Broadway Melody (1929)
First Best Picture winning color film
Gone with the Wind (1939)
First Best Director co-winners (for the same film)
Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for West Side Story (1961)
Demographic firsts (age, nationality, ethnicity, sex/gender, disability)
First person born in the 20th century to be nominated for (and win) an Academy Award
Janet Gaynor, for Best Actress, 7th Heaven, Street Angel, Sunrise (1928)
First person born in the 21st century to win an Academy Award
Billie Eilish, for Best Original Song, "No Time to Die" from No Time to Die (2021)
First person born in the 21st century to be nominated for an Academy Award
Quvenzhané Wallis, for Best Actress, Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
First child actor to receive an acting nomination
Jackie Cooper, age 9, was nominated for Best Actor for Skippy (1931)
First Millennial to be nominated for (and win) an Academy Award
Anna Paquin for Best Supporting Actress, The Piano (1993)
First African to win for Acting
Charlize Theron (from South Africa), Best Actress for Monster (2003)
First Black African to win for Acting
Lupita Nyong'o (from Kenya), Best Supporting Actress for 12 Years a Slave (2013)
First Asian to win Best Director
Ang Lee (from Taiwan) won for Brokeback Mountain (2005)
First Asian to win for Acting
Miyoshi Umeki (from Japan), Best Supporting Actress for Sayonara (1957)
First European to win Best Director
David Lean (from England) for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
First European to win for Acting
Emil Jannings (from Germany) for The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh (1927/1928)
First Irish-born actor to win Best Actor: Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer (2024).
First Irish-born actress to win Best Actress: Jessie Buckley for Hamnet (2026).
First Latin American to win Best Director
Alfonso Cuarón (from Mexico) won for Gravity (2013)
First Latin American to win for Acting
José Ferrer (from Puerto Rico), Best Actor for Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
First person from Oceania to win Best Director
Peter Jackson (from New Zealand) for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
First person from Oceania to win for Acting
Peter Finch (from Australia), Best Actor for Network (1976)
First Asian person to win Best Picture
Bong Joon-ho and Kwak Sin-ae (both from South Korea) for Parasite (2019)
First Asian woman to win Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh (from Malaysia) for Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
First Asian person to be nominated in an acting category
Merle Oberon (from India) for Dark Angel (1935)
First Asian person to be nominated for Best Picture
Ismail Merchant (from India) for A Room with a View (1986)
First Asian person (and non-Caucasian) to win Best Director
Ang Lee (from Taiwan) for Brokeback Mountain (2005)
First Asian person (and non-Caucasian) to be nominated for Best Director
Hiroshi Teshigahara (from Japan) for Woman in the Dunes (1965)
First Asian person to receive an Honorary Award
Akira Kurosawa (from Japan) received an Honorary Award in 1989
First Asian woman to be nominated for (and win) Best Director
Chloé Zhao for Nomadland (2020)
First Black person to win an Oscar
Hattie McDaniel, Best Supporting Actress for Gone with the Wind (1939)
First Black woman to win Best Actress
Halle Berry for Monster's Ball (2001)
First Black person (and non-Caucasian) to win Best Picture
Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave (2013)
First Black person (and non-Caucasian) to be nominated for Best Picture
Quincy Jones for The Color Purple (1985)
First Black director to be nominated for Best Director
John Singleton for Boyz n the Hood (1991)
First Black siblings to be nominated for any award
The Lucas Brothers were nominated for Best Original Screenplay for Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Note: Shared nomination with Will Berson and director Shaka King.
First Black writer to win for screenwriting
Geoffrey S. Fletcher won Best Adapted Screenplay for Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (2009)
First Black person (and non-Caucasian) to receive an Honorary Award
James Baskett received a special Academy Award for his portrayal of Uncle Remus in Song of the South (1946)
First Native American person to be nominated for an Oscar
Chief Dan George for Little Big Man (1970)
First Native American woman to be nominated for an Oscar
Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
First Polynesian person and woman to be nominated for an Oscar
Jocelyne LaGarde for Hawaii (1966)
First Polynesian person to win an Oscar
Russell Crowe for Gladiator (2000)
First Polynesian people nominated for Best Picture
Taika Waititi and Chelsea Winstanley for Jojo Rabbit (2019)
First Polynesian writer to win for screenwriting
Taika Waititi won Best Original Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit (2019)
First film with an entirely non-White cast to win Best Picture
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
First film with an all-Black cast to win Best Picture
Moonlight (2016)
First woman to be nominated for and win Best Picture
Julia Phillips for The Sting (1973)
First woman to win Best Documentary
Nancy Hamilton for Helen Keller in Her Story (1955)
First woman to be nominated for Best Documentary
Janice Loeb for The Quiet One (1948)
First woman to win Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2009)
First woman to be nominated for Best Director
Lina Wertmüller for Seven Beauties (1976)
First woman to be nominated twice for Best Director (* = winner)
Jane Campion for The Piano (1993) and The Power of the Dog (2021)*
First woman to win Best Animated Feature
Brenda Chapman for Brave (2012)
First woman to be nominated for Best Animated Feature
Marjane Satrapi for Persepolis (2007)
First woman to win Best Original Score
Rachel Portman for Emma (1996)
First woman to win Best Cinematography
Autumn Durald Arkapaw for Sinners (2025)
First woman to be nominated for Best Cinematography
Rachel Morrison for Mudbound (2017)
First woman to receive each of the Honorary Awards
Shirley Temple received an Academy Juvenile Award in 1934
Greta Garbo received an Honorary Award in 1954
Martha Raye received a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1969
Kay Rose received a Special Achievement Academy Award for Sound Effects Editing of The River in 1985
Kathleen Kennedy received an Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 2018
First openly transgender woman nominated for an Oscar
Angela Morley for The Little Prince (1974)
First openly transgender woman to be nominated for an acting Oscar
Karla Sofía Gascón for Emilia Pérez (2024)
First Deaf actress to be nominated for and win an acting award
Marlee Matlin won Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God (1986)
First Deaf actor to be nominated for and win an acting award
Troy Kotsur won Best Supporting Actor for CODA (2021)
First autistic actor to win an Academy Award
Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor for The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
First actress with dwarfism to win in an acting category
Linda Hunt won Best Supporting Actress for The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
First actor with dwarfism to be nominated in an acting category
Michael Dunn was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Ship of Fools (1965)
Non-English language firsts
First non-English language film to win Best Picture
Parasite (2019), in Korean
First non-English language film to be nominated for Best Picture
La Grande Illusion (1937), in French
First African film to win Best International Feature Film
Z (1969), representing Algeria
First Asian film to win Best International Feature Film
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), representing Taiwan
First European film to win Best International Feature Film
Shoe-Shine (1947), representing Italy
First Latin American film to win Best International Feature Film
The Official Story (1985), representing Argentina
First Middle Eastern film to win Best International Feature Film
A Separation (2011), representing Iran
First North American film to win Best International Feature Film
The Barbarian Invasions (2003), representing Canada
All non-English language films to be nominated for Best Picture
Genre and studio firsts
First film by genre to win Best Picture
Silent, War, Epic: Wings (1927)
Musical: The Broadway Melody (1929)
Western: Cimarron (1931)
Drama: Grand Hotel (1932)
Comedy: It Happened One Night (1934)
Historical: Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
Biopic: The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
Romance: Gone with the Wind (1939)
Thriller: Rebecca (1940)
Adventure: The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Crime, Mystery, Neo-noir: In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Sports: Rocky (1976)
Horror: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Disaster: Titanic (1997)
Fantasy: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
LGBTQ+: Moonlight (2016)
Action, Martial arts, Science-fiction: Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
First horror film to be nominated for Best Picture
The Exorcist (1973)
First superhero film to be nominated for Best Picture
Black Panther (2018)
First X-rated film to be nominated for and win Best Picture
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
First 3-D film to be nominated for Best Picture
Avatar and Up (2009)
First streaming service film to be nominated for Best Picture
Manchester by the Sea (2016), distributed by Amazon Studios
First streaming service film to win Best Picture
CODA (2021), distributed by Apple TV+ Original Films
First short film to win an Academy Award outside of the Short Film categories
The Red Balloon (1956) for Best Original Screenplay
First hip hop song to win Best Original Song
"Lose Yourself" by Eminem, from the film 8 Mile (2002)
First professional athlete to win an Academy Award
Kobe Bryant won Best Animated Short Film for Dear Basketball (2017)
Animated firsts
First animated film to win an Academy Award
Pinocchio (1940) for Best Original Score and Best Original Song
Pinocchio was also the first animated film to win both music categories; a feat repeated by The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), and Pocahontas (1995)
First animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) for Best Original Score
First animated film to be nominated for Best Picture
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
First animated film to be nominated for a writing award
Toy Story (1995), nominated for Best Original Screenplay
First animated film to win Best Animated Feature
Shrek (2001)
First stop motion animated film to win Best Animated Feature
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
First non-English language film to win Best Animated Feature
Spirited Away (2001)
First PG-13 rated film to win Best Animated Feature
The Boy and the Heron (2023)
First animated film to be nominated for Best International Feature Film
Waltz with Bashir (2008), Israel
First animated film to be nominated for Best Documentary Feature
Flee (2021)
All animated films to be nominated for Best Picture
Acting firsts
First actor to receive ten nominations for acting
Bette Davis received her tenth acting nomination (all for Best Actress) for the film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
First male actor to receive ten nominations for acting
Laurence Olivier received his tenth acting nomination (nine for Best Actor and one for Best Supporting Actor) for the film The Boys from Brazil (1978)
First actor to receive twenty nominations for acting
Meryl Streep received her twentieth nomination (sixteen for Best Actress and four for Best Supporting Actress) for the film Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
First person to direct themselves to an Oscar win
Laurence Olivier won Best Actor for Hamlet (1948), which he also directed, produced, and adapted
First film to win both an Academy Award and a Golden Raspberry Award
Wall Street (1987), Michael Douglas won an Academy Award for Best Actor and Daryl Hannah won a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress
First actor to be nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Raspberry Award for the same performance in a film
James Coco was nominated for both Best Supporting Actor and Worst Supporting Actor for Only When I Laugh (1981)
First actress to be nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Raspberry Award for the same performance in a film
Amy Irving was nominated for both Best Supporting Actress and Worst Supporting Actress for Yentl (1983)
First posthumous win for acting
Peter Finch won Best Actor for Network (1976)
First posthumous nomination for acting
Jeanne Eagels, nominated for Best Actress for The Letter (1929)
First posthumous nomination for an actor
James Dean, nominated for Best Actor for East of Eden (1955)
First posthumous nomination for a Black actor
Chadwick Boseman, nominated for Best Actor for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)
First person to be nominated for acting and songwriting in the same year
Mary J. Blige, nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song ("Mighty River") for Mudbound (2017)
First person to win for acting and producing in the same year
Frances McDormand won Best Actress and Best Picture for Nomadland (2020)
First actress to be nominated for performing in a language other than English
Melina Mercouri was nominated for Best Actress for Never on Sunday (1960), performing in Greek
First actress to win for performing in a language other than English
Sophia Loren won Best Actress for Two Women (1961), performing in Italian
First actor to be nominated for performing in a language other than English
Marcello Mastroianni was nominated for Best Actor for Divorce Italian Style (1961), performing in Italian
First actor to win for performing in a language other than English
Robert De Niro won Best Supporting Actor for The Godfather Part II (1974), performing in Italian
First acting win for a portrayal of a character of the opposite gender
Linda Hunt won Best Supporting Actress for The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
First portrayals of living persons to win in each acting category
Best Actor: Spencer Tracy as Father Edward J. Flanagan in Boys Town (1938)
Best Actress: Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
Best Supporting Actor: Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee in All the President's Men (1976)
Best Supporting Actress: Patty Duke as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962)
Note: While Joanne Woodward's portrayal of Eve White in The Three Faces of Eve (1957) was based on a real person, Chris Costner Sizemore; her identity was not known until 1977.
== Age-related records ==
Youngest winner of an acting award
Tatum O'Neal, age 10 (Best Supporting Actress, Paper Moon, 1973)
Youngest nominee of an acting award
Justin Henry, age 8 (Best Supporting Actor, Kramer vs. Kramer, 1979)
Youngest Best Actress winner
Marlee Matlin, age 21 (Children of a Lesser God, 1986)
Youngest Best Actress nominee
Quvenzhané Wallis, age 9 (Beasts of the Southern Wild, 2012)
Youngest Best Actor winner
Adrien Brody, age 29 (The Pianist, 2002)
Youngest Best Actor nominee
Jackie Cooper, age 9 (Skippy, 1931)
Youngest winner of an Oscar
Shirley Temple, age 6, who was awarded the (now-retired) non-competitive Academy Juvenile Award in 1934
Youngest winner of two Oscars
Billie Eilish, age 22, who has won the Best Original Song category with her brother, Finneas, twice ("No Time to Die", 2021 and "What Was I Made For?", 2023)
Youngest Best Original Screenplay winner
Ben Affleck, age 25 (Good Will Hunting, 1997)
Youngest Best Adapted Screenplay winner
Charlie Wachtel, age 32 (BlacKkKlansman, 2018)
Youngest Best Director winner
Damien Chazelle, age 32 (La La Land, 2016)
Youngest Best Director nominee
John Singleton, age 24 (Boyz n the Hood, 1991)
Oldest winner of an acting award
Anthony Hopkins, age 83 (Best Actor, The Father, 2020)
Oldest nominee for an acting award
Christopher Plummer, age 88 (Best Supporting Actor, All the Money in the World, 2017)
Oldest Best Actress winner
Jessica Tandy, age 80 (Driving Miss Daisy, 1989)
Oldest Best Actress nominee
Emmanuelle Riva, age 85 (Amour, 2012)
Oldest Best Actor nominee and winner
Anthony Hopkins, age 83 (The Father, 2020)
Oldest Best Director winner
Clint Eastwood, age 74 (Million Dollar Baby, 2004)
Oldest Best Director nominee
Martin Scorsese, age 81 (Killers of the Flower Moon, 2023)
Oldest competitive Oscar winner
James Ivory, age 89 (Best Adapted Screenplay, Call Me by Your Name, 2017)
Oldest competitive Oscar nominee
John Williams, age 91 (Best Original Score, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 2023)
Oldest living Oscar nominee and winner
Eva Marie Saint, age 101 (Best Supporting Actress, On the Waterfront, 1954)
Earliest-born Oscar winner by birth year
George Arliss, born April 10, 1868 (Best Actor, Disraeli, 1929)
Earliest-born Oscar nominee by birth year
May Robson, born April 19, 1858 (Best Actress, Lady for a Day, 1933)
Year where all four acting winners had the oldest average age
1981 with an average age of 70.5 years old.
Henry Fonda (aged 77)
Katharine Hepburn (72)
John Gielgud (77)
Maureen Stapleton (56)
Year where all four acting winners had the youngest average age
1961 with a combined average age of just under 29 years old.
Maximilian Schell (aged 31)
Sophia Loren (27)
George Chakiris (27)
Rita Moreno (30)
Youngest multiple nominees for an acting award (Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor)
Youngest multiple nominees for an acting award (Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress)
== Film records ==
Most Oscar wins without winning Best Picture
Cabaret (1972) won 8 awards
Most nominations without winning Best Picture
Sinners (2025) with 16 nominations
Most nominations without a Best Picture nomination
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) with 9 nominations
Most Oscar wins without a nomination for Best Picture
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) with 5 wins
Fewest awards and nominations for a Best Picture winner
Grand Hotel (1932) received only the Best Picture nomination
Most nominations without a major nomination (Picture, Director, Acting and Screenplay)
Pepe (1960), which received 7 nominations with no major nominations
These seven films received 6 nominations with no major nominations:
The Rains Came (1939)
Hans Christian Andersen (1952)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) (note: received 7 nominations when "special achievement" is included)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
Best Picture nominees that won every nomination except Best Picture
These 16 films were nominated for Best Picture and won in every category they were nominated for, except Best Picture:
Bad Girl (1931), 2/3
The Private Life of Henry VIII (1932), 1/2
Naughty Marietta (1935), 1/2
The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), 3/4
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), 3/4
Miracle on 34th Street (1947), 3/4
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), 3/4
A Letter to Three Wives (1949), 2/3
King Solomon's Mines (1950), 2/3
Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), 2/3
Jaws (1975), 3/4
Traffic (2000), 4/5
The Blind Side (2009), 1/2
Selma (2014), 1/2
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), 4/5
Women Talking (2022), 1/2
Films nominated for Best Picture with no other major nominations
These 33 films were nominated for Best Picture but had no other major nominations (this does not include films that were only nominated for Best Picture and nothing else):
Wings (1927), 2 nominations
42nd Street (1933), 2 nominations
A Farewell to Arms (1933), 4 nominations
Cleopatra (1934), 5 nominations
Flirtation Walk (1934), 2 nominations
The Gay Divorcee (1934), 5 nominations
Imitation of Life (1934), 3 nominations
The White Parade (1934), 2 nominations
David Copperfield (1935), 3 nominations
Les Misérables (1935), 4 nominations
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), 4 nominations (note: actually nominated for two, but received two write-in nominations)
Naughty Marietta (1935), 2 nominations
Top Hat (1935), 4 nominations
A Tale of Two Cities (1936), 2 nominations
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), 4 nominations
Of Mice and Men (1939), 4 nominations
The Wizard of Oz (1939), 6 nominations
King Solomon's Mines (1950), 3 nominations
Decision Before Dawn (1951), 2 nominations
Ivanhoe (1952), 3 nominations
Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), 3 nominations
The Music Man (1962), 6 nominations
Doctor Dolittle (1967), 9 nominations
Hello, Dolly! (1969), 7 nominations
Jaws (1975), 4 nominations
Beauty and the Beast (1991), 6 nominations
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), 6 nominations
War Horse (2011), 6 nominations
Selma (2014), 2 nominations
Black Panther (2018), 7 nominations
Ford v Ferrari (2019), 4 nominations
Nightmare Alley (2021), 4 nominations
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), 4 nominations
Dune: Part Two (2024), 5 nominations
F1 (2025), 4 nominations
Stories made into multiple Best Picture nominees
9 sets of Best Picture nominees share either original source material or were revised versions of the same story (* = winner):
Romeo and Juliet (1936), West Side Story (1961)*, Romeo and Juliet (1968), West Side Story (2021)
The plot of another Best Picture winner, Shakespeare in Love, revolves around the original production of Romeo and Juliet
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)*, Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
Cleopatra (1934), Cleopatra (1963)
Pygmalion (1938), My Fair Lady (1964)*
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Les Misérables (1935), Les Misérables (2012)
A Star Is Born (1937), A Star Is Born (2018)
Little Women (1933), Little Women (2019)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1929/30)*, All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
First Best Picture winner produced wholly by non-Americans
Hamlet (1948), United Kingdom
First Best Picture winner produced wholly by non-Americans or non-British
The Artist (2011), France
First Best Picture winner produced wholly by non-Caucasians
Parasite (2019), South Korea
Most wins by a film produced wholly or partially by non-Americans
The Last Emperor (1987), Italy/Hong Kong/United Kingdom, 9 wins
Most nominations for a film produced wholly or partially by non-Americans
Three non-American films have received 13 nominations:
Shakespeare in Love (1998), United Kingdom/United States
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), New Zealand/United States
Emilia Pérez (2024), France
Only animated films to be nominated for Best Picture
Beauty and the Beast (1991), Up (2009) and Toy Story 3 (2010)
Best Picture winners adapted from Best Play or Best Musical Tony Award winners
My Fair Lady (1964)
The Sound of Music (1965)
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
Amadeus (1984)
Also:
All About Eve (1950) was adapted into the musical Applause, which won the Best Musical in 1970.
Chicago (2002) was adapted from both the original 1975 musical, which was nominated for Best Musical, and the 1996 revival, which won Best Revival.
While the musical Titanic, which won the Best Musical in 1997, and the film Titanic (1997), which won the Best Picture, shared the same name, neither production had anything to do with the other, despite the musical opening the same year as the film's release.
Best Picture winners based on Pulitzer Prize winning sources
You Can't Take It With You (1938) – play
Gone with the Wind (1939) – novel
All the King's Men (1949) – novel
Driving Miss Daisy (1989) – play
Spotlight (2015) – public service reporting
On the Waterfront (1954) was an original screenplay suggested from Pulitzer-winning newspaper articles.
Best Picture winners with the highest prize wins from the "Big Three" (Cannes, Venice, and Berlin)
The Lost Weekend (1945) – Grand Prix
Hamlet (1948) – Golden Lion
Marty (1955) – Palme d'Or
Rain Man (1988) – Golden Bear
The Shape of Water (2017) – Golden Lion
Parasite (2019) – Palme d'Or
Nomadland (2020) – Golden Lion
Anora (2024) – Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or winning films to be nominated for Best Picture (Best Picture winners designated with ** two asterisks)
Marty (1955) **
Friendly Persuasion (1956)
M*A*S*H (1970)
The Conversation (1974)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
All That Jazz (1979)
Missing (1982)
The Mission (1986)
The Piano (1993)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Secrets & Lies (1996)
The Pianist (2002)
The Tree of Life (2011)
Amour (2012)
Parasite (2019) **
Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
Anora (2024) **
Golden Lion winning films to be nominated for Best Picture (Best Picture winners designated with ** two asterisks)
Hamlet (1948) **
Atlantic City (1981)
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
The Shape of Water (2017) **
Roma (2018)
Joker (2019)
Nomadland (2020) **
Poor Things (2023)
Golden Bear winning films to be nominated for Best Picture (Best Picture winners designated with ** two asterisks)
12 Angry Men (1957)
Rain Man (1988) **
In the Name of the Father (1993)
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Most acting nominations from a single film
Nine films have received a record five acting nominations.
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
All About Eve (1950)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Peyton Place (1957)
Tom Jones (1963)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Network (1976)
Most nominations for actors (4)
On the Waterfront (1954)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Most nominations for actresses (4)
All About Eve (1950)
Most acting wins from a single film
Three films have received three acting awards:
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Network (1976)
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
== Acting records ==
Most awards for Best Actress
Katharine Hepburn with 4 awards (1933, 1967, 1968, 1981)
Most awards for Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis with 3 awards (1989, 2007, 2012)
Most awards for Best Supporting Actor
Walter Brennan with 3 awards (1936, 1938, 1940)
Most awards for Best Supporting Actress
Shelley Winters (1959, 1965) and Dianne Wiest (1986, 1994) with 2 awards each
Most consecutive Best Actress nominations
Two actresses have been nominated for five consecutive years:
Bette Davis (1938–1942)
Greer Garson (1941–1945)
Most consecutive Best Actor nominations
Marlon Brando with 4 nominations (1951 to 1954)
Most consecutive Best Supporting Actress nominations
Thelma Ritter with 4 nominations (1950 to 1953)
Most consecutive acting nominations across categories
Two actors have been nominated for four consecutive years:
Jennifer Jones (1943 Best Actress; 1944 Best Supporting Actress; 1945–1946 Best Actress)
Al Pacino (1972 Best Supporting Actor; 1973–1975 Best Actor)
Actor with most nominations for acting
Jack Nicholson with 12 nominations
Actress with most nominations for acting
Meryl Streep with 21 nominations
Most nominations for an actor without a win
Peter O'Toole with 8 nominations (received an Honorary Award in 2002, prior to eighth nomination)
Most nominations for an actress without a win
Glenn Close with 8 nominations
Most nominations for an actor performing in a non-English language
Marcello Mastroianni with 3 nominations: He was nominated for Best Actor for Divorce, Italian Style (1962); A Special Day (1977); and Dark Eyes (1987), performing in Italian
Longest gap between first and second award
Helen Hayes won in 1932 for The Sin of Madelon Claudet and in 1971 for Airport, a 39-year gap.
Longest gap between first and second nomination
Judd Hirsch was nominated in 1981 for Ordinary People and in 2023 for The Fabelmans, a 42-year gap.
Amy Madigan was nominated in 1986 for Twice in a Lifetime and in 2026 for Weapons, a 40-year gap; winning for the latter.
Longest time span between first and last wins
Katharine Hepburn won in 1934 for Morning Glory and in 1982 for On Golden Pond, a 48-year gap.
Longest time span between first and last nomination
Robert De Niro was nominated in 1975 for The Godfather Part II (and won); and in 2024 for Killers of the Flower Moon, a 49-year gap.
Most acting nominations before first win
Geraldine Page and Al Pacino, won on their eighth nomination
Most posthumous nominations
James Dean with 2: East of Eden (1955) and Giant (1956)
=== Shortest and longest Academy Award-winning and -nominated performances ===
Most awards by a Black actor
Two Black actors have won two Oscars:
Denzel Washington won Best Supporting Actor for Glory (1989) and Best Actor for Training Day (2001)
Mahershala Ali won Best Supporting Actor for Moonlight (2016) and for Green Book (2018)
Most awards for one acting performance
Harold Russell played Homer Parrish in The Best Years of Our Lives in 1946. For this role he received two Oscars, one for Best Supporting Actor and an Honorary Oscar "for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance in The Best Years of Our Lives."
Most nominations for one acting performance
Barry Fitzgerald was nominated as Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for his role as Father Fitzgibbon in 1944's Going My Way. He won Best Supporting Actor.
Acting wins for portraying multiple characters in the same film
Lee Marvin won for playing Kid Shelleen and Tim Strawn in Cat Ballou (1965)
Michael B. Jordan won for playing twins Elijah "Smoke" Moore and Elias "Stack" Moore in Sinners (2025)
Most roles played in a single film to be nominated for an acting award
Peter Sellers was nominated for Best Actor for playing three characters (Lionel Mandrake, President Merkin Muffley and Dr. Strangelove) in Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Years where all four acting winners were born outside the United States
1964
Best Actor – Rex Harrison for My Fair Lady, United Kingdom
Best Actress – Julie Andrews for Mary Poppins, United Kingdom
Best Supporting Actor – Peter Ustinov for Topkapi, United Kingdom
Best Supporting Actress – Lila Kedrova for Zorba the Greek, Russia
2007
Best Actor – Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood, United Kingdom
Best Actress – Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose, France
Best Supporting Actor – Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men, Spain
Best Supporting Actress – Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton, United Kingdom
Actors who won a Tony Award and Academy Award for portraying the same character
José Ferrer as Cyrano de Bergerac
Best Actor in a Play in 1947 for Cyrano de Bergerac
Best Actor in 1950 for Cyrano de Bergerac
Shirley Booth as Lola Delaney
Best Actress in a Play in 1950 for Come Back, Little Sheba
Best Actress in 1952 for Come Back, Little Sheba
Yul Brynner as King Mongkut of Siam
Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 1952 for The King and I
Best Actor in 1956 for The King and I
Anne Bancroft as Anne Sullivan
Best Actress in a Play in 1960 for The Miracle Worker
Best Actress in 1962 for The Miracle Worker
Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins
Best Actor in a Musical in 1957 for My Fair Lady
Best Actor in 1964 for My Fair Lady
Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More
Best Actor in a Play in 1962 for A Man for All Seasons
Best Actor in 1966 for A Man for All Seasons
Jack Albertson as John Cleary
Best Featured Actor in a Play in 1965 for The Subject Was Roses
Best Supporting Actor in 1968 for The Subject Was Roses
Joel Grey as the Master of Ceremonies
Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 1967 for Cabaret
Best Supporting Actor in 1972 for Cabaret
Lila Kedrova as Madame Hortense
Best Supporting Actress in 1964 for Zorba the Greek
Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1984 for Zorba
Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II
Best Actress in 2006 for The Queen
Best Actress in a Play in 2015 for The Audience
Viola Davis as Rose Maxson
Best Actress in a Play in 2010 for Fences
Best Supporting Actress in 2016 for Fences
Acting awards in science fiction, fantasy, superhero, and horror genres
Fredric March, 1931, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Edmund Gwenn, 1947, Miracle on 34th Street
Julie Andrews, 1964, Mary Poppins
Ruth Gordon, 1968, Rosemary's Baby
Cliff Robertson, 1968, Charly
Don Ameche, 1985, Cocoon
Kathy Bates, 1990, Misery
Jodie Foster, 1991, The Silence of the Lambs
Anthony Hopkins, 1991, The Silence of the Lambs
Heath Ledger, 2008, The Dark Knight
Natalie Portman, 2010, Black Swan
Joaquin Phoenix, 2019, Joker
Jamie Lee Curtis, 2022, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Ke Huy Quan, 2022, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Michelle Yeoh, 2022, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Emma Stone, 2023, Poor Things
Michael B. Jordan, 2025, Sinners
Amy Madigan, 2025, Weapons
Most acting awards for a character
Portrayals of Vito Corleone won:
Best Actor for Marlon Brando in The Godfather (1972)
Best Supporting Actor for Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II (1974) (in Italian)
Portrayals of the Joker won:
Best Supporting Actor for Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (2008)
Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix in Joker (2019) (as origins character, Arthur Fleck)
Portrayals of Anita from West Side Story won:
Best Supporting Actress for Rita Moreno in the 1961 film adaptation
Best Supporting Actress for Ariana DeBose in the 2021 film adaptation
Most nominations for a character
Three portrayals of Queen Elizabeth I of England earned nominations for:
Cate Blanchett (2) in Elizabeth (1998) and its sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) (both in Best Actress)
Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love (1998) (winner, Best Supporting Actress)
Three portrayals of King Henry VIII of England earned nominations for:
Charles Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) (winner, Best Actor)
Robert Shaw in A Man for All Seasons (1966) (Best Supporting Actor)
Richard Burton in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) (Best Actor)
The lead characters of three different versions of A Star Is Born have been nominated:
Female leads:
1937: Janet Gaynor as actress Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester
1954: Judy Garland as actress/singer Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester
2018: Lady Gaga as singer/musician Ally Campana
Male leads:
1937: Fredric March as actor Norman Maine
1954: James Mason as actor Norman Maine
2018: Bradley Cooper as singer/musician Jackson Maine
== Miscellaneous records ==
Most films nominated for and won in a single category
1942, with 24 films nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film and 4 winners (Shorts and features competed in a single category)
Most losses by a single film: 12
Sinners (2025), with 16 nominations and four wins (Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Original Score)
Person nominated in the most decades
John Williams:
1960s: 1967, 1969 (2 nominations)
1970s: 1971, 1972 (2 nominations), 1973 (3 nominations), 1974, 1975, 1977 (2 nominations), 1978
1980s: 1980, 1981, 1982 (2 nominations), 1983, 1984 (2 nominations), 1987 (2 nominations), 1988, 1989 (2 nominations)
1990s: 1990 (2 nominations), 1991 (2 nominations), 1993, 1995 (3 nominations), 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
2000s: 2000, 2001 (2 nominations), 2002, 2004, 2005 (2 nominations)
2010s: 2011 (2 nominations), 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019
2020s: 2022, 2023
People who won both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar
George Bernard Shaw: Won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925, and an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Pygmalion in 1938
Bob Dylan: Won an Oscar for Best Original Song for the song "Things Have Changed" from Wonder Boys in 2000, and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016
Only person to win both a Booker Prize and an Oscar
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: Won the Booker Prize for Heat and Dust in 1975, and two Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay for the films A Room with a View in 1986 and Howards End in 1992
People who won both a Pulitzer Prize and an Oscar
Mstyslav Chernov: Won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film for the film 20 Days in Mariupol in 2023, and the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2023
Aaron Copland: Won an Oscar for Best Original Score for the film The Heiress in 1949, and the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1945
John Corigliano: Won an Oscar for Best Original Score for the film The Red Violin in 1999, and the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2001
Bob Dylan: Won an Oscar for Best Original Song for the song "Things Have Changed" from Wonder Boys in 2000, and an additional citation in the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2006
Horton Foote: Won two Oscars; Best Adapted Screenplay for the film To Kill a Mockingbird in 1962, and Best Original Screenplay for the film Tender Mercies in 1983, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1995
Marvin Hamlisch: Won three Oscars in 1973; Best Score-Adaptation or Treatment for the film The Sting, and Best Original Score and Best Original Song for the title song of the film The Way We Were, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1976
Oscar Hammerstein II: Won two Oscars; Best Original Song for the songs "The Last Time I Saw Paris" from the film Lady Be Good in 1941, and "It Might as Well Be Spring" from the film State Fair in 1945, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1950, along with an additional citation in 1943
Sidney Howard: Posthumously won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Gone With the Wind in 1939, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925
William Inge: Won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film Splendor in the Grass in 1961, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1953
Frank Loesser: Won an Oscar for Best Original Song for the song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" from the film Neptune's Daughter in 1949, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1962
Larry McMurtry: Won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Brokeback Mountain in 2005, and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel Lonesome Dove in 1985
Richard Rodgers: Won an Oscar for Best Original Song for the song "It Might as Well Be Spring" from the film State Fair in 1945, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1950, along with an additional citation in 1943
William Saroyan: Won an Oscar for Best Story, Screenplay for the film The Human Comedy in 1943, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940
John Patrick Shanley: Won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film Moonstruck in 1987, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2005
Robert E. Sherwood: Won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film The Best Years of Our Lives in 1946, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1936, 1938, and 1941, and the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography in 1949
Stephen Sondheim: Won an Oscar for Best Original Song for the song "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)" from the film Dick Tracy in 1990, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1985
Alfred Uhry: Won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Driving Miss Daisy in 1989, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the stage version in 1988
Only person to win both an Olympic medal and an Oscar
Kobe Bryant: Won gold medals in Basketball in 2008 and 2012, and an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2017 for the film Dear Basketball
Only person to win for Acting and Songwriting
Barbra Streisand won Best Actress for Funny Girl (1968) and Best Original Song for "Evergreen", the love theme from the film A Star Is Born (1976).
Only person to win for Acting and Writing
Emma Thompson won Best Actress for Howards End (1992) and Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Sense and Sensibility (1995).
Only person to win for Acting and Directing
To date, technically no one has. However Lee Grant won for Best Supporting Actress for Shampoo (1975) and she directed the Best Documentary Feature, Down and Out in America (1986), but under the Academy rules at the time, only producers were eligible to win the award, so the award went to her producer husband and another co-producer. Under the present rules, the director would now be recognized with the Oscar.
Only person to win for Directing, Editing, and Writing
Sean Baker won Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing for Anora (2024); as an Anora producer, he also received an Oscar for Best Picture.
Only person nominated for Acting, Writing, Producing, and Directing for the same film
Warren Beatty was nominated in the four categories for Heaven Can Wait (1978), and again for Reds (1981).
Citizen Kane was nominated in the four categories, but at the time, the studio rather than the individual producer was eligible for the Best Picture award, meaning that writer/director/producer/actor Orson Welles was not nominated as a producer.
Only person to win for Directing, Editing, Producing, and Writing for the same film
Sean Baker for Anora (2024), which also makes him the only person to win four Academy Awards in one night for the same film.
Only person to receive every nomination in a category
Stephen Bosustow received all three nominations for Short Subjects, Cartoons in 1956, winning for Magoo's Puddle Jumper.
Only actor to win an Oscar for portraying a real Oscar winner
Cate Blanchett won Best Supporting Actress for portraying Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator (2004).
Note: Renée Zellweger won Best Actress for portraying Judy Garland in Judy (2019). Garland received the Academy Juvenile Award, an honorary award, but never won a competitive Oscar.
Only actor to win an Oscar for portraying a fictional Oscar nominee
Maggie Smith won Best Supporting Actress for playing an Oscar loser in California Suite (1978).
Only actor to appear in multiple films with the most Oscar wins
Bernard Hill had supporting roles in Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), with 11 Oscars each.
Only actor to win multiple Oscars for portraying Holocaust survivors: Adrien Brody (2)
Polish pianist Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama The Pianist (2002), based on Szpilman.
Hungarian brutalist architect László Tóth in Brady Corbet's period epic The Brutalist (2024), partially inspired by Marcel Breuer.
Most total nominations without a win
One person has received 17 nominations and no competitive wins:
Diane Warren in the Best Original Song category, including nine consecutive nominations from 2017 to 2025 (She received a Academy Honorary Award in 2022)
Greg P. Russell has received 16 nominations in the Best Sound Mixing category, not including his nomination at the 89th Academy Awards for 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, which was revoked the day before the ceremony
Most total nominations before receiving an award
Film composer Victor Young was nominated 21 times without winning. He was often nominated multiple times in one year; twice, he was nominated four times at the same Oscars. He won posthumously for Around the World in 80 Days (1956).
Sound re-recording mixer Kevin O'Connell comes in at a close second, with 20 unsuccessful nominations from 1983 until 2016, when he finally won for Hacksaw Ridge.
Most nominations for a living person
Film composer John Williams with 54
Only write-in nominee to win a competitive award
Cinematographer Hal Mohr for A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)
Most categories to have been nominated in
Kenneth Branagh: 8 nominations in 7 categories, winning once
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Original Screenplay
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actor
Best Live Action Short Film
Alfonso Cuarón: 11 nominations in 7 categories, winning four
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Original Screenplay
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Film Editing
Best Cinematography
Best Live Action Short Film
Note: Cuarón's film Roma also won Best International Feature Film, but as the category is awarded to the country rather than the producer or director, this does not count towards his wins and nominations.
Most nominated woman
Costume designer Edith Head with 35
Highest "perfect score"
The record is 4 nominations and 4 wins, shared by sound editor Mark Berger, visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert and filmmaker Sean Baker.
Most nominations for directing
William Wyler with 12 nominations
Most nominations for directing without an award
All received 5 nominations
Robert Altman
Clarence Brown
Alfred Hitchcock
King Vidor
Only films to win Best Director and nothing else
Two Arabian Knights (1927) – Lewis Milestone (Note: only nomination as well)
The Divine Lady (1928) – Frank Lloyd
Skippy (1931) – Norman Taurog
Mr Deeds Goes to Town (1936) – Frank Capra
The Awful Truth (1937) – Leo McCarey
Giant (1956) – George Stevens
The Graduate (1967) – Mike Nichols
The Power of the Dog (2021) – Jane Campion
Most wins for producing
Two producers received 3 awards:
Sam Spiegel
Saul Zaentz
Most nominations for producing
Steven Spielberg with 14 nominations
Most nominations for directing in a single year
Two people have received two nominations for Best Director in the same year:
Michael Curtiz for Angels with Dirty Faces and Four Daughters in 1938
Steven Soderbergh for Erin Brockovich and Traffic in 2000
Most Best Picture awards for a film franchise
The Godfather trilogy with 2 (for The Godfather and The Godfather Part II)
Other Best Picture awards for a film franchise
The Rocky franchise: Rocky (1976)
The Middle-earth franchise: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Film franchises with multiple Best Picture nominations
The Godfather trilogy with 3 nominations for The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and The Godfather Part III
The Middle-earth franchise with 3 nominations for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Avatar franchise with 2 nominations for Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water
Dune franchise with 2 nominations for Dune and Dune: Part Two
Most nominations for a film franchise
Star Wars with 38 nominations
Most wins for a film series
The Middle-earth franchise with 17 competitive wins out of 37 nominations (for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit)
Most nominations for Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen with 16 nominations and 3 wins
Longest time span between the release of a film and winning an Oscar
Limelight (1952) is the only film to have won an award twenty years after its official release. Since it was not released in Los Angeles County until 1972, it was not eligible for any Academy Awards until that time
Most posthumous award wins
William A. Horning won in 1958 for Best Art Direction for Gigi, and for Best Art Direction for Ben-Hur in 1959
Most posthumous award nominations
Howard Ashman with four, all for Best Original Song
Longest time span between a winner's death and his award
Larry Russell, who died in February 1954, won Best Original Score for Limelight (1952) in 1973, 19 years after his death
Highest-grossing film to win Best Picture
Titanic with $2,257,844,554
Highest-grossing film to be nominated for Best Picture
Avatar with $2,923,706,026
Highest-grossing R-rated film to win Best Picture
Oppenheimer with $960,734,668
Highest-grossing R-rated film to be nominated for Best Picture
Joker with $1,078,751,311
Lowest-grossing film to win Best Picture
CODA with $1,905,058
Lowest-grossing film to be nominated for Best Picture
Mank with $100,072
Lowest-grossing R-rated film to win Best Picture
Nomadland with $39,458,207
Films to gross over $2 billion to be nominated for Best Picture
Avatar
Avatar: The Way of Water
Titanic
Films to gross over $1 billion to be nominated for Best Picture
Avatar
Avatar: The Way of Water
Barbie
Black Panther
Joker
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Titanic
Top Gun: Maverick
Toy Story 3
Longest film to win Best Picture
Gone with the Wind, 224 minutes (238 with overture, entr'acte, and exit music)
Longest film to be nominated for Best Picture
Cleopatra, 251 minutes
Longest film to win an award
O.J.: Made in America (2016), 467 minutes (Best Documentary Feature)
The longest fictional film to win an award was War and Peace (1968), 431 minutes (Best Foreign Language Film)
Shortest film to win Best Picture
Marty, 90 minutes
Shortest film to be nominated for Best Picture
She Done Him Wrong, 66 minutes
Shortest film to win an award
The Crunch Bird, 2 minutes (Best Animated Short Film)
Shortest film to be nominated for an award
Fresh Guacamole, 100 seconds (Best Animated Short Film)
Most royalty and leaders portrayed
49 portrayals of monarchs or civil leaders (real and fictional), have been nominated for acting awards, with 11 winners
The United Kingdom is the most represented nation
Overall, there have been 16 nominations and 5 wins for portrayals of British monarchs
In addition, two portrayals of Scottish monarchs have been nominated
Three portrayals of British Prime Ministers have been nominated, with 3 wins
Portrayals of four French kings and Emperor Napoleon have received nominations
The only portrayal of a non-British monarch to win an award was Yul Brynner as King Mongkut of Siam in The King and I
12 portrayals of presidents of the United States (three of them fictional) have been nominated, with Daniel Day-Lewis's portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln being the only winner
Two portrayals of popes (the head of state for Vatican City) have been nominated, both from the film The Two Popes
12 portrayals of spouses/consorts of leaders have been nominated, with Katharine Hepburn's Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter being the only winner
Three portrayals of dictators have been nominated:
Forest Whitaker won for his portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland
Charlie Chaplin and Jack Oakie were nominated for their respective turns as the dictators of Tomainia and Bacteria in The Great Dictator
Most Honorary Awards
Bob Hope received five honorary awards, two Special, two Honorary, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
Tallest Oscar winner/nominee
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (2.05m/6 ft 9in) – Best International Feature Film (The Lives of Others)
Shortest Oscar winner
Linda Hunt (1.45m/4 ft 9in) – Best Supporting Actress (The Year of Living Dangerously)
Shortest Oscar nominee
Michael Dunn (1.17m/3 ft 10in) – Best Supporting Actor (Ship of Fools)
Actors who appeared in the most Best Picture nominated films
Two Actors have appeared in 12 Best Picture nominated films in their career
Robert De Niro
Leonardo DiCaprio
Actors who appeared in the most Best Picture nominated films in a single year
11 Actors have appeared in three Best Picture nominated films in a single year
Out of 5 Nominees
John C. Reilly (2002): Chicago, The Hours, Gangs of New York
Out of 9 Nominees
Michael Stuhlbarg (2017): Call Me by Your Name, The Post, The Shape of Water
Out of 10 Nominees
Jessie Ralph (1935): Captain Blood, David Copperfield, Les Miserables
Charles Laughton (1935): Les Miserables, Mutiny on the Bounty, Ruggles of Red Gap
Ivan F. Simpson (1935): Captain Blood, David Copperfield, Mutiny on the Bounty
Donald Woods (1936): Anthony Adverse, The Story of Louis Pasteur, A Tale of Two Cities
Fritz Leiber (1936): Anthony Adverse, The Story of Louis Pasteur, A Tale of Two Cities
Adolphe Menjou (1937): One Hundred Men and a Girl, Stage Door, A Star Is Born
Thomas Mitchell (1939): Gone With the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Stagecoach
Edward Fielding (1940): All This, Kitty Foyle, Rebecca
Henry Daniell (1940): All This, The Great Dictator, The Philadelphia Story
Douglas Croft (1942) Kings Row, The Pride of the Yankees, Yankee Doodle Dandy
Out of 12 Nominees
Claudette Colbert (1934) Cleopatra, Imitation of Life, It Happened One Night
First nominated Original Song with profanity in lyrics
"Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" (1987) from Little Shop of Horrors, music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman
First nominated Original Song sung by a villain character
"Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" (1987) from Little Shop of Horrors, performed by Levi Stubbs as Audrey II
*Note: The song was performed at the 1987 Academy Awards with the profanity omitted. It was also the first time a villain character performed live at the ceremony.
== Oscar speeches ==
Longest speech
Adrien Brody spoke for 5 minutes and 40 seconds while accepting Best Actor for The Brutalist at the 97th Academy Awards in 2025. Prior to that, the longest Oscar speech was given by Greer Garson, who spoke for 5 minutes and 30 seconds at the 15th Academy Awards after she was named Best Actress for 1942 for Mrs. Miniver. It was shortly after this incident that the academy set forty-five seconds as the allotted time for an acceptance speech and began to cut the winners off after this time limit. When presenting the Best Actor award at the 24th Academy Awards, Garson quipped, "I think I have ten minutes left over from a highly emotional speech I made a few years ago. I'd be glad to give it to them."
Shortest speech
The shortest Oscar speech was that given by Patty Duke at the 35th Academy Awards after she was named Best Supporting Actress for 1962 for The Miracle Worker. Duke, age 16, was the youngest person at that time to receive an Academy Award in a competitive category. Her acceptance speech was two words, "Thank you", after which she walked off the stage.
== Tied winners ==
There have been seven two-way ties.
1931/32: Best Actor – Wallace Beery (The Champ) and Fredric March (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
1949: Best Documentary Short – A Chance to Live and So Much for So Little
1968: Best Actress – Katharine Hepburn (The Lion in Winter) and Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl)
1986: Best Documentary – Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got and Down and Out in America
1994: Best Short Film (Live Action)– Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life and Trevor
2012: Best Sound Editing – Paul N. J. Ottosson (Zero Dark Thirty) and Per Hallberg & Karen Baker Landers (Skyfall)
2025: Best Short Film (Live Action) – The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva
== Clean sweep ==
The following films with at least two nominations won all of their categories.
1927/1928: Wings (2)
Outstanding Picture: Paramount Pictures
Best Engineering Effects: Roy Pomeroy
1934: It Happened One Night (5)
Outstanding Production: Frank Capra and Harry Cohn
Best Director: Frank Capra
Best Actor: Clark Gable
Best Actress: Claudette Colbert
Best Adaptation: Robert Riskin
1940: Pinocchio (2)
Best Original Score: Leigh Harline, Paul Smith and Ned Washington
Best Song: Leigh Harline and Ned Washington ("When You Wish Upon a Star")
1947: Black Narcissus (2)
Best Cinematography (Color): Jack Cardiff
Best Art Direction (Color): Alfred Junge (Art Direction and Set Decoration)
1958: Gigi (9)
Best Motion Picture: Arthur Freed
Best Director: Vincente Minnelli
Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium: Alan Jay Lerner
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1966: Born Free (2)
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1966: Grand Prix (3)
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Best Sound Effects: Gordon Daniel
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1971: Sentinels of Silence (2)
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Best Live Action Short Subject: Robert Amram and Manuel Arango
1974: The Great Gatsby (2)
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1985: Cocoon (2)
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1987: The Last Emperor (9)
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1989: The Little Mermaid (2)
Best Original Score: Alan Menken
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1993: Jurassic Park (3)
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Best Sound: Gary Rydstrom, Gary Summers, Ron Judkins and Shawn Murphy
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1994: Ed Wood (2)
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1994: The Lion King (2)
Best Original Score: Hans Zimmer
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1995: Pocahontas (2)
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1995: Restoration (2)
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1995: The Usual Suspects (2)
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1999: The Matrix (4)
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Best Visual Effects: John Gaeta, Janek Sirrs, Steve Courtley and Jon Thum
2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (11)
Best Picture: Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Barrie M. Osborne
Best Director: Peter Jackson
Best Adapted Screenplay: Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens
Best Costume Design: Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor
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Best Visual Effects: Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke
2006: An Inconvenient Truth (2)
Best Documentary Feature Film: Davis Guggenheim
Best Original Song: Melissa Etheridge ("I Need to Wake Up")
2007: The Bourne Ultimatum (3)
Best Film Editing: Christopher Rouse
Best Sound Editing: Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
Best Sound Mixing: Scott Millan, Kirk Francis and David Parker
2011: The Iron Lady (2)
Best Actress: Meryl Streep
Best Makeup: Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
2013: Frozen (2)
Best Animated Feature Film: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho
Best Original Song: Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez ("Let It Go")
2013: The Great Gatsby (2)
Best Costume Design: Catherine Martin
Best Production Design: Catherine Martin (Production Design) / Beverley Dunn (Set Decoration)
2017: Coco (2)
Best Animated Feature Film: Lee Unkrich and Darla K. Anderson
Best Original Song: Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez ("Remember Me")
2021: CODA (3)
Best Picture: Fabrice Gianfermi, Philippe Rousselet and Patrick Wachsberger
Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur
Best Adapted Screenplay: Sian Heder
2021: The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2)
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh
2025: KPop Demon Hunters (2)
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Best Original Song: Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, 24, Ido, and Teddy Park ("Golden") |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato | Plato | Plato ( PLAY-toe; Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn; born c. 428–423 BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of Classical Athens who is most commonly considered the foundational thinker of the Western philosophical tradition. An innovator of the literary dialogue and dialectic forms, Plato influenced all the major areas of theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, and was the founder of the Academy, a philosophical school in Athens where Plato taught the collection of philosophical theories that would later become known as Platonism.
Plato's most famous contribution is his Theory of Forms (or Ideas), which aims to solve what is now known as the problem of universals. He was influenced by the pre-Socratic thinkers Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although much of what is known about them is derived from Plato himself.
Along with his teacher Socrates, and his student Aristotle, Plato is a central figure in the history of Western philosophy. Plato's complete works are believed to have survived for over 2,400 years—unlike that of nearly all of his contemporaries. Although their popularity has fluctuated, they have consistently been read and studied through the ages. Through Platonism's outgrowth Neoplatonism, he also influenced Christian philosophy, and both Jewish and Islamic philosophy. In modern times, Alfred North Whitehead said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato."
== Life ==
Plato was born between 428 and 423 BC into an aristocratic and influential Athenian family; through his mother, Perictione, he was a descendant of Solon, a statesman credited with laying the foundations of Athenian democracy. Diogenes Laertius asserts that Plato is a nickname that alludes to his robust figure, and that his birth name was Aristocles (Ἀριστοκλῆς), meaning 'best reputation', but this is widely regarded as false by modern scholarship. Plato had two brothers, Glaucon and Adeimantus, both of whom appear in the Republic, and also a sister, Potone, and a half brother, Antiphon.
During Plato's childhood, Athens was involved in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta. His older brothers, Adeimantus and Glaucon, distinguished themselves at the battle of Megara in 409 BC. Despite the war, Plato and his brothers, like all male citizens of Athens, received a traditional education in gymnastics and music. According to the ancient writers, there was a tradition that Plato's favorite employment in his youthful years was poetry: he wrote poems, dithyrambs at first, and afterwards lyric poems and tragedies (a tetralogy), but abandoned his early passion and burnt his poems when he met Socrates and turned to philosophy. There are also some epigrams attributed to Plato, but these are now thought by some scholars to be spurious.
=== Socrates ===
In his youth, Plato first encountered Socrates, who would become his teacher and greatest source of inspiration, initially in the company of other Athenian boys in the Palaestra, such as is depicted with Lysis and Menexenus, who discuss philosophy with Socrates in the Lysis, but he soon would become a member of Socrates' inner circle, meeting with Socrates and his other followers. Socrates, along with the sophists of his day, challenged the prevailing focus of Early Greek philosophy on Natural philosophy, and investigated questions of ethics and politics, examining the ideas of his interlocutors with a series of questioning called the Socratic method.
Socrates' immense influence on Plato is clearly borne out in Plato's dialogues: Plato never speaks in his own voice in his dialogues; every dialogue except the Laws features Socrates, although many dialogues, including the Timaeus and Statesman, feature him speaking only rarely. Leo Strauss notes that Socrates' reputation for irony casts doubt on whether Plato's Socrates is expressing sincere beliefs. Xenophon's Memorabilia and Aristophanes's The Clouds seem to present a somewhat different portrait of Socrates from the one Plato paints. Aristotle attributes a different doctrine with respect to Forms to Plato and Socrates. Aristotle suggests that Socrates' idea of forms can be discovered through investigation of the natural world, unlike Plato's Forms that exist beyond and outside the ordinary range of human understanding. The Socratic problem concerns how to reconcile these various accounts. The precise relationship between Plato and Socrates remains an area of contention among scholars.
=== Thirty tyrants and Trial of Socrates ===
According to the Seventh Letter, whose authenticity has been disputed, as Plato came of age, he imagined for himself a life in public affairs. In 404, Sparta defeated Athens at the conclusion of the Peloponessian war, leading to the election of the Thirty Tyrants, which included two of Plato's relatives, Critias and Charmides. Plato himself was invited to join the administration, but declined, and quickly became disillusioned by the atrocities committed by the Thirty, especially when they tried to implicate Socrates in their seizure of the democratic general Leon of Salamis for summary execution.
In 403 BC, the democracy was restored after the regrouping of the democrats in exile, who entered the city through the Piraeus and met the forces of the Thirty at the Battle of Munychia, where both Critias and Charmides were killed. In 401 BC the restored democrats raided Eleusis and killed the remaining oligarchic supporters, suspecting them of hiring mercenaries.
As depicted in the many dialogues that are set between 401 and 399 BC, life largely returned to normal in Athens. However, the prosecution of Socrates by Anytus put an end to Plato's plans for a political career.
=== Later philosophical development ===
After the death of Socrates, Plato remained in Athens for roughly three years.
==== Heraclitus and Parmenides ====
In Athens, Plato studied with Cratylus, a philosopher who followed the early Greek philosopher Heraclitus, and also Hermogenes, an Eleatic philosopher in the tradition of Parmenides. Heraclitus viewed all things as continuously changing, that one cannot "step into the same river twice" due to the ever-changing waters flowing through it, and all things exist as a contraposition of opposites, while Parmenides adopted an altogether contrary vision, arguing for the idea of a changeless, eternal universe and the view that change is an illusion. Heraclitus's views are expounded by Cratylus himself in Plato's dialogue Cratylus and deconstructed in the Theaetetus by Socrates. Plato would go on to depict both Parmenides and Parmenides' student Zeno in the Parmenides, and an "Eleatic Stranger" also appears in the Sophist and Statesman.
In roughly 396 BC, Plato left Athens and studied in Megara with Euclid of Megara, founder of the Megarian school of philosophy, and other Socratics.
==== Mathematics ====
Around 394 BC or earlier, he returned to Athens, where, as an Athenian male of military age he would have needed to be available to serve in the Corinthian war, which Athens participated in from 395 to 386 BC. Other than potential military service, Plato spent his time studying mathematics with Archytas of Tarentum, Theaetetus, Leodamas of Thasos, and Neocleides in the grove of Hecademus, named after an Attic hero in Greek mythology, northwest of the city of Athens, where he would later found his Academy. During this time, Plato likely began work on some of his earliest works; including the Apology, possibly early drafts of the Gorgias and Republic Book I, and an early form of the Republic books II-IV, in the form of a speech rather than a dialogue, which was ridiculed by Aristophanes in the Ecclesiazusae in 391 BC. Speusippus, the son of Plato's sister Potone, who took over the academy after Plato's death, joined the group in about 390 BC, and Eudoxus of Cnidus, another early mathematician, arrived around 385 BC.
==== Pythagoreanism ====
After the conclusion of the Corinthian War, Plato travelled to southern Italy to study with Archytas and other Pythagoreans. The influence of these Pythagoreans appears to have been significant. According to R. M. Hare, this influence consists of three points:
The platonic Republic might be related to the idea of "a tightly organized community of like-minded thinkers", like the one established by Pythagoras in Croton.
The idea that mathematics and, generally speaking, abstract thinking is a secure basis for philosophical thinking as well as "for substantial theses in science and morals".
They shared a "mystical approach to the soul and its place in the material world".
Pythagoras held that all things are number, and the cosmos comes from numerical principles. He introduced the concept of form as distinct from matter, and that the physical world is an imitation of an eternal mathematical world.
=== Later years: Syracuse and the Academy ===
==== First trip to Syracuse ====
When Plato was about 40 years old, he visited Syracuse. Many ancient sources, including the collection of Letters attributed to Plato, tell how he became entangled with the politics of the city of Syracuse. Plato initially visited Syracuse while it was under the rule of Dionysius, in roughly 385 BC. During this first trip Dionysius's brother-in-law, Dion of Syracuse, became one of Plato's disciples, but the tyrant himself turned against Plato.
==== Foundation of the Academy ====
After his return from Syracuse, Plato founded his philosophical school, the Academy, near the sacred olive grove of Hecademus, in roughly 383 BC. At first, the property consisted of only a house with a garden, and during his lifetime, the work of the Academy itself likely took part in an open area for study of philosophy and mathematics. From 383 BC until about 366 BC, Plato primarily spent his time at the Academy, writing the majority of the dialogues during this time. Much like Socrates and his students had been parodied in Aristophanes' plays The Clouds and The Birds, the students at the Academy seem to have been the target of their contemporaries in Middle Comedy. A fragment from a lost play of Epicrates depicts two students of the Academy engaged in a fierce debate over the genus of a pumpkin, in a parody of the Platonic conception of diairesis. Aristotle of Stagira, who would go on to become a philosopher as famous as Plato in his own right, arrived in 367 BC, shortly before Plato departed again for Syracuse.
==== Second and third trips to Syracuse ====
After Dionysius I's death in 367 BC, Plato returned to Syracuse, likely early in 366 BC, at the request of Dion, in order to tutor Dionysius II and guide him to become a philosopher king. Dionysius II seemed to accept Plato's teachings, but he became suspicious of Dion, his uncle. Dionysius expelled Dion, and Plato, after trying repeatedly to reconcile the two, gave up and returned to Athens.
Plato returned to Syracuse a third time in 361 BC, likely staying over the winter until 360 BC. Dionysius kept Plato against his will, forcing Plato to appeal to his friend Archytas to intercede, at which point he returned to Athens. Dion would return to overthrow Dionysius and ruled Syracuse for a short time from 357 BC up until 354 BC, when he was usurped by Calippus, an Athenian who Plato insists, in the Seventh Letter, had no connection with the Academy.
==== Final years and death ====
After 360 BC, Plato returned to Athens, where he spent the remainder of his life.
At this point, he wrote or revised some of his final works, possibly including the Timaeus, Critias, Sophist, Statesman, Philebus, and his longest work, the Laws, all of which exhibit similarity of language, philosophical themes, and style that indicate they were intentionally published together to present a unified viewpoint. At the time of his death, however, the Laws was still unfinished; this work was edited by a student at the Academy, Philip of Opus, who is also generally believed to have written the Epinomis, an appendix to the Laws.
In 348/347 BC, Plato died and was buried in his garden in the Academy in Athens. At the time of his death, Plato seems to have been self-sufficient, but not wealthy. A will preserved by one of the ancient biographers of Plato, which discusses his estate, does not mention the Academy, which suggests that he left a separate provision for it or possibly established an endowment. He was succeeded as the head of the Academy by Speusippus, his nephew.
== Philosophy ==
In Plato's dialogues, Socrates and his company of disputants had something to say on many subjects, including several aspects of metaphysics. These include religion and science, human nature, love, and sexuality. More than one dialogue contrasts perception and reality, nature and custom, and body and soul. Francis Cornford identified the "twin pillars of Platonism" as the theory of Forms, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the doctrine of immortality of the soul.
=== The Forms ===
In the dialogues Socrates regularly asks for the meaning of a general term (e. g. justice, truth, beauty), and criticizes those who instead give him particular examples, rather than the quality shared by all examples. "Platonism" and its theory of Forms (also known as 'theory of Ideas') denies the reality of the material world, considering it only an image or copy of the real world. According to this theory of Forms, there are these two kinds of things: the apparent world of material objects grasped by the senses, which constantly changes, and an unchanging and unseen world of Forms, grasped by reason. Plato's Forms represent types of things, as well as properties, patterns, and relations, which are referred to as objects. Just as individual tables, chairs, and cars refer to objects in this world, 'tableness', 'chairness', and 'carness', as well as e.g. justice, truth, and beauty refer to objects in another world. One of Plato's most cited examples for the Forms were the truths of geometry, such as the Pythagorean theorem. The theory of Forms is first introduced in the Phaedo dialogue (also known as On the Soul), wherein Socrates disputes the pluralism of Anaxagoras, then the most popular response to Heraclitus and Parmenides.
=== The Soul ===
For Plato, as was characteristic of ancient Greek philosophy, the soul was that which gave life. Plato advocates a belief in the immortality of the soul, and several dialogues end with long speeches imagining the afterlife. In the Republic (IV), the soul consists of three parts, which are located in different regions of the body. Also in the Timaeus, Socrates locates the parts of the soul within the human body: Reason is located in the head, spirit in the top third of the torso, and the appetite in the middle third of the torso, down to the navel.
Furthermore, Plato evinces a belief in the theory of reincarnation in multiple dialogues (such as the Phaedo and Timaeus). Scholars debate whether he intends the theory to be literally true, however. He uses this idea of reincarnation to introduce the concept that knowledge is a matter of recollection of things acquainted with before one is born, and not of observation or study. Keeping with the theme of admitting his own ignorance, Socrates regularly complains of his forgetfulness. In the Meno, Socrates uses a geometrical example to expound Plato's view that knowledge in this latter sense is acquired by recollection. Socrates elicits a fact concerning a geometrical construction from a slave boy, who could not have otherwise known the fact (due to the slave boy's lack of education). The knowledge must be of, Socrates concludes, an eternal, non-perceptible Form.
=== Epistemology ===
Plato also discusses several aspects of epistemology. In several dialogues, Socrates inverts the common man's intuition about what is knowable and what is real. Reality is unavailable to those who use their senses. Socrates says that he who sees with his eyes is blind. While most people take the objects of their senses to be real if anything is, Socrates is contemptuous of people who think that something has to be graspable in the hands to be real. In other words, such people are willingly ignorant, living without divine inspiration and access to higher insights about reality. Although Plato has occasionally been presented as having been the first to write that knowledge is justified true belief in the Theaetetus, Plato also identified problems with this same justified true belief definition in that same work, concluding that justification (or an "account") would require knowledge of difference, meaning that the definition of knowledge is circular.
In the Sophist, Statesman, Republic, Timaeus, and the Parmenides, Plato associates knowledge with the apprehension of unchanging Forms and their relationships to one another (which he calls "expertise" in dialectic), including through the processes of collection and division. More explicitly, Plato himself argues in the Timaeus that knowledge is always proportionate to the realm from which it is gained. In other words, if one derives one's account of something experientially, because the world of sense is in flux, the views therein attained will be mere opinions. Meanwhile, opinions are characterized by a lack of necessity and stability. On the other hand, if one derives one's account of something by way of the non-sensible Forms, because these Forms are unchanging, so too is the account derived from them. That apprehension of Forms is required for knowledge may be taken to cohere with Plato's theory in the Theaetetus and Meno. Indeed, the apprehension of Forms may be at the base of the account required for justification, in that it offers foundational knowledge which itself needs no account, thereby avoiding an infinite regression.
=== Ethics ===
Several dialogues discuss ethics including virtue and vice, pleasure and pain, crime and punishment, and justice and medicine. Socrates presents the famous Euthyphro dilemma in the dialogue of the same name: "Is the pious (τὸ ὅσιον) loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?" (10a) In the Protagoras dialogue it is argued through Socrates that virtue is innate and cannot be learned, that no one does bad on purpose, and to know what is good results in doing what is good; that knowledge is virtue. In the Republic, Plato poses the question, "What is justice?" and by examining both individual justice and the justice that informs societies, Plato is able not only to inform metaphysics, but also ethics and politics with the question: "What is the basis of moral and social obligation?" Plato's well-known answer rests upon the fundamental responsibility to seek wisdom, wisdom which leads to an understanding of the Form of the Good. Plato views "The Good" as the supreme Form, somehow existing even "beyond being". In this manner, justice is obtained when knowledge of how to fulfill one's moral and political function in society is put into practice.
=== Politics ===
The dialogues also discuss politics. Some of Plato's most famous doctrines are contained in the Republic as well as in the Laws and the Statesman. Because these opinions are not spoken directly by Plato and vary between dialogues, they cannot be straightforwardly assumed as representing Plato's own views.
Socrates asserts that societies have a tripartite class structure corresponding to the appetite/spirit/reason structure of the individual soul. The appetite/spirit/reason are analogous to the castes of society.
Productive (Workers) – the labourers, carpenters, plumbers, masons, merchants, farmers, ranchers, etc. These correspond to the "appetite" part of the soul.
Protective (Warriors or Guardians) – those who are adventurous, strong and brave; in the armed forces. These correspond to the "spirit" part of the soul.
Governing (Rulers or Philosopher Kings) – those who are intelligent, rational, self-controlled, in love with wisdom, well suited to make decisions for the community. These correspond to the "reason" part of the soul and are very few.
According to Socrates, a state made up of different kinds of souls will, overall, decline from an aristocracy (rule by the best) to a timocracy (rule by the honourable), then to an oligarchy (rule by the few), then to a democracy (rule by the people), and finally to tyranny (rule by one person, rule by a tyrant).
=== Rhetoric and poetry ===
Several dialogues tackle questions about art, including rhetoric and rhapsody. Socrates says that poetry is inspired by the muses, and is not rational. He speaks approvingly of this, and other forms of divine madness (drunkenness, eroticism, and dreaming) in the Phaedrus, and yet in the Republic wants to outlaw Homer's great poetry, and laughter as well. Scholars often view Plato's philosophy as at odds with rhetoric due to his criticisms of rhetoric in the Gorgias and his ambivalence toward rhetoric expressed in the Phaedrus. But other contemporary researchers contest the idea that Plato despised rhetoric and instead view his dialogues as a dramatization of complex rhetorical principles. Plato made abundant use of mythological narratives in his own work; it is generally agreed that the main purpose for Plato in using myths was didactic. He considered that only a few people were capable or interested in following a reasoned philosophical discourse, but men in general are attracted by stories and tales. Consequently, then, he used the myth to convey the conclusions of the philosophical reasoning. Notable examples include the story of Atlantis, the Myth of Er, and the Allegory of the Cave.
=== Unwritten doctrines ===
Plato's unwritten doctrines are, according to some ancient sources, the most fundamental metaphysical teaching of Plato, which he disclosed only orally, and some say only to his most trusted fellows, and which he may have kept secret from the public, although some scholars doubt these claims. It is, however, said that Plato once disclosed this knowledge to the public in his lecture On the Good (Περὶ τἀγαθοῦ), in which the Good (τὸ ἀγαθόν) is identified with the One (the Unity, τὸ ἕν), the fundamental ontological principle. The most important aspect of this interpretation of Plato's metaphysics is the continuity between his teaching and the Neoplatonic interpretation of Plotinus. All the sources related to the ἄγραφα δόγματα have been collected by Konrad Gaiser and published as Testimonia Platonica.
== Works ==
=== Themes ===
Plato never presents himself as a participant in any of the dialogues, and with the exception of the Apology, there is no suggestion that he heard any of the dialogues firsthand. Some dialogues have no narrator but have a pure "dramatic" form, some dialogues are narrated by Socrates himself, who speaks in the first person. The Symposium is narrated by Apollodorus, a Socratic disciple, apparently to Glaucon. Apollodorus assures his listener that he is recounting the story, which took place when he himself was an infant, not from his own memory, but as remembered by Aristodemus, who told him the story years ago. In most of the dialogues, the primary speaker is Socrates, who employs a method of questioning which proceeds by a dialogue form.
=== Textual sources and history ===
During the early Renaissance, the Greek language and, along with it, Plato's texts were reintroduced to Western Europe by Byzantine scholars. Some 250 known Byzantine manuscripts of Plato survive. In September or October 1484 Filippo Valori and Francesco Berlinghieri printed 1025 copies of Ficino's translation. The 1578 edition of Plato's complete works published by Henricus Stephanus (Henri Estienne) in Geneva also included parallel Latin translation and running commentary by Joannes Serranus (Jean de Serres). It was this edition which established standard Stephanus pagination, still in use today. The text of Plato as received today apparently represents the complete written philosophical work of Plato, based on the first century AD arrangement of Thrasyllus of Mendes. Since the beginning of the 20th century, many papyri from the Hellenistic period through the third century AD containing text from Plato's dialogues have also been recovered from Egypt, which provide important early witnesses to the text. The modern standard complete English edition is the 1997 Hackett Plato: Complete Works, edited by John M. Cooper.
=== Authenticity ===
Thirty-five dialogues and thirteen letters (the Epistles) have traditionally been ascribed to Plato, though modern scholarship doubts the authenticity of at least some of these. There is a broad consensus among scholars to doubt the authenticity of Alcibiades II, Epinomis, Hipparchus, Minos, Lovers, and Theages, while opinions on Alcibiades I, Clitophon, Letters, and Menexenus are more divided. The following works were transmitted under Plato's name in antiquity, but were already considered spurious by the 1st century AD: Axiochus, Definitions, Demodocus, Epigrams, Eryxias, Halcyon, On Justice, On Virtue, Sisyphus.
=== Chronology ===
No one knows the exact order Plato's dialogues were written in, nor the extent to which some might have been later revised and rewritten. The works are usually grouped into Early, Middle, and Late period; The following represents one relatively common division amongst developmentalist scholars.
Early: Apology, Charmides, Crito, Euthyphro, Gorgias, Hippias Minor, Hippias Major, Ion, Laches, Lysis, Protagoras
Middle: Cratylus, Euthydemus, Meno, Parmenides, Phaedo, Phaedrus, Republic, Symposium, Theatetus
Late: Critias, Sophist, Statesman, Timaeus, Philebus, Laws.
Whereas those classified as "early dialogues" often conclude in aporia, the so-called "middle dialogues" provide more clearly stated positive teachings that are often ascribed to Plato such as the theory of Forms. The remaining dialogues are classified as "late" and are generally agreed to be difficult and challenging pieces of philosophy. It should, however, be kept in mind that many of the positions in the ordering are still highly disputed, and also that the very notion that Plato's dialogues can or should be "ordered" is by no means universally accepted. In the most recent Plato scholarship, writers are increasingly skeptical of the notion that the order of Plato's writings can be established with any precision, though Plato's works are still often characterized as falling at least roughly into three groups stylistically.
== Legacy ==
=== Medieval era ===
During the Islamic Golden ages, Neoplatonism was revived from its founding father, Plotinus. Neoplatonism, a philosophical current that permeated Islamic scholarship, accentuated one facet of the Qur’anic conception of God—the transcendent—while seemingly neglecting another—the creative. This philosophical tradition, introduced by Al-Farabi and subsequently elaborated upon by figures such as Avicenna, postulated that all phenomena emanated from the divine source. It functioned as a conduit, bridging the transcendental nature of the divine with the tangible reality of creation. In the Islamic context, Neoplatonism facilitated the integration of Platonic philosophy with mystical Islamic thought, fostering a synthesis of ancient philosophical wisdom and religious insight. Inspired by Plato's Republic, Al-Farabi extended his inquiry beyond mere political theory, proposing an ideal city governed by philosopher-kings. Plato is also referenced by Jewish philosopher and Talmudic scholar Maimonides in his Guide for the Perplexed.
Many of these commentaries on Plato were translated from Arabic into Latin, in which form they influenced medieval scholastics. Plato's thought is often compared with that of his most famous student, Aristotle, whose reputation during the Western Middle Ages so completely eclipsed that of Plato that the Scholastic philosophers referred to Aristotle as "the Philosopher". The only Platonic work known to western scholarship was Timaeus, until translations into Latin were made beginning in the 12th century. However, the study of Plato continued in the Byzantine Empire, the Caliphates during the Islamic Golden Age, and Spain during the Golden age of Jewish culture.
=== Modern ===
During the Renaissance, Gemistos Plethon brought Plato's original writings to Florence from Constantinople in the century of its fall. Many of the greatest early modern scientists and artists who broke with Scholasticism, with the support of the Plato-inspired Lorenzo (grandson of Cosimo), saw Plato's philosophy as the basis for progress in the arts and sciences. The 17th century Cambridge Platonists sought to reconcile Plato's more problematic beliefs, such as metempsychosis and polyamory, with Christianity. By the 19th century, Plato's reputation was restored, and at least on par with Aristotle's. Plato's influence has been especially strong in mathematics and the sciences. Plato's resurgence further inspired some of the greatest advances in logic since Aristotle, primarily through Gottlob Frege. Albert Einstein suggested that the scientist who takes philosophy seriously would have to avoid systematization and take on many different roles, and possibly appear as a Platonist or Pythagorean, in that such a one would have "the viewpoint of logical simplicity as an indispensable and effective tool of his research." British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato." Adapting examples from Plato's Theaetetus, Edmund Gettier famously demonstrated the Gettier problem for the "justified true belief account" of knowledge, challenging the prevalent notion in Analytic philosophy at the time that had been popularized by A. J. Ayer. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_francolin | Black francolin | The black francolin (Francolinus francolinus) is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes. It was formerly known as the black partridge. It is the state bird of Haryana state, India (locally known as kaala teetar, काला तीतर). Fried black francolin is eaten in Azerbaijani cuisine.
== Taxonomy ==
There are six recognized subspecies:
F. f. francolinus (Linnaeus, 1766) – western black francolin - Cyprus, southern Turkey to Iraq and Iran
F. f. arabistanicus (Zarudny and Harms, 1913) – Iranian black francolin – southern Iraq and western Iran
F. f. asiae (Bonaparte, 1856) – Indian black francolin – northern India
F. f. henrici (Bonaparte, 1856) - South Persian black francolin – southern Pakistan to western India
F. f. bogdanovi (Zarudny, 1906) – southern Iran and Afghanistan to southern Pakistan
F. f. melanonotus (Hume, 1888) – eastern India to Sikkim and Bangladesh.
== Description ==
The black francolin has a length range around 33 to 36 cm (13 to 14 in) and weight about 453 g (16.0 oz). The male is black with a white patch on the cheek, a chestnut collar and white spots on the flanks. The back and wings are scalloped with shades of golden brown with sub-terminal tawny-buff bands and pale edges. The rounded tail is black with narrow white or greyish bars. The legs and neck are reddish-brown to red. The extent of the white spotting on the flanks varies substantially across the species' range and the depth of colour of the females similarly varies.
The female is mainly brown, but has a chestnut hind neck. The head is curved with brown irises, brown crown and black throat. The upper plumage, wings and tail as in the male, but the black is replaced by mottled brown and the brown bars on the lower back and tail are wider. The female is duller, with no cheek patch, and the collar is replaced with a nuchal patch. The head and underparts are buff where the male shows black. The rump and upper tail coverts are light brown.
Similar species: the grey francolin has a grey-brown and buff body, buff instead of black throat, and lacks the rufous collar.
=== Voice ===
The call of the black francolin, described as a loud ringing "klik cheek-cheek-cheerakik", "kik-kik-kik" or "kwee-kweeeee-kwee", can be heard in the mornings and evenings and almost all day during the breeding season. The male calls while standing on an earth mound, bund, rock or a low tree branch and is soon joined by other birds answering from all directions.
== Distribution and habitat ==
Black francolins are resident breeders from south-eastern Turkey eastwards through Iran to southwest Turkmenistan and northeast India, and Kazipara, Panchagarh of Bangladesh. The species' range was formerly more extensive, but over-hunting has reduced its distribution and numbers. Fragmented populations occur in the western part of its range.
Black francolins were introduced to the Calcasieu and Cameron parishes of southwestern Louisiana in 1961. Additional introductions have also occurred in south Florida. Elsewhere, black francolins have been introduced to Guam and the Hawaiian Islands.
The birds are found in scrubby habitats with plenty of cultivated crops tall enough to offer shelter and open beneath to provide escape routes and easy travel. They prefer areas of thick vegetation, usually near water. They are not forest birds but will frequent scrubland and forest edges associated with grassland. They appear to be more closely associated to water than chukars are, and in drier areas.
== Fossil record ==
Black francolin fossil remains were found in early Holocene deposits in Loutra Almopias Cave in northern Greece dated to 11.230 ± 110 years before present.
== Behaviour ==
The black francolin only flies when disturbed. It has a pheasant's explosive flight, but prefers to creep away unseen. The flight is short and direct, punctuated by glides on rounded wings.
=== Breeding ===
Black francolins are monogamous. They normally nest in tall grasslands from late March to May. The male may be seen standing on a rock or low tree attracting attention with its extraordinary creaking call. It may be heard all day long in April, during nesting, and less persistently in March and May as well as the summer months. Both parents tend chicks after hatching. Young stay with parents through their first winter. The most likely breeding locations Savanna, Grasslands, Scrub vegetation areas under the cultivated crops. They have a loud call during the breeding season. Males may also become aggressive during the breeding season, make sure there is plenty of cover and escape routes for the hen and it maybe necessary to house her separate and allow limited access for breeding only. They are generally monogamous in the wild.
In aviculture it is best to house only one pair per aviary. Well planted aviaries with little surrounding traffic would be best for breeding. They are fairly winter hardy, but always provide some shelter during the coldest months breeds from late March to September depending on the range. The normal clutch size lies between 10 and 14 eggs, and only the hen incubates. The eggs are white-spotted olive or pale brown. The incubation period is 18 to 19 days, the breeding season is April to June and the young appear from April to October.
=== Feeding ===
The birds forage on the ground for plant material and small invertebrates, including grain, grass seeds, fallen berries, shoots, tubers, termites and ants. In aviculture they eat small mealworms and wax worms, but care must be used when feeding chicks as they are prone to toe-picking. . |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ashes | The Ashes | The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Test win on English soil. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and that "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia". The mythical ashes immediately became associated with the 1882–83 series played in Australia, before which the English captain the Hon. Ivo Bligh had vowed to "regain those ashes". The English media therefore dubbed the tour the Quest to regain the Ashes.
After England won two of the three Tests on the tour, a small urn was presented to Bligh at Melbourne. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of a wooden cricket bail. It is not clear whether that "tiny silver urn" is the same as the small terracotta urn given to Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) by Bligh's widow after his death in 1927.
The Ashes urn has never been the official trophy of the series, having been a personal gift to Bligh, but replicas of the urn have often been held aloft by the winning team as a symbol of their victory. Since the 1998–99 Ashes series, the Ashes Trophy, a Waterford Crystal trophy modelled on the Ashes urn, has been presented to the winners of the series. Irrespective of which side holds the trophy, the original urn remains in the MCC Museum at Lord's. It has been taken to Australia three times to be put on touring display, as part of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations in 1988, to accompany the Ashes series in 2006–07 and as part of an exhibition held at the State Library of Victoria in 2019.
Ashes series usually comprise five Tests, hosted in turn by England and Australia approximately every two years. The Ashes are regarded as being held by the team that most recently won the series. If the series is drawn, the team that currently holds the Ashes "retains" the trophy.
== 1882 origins ==
The first Test match between England and Australia was played at Melbourne, Australia, in 1877, though the Ashes legend started later, after the ninth Test, played in 1882. On their tour of England that year the Australians played just one Test, at The Oval in London. It was a low-scoring affair on a difficult wicket. Australia made a mere 63 runs in their first innings, and England, led by A. N. Hornby, took a 38-run lead with a total of 101. In their second innings, Australia, boosted by a spectacular 55 runs off 60 deliveries hit by Hugh Massie, managed 122, which left England only 85 runs to win. The Australians were greatly demoralised by the manner of their second-innings collapse, but fast bowler Fred Spofforth, spurred on by the gamesmanship of his opponents, in particular W. G. Grace, refused to give in. "This thing can be done," he declared. Spofforth went on to devastate the English batting, taking his final four wickets for only two runs to leave England just eight runs short of victory.
When Ted Peate, England's last batsman, came to the crease, his side needed just ten runs to win, but Peate managed only two before he was bowled by Harry Boyle. An astonished Oval crowd fell silent, struggling to believe that England could possibly have lost on home soil. When it finally sank in, the crowd swarmed onto the field, cheering loudly and chairing Boyle and Spofforth to the pavilion.
When Peate returned to the pavilion he was reprimanded by his captain for not allowing his partner, Charles Studd (one of the best batsmen in England, having already hit two centuries that season against the colonial tourists), to get the runs. Peate humorously replied, "I had no confidence in Mr Studd, sir, so thought I had better do my best."
The momentous defeat was widely recorded in the British press, which praised the Australians for their plentiful "pluck" and berated the Englishmen for their lack thereof. A celebrated poem appeared in Punch on Saturday, 9 September. The first verse, quoted most frequently, reads:
On 31 August, in the magazine edited by Charles Alcock, Cricket: A Weekly Record of The Game, there appeared a mock obituary:
On 2 September a more celebrated mock obituary, written by Reginald Shirley Brooks, appeared in The Sporting Times. It read:
The Hon. Ivo Bligh promised that on the 1882–83 tour of Australia, he would, as England's captain, "recover those Ashes". He spoke of them several times over the course of the tour, and the Australian media quickly caught on. The three-match series resulted in a two-one win to England, notwithstanding a fourth match, won by the Australians, whose status remains the subject of ardent dispute.
In the 20 years following Bligh's campaign the term "the Ashes" largely disappeared from public use. There is no indication that this was the accepted name for the series, at least not in England. The term became popular again in Australia first, when George Giffen, in his memoirs (With Bat and Ball, 1899), used the title as if it were well known.
The true and global revitalisation of interest in the concept dates from 1903, when Sir Pelham Warner took a team to Australia with the promise that he would regain "the Ashes". As had been the case on Bligh's tour 20 years before, the Australian media latched fervently onto the term and, this time, it stuck. Having fulfilled his promise, Warner published a book entitled How We Recovered the Ashes. Although the origins of the term are not referred to in the text, the title served (along with the general hype created in Australia) to revive public interest in the legend. The first mention of "the Ashes" in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack occurs in 1905, while Wisden's first account of the legend is in its 1922 edition.
== Urn ==
It took many years before the contest between England and Australia were consistently called "the Ashes", and so there was no concept of either a trophy or a physical representation of the ashes. As late as 1925, the following verse appeared in The Cricketers Annual:
Nevertheless, several attempts had been made to embody the Ashes in a physical memorial. Examples include one presented to Warner in 1904, another to Australian captain M. A. Noble in 1909, and another to Australian captain W. M. Woodfull in 1934.
The oldest, and the one to enjoy enduring fame, was the one presented to Bligh, later Lord Darnley, during the 1882–83 tour. The precise nature of the origin of this urn remains a matter of dispute. Based on a statement by Bligh in 1894, it was believed that a group of Victorian ladies, including Bligh's fiancée Florence Morphy, made the presentation after the victory in the Third Test in 1883. More recent researchers, in particular Ronald Willis and Joy Munns have studied the tour in detail and concluded that the presentation was made after a private cricket match played over Christmas 1882 when the English team were guests of Sir William Clarke, on his estate "Rupertswood", at Sunbury, Victoria. This was before the matches had started. The prime evidence for this theory was provided by a descendant of Clarke.
In August 1926 Ivo Bligh (now Lord Darnley) displayed the Ashes urn at the Morning Post Decorative Art Exhibition held in the Central Hall, Westminster. Darnley made the following statement about how he was given the urn:
When in the autumn the English Eleven went to Australia it was said that they had come to Australia to "fetch" the ashes. England won two out of the three matches played against Murdoch's Australian Eleven, and after the third match some Melbourne ladies put some ashes into a small urn and gave them to me as captain of the English Eleven.
A more detailed account of how the Ashes were given to the Hon. Ivo Bligh was outlined by his widow, the Countess of Darnley, in 1930 when speaking at a cricket luncheon. Her speech was reported by The Times as follows:
In 1882, it was first spoken of when The Sporting Times, after the Australians had thoroughly beaten the English at The Oval, wrote an obituary in affectionate memory of English cricket "whose demise was deeply lamented and the body would be cremated and taken to Australia". Her husband, then Ivo Bligh, took a team to Australia in the following year. Punch had a poem containing the words "When Ivo comes back with the Urn" and when Ivo Bligh wiped out the defeat Lady Clarke, wife of Sir W. J. Clarke, who entertained the English so lavishly, found a little wooden urn, burnt a bail, put the ashes in the urn, and wrapping it in a red velvet bag, put it into her husband's hands. He had always regarded it as a great treasure.
There is another statement which is not totally clear made by Lord Darnley in 1921 about the timing of the presentation of the urn. He was interviewed in his Cobham Hall seat by Montague Grover and the report of this interview was as follows:
This urn was presented to Lord Darnley by some ladies of Melbourne after the final defeat of his team, and before he returned with the members to England.
He made a similar statement in 1926. The report of this statement in the Brisbane Courier was as follows:
The proudest possession of Lord Darnley is an earthenware urn containing the ashes which were presented to him by Melbourne residents when he captained the Englishmen in 1882. Though the team did not win, the urn containing the ashes was sent to him just before leaving Melbourne.
The contents of the urn are also problematic; they were variously reported to be the remains of a stump, bail or a ball leather casing, but in 1998 Lord Darnley's 82-year-old daughter-in-law (the Hon. Mrs Kathleen Bligh) suggested they were the remains of her mother-in-law's veil, creating added confusion to the matter. However, during the tour of Australia in 2006–07, the MCC official accompanying the urn said the veil myth had been discounted, and it was now "95% certain" that the urn contains the ashes of a cricket bail. Speaking on Channel Nine TV on 25 November 2006, he said x-rays of the urn showed the pedestal and handles were cracked, and repair work had to be carried out. The urn is made of terracotta and is about 6 inches (150 mm) tall and may originally have been a perfume jar.
A label containing a six-line verse is pasted on the urn. This is the fourth verse of a song-lyric published in the Melbourne Punch on 1 February 1883:
In February 1883, just before the disputed Fourth Test, a velvet bag made by Mrs Ann Fletcher, the daughter of Captain Joseph Hines Clarke and Marion Wright, both of Dublin, was given to Bligh to contain the urn. During Darnley's lifetime there was little public knowledge of the urn, and no record of a published photograph exists before 1921. The Illustrated London News published this photo in January 1921 (as shown). When Darnley died in 1927 his widow presented the urn to the Marylebone Cricket Club and that was the key event in establishing the urn as the physical embodiment of the legendary ashes. MCC first displayed the urn in the Long Room and since 1953 in the MCC Cricket Museum at Lord's. MCC's wish for it to be seen by as wide a range of cricket enthusiasts as possible has led to its being mistaken for an official trophy. It is in fact a private memento, and for this reason it is never awarded to either England or Australia, but is kept permanently in the MCC Cricket Museum where it can be seen together with the specially made red and gold velvet bag with the scorecard of the 1882 match.
Because the urn itself is so delicate, it has been allowed to travel to Australia on only three occasions. The first occasion was in 1988 for a museum tour as part of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations; the second was for the 2006–07 Ashes series. The urn arrived on 17 October 2006, going on display at the Museum of Sydney. It then toured other Australian states, with the final appearance at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery on 21 January 2007.
Between December 2019 and February 2020, the Ashes Urn was on display at the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia as part of the Velvet, Iron, Ashes exhibition.
In the 1990s, given Australia's long dominance of the Ashes and the popular acceptance of the Darnley urn as "the Ashes", the idea was mooted that the victorious team should be awarded the urn as a trophy and allowed to retain it until the next series. As its condition is fragile and it is a prized exhibit at Lord's Cricket Museum, the MCC would not agree. Furthermore, in 2002, Bligh's great-great-grandson Lord Clifton, then-heir apparent to the earldom of Darnley, argued that the Ashes urn should not be returned to Australia because it belonged to his family and was given to the MCC only for safe keeping.
As a compromise, the MCC commissioned a larger replica of the urn in Waterford Crystal, known as the Ashes Trophy, to award to the winning team of each series starting with the 1998–99 Ashes. This did little to diminish the status of the Darnley urn as the most celebrated icon in cricket, the symbol of this historic and keenly-fought contest.
== Series and matches ==
=== Quest to "recover those ashes" ===
Later in 1882, following the famous Australian victory at The Oval, Bligh led an England team to Australia, as he said, to "recover those ashes". Publicity surrounding the series was intense, and it was at some time during this series that the Ashes urn was crafted. Australia won the First Test by nine wickets, but in the next two England were victorious. At the end of the Third Test, England were generally considered to have "won back the Ashes" 2–1. A fourth match was played, against a "United Australian XI", which was arguably stronger than the Australian sides that had competed in the previous three matches; this game, however, is not generally considered part of the 1882–83 series. It is counted as a Test, but as a standalone. This match ended in a victory for Australia.
=== 1884 to 1896 ===
After Bligh's victory, there was an extended period of English dominance. The tours generally had fewer Tests in the 1880s and 1890s than people have grown accustomed to in more recent years, the first five-Test series taking place only in 1894–95. England lost only four Ashes Tests in the 1880s out of 23 played, and they won all the seven series contested.
There was more chopping and changing in the teams, given that there was no official board of selectors for each country (in 1887–88, two separate English teams were on tour in Australia) and popularity with the fans varied. The 1890s games were more closely fought, Australia taking its first series win since 1882 with a 2–1 victory in 1891–92. But England dominated, winning the next three series to 1896 despite continuing player disputes.
The 1894–95 series began in sensational fashion when England won the First Test at Sydney by just 10 runs having followed on. Australia had scored a massive 586 (Syd Gregory 201, George Giffen 161) and then dismissed England for 325. But England responded with 437 and then dramatically dismissed Australia for 166 with Bobby Peel taking 6 for 67. At the close of the second last day's play, Australia were 113–2, needing only 64 more runs. But heavy rain fell overnight and next morning the two slow left-arm bowlers, Peel and Johnny Briggs, were all but unplayable. England went on to win the series 3–2 after it had been all square before the Final Test, which England won by 6 wickets. The English heroes were Peel, with 27 wickets in the series at an average of 26.70, and Tom Richardson, with 32 at 26.53.
In 1896, England under the captaincy of W. G. Grace won the series 2–1, and this marked the end of England's longest period of Ashes dominance.
=== 1897 to 1902 ===
Australia resoundingly won the 1897–98 series by 4–1 under the captaincy of Harry Trott. His successor Joe Darling won the next three series in 1899, 1901–02, and the classic 1902 series, which became one of the most famous in the history of Test cricket.
Five matches were played in 1902 but the first two were drawn after being hit by bad weather. In the First Test (the first played at Edgbaston), after scoring 376 England bowled out Australia for 36 (Wilfred Rhodes 7/17) and reduced them to 46–2 when they followed on. Australia won the Third and Fourth Tests at Bramall Lane and Old Trafford respectively. At Old Trafford, Australia won by just 3 runs after Victor Trumper had scored 104 on a "bad wicket", reaching his hundred before lunch on the first day. England won the last Test at The Oval by one wicket. Chasing 263 to win, they slumped to 48–5 before Gilbert Jessop's 104 gave them a chance. He reached his hundred in just 75 minutes. The last-wicket pair of George Hirst and Rhodes were required to score 15 runs for victory. When Rhodes joined him, Hirst reportedly said: "We'll get them in singles, Wilfred." In fact, they scored thirteen singles and a two.
The period of Darling's captaincy saw the emergence of outstanding Australian players such as Trumper, Warwick Armstrong, James Kelly, Monty Noble, Clem Hill, Hugh Trumble and Ernie Jones.
=== Reviving the legend ===
After what the MCC saw as the problems of the earlier professional and amateur series they decided to take control of organising tours themselves, and this led to the first MCC tour of Australia in 1903–04. England won it against the odds, and Plum Warner, the England captain, wrote up his version of the tour in his book How We Recovered The Ashes. The title of this book revived the Ashes legend and it was after this that England v Australia series were customarily referred to as "The Ashes".
=== 1905 to 1912 ===
England and Australia were evenly matched until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Five more series took place between 1905 and 1912. In 1905, England's captain Stanley Jackson not only won the series 2–0, but also won the toss in all five matches and headed both the batting and the bowling averages. Monty Noble led Australia to victory in both 1907–08 and 1909. Then England won in 1911–12 by four matches to one. Jack Hobbs establishing himself as England's first-choice opening batsman with three centuries, while Frank Foster (32 wickets at 21.62) and Sydney Barnes (34 wickets at 22.88) formed a formidable bowling partnership.
England retained the Ashes when it won the 1912 Triangular Tournament, which also featured South Africa. The Australian touring party had been severely weakened by a dispute between the board and players that caused Clem Hill, Victor Trumper, Warwick Armstrong, Tibby Cotter, Sammy Carter and Vernon Ransford to be omitted.
=== 1920 to 1933 ===
After the war, Australia took firm control of both the Ashes and world cricket. The tactic of using two express bowlers in tandem paid off as Jack Gregory and Ted McDonald crippled the English batting on a regular basis. Australia recorded overwhelming victories both in England and on home soil. It won the first eight matches in succession including a 5–0 whitewash in 1920–1921 at the hands of Warwick Armstrong's team.
The ruthless and belligerent Armstrong led his team back to England in 1921 where his men lost only two games late in the tour to narrowly miss out of being the first team to complete a tour of England without defeat.
England won only one Test out of 15 from the end of the war until 1925.
In a rain-hit series in 1926, England managed to eke out a 1–0 victory with a win in the final Test at The Oval. Because the series was at stake, the match was to be "timeless", i.e., played to a finish. Australia had a narrow first innings lead of 22. Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe took the score to 49–0 at the end of the second day, a lead of 27. Heavy rain fell overnight, and next day the pitch soon developed into a traditional sticky wicket. England seemed doomed to be bowled out cheaply and to lose the match. In spite of the very difficult batting conditions, however, Hobbs and Sutcliffe took their partnership to 172 before Hobbs was out for exactly 100. Sutcliffe went on to make 161 and England won the game comfortably. Australian captain Herbie Collins was stripped of all captaincy positions down to club level, and some accused him of throwing the match.
Australia's ageing post-war team broke up after 1926, with Collins, Charlie Macartney and Warren Bardsley all departing, and Gregory breaking down at the start of the 1928–29 series.
Despite the debut of Donald Bradman, the inexperienced Australians, led by Jack Ryder, were heavily defeated, losing 4–1. England had a very strong batting side, with Wally Hammond contributing 905 runs at an average of 113.12, and Hobbs, Sutcliffe and Patsy Hendren all scoring heavily; the bowling was more than adequate, without being outstanding.
In 1930, Bill Woodfull led an extremely inexperienced team to England.
Bradman fulfilled his promise in the 1930 series when he scored 974 runs at 139.14, which remains a world record Test series aggregate. A modest Bradman can be heard in a 1930 recording saying "I have always endeavoured to do my best for the side, and the few centuries that have come my way have been achieved in the hope of winning matches. My one idea when going into bat was to make runs for Australia." In the Headingley Test, he made 334, reaching 309* at the end of the first day, including a century before lunch. Bradman himself thought that his 254 in the preceding match, at Lord's, was a better innings. England managed to stay in contention until the deciding final Test at The Oval, but yet another double hundred by Bradman, and 7/92 by Percy Hornibrook in England's second innings, enabled Australia to win by an innings and take the series 2–1. Clarrie Grimmett's 29 wickets at 31.89 for Australia in this high-scoring series were also important.
Australia had one of the strongest batting line-ups ever in the early 1930s, with Bradman, Archie Jackson, Stan McCabe, Bill Woodfull, Bill Ponsford and Jack Fingleton. It was the prospect of bowling at this line-up that caused England's 1932–33 captain Douglas Jardine to adopt the tactic of fast leg theory, better known as Bodyline.
Jardine instructed his fast bowlers, most notably Harold Larwood and Bill Voce, to bowl at the bodies of the Australian batsmen, with the goal of forcing them to defend their bodies with their bats, thus providing easy catches to a stacked leg-side field. Jardine insisted that the tactic was legitimate and called it "leg theory" but it was widely disparaged by its opponents, who dubbed it "Bodyline" (from "on the line of the body"). Although England decisively won the Ashes 4–1, Bodyline caused such a furore in Australia that diplomats had to intervene to prevent serious harm to Anglo-Australian relations, and the MCC eventually changed the Laws of cricket to curtail the number of leg side fielders.
Jardine's comment was: "I've not travelled 6,000 miles to make friends. I'm here to win the Ashes".
Some of the Australians wanted to use Bodyline in retaliation, but Woodfull flatly refused. He famously told England manager Pelham Warner, "There are two teams out there. One is playing cricket; the other is making no attempt to do so" after the latter had come into the Australian rooms to express sympathy after a Larwood bouncer had struck the Australian skipper in the heart and felled him.
=== 1934 to 1953 ===
On the batting-friendly wickets that prevailed in the late 1930s, most Tests up to the Second World War still gave results. It should be borne in mind that Tests in Australia prior to the war were all played to a finish, with many batting records set during this period. Test matches had always been played over 3 days until 1933, but the Ashes were played over the modern standard five days from 1934, the series ended by a Timeless Test in both 1934 and 1938
The 1934 Ashes series began with the notable absence of Larwood, Voce and Jardine. The MCC had made it clear, in light of the revelations of the bodyline series, that these players would not face Australia. The MCC, although it had earlier condoned and encouraged bodyline tactics in the 1932–33 series, laid the blame on Larwood when relations turned sour. Larwood was forced by the MCC to either apologise or be removed from the Test side. He went for the latter.
Australia recovered the Ashes in 1934 and held them until 1953, though no Test cricket was played during the Second World War.
As in 1930, the 1934 series was decided in the final Test at The Oval. Australia, batting first, posted a massive 701 in the first innings. Bradman (244) and Ponsford (266) were in record-breaking form with a partnership of 451 for the second wicket. England eventually faced a massive 707-run target for victory and failed, Australia winning the series 2–1. This made Woodfull the only captain to regain the Ashes and he retired upon his return to Australia.
In 1936–37 Bradman succeeded Woodfull as Australian captain. He started badly, losing the first two Tests heavily after Australia were caught on sticky wickets. However, the Australians fought back and Bradman won his first series in charge 3–2. England's bowling was led by two of the bowlers from the Bodyline series of four years before, Gubby Allen who had refused to bowl to the leg-theory field during that tour, and Bill Voce who joined Allen in bowling to a more conventional field on this occasion.
The 1938 series was a high-scoring affair with two high-scoring draws, resulting in a 1–1 result, Australia retaining the Ashes. After the first two matches ended in stalemate and the Third Test at Old Trafford never started due to rain, Australia then scraped home by five wickets inside three days in a low-scoring match at Headingley to retain the urn. In the timeless Fifth Test at The Oval, the highlight was Len Hutton's then world-record score of 364 as England made 903-7 declared. Bradman and Jack Fingleton injured themselves during Hutton's marathon effort, and with only nine men, Australia fell to defeat by an innings and 579 runs, the heaviest in Test history.
The Ashes resumed after the war when England toured in 1946–47 and, as in 1920–21, found that Australia had made the better post-war recovery. Still captained by Bradman and now featuring the potent new-ball partnership of Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller, Australia were convincing 3–0 winners.
Aged 38 and having been unwell during the war, Bradman had been reluctant to play. He batted unconvincingly and reached 28 when he hit a ball to Jack Ikin; England believed it was a catch, but Bradman stood his ground, believing it to be a bump ball. The umpire ruled in the Australian captain's favour and he appeared to regain his fluency of yesteryear, scoring 187. Australia promptly seized the initiative, won the First Test convincingly and inaugurated a dominant post-war era. The controversy over the Ikin catch was one of the biggest disputes of the era.
In 1948, Australia set new standards, completely outplaying its hosts to win 4–0 with one draw. This Australian team, led by Bradman, who turned 40 during his final tour of England, has gone down in history as The Invincibles. Playing 34 matches on tour – three of which were not first-class – and including the five Tests, they remained unbeaten, winning 27 and drawing 7.
Bradman's men were greeted by packed crowds across the country, and records for Test attendances in England were set in the Second and Fourth Tests at Lord's and Headingley respectively. Before a record attendance of spectators at Headingley, Australia set a world record by chasing down 404 on the last day for a seven-wicket victory.
The 1948 series ended with one of the most poignant moments in cricket history, as Bradman played his final innings for Australia in the Fifth Test at The Oval, needing to score only four runs to end with a career batting average of exactly 100. However, Bradman made a second-ball duck, bowled by an Eric Hollies googly that sent him into retirement with a career average of 99.94.
Bradman was succeeded as Australian captain by Lindsay Hassett, who led the team to a 4–1 series victory in 1950–51. The series was not as one-sided as the number of wins suggest, with several tight matches.
The tide finally turned in 1953 when England won the final Test at The Oval to take the series 1–0, having narrowly avoided defeat in the preceding Test at Headingley. This was the beginning of one of the greatest periods in English cricket history with players such as captain Len Hutton, batsmen Denis Compton, Peter May, Tom Graveney, Colin Cowdrey, bowlers Fred Trueman, Brian Statham, Alec Bedser, Jim Laker, Tony Lock, wicket-keeper Godfrey Evans and all-rounder Trevor Bailey.
=== 1954 to 1971 ===
In 1954–55, Australia's batsmen had no answer to the pace of Frank Tyson and Statham. After winning the First Test by an innings after being controversially sent in by Hutton, Australia lost its way and England took a hat-trick of victories to win the series 3–1.
A dramatic series in 1956 saw a record that will probably never be beaten: off-spinner Jim Laker's monumental effort at Old Trafford when he bowled 68 of 191 overs to take 19 out of 20 possible Australian wickets in the Fourth Test. It was Australia's second consecutive innings defeat in a wet summer, and the hosts were in strong positions in the two drawn Tests, in which half the playing time was washed out. Bradman rated the team that won the series 2–1 as England's best ever.
England's dominance was not to last. Australia won 4–0 in 1958–59, having found a high-quality spinner of their own in new skipper Richie Benaud, who took 31 wickets in the five-Test series, and paceman Alan Davidson, who took 24 wickets at 19.00. The series was overshadowed by the furore over various Australian bowlers, most notably Ian Meckiff, whom the English management and media accused of illegally throwing Australia to victory.
In 1961, Australia won a hard-fought series 2–1, their first Ashes series win in England for 13 years. After narrowly winning the Second Test at Lord's, dubbed "The Battle of the Ridge" because of a protrusion on the pitch that caused erratic bounce, Australia mounted a comeback on the final day of the Fourth Test at Old Trafford and sealed the series with Richie Benaud taking 6-70 during the English run chase.
The tempo of the play changed over the next four series in the 1960s, held in 1962–63, 1964, 1965–66 and 1968. The powerful array of bowlers that both countries boasted in the preceding decade moved into retirement, and their replacements were of lesser quality, making it more difficult to force a result. England failed to win any series during the 1960s, a period dominated by draws as teams found it more prudent to save face than risk losing. Of the 20 Tests played during the four series, Australia won four and England three. As they held the Ashes, Australia's captains Bob Simpson and Bill Lawry were happy to adopt safety-first tactics and their strategy of sedate batting saw many draws. During this period, spectator attendances dropped and media condemnation increased, but Simpson and Lawry flatly disregarded the public dissatisfaction.
It was in the 1960s that the bipolar dominance of England and Australia in world cricket was seriously challenged for the first time. West Indies defeated England twice in the mid-1960s and South Africa, in two series before they were banned for apartheid, completely outplayed Australia 3–1 and 4–0. Australia had lost 2–1 during a tour of the West Indies in 1964–65, the first time it had lost a series to any team other than England.
In 1970–71, Ray Illingworth led England to a 2–0 win in Australia, mainly due to John Snow's fast bowling, and the prolific batting of Geoffrey Boycott and John Edrich. It was not until the last session of what was the 7th Test (one match having been abandoned without a ball bowled) that England's success was secured. Lawry was sacked after the Sixth Test after the selectors finally lost patience with Australia's lack of success and dour strategy. Lawry was not informed of the decision privately and heard his fate over the radio.
=== 1972 to 1987 ===
The 1972 series finished 2–2, with England under Illingworth retaining the Ashes.
In the 1974–75 series, with the England team breaking up and their best batsman Geoff Boycott refusing to play, Australian pace bowlers Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee wreaked havoc. A 4–1 result was a fair reflection as England were left shell shocked. England then lost the 1975 series 0–1, but at least restored some pride under new captain Tony Greig.
Australia won the 1977 Centenary Test which was not an Ashes contest, but then a storm broke as Kerry Packer announced his intention to form World Series Cricket. WSC affected all Test-playing nations but it weakened Australia especially as the bulk of its players had signed up with Packer; the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) would not select WSC-contracted players and an almost completely new Test team had to be formed. WSC came after an era during which the duopoly of Australian and English dominance dissipated; the Ashes had long been seen as a cricket world championship but the rise of the West Indies in the late 1970s challenged that view. The West Indies would go on to record resounding Test series wins over Australia and England and dominated world cricket until the 1990s.
With Greig having joined WSC, England appointed Mike Brearley as its captain and he enjoyed great success against Australia. Largely assisted by the return of Boycott, Brearley's men won the 1977 series 3–0 and then completed an overwhelming 5–1 series win against an Australian side missing its WSC players in 1978–79. Allan Border made his Test debut for Australia in 1978–79.
(The following year, the WSC split ended, and Australia invited both England and West Indies to play series of Tests in Australia - Australia played alternating matches against the other teams. The England part of the series was, in fact, won by Australia 3-0: however, this series was not considered to be for the Ashes. Firstly, because of its somewhat ad-hoc hastily arranged nature: secondly because it was a short series, and a split one at that thanks to alternating between the Aus/England and Aus/Windies series: thirdly because the last true Ashes series had been held the previous year in Australia, and it was now England's turn to host them. Thus, both teams agreed before the series that the Ashes would not be considered at stake on this occasion - which proved fortunate for England, who would otherwise have lost them.)
Brearley retired from Test cricket in 1980 and was succeeded by Ian Botham, who started the 1981 series as England captain, by which time the WSC split had ended. After Australia took a 1–0 lead in the first two Tests, Botham was forced to resign or was sacked (depending on the source). Brearley surprisingly agreed to be reappointed before the Third Test at Headingley. This was a remarkable match in which Australia looked certain to take a 2–0 series lead after it had forced England to follow-on 227 runs behind. England, despite being 135 for 7, produced a second innings total of 356, Botham scoring 149*. Chasing just 130, Australia were sensationally dismissed for 111, Bob Willis taking 8–43. It was the first time since 1894–95 that a team following on had won a Test match. Under Brearley's leadership, England went on to win the next two matches before a drawn final match at The Oval. This series became known as 'Botham's Ashes' for his extraordinary feats with both bat and ball, after being dismissed as captain.
In 1982–83 Australia had Greg Chappell back from WSC as captain, while the England team was weakened by the enforced omission of their South African tour rebels, particularly Graham Gooch and John Emburey. Australia went 2–0 up after three Tests, but England won the Fourth Test by 3 runs (after a 70-run last wicket stand) to set up the final decider, which was drawn.
In 1985, David Gower's England team was strengthened by the return of Gooch and Emburey as well as the emergence at international level of Tim Robinson and Mike Gatting. Australia, now captained by Allan Border, had itself been weakened by a rebel South African tour, the loss of Terry Alderman being a particular factor. England won 3–1.
Despite suffering heavy defeats against the West Indies during the 1980s, England continued to do well in the Ashes. Mike Gatting was the captain in 1986–87 but his team started badly and attracted some criticism. Then Chris Broad scored three hundreds in successive Tests and bowling successes from Graham Dilley and Gladstone Small meant England won the series 2–1. Ian Botham also scored his last international hundred and his last international five-wicket haul on this tour. A century from Dean Jones and five-fors from spinners Peter Taylor (on debut) and Peter Sleep gave Australia a consolation victory in the last match.
=== 1989 to 2005 ===
The Australian team of 1989 was comparable to the great Australian teams of the past, and resoundingly defeated England 4–0. Well led by Allan Border, the team included the young cricketers Mark Taylor, Merv Hughes, David Boon, Ian Healy and Steve Waugh, who were all to prove long-serving and successful Ashes competitors. England, now led once again by David Gower, suffered from injuries and poor form. During the Fourth Test news broke that prominent England players had agreed to take part in a "rebel tour" of South Africa the following winter; three of them (Tim Robinson, Neil Foster and John Emburey) were playing in the match, and were subsequently dropped from the England side.
Australia reached a cricketing peak in the 1990s and early 2000s, coupled with a general decline in England's fortunes. After re-establishing its credibility in 1989, Australia underlined its superiority with victories in the 1990–91, 1993, 1994–95, 1997, 1998–99, 2001 and 2002–03 series, all by convincing margins.
Great Australian players in the early years included batsmen Border, Boon, Taylor and Steve Waugh. The captaincy passed from Border to Taylor in the mid-1990s and then to Steve Waugh before the 2001 series. In the latter part of the 1990s Waugh himself, along with his twin brother Mark, scored heavily for Australia and fast bowlers Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie made a serious impact, especially the former. The wicketkeeper-batsman position was held by Ian Healy for most of the 1990s and by Adam Gilchrist from 2001 to 2006–07. In the 2000s, batsmen Justin Langer, Damien Martyn and Matthew Hayden became noted players for Australia. But the most dominant Australian player was leg-spinner Shane Warne, whose first delivery in Ashes cricket in 1993, to dismiss Mike Gatting, became known as the Ball of the Century.
Australia's record between 1989 and 2005 had a significant impact on the statistics between the two sides. Before the 1989 series began, the win–loss ratio was almost even, with 87 test wins for Australia to England's 86, 74 tests having been drawn. By the 2005 series Australia's test wins had increased to 115 whereas England's had increased to only 93 (with 82 draws). In the period between 1989 and the beginning of the 2005 series, the two sides had played 43 times; Australia winning 28 times, England 7 times, with 8 draws. Only a single England victory had come in a match in which the Ashes were still at stake, namely the First Test of the 1997 series. All others were consolation victories when the Ashes had been secured by Australia.
=== 2005 to 2015 ===
England were undefeated in Test matches through the 2004 calendar year. This elevated them to second in the ICC Test Championship. Hopes that the 2005 Ashes series would be closely fought proved well-founded, the series remaining undecided as the closing session of the final Test began. Experienced journalists including Richie Benaud rated the series as the most exciting in living memory. It has been compared with the great series of the distant past, such as 1894–95 and 1902.
The First Test at Lord's was convincingly won by Australia, but in the remaining four matches the teams were evenly matched and England fought back to win the Second Test by 2 runs, the smallest winning margin in Ashes history, and the second-smallest in all Tests. The rain-affected Third Test ended with the last two Australian batsmen holding out for a draw; and England won the Fourth Test by three wickets after forcing Australia to follow-on for the first time in 191 Tests. A draw in the final Test gave England victory in an Ashes series for the first time in 18 years and their first Ashes victory at home since 1985.
Australia regained the Ashes on its home turf in the 2006–07 series with a convincing 5–0 victory, only the second time an Ashes series had been won by that margin. Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer retired from Test cricket after that series, while Damien Martyn retired during the series.
The 2009 series began with a tense draw in the First Test at SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, with England's last-wicket batsmen James Anderson and Monty Panesar surviving 69 balls. England then achieved its first Ashes win at Lord's since 1934 to go 1–0 up. After a rain-affected draw at Edgbaston, the fourth match at Headingley was convincingly won by Australia by an innings and 80 runs to level the series. Finally, England won the Fifth Test at The Oval by a margin of 197 runs to regain the Ashes. Andrew Flintoff retired from Test cricket soon afterwards.
The 2010–11 series was played in Australia. The First Test at Brisbane ended in a draw, but England won the Second Test, at Adelaide, by an innings and 71 runs. Australia came back with a victory at Perth in the Third Test. In the Fourth Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground, England batting second scored 513 to defeat Australia (98 and 258) by an innings and 157 runs. This gave England an unbeatable 2–1 lead in the series and so it retained the Ashes. England went on to win the series 3–1, beating Australia by an innings and 83 runs at Sydney in the Fifth Test, including their highest innings total since 1938 (644). England's series victory was its first on Australian soil for 24 years. The 2010–11 Ashes series was the only one in which a team had won three Tests by innings margins and it was the first time England had scored 500 or more four times in a single series. England opener Cook scored 766 runs at average 127.66 in the series, the most dominant batsman in an Ashes series since Bradman in 1930.
Australia's build-up to the 2013 Ashes series was far from ideal. Darren Lehmann took over as coach from Mickey Arthur following a string of poor results. A batting line-up weakened by the previous year's retirements of former captain Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey was also shorn of opener David Warner, who was suspended for the start of the series following an off-field incident. England won a closely fought First Test by 14 runs, despite 19-year-old debutant Ashton Agar making a world-record 98 for a number 11 in the first innings. England then won a very one-sided Second Test by 347 runs while the rain-affected Third Test, held at a newly refurbished Old Trafford, was drawn, ensuring that England retained the Ashes. England won the Fourth Test by 74 runs after Australia lost their last eight second-innings wickets for only 86 runs. The final Test was drawn, giving England a 3–0 series win.
In the second of two Ashes series held in 2013 (the series ended in 2014), this time hosted by Australia, the home team won the series five test matches to nil. This was the third time Australia has completed a clean sweep (or "whitewash") in Ashes history, a feat never matched by England. All six Australian specialist batsmen scored more runs than any Englishman with 10 centuries among them, with only debutant Ben Stokes scoring a century for England. Mitchell Johnson took 37 English wickets at 13.97 and Ryan Harris 22 wickets at 19.31 in the 5-Test series. Only Stuart Broad and all-rounder Stokes bowled effectively for England, with their spinner Graeme Swann retiring due to a chronic elbow injury after the decisive Third Test.
Australia came into the 2015 Ashes series in England as favourites to retain the Ashes. Although England won the first Test in Cardiff, Australia won comfortably in the second Test at Lords. In the next two Tests, the Australian batsmen struggled, being bowled out for 136 in the first innings at Edgbaston, with England proceeding to win by eight wickets. This was followed by Australia being bowled out for 60 as Stuart Broad took 8 for 15 in the first innings at Trent Bridge, the quickest – in terms of balls faced – a team has been bowled out in the first innings of a Test match. With victory by an innings and 78 runs on the morning of the third day of the Fourth Test, England regained the Ashes.
=== 2017 to present ===
During the buildup, the 2017–18 Ashes series was regarded as a turning point for both sides. Australia were criticised for being too reliant on captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner, while England was said to have a shoddy middle to lower order. Off the field, England all-rounder Ben Stokes was ruled out of the side indefinitely due to a police investigation.
Australia won the first Test match in Brisbane by 10 wickets and the second Test at Adelaide by 120 runs in the first ever day-night Ashes test match. Australia regained The Ashes with an innings and 41 run win in the third Test at Perth; the final Ashes Test at the WACA Ground.
Prior to the 2019 Ashes series, both teams were considered to have very strong bowling attacks but struggling batting orders. Australia had its top-order batsmen David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft available for international selection after being banned from international cricket for 9–12 months following the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, during which time India had won its first ever Test series in Australia. However, Australia recovered to win the Test series against Sri Lanka 2–0.
Despite winning the Cricket World Cup in July 2019 for the first time, England had also been criticised for its fragile top-order in Tests. The retirement of opener Alastair Cook in August 2018 ensured potential top-order batsmen Rory Burns, Joe Denly and Jason Roy were able to secure a place in the side. Despite losing a Test series 2–1 in their tour of the West Indies, England then improved to win the one-off Test against Ireland, by 143 runs. The 2019 series was eventually drawn 2–2, with Australia retaining the Ashes.
The 2021–22 Ashes series was played from December 2021 through January 2022, and featured the first Ashes Test match to be played in Tasmania, at Hobart's Bellerive Oval. Australia retained the Ashes in the 2021–22 Ashes series, after comfortably beating England 4–0.
England were the hosts of the five Test matches of the 2023 Ashes series. The series got off to a good start for Australia as they won the first two Tests to go 0–2 up. The hosts won the third Test to put the series at 1-2 for the visitors. England needed to win the fourth Test in a hope to not only level the series but prevent Australia from retaining the Ashes. The match looked good for England to win, but rain intervened on the last two days and forced a draw, thus Australia retained the Ashes with the series at 1–2 after four Tests. The fifth and final Test was played at The Oval. During the contest Stuart Broad announced that he would retire from cricket at the end of the match. England went on to win the final Test match to draw the series at 2-2.
England started the 2025–26 Ashes series poorly, losing the first test match in Perth in under two days. This was the first time an Ashes test had been decided in under two days since the first test of the 1921 Ashes, with England facing 405 balls, their shortest total in a Test match since 1904. This happened again at the MCG in the same Series,but this time, England won their first test on Australian soil in 14 years.
== Summary of results and statistics ==
In the 143 years since 1883, Australia have held the Ashes for approximately 87.5 years, and England for 55.5 years:
Test results, up to and including 8 January 2026:
Series results, up to and including 8 January 2026:
A team must win a series to gain the right to hold the Ashes. A drawn series results in the previous holders retaining the Ashes. Ashes series have generally been played over five Test matches, although there have been four-match series (1938 and 1975) and six-match series (1970–71, 1974–75, 1978–79, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1993 and 1997). Australians have made 264 centuries in Ashes Tests, of which 23 have been scores over 200, while Englishmen have scored 212 centuries, of which 10 have been over 200. Australians have taken 10 wickets in a match on 41 occasions, Englishmen 38 times.
== Match venues ==
The series alternates between England (and Wales) and Australia, and each match of a series is held at a different ground.
=== Australia ===
In Australia, the grounds currently used are the Gabba in Brisbane (first staged an England–Australia Test in the 1932–33 season), Adelaide Oval (1884–85), the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) (1876–77), and the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) (1881–82). A single Test was held at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground in 1928–29. Traditionally, Melbourne hosts the Boxing Day Test and Sydney hosts the New Year's Day Test. Cricket Australia has announced that the 2025–26 Ashes match at the Gabba will be the last to be played there, due to setting up for the 2032 Olympics.
Additionally, the WACA in Perth (1970–71) hosted its final Ashes Test in 2017–18 and was due to be replaced by Perth Stadium for the 2021–22 series. However, Western Australian border restrictions and quarantine requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a change in venue for the final Ashes Test to Bellerive Oval in Hobart. This was the first Ashes Test match to be held in Tasmania.
Cricket Australia proposed that the 2010–11 series should consist of six Tests, with the additional game to be played at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The England and Wales Cricket Board declined and the series was played over five Tests.
=== England ===
In England and Wales, the grounds currently used are: Old Trafford in Manchester (1884), The Oval in Kennington, South London (1884); Lord's in St John's Wood, North London (1884); Headingley in Leeds (1899) and Edgbaston in Birmingham (1902). Additionally Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, Wales (2009); the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, County Durham (2013) and Trent Bridge at West Bridgford (1899), have been used and one Test was also held at Bramall Lane in Sheffield in 1902. Traditionally the final Test of the series is played at the Oval.
Sophia Gardens and the Riverside were excluded as Test grounds between the years of 2020 and 2031 and therefore will not host an Ashes Test until at least 2035. The ECB announced the 2027 and 2031 Ashes series venues will be held at Lord's (2027 and 2031), The Oval (2027 and 2031), Edgbaston (2027), Trent Bridge (2027 and 2031), The Rose Bowl (2027), Old Trafford (2031) and Headingley (2031).
== Cultural references ==
The popularity and reputation of the cricket series has led to other sports and games using the name "Ashes" for contests between England/Great Britain and Australia. The best-known and longest-running of these events is the rugby league Ashes competition between Great Britain now England and Australia national rugby league teams. Use of the name "Ashes" was suggested by the Australian team when rugby league matches between the two countries commenced in 1908. Other examples included the television game shows Gladiators and Sale of the Century, both of which broadcast special editions containing contestants from the Australian and English versions of the shows competing against each other.
The term was further genericised in Australia in the first half of the twentieth century, and was used to describe the most prominent rivalry or competition within a sport even if outside the context of Australia vs England. The Australian rules football interstate carnival, and the small silver casket which served as its trophy, were symbolically known as "the Ashes" of Australian football, and was spoken of as such until at least the 1940s. The soccer rivalry between Australia and New Zealand was described as "the soccer ashes of Australasia" until as late as the 1950s; ashes from cigars smoked by the two countries' captains were put into a casket in 1923 to make the trophy literal. The interstate rugby league rivalry between Queensland and New South Wales was known for a time as Australia's rugby league ashes, and bowls competitions between the two states also regularly used the term. Even some local rivalries, such as southern Western Australia's annual Great Southern Football Carnival, were locally described as "the ashes". This genericised usage is no longer common, and "the Ashes" would today be assumed only to apply to a contest between Australia and England.
The Ashes featured in the film The Final Test, released in 1953, based on a television play by Terence Rattigan. It stars Jack Warner as an England cricketer playing the last Test of his career, which is the last of an Ashes series; the film includes cameo appearances of English captain Len Hutton and other players who were part of England's 1953 triumph.
Douglas Adams's 1982 science fiction comedy novel Life, the Universe and Everything – the third part of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series – features the urn containing the Ashes as a significant element of its plot. The urn is stolen by alien robots, as the burnt stump inside is part of a key needed to unlock the "Wikkit Gate" and release an imprisoned world called Krikkit.
Bodyline, a fictionalised television miniseries based on the "Bodyline" Ashes series of 1932–33, was screened in Australia in 1984. The cast included Gary Sweet as Donald Bradman and Hugo Weaving as England captain Douglas Jardine.
In the 1938 film The Lady Vanishes, Charters and Caldicott, played by Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne, are two cricket fans who are desperate to get home from Europe in order to see the last day's play in the Third Test at Manchester. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe | Giraffe | Giraffes (genus Giraffa) are large African hoofed mammals. They are the tallest living terrestrial animals and the largest ruminants on Earth. They are classified under the family Giraffidae, along with their closest extant relative, the okapi. Traditionally, giraffes have been thought of as one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, with nine subspecies. Most recently, researchers proposed dividing them into four extant species, with seven subspecies, which can be distinguished morphologically by their fur coat patterns. Six valid extinct species of Giraffa are known from the fossil record.
The distinguishing characteristics of giraffes are their extremely long neck and legs, horn-like ossicones, and spotted coat patterns. Their scattered range extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fruits, and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at heights most other ground-based herbivores cannot reach. Lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs may prey upon giraffes. Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males but are gregarious and may gather in large groups. Males establish social hierarchies through "necking", combat bouts where the neck is used as a weapon. Dominant males gain mating access to females, which bear sole responsibility for rearing the young.
Giraffes have intrigued various ancient and modern cultures for their peculiar appearance and have often been featured in paintings, books, and cartoons. They have been extirpated from many parts of their former range. Giraffes are still found in many national parks and game reserves, but estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild. More than 1,600 were kept in zoos in 2010.
== Etymology ==
The name "giraffe" has its earliest known origins in the Arabic word zirāfah (زِرَافَةْ), of an ultimately unclear Sub-Saharan African language origin. The Middle English and early Modern English spellings, jarraf and ziraph, derive from the Arabic form-based Spanish and Portuguese girafa. The modern English form developed around 1600 from the French girafe.
"Camelopard" () is an archaic English name for the giraffe; it derives from the Ancient Greek καμηλοπάρδαλις (kamēlopárdalis), from κάμηλος (kámēlos), "camel", and πάρδαλις (párdalis), "leopard", referring to its camel-like shape and leopard-like colouration.
== Taxonomy ==
=== Evolution ===
Giraffes, along with the okapi, are the only living members of family Giraffidae in the order Artiodactyla. They are ruminants of the clade Pecora, along with Antilocapridae (pronghorns), Cervidae (deer), Bovidae (cattle, antelope, goats and sheep) and Moschidae (musk deer). A 2019 genome study (cladogram below) finds that Giraffidae are a sister taxon to Antilocapridae, with an estimated split of over 20 million years ago.
The family Giraffidae was once much more extensive, with over 10 fossil genera described. The elongation of the neck appears to have started early in the giraffe lineage. Comparisons between giraffes and their ancient relatives suggest vertebrae close to the skull lengthened earlier, followed by lengthening of vertebrae further down. One early giraffid ancestor was Canthumeryx, which has been dated variously to have lived 25 to 20 million years ago, 17–15 mya or 18–14.3 mya and whose deposits have been found in Libya. This animal resembled an antelope and had a medium-sized, lightly built body. Giraffokeryx appeared 15–12 mya on the Indian subcontinent and resembled an okapi or a small giraffe, and had a longer neck and similar ossicones. Giraffokeryx may have shared a clade with more massively built giraffids like Sivatherium and Bramatherium.
Giraffids like Palaeotragus, Shansitherium and Samotherium appeared 14 mya and lived throughout Africa and Eurasia. These animals had broader skulls with reduced frontal cavities. Paleotragus resembled the okapi and may have been its ancestor. Others find that the okapi lineage diverged earlier, before Giraffokeryx. Samotherium was a particularly important transitional fossil in the giraffe lineage, as the length and structure of its cervical vertebrae were between those of a modern giraffe and an okapi, and its neck posture was likely similar to the former's. Bohlinia, which first appeared in southeastern Europe and lived 9–7 mya, was likely a direct ancestor of Giraffa. Bohlinia closely resembled modern giraffes, having a long neck and legs and similar ossicones and dentition.
Bohlinia colonised China and northern India and produced the Giraffa, which, around 7 million years ago, reached Africa. Climate changes led to the extinction of the Asian giraffes, while the African giraffes survived and radiated into new species. Living giraffes appear to have arisen around 1 million years ago in eastern Africa during the Pleistocene. Some biologists suggest the modern giraffes descended from G. jumae; others find G. gracilis a more likely candidate. G. jumae was larger and more robust, while G. gracilis was smaller and more slender.
The changes from extensive forests to more open habitats, which began 8 mya, are believed to be the main driver for the evolution of giraffes. During this time, tropical plants disappeared and were replaced by arid C4 plants, and a dry savannah emerged across eastern and northern Africa and western India. Some researchers have hypothesised that this new habitat, coupled with a different diet, including acacia species, may have exposed giraffe ancestors to toxins that caused higher mutation rates and a higher rate of evolution. The coat patterns of modern giraffes may also have coincided with these habitat changes. Asian giraffes are hypothesised to have had more okapi-like colourations.
The Masai giraffe genome is around 2.9 billion base pairs in length, compared to the 3.3 billion base pairs of the okapi. Of the proteins in giraffe and okapi genes, 19.4% are identical. The divergence of giraffe and okapi lineages dates to around 11.5 mya. A small group of regulatory genes in the giraffe appears responsible for the animal's height and associated circulatory adaptations.
=== Species and subspecies ===
Carl Linnaeus originally classified living giraffes as one species in 1758. He gave it the binomial name Cervus camelopardalis. Mathurin Jacques Brisson coined the generic name Giraffa in 1762. During the 1900s, various taxonomies with two or three species were proposed. A 2007 study on the genetics of giraffes using mitochondrial DNA suggested at least six lineages could be recognised as species. A 2011 study using detailed analyses of the morphology of giraffes, and application of the phylogenetic species concept, described eight species of living giraffes. A 2016 study also concluded that living giraffes consist of multiple species. The researchers suggested the existence of four species, which have not exchanged genetic information between each other for one to two million years.
A 2020 study showed that, depending on the method chosen, different taxonomic hypotheses recognizing from two to six species can be considered for the genus Giraffa. That study also found that multi-species coalescent methods can lead to taxonomic over-splitting, as those methods delimit geographic structures rather than species. The three-species hypothesis, which recognises G. camelopardalis, G. giraffa, and G. tippelskirchi, is highly supported by phylogenetic analyses and also corroborated by most population genetic and multi-species coalescent analyses. A 2021 whole genome sequencing study suggests the existence of four distinct species and seven subspecies, which was supported by a 2024 study of cranial morphology. A 2024 study found a higher amount of ancient gene flow than expected between populations.
The cladogram below shows the phylogenetic relationship between the four species and seven subspecies based on a 2021 genome analysis. The eight lineages correspond to eight traditional subspecies in the one-species hypothesis. The Rothschild giraffe is subsumed into G. camelopardalis camelopardalis.
The following table compares the different hypotheses for giraffe species. The description column shows the traditional nine subspecies in the one-species hypothesis.
The first extinct species to be described was Giraffa sivalensis from Pakistan, the holotype of which was reevaluated as a vertebra of separate species within the genus that was initially described as a fossil of the living giraffe. Another extinct species Giraffa punjabiensis is known from Pakistan. Four other valid extinct species of Giraffa known from Africa are Giraffa gracilis, Giraffa jumae, Giraffa pygmaea and Giraffa stillei. "G." pomeli from Algeria and Tunisia is not a species of Giraffinae, but a species of Palaeotraginae related to Mitilanotherium.
== Anatomy ==
Fully grown giraffes stand 4.3–5.7 m (14–19 ft) tall, with males taller than females. The average weight is 1,192 kg (2,628 lb) for an adult male and 828 kg (1,825 lb) for an adult female. Despite its long neck and legs, its body is relatively short. The skin is mostly gray or tan, and can reach a thickness of 20 mm (0.79 in). The 80–100 cm (31–39 in) long tail ends in a long, dark tuft of hair and is used as a defense against insects.
The coat has dark blotches or patches, which can be orange, chestnut, brown, or nearly black, surrounded by light hair, usually white or cream coloured. Male giraffes become darker as they grow old. The coat pattern has been claimed to serve as camouflage in the light and shade patterns of savannah woodlands. When standing among trees and bushes, they are hard to see at even a few metres distance. However, adult giraffes move about to gain the best view of an approaching predator, relying on their size and ability to defend themselves rather than on camouflage, which may be more important for calves. Each giraffe has a unique coat pattern. Calves inherit some coat pattern traits from their mothers, and variation in some spot traits is correlated with calf survival. The skin under the blotches may regulate the animal's body temperature, being sites for complex blood vessel systems and large sweat glands. Spotless or solid-colour giraffes are very rare, but have been observed.
The fur may give the animal chemical defense, as its parasite repellents give it a characteristic scent. At least 11 main aromatic chemicals are in the fur, although indole and 3-methylindole are responsible for most of the smell. Because males have a stronger odour than females, it may also have a sexual function.
=== Head ===
Both sexes have prominent horn-like structures called ossicones, which can reach 13.5 cm (5.3 in). They are formed from ossified cartilage, covered in skin, and fused to the skull at the parietal bones. Being vascularised, the ossicones may have a role in thermoregulation, and are used in combat between males. Appearance is a reliable guide to the sex or age of a giraffe: the ossicones of females and young are thin and display tufts of hair on top, whereas those of adult males tend to be bald and knobbed on top. A lump, which is more prominent in males, emerges in the middle of the skull. Males develop calcium deposits that form bumps on their skulls as they age. Multiple sinuses lighten a giraffe's skull. However, as males age, their skulls become heavier and more club-like, helping them become more dominant in combat. The occipital condyles at the bottom of the skull allow the animal to tip its head over 90 degrees and grab food on the branches directly above them with the tongue.
With eyes located on the sides of the head, the giraffe has a broad visual field from its great height. Compared to other ungulates, giraffe vision is more binocular and the eyes are larger with a greater retinal surface area. Giraffes may see in colour, and their senses of hearing and smell are sharp. The ears are movable. The nostrils are slit-shaped, possibly to withstand blowing sand. A giraffe's tongue is about 45 cm (18 in) long. It is black, perhaps to protect against sunburn, and can grasp foliage and delicately pick off leaves. The upper lip is flexible and hairy to protect against sharp prickles. The upper jaw has a hard palate instead of front teeth. The molars and premolars are wide with low crowns on the surface.
=== Neck ===
Giraffes have an extremely elongated neck, which can be up to 2.4 m (7.9 ft) in length. Along the neck is a mane made of short, erect hairs. The neck typically rests at an angle of 50–60 degrees, though juveniles are closer to 70 degrees. The long neck results from a disproportionate lengthening of the cervical vertebrae, not from the addition of more vertebrae. Each cervical vertebra is over 28 cm (11 in) long. They comprise 52–54 per cent of the length of the giraffe's vertebral column, compared with the 27–33 percent typical of similar large ungulates, including the giraffe's closest living relative, the okapi. This elongation largely takes place after birth, perhaps because giraffe mothers would have a difficult time giving birth to young with the same neck proportions as adults. The giraffe's head and neck are held up by large muscles and a nuchal ligament, which are anchored by long thoracic vertebrae spines, giving them a hump.
The giraffe's neck vertebrae have ball and socket joints. The point of articulation between the cervical and thoracic vertebrae of giraffes is shifted to lie between the first and second thoracic vertebrae (T1 and T2), unlike in most other ruminants, where the articulation is between the seventh cervical vertebra (C7) and T1. This allows C7 to contribute directly to increased neck length and has given rise to the suggestion that T1 is actually C8, and that giraffes have added an extra cervical vertebra. However, this proposition is not generally accepted, as T1 has other morphological features, such as an articulating rib, deemed diagnostic of thoracic vertebrae, and because exceptions to the mammalian limit of seven cervical vertebrae are generally characterised by increased neurological anomalies and maladies.
There are several hypotheses regarding the evolutionary origin and maintenance of elongation in giraffe necks. Charles Darwin originally suggested the "competing browsers hypothesis", which has been challenged only recently. It suggests that competitive pressure from smaller browsers, like kudu, steenbok and impala, encouraged the elongation of the neck, as it enabled giraffes to reach food that competitors could not. This advantage is real, as giraffes can and do feed up to 4.5 m (15 ft) high, while even quite large competitors, such as kudu, can feed up to only about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) high. There is also research suggesting that browsing competition is intense at lower levels, and giraffes feed more efficiently (gaining more leaf biomass with each mouthful) high in the canopy. However, scientists disagree about just how much time giraffes spend feeding at levels beyond the reach of other browsers, and a 2010 study found that adult giraffes with longer necks actually suffered higher mortality rates under drought conditions than their shorter-necked counterparts. This study suggests that maintaining a longer neck requires more nutrients, which puts longer-necked giraffes at risk during a food shortage.
Another theory, the sexual selection hypothesis, proposes that long necks evolved as a secondary sexual characteristic, giving males an advantage in "necking" contests to establish dominance and obtain access to sexually receptive females. In support of this theory, some studies have stated that necks are longer and heavier for males than females of the same age, and that males do not employ other forms of combat. However, a 2024 study found that, while males have thicker necks, females actually have proportionally longer ones, which is likely because of their greater need to find more food to sustain themselves and their dependent young. It has also been proposed that the neck serves to give the animal greater vigilance.
=== Legs, locomotion and posture ===
The front legs tend to be longer than the hind legs, and males have proportionally longer front legs than females, which gives them better support when swinging their necks during fights. The leg bones lack first, second and fifth metapodials. It appears that a suspensory ligament allows the lanky legs to support the animal's great weight. The hooves of large male giraffes reach 31 cm × 23 cm (12.2 in × 9.1 in) in diameter. The fetlock of the leg is low to the ground, allowing the hoof to better support the animal's weight. Giraffes lack dewclaws and interdigital glands. While the pelvis is relatively short, the ilium has stretched-out crests.
A giraffe has only two gaits: walking and galloping. Walking is done by moving the legs on one side of the body, then doing the same on the other side. When galloping, the hind legs move around the front legs before the latter move forward, and the tail will curl up. The movements of the head and neck provide balance and control momentum while galloping. A giraffe can reach a sprint speed of up to 60 km/h (37 mph), and can sustain 50 km/h (31 mph) for several kilometres. Giraffes would probably not be competent swimmers as their long legs would be highly cumbersome in the water, although they might be able to float. When swimming, the thorax would be weighed down by the front legs, making it difficult for the animal to move its neck and legs in harmony or keep its head above the water's surface.
A giraffe rests by lying with its body on top of its folded legs. To lie down, the animal kneels on its front legs and then lowers the rest of its body. To get back up, it first gets on its front knees and positions its backside on top of its hindlegs. It then pulls the backside upwards, and the front legs stand straight up again. At each stage, the animal swings its head for balance. If the giraffe wants to reach down to drink, it either spreads its front legs or bends its knees. Studies in captivity found that giraffes sleep intermittently around 4.6 hours per day, mostly at night. It usually sleeps lying down; however, standing sleeps have been recorded, particularly in older individuals. Intermittent short "deep sleep" phases while lying are characterised by the giraffe bending its neck backwards and resting its head on the hip or thigh, a position believed to indicate paradoxical sleep.
=== Internal systems ===
In mammals, the left recurrent laryngeal nerve is longer than the right; in a giraffe, it is over 30 cm (12 in) longer. These nerves are longer in giraffes than in any other living animal; the left nerve is over 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long. Each nerve cell in this path begins in the brainstem and passes down the neck along the vagus nerve, then branches off into the recurrent laryngeal nerve which passes back up the neck to the larynx. Thus, these nerve cells have a length of nearly 5 m (16 ft) in the largest giraffes. Despite its long neck and large skull, the brain of the giraffe is typical for an ungulate. Evaporative heat loss in the nasal passages keep the giraffe's brain cool. The shape of the skeleton gives the giraffe a small lung volume relative to its mass. Its long neck gives it a large amount of dead space, though this is limited by its narrow windpipe. The giraffe also has a high tidal volume, so the balance of dead space and tidal volume is much the same as other mammals. The animal can still provide enough oxygen for its tissues, and it can increase its respiratory rate and oxygen diffusion when running.
A giraffe's circulatory system has several adaptations to compensate for its great height. Its 11 kg (25 lb) and 60 cm (2 ft) heart must generate approximately double the blood pressure required for a human to maintain blood flow to the brain. As such, the wall of the heart can be as thick as 7.5 cm (3.0 in). Giraffes have relatively high heart rates for their size, at 150 beats per minute. When the animal lowers its head, the blood rushes down fairly unopposed and a rete mirabile in the upper neck, with its large cross-sectional area, prevents excess blood flow to the brain. When it raises again, the blood vessels constrict and push blood into the brain so the animal does not faint. The jugular veins contain several (most commonly seven) valves to prevent blood flowing back into the head from the inferior vena cava and right atrium while the head is lowered. Conversely, the blood vessels in the lower legs are under great pressure because of the weight of fluid pressing down on them. To solve this problem, the skin of the lower legs is thick and tight, preventing too much blood from pouring into them.
Giraffes have oesophageal muscles that are strong enough to allow regurgitation of food from the stomach up the neck and into the mouth for rumination. They have four-chambered stomachs, which are adapted to their specialized diet. The intestines of an adult giraffe measure more than 70 m (230 ft) in length and have a relatively small ratio of small to large intestine. Giraffes have a small, compact liver. In fetuses there may be a small gallbladder that vanishes before birth.
== Behaviour and ecology ==
=== Habitat and feeding ===
Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and open woodlands. They prefer areas dominated by Acacieae, Commiphora, Combretum and Terminalia trees over Brachystegia which are more densely spaced. The Angolan giraffe can be found in desert environments. Giraffes browse on the twigs of trees, preferring those of the subfamily Acacieae and the genera Commiphora and Terminalia, which are important sources of calcium and protein to sustain the giraffe's growth rate. They also feed on shrubs, grass and fruit. A giraffe eats around 34 kg (75 lb) of plant matter daily. When stressed, giraffes may chew on large branches, stripping them of bark. Giraffes are also recorded to chew old bones.
During the wet season, food is abundant and giraffes are more spread out, while during the dry season, they gather around the remaining evergreen trees and bushes. Mothers tend to feed in open areas, presumably to make it easier to detect predators, although this may reduce their feeding efficiency. As a ruminant, the giraffe first chews its food, then swallows it for processing and then visibly passes the half-digested cud up the neck and back into the mouth to chew again. A giraffe requires less food than many other herbivores because the foliage it eats has more concentrated nutrients and it has a more efficient digestive system. The animal's faeces come in the form of small pellets. When it has access to water, a giraffe will go no more than three days without drinking.
Giraffes have a great effect on the trees that they feed on, delaying the growth of young trees for some years and giving "waistlines" to particularly tall trees. Feeding is at its highest during the first and last hours of daytime. Between these hours, giraffes mostly stand and ruminate. Rumination is the dominant activity during the night, when it is mostly done lying down.
=== Social life ===
Giraffes usually form groups that vary in size and composition according to ecological, anthropogenic, temporal, and social factors. Traditionally, the composition of these groups had been described as open and ever-changing. For research purposes, a "group" has been defined as "a collection of individuals that are less than a kilometre apart and moving in the same general direction". More recent studies have found that giraffes have long-lasting social groups or cliques based on kinship, sex or other factors, and these groups regularly associate with other groups in larger communities or sub-communities within a fission–fusion society. Proximity to humans can disrupt social arrangements. Masai giraffes in Tanzania sort themselves into different subpopulations of 60–90 adult females with overlapping ranges, each of which differ in reproductive rates and calf mortality. Dispersal is male biased, and can include spatial and/or social dispersal. Adult female subpopulations are connected by males into super communities of around 300 animals.
The number of giraffes in a group can range from one up to 66 individuals. Giraffe groups tend to be sex-segregated although mixed-sex groups made of adult females and young males also occur. Female groups may be matrilineally related. Generally, females are more selective than males when deciding which individuals of the same sex they associate with. Particularly stable giraffe groups are those made of mothers and their young, which can last weeks or months. Young males also form groups and will engage in playfights. However, as they get older, males become more solitary but may also associate in pairs or with female groups. Giraffes are not territorial, but they have home ranges that vary according to rainfall and proximity to human settlements. Male giraffes occasionally roam far from areas that they normally frequent.
Early biologists suggested giraffes were mute and unable to create enough air flow to vibrate their vocal folds. This has been proved to the contrary; they have been recorded to communicate using snorts, sneezes, coughs, snores, hisses, bursts, moans, grunts, growls and flute-like sounds. During courtship, males emit loud coughs. Females call their young by bellowing. Calves will emit bleats, mooing and mewing sounds. Snorting and hissing is associated with vigilance. During nighttime, giraffes appear to hum to each other. There is some evidence that giraffes use Helmholtz resonance to create infrasound. They also communicate with body language. Dominant males display to other males with an erect posture; holding the chin and head up while walking stiffly and displaying their side. The less dominant show submissiveness by dropping the head and ears, lowering the chin and fleeing.
=== Reproduction and parental care ===
Reproduction in giraffes is broadly polygamous: a few older males mate with the fertile females. Females can reproduce throughout the year and experience oestrus cycling approximately every 15 days. Female giraffes in oestrus are dispersed over space and time, so reproductive adult males adopt a strategy of roaming among female groups to seek mating opportunities, with periodic hormone-induced rutting behaviour approximately every two weeks. Males prefer young adult females over juveniles and older adults.
Male giraffes assess female fertility by tasting the female's urine to detect oestrus, in a multi-step process known as the flehmen response. Once an oestrous female is detected, the male will attempt to court her. When courting, dominant males will keep subordinate ones at bay. A courting male may lick a female's tail, lay his head and neck on her body or nudge her with his ossicones. During copulation, the male stands on his hind legs with his head held up and his front legs resting on the female's sides.
Giraffe gestation lasts 400–460 days, after which a single calf is normally born, although twins occur on rare occasions. The mother gives birth standing up. The calf emerges head and front legs first, having broken through the fetal membranes, and falls to the ground, severing the umbilical cord. A newborn giraffe is 1.7–2 m (5 ft 7 in – 6 ft 7 in) tall. Within a few hours of birth, the calf can run around and is almost indistinguishable from a one-week-old. However, for the first one to three weeks, it spends most of its time hiding, its coat pattern providing camouflage. The ossicones, which have lain flat in the womb, raise up in a few days.
Mothers with calves will gather in nursery herds, moving or browsing together. Mothers in such a group may sometimes leave their calves with one female while they forage and drink elsewhere. This is known as a "calving pool". Calves are at risk of predation, and a mother giraffe will stand over them and kick at an approaching predator. Females watching calving pools will only alert their own young if they detect a disturbance, although the others will take notice and follow. Allo-sucking, where a calf will suckle a female other than its mother, has been recorded in both wild and captive giraffes. Calves first ruminate at four to six months and stop nursing at six to eight months. Young may not reach independence until they are 14 months old. Females are able to reproduce at four years of age, while spermatogenesis in males begins at three to four years of age. Males must wait until they are at least seven years old to gain the opportunity to mate.
=== Necking ===
Male giraffes use their necks as weapons in combat, a behaviour known as "necking". Necking is used to establish dominance, and males that win necking bouts have greater reproductive success. This behaviour occurs at low or high intensity. In low-intensity necking, the combatants rub and lean on each other. The male that can keep itself more upright wins the bout. In high-intensity necking, the combatants will spread their front legs and swing their necks at each other, attempting to land blows with their ossicones. The contestants will try to dodge each other's blows and then prepare to counter. The power of a blow depends on the weight of the skull and the arc of the swing. A necking duel can last more than half an hour, depending on how well matched the combatants are. Although most fights do not lead to serious injury, there have been records of broken jaws, broken necks, and even deaths.
After a duel, it is common for two male giraffes to caress and court each other. Such interactions between males have been found to be more frequent than heterosexual coupling. In one study, up to 94 percent of observed mounting incidents took place between males. The proportion of same-sex activities varied from 30 to 75 percent. Only one percent of same-sex mounting incidents occurred between females.
=== Mortality and health ===
Giraffes have high adult survival probability, and an unusually long lifespan compared to other ruminants, up to 38 years. Adult female survival is significantly correlated with the number of social associations. Because of their size, eyesight and powerful kicks, adult giraffes are mostly safe from predation, with lions being their only major threats. Calves are much more vulnerable than adults and are also preyed on by leopards, spotted hyenas and wild dogs. A quarter to a half of giraffe calves reach adulthood. Calf survival varies according to the season of birth, with calves born during the dry season having higher survival rates.
The local, seasonal presence of large herds of migratory wildebeests and zebras reduces predation pressure on giraffe calves and increases their survival probability. In turn, it has been suggested that other ungulates may benefit from associating with giraffes, as their height allows them to spot predators from further away. Zebras were found to assess predation risk by watching giraffes and spend less time looking around when giraffes are present.
Some parasites feed on giraffes. They are often hosts for ticks, especially in the area around the genitals, which have thinner skin than other areas. Tick species that commonly feed on giraffes are those of genera Hyalomma, Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus. Red-billed and yellow-billed oxpeckers clean giraffes of ticks and alert them to danger. Giraffes host numerous species of internal parasites and are susceptible to various diseases. They were victims of the (now eradicated) viral illness rinderpest. Giraffes can also suffer from a skin disorder, which comes in the form of wrinkles, lesions or raw fissures. As much as 79% of giraffes have symptoms of the disease in Ruaha National Park, but it did not cause mortality in Tarangire and is less prevalent in areas with fertile soils.
== Human relations ==
=== Cultural significance ===
With its lanky build and spotted coat, the giraffe has been a source of fascination throughout human history, and its image is widespread in culture. It has represented flexibility, far-sightedness, femininity, fragility, passivity, grace, beauty and the continent of Africa itself.
Giraffes were depicted in art throughout the African continent,. The Kiffians were responsible for a life-size rock engraving of two giraffes, dated 8,000 years ago, that has been called the "world's largest rock art petroglyph". Judging from evidence including incised clay pots, archaeologists now believe that, in the ancient Kushite societies located in Nubia, or what is now northern Sudan, giraffes may have featured in popular religion and women's religion, though not in elite or royal religion, and may have also had a connection to beliefs about the sun. The Tugen people of modern Kenya used the giraffe to depict their god Mda. The Egyptians gave the giraffe its own hieroglyph; 'sr' in Old Egyptian and 'mmy' in later periods. How the giraffe got its height has been the subject of various African folktales.
Giraffes have a presence in modern Western culture. Salvador Dalí depicted them with burning manes in some surrealist paintings. Dali considered the giraffe to be a masculine symbol. A flaming giraffe was meant to be a "masculine cosmic apocalyptic monster". Several children's books feature the giraffe, including David A. Ufer's The Giraffe Who Was Afraid of Heights, Giles Andreae's Giraffes Can't Dance and Roald Dahl's The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me. Giraffes have appeared in animated films as minor characters in Disney's Dumbo and The Lion King, and in more prominent roles in The Wild and the Madagascar films. Sophie the Giraffe has been a popular teether since 1961. Another famous fictional giraffe is the Toys "R" Us mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe.
The giraffe has also been used for some scientific experiments and discoveries. Scientists have used the properties of giraffe skin as a model for astronaut and fighter pilot suits because the people in these professions are in danger of passing out if blood rushes to their legs. Computer scientists have modeled the coat patterns of several subspecies using reaction–diffusion mechanisms. The constellation of Camelopardalis, introduced in the 17th century, depicts a giraffe. The Tswana people of Botswana traditionally see the constellation Crux as two giraffes—Acrux and Mimosa forming a male, and Gacrux and Delta Crucis forming the female.
=== Captivity ===
The Egyptians were among the earliest people to keep giraffes in captivity and shipped them around the Mediterranean. The giraffe was among the many animals collected and displayed by the Romans. The first one in Rome was brought in by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the housing of giraffes in Europe declined. During the Middle Ages, giraffes were known to Europeans through contact with the Arabs, who revered the giraffe for its peculiar appearance.
Individual captive giraffes were given celebrity status throughout history. In 1414, a giraffe from Malindi was taken to China by explorer Zheng He and placed in a Ming dynasty zoo. The animal was a source of fascination for the Chinese people, who associated it with the mythical Qilin. The Medici giraffe was a giraffe presented to Lorenzo de' Medici in 1486. It caused a great stir on its arrival in Florence. Zarafa, another famous giraffe, was brought from Egypt to Paris in the early 19th century as a gift for Charles X of France. A sensation, the giraffe was the subject of numerous memorabilia or "giraffanalia".
Giraffes have become popular attractions in modern zoos, though keeping them is difficult as they prefer large areas and need to eat large amounts of browse. Captive giraffes in North America and Europe appear to have a higher mortality rate than in the wild, the most common causes being poor husbandry, nutrition, and management. Giraffes in zoos display stereotypical behaviours, particularly the licking of inanimate objects and pacing. Zookeepers may offer various activities to stimulate giraffes, including training them to take food from visitors. Stables for giraffes are built particularly high to accommodate their height.
=== Exploitation ===
Giraffes were probably common targets for hunters throughout Africa. Different parts of their bodies were used for different purposes. Their meat was used for food. The tail hairs were flyswatters, bracelets, necklaces, and threads. Shields, sandals, and drums were made using the skin, and the strings of musical instruments were from the tendons. In Buganda, the smoke of burning giraffe skin was traditionally used to treat nosebleeds. The Humr people of Kordofan consume the drink Umm Nyolokh, which is prepared from the liver and bone marrow of giraffes. Richard Rudgley hypothesised that Umm Nyolokh might contain DMT. The drink is said to cause hallucinations of giraffes, believed to be the giraffes' ghosts, by the Humr.
== Conservation status ==
In 2016, giraffes were assessed as Vulnerable from a conservation perspective by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In 1985, it was estimated there were 155,000 giraffes in the wild. This declined to over 140,000 in 1999. Estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild. The Masai and reticulated subspecies are endangered, and the Rothschild subspecies is near threatened. The Nubian subspecies is critically endangered. In 2025, the IUCN accepted four species of giraffe with seven subspecies.
The primary causes for giraffe population declines are habitat loss and direct killing for bushmeat markets. Giraffes have been extirpated from much of their historic range, including Eritrea, Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal. They may also have disappeared from Angola, Mali, and Nigeria, but have been introduced to Rwanda and Eswatini. As of 2010, there were more than 1,600 in captivity at Species360-registered zoos. Habitat destruction has hurt the giraffe. In the Sahel, the need for firewood and grazing room for livestock has led to deforestation. Normally, giraffes can coexist with livestock, since they avoid direct competition by feeding above them. In 2017, severe droughts in northern Kenya led to increased tensions over land and the killing of wildlife by herders, with giraffe populations being particularly hit.
Protected areas like national parks provide important habitat and anti-poaching protection to giraffe populations. Community-based conservation efforts outside national parks are also effective at protecting giraffes and their habitats. Private game reserves have contributed to the preservation of giraffe populations in eastern and southern Africa. The giraffe is a protected species in most of its range. It is the national animal of Tanzania, and is protected by law, and unauthorised killing can result in imprisonment. The UN-backed Convention of Migratory Species selected giraffes for protection in 2017. In 2019, giraffes were listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which means international trade including in parts/derivatives is regulated.
Translocations are sometimes used to augment or re-establish diminished or extirpated populations, but these activities are risky and difficult to undertake using the best practices of extensive pre- and post-translocation studies and ensuring a viable founding population. Aerial survey is the most common method of monitoring giraffe population trends in the vast roadless tracts of African landscapes, but aerial methods are known to undercount giraffes. Ground-based survey methods are more accurate and can be used in conjunction with aerial surveys to make accurate estimates of population sizes and trends. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland,_Oregon | Portland, Oregon | Portland ( PORT-lənd) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in the Pacific Northwest at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, it is the 28th-most populous city in the United States, sixth-most populous on the West Coast, and third-most populous in the Pacific Northwest (after Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, Canada), with a population of 652,503 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolitan area, with over 2.54 million residents, is the 26th-largest metropolitan area in the nation. Almost half of Oregon's population resides within the Portland metro area. It is the county seat of Multnomah County, Oregon's most populous county.
The Portland area was shaped by massive ice-age floods. It was inhabited by the Chinookan peoples. European American settlers arrived in the 1840s. Following a coin toss, Portland was named after Portland, Maine, which was itself named after England's Isle of Portland. In the 19th century, Portland became a major port and lumber center and gained a reputation for saloons and crime. The 20th century saw population growth, World War II shipbuilding, Japanese-American internment, organized crime, and a hippie/counterculture movement. Since the 1990s, it has experienced growth in the technology sector and rising housing costs due to gentrification.
Portland is located near volcanic features such as Mount Tabor and is also close to active faults. The city is divided into six addressing sectors and comprises diverse neighborhoods. The city’s economy is driven by technology, athletic and outdoor brands, shipping, and craft industries. Social issues include homelessness and property crime, although recent trends indicate a low violent crime rate. The city prioritizes urban planning, sustainability, and diverse transportation options, while managing growth with an urban growth boundary. Portland also has numerous schools and universities, media outlets, healthcare facilities, and global sister-city connections.
The city operates with a mayor–council government system, guided by a mayor and 12 city councilors, as well as Metro, the only directly elected metropolitan planning organization in the United States. Its climate is marked by warm, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. This climate is ideal for growing roses, and Portland has been called the "City of Roses" for more than a century. Portland is known for its vibrant music and performing arts scene, extensive parks including Forest Park, and professional sports teams such as the Trail Blazers, Timbers, and Thorns.
== History ==
=== Before European settlement ===
During the prehistoric period, the land that would become Portland was flooded after the collapse of glacial dams from Lake Missoula, in what would later become Montana. These massive floods occurred during the last ice age and filled the Willamette Valley with 300 to 400 feet (91 to 122 m) of water.
Before American settlers began arriving in the 1800s, the land was inhabited for many centuries by two bands of indigenous Chinook people – the Multnomah and the Clackamas. The Chinook people occupying the land were first documented in 1805 by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Before its European settlement, the Portland Basin of the lower Columbia River and Willamette River valleys had been one of the most densely populated regions on the Pacific Coast.
=== Establishment ===
Large numbers of pioneer settlers began arriving in the Willamette Valley in the 1840s via the Oregon Trail with many arriving in nearby Oregon City. A new settlement then emerged ten miles from the mouth of the Willamette River, roughly halfway between Oregon City and Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Vancouver. This community was initially referred to as "Stumptown" and "The Clearing" because of the many trees cut down to allow for its growth. In 1843, William Overton saw potential in the new settlement but lacked the funds to file an official land claim. For 25 cents, Overton agreed to share half of the 640-acre (2.6 km2) site with Asa Lovejoy of Boston.
In 1844, Overton sold his remaining half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove of Portland, Maine. Both Pettygrove and Lovejoy wished to rename "The Clearing" after their respective hometowns. This controversy was settled with a coin toss that Pettygrove won in a series of two out of three tosses, thereby providing Portland with its namesake. The coin used for this decision, now known as the Portland Penny, is on display in the headquarters of the Oregon Historical Society. At the time of its incorporation on February 8, 1851, Portland had over 800 inhabitants, a steam sawmill, a log cabin hotel, and a newspaper, the Weekly Oregonian. A major fire swept through downtown in August 1873, destroying twenty blocks on the west side of the Willamette along Yamhill and Morrison Streets, and causing $1.3 million in damage, roughly equivalent to $34.9 million today. By 1879, the population had grown to 17,500 and by 1890 it had grown to 46,385. In 1888, the first steel bridge on the West Coast was opened in Portland, the predecessor of the 1912 namesake Steel Bridge that survives today. In 1889, Henry Pittock's wife, Georgiana, established the Portland Rose Society. The annual Portland Rose Festival is held here in June. The movement to make Portland a "Rose City" started as the city was preparing for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition.
Portland's access to the Pacific Ocean via the Willamette and Columbia rivers, as well as its easy access to the agricultural Tualatin Valley via the "Great Plank Road" (the route of current-day U.S. Route 26), provided the pioneer city with an advantage over other nearby ports, and it grew very quickly. Portland remained the major port in the Pacific Northwest for much of the 19th century, until the 1890s, when Seattle's deepwater harbor was connected to the rest of the mainland by rail, affording an inland route without the treacherous navigation of the Columbia River. The city had its own Japantown, for one, and the lumber industry also became a prominent economic presence, due to the area's large population of Douglas fir, western hemlock, red cedar, and big leaf maple trees.
Portland developed a reputation early in its history as a hard-edged and gritty port town. Some historians have described the city's early establishment as being a "scion of New England; an ends-of-the-earth home for the exiled spawn of the eastern established elite." In 1889, The Oregonian called Portland "the most filthy city in the Northern States", due to the unsanitary sewers and gutters, and, at the turn of the 20th century, it was considered one of the most dangerous port cities in the world. The city housed a large number of saloons, bordellos, gambling dens, and boarding houses which were populated with miners after the California gold rush, as well as the multitude of sailors passing through the port. By the early 20th century, the city had lost its reputation as a "sober frontier city" and garnered a reputation for being violent and dangerous.
=== 20th-century development ===
Between 1900 and 1930, the city's population tripled from nearly 100,000 to 301,815.
Portland enjoyed an economic and industrial surge during World War II. Ship builder Henry J. Kaiser had been awarded contracts to build Liberty ships and escort carriers, and chose sites in Portland and Vancouver, Washington, for shipyards. During this time, Portland's population rose by over 150,000, largely attributed to recruited laborers. The wartime shipbuilding boom in Portland also drew a large influx of African American migrants. This migration significantly expanded the city’s Black population and laid the foundation for new community institutions, even as workers often faced discrimination in hiring and job assignments. The most decorated ship for a single action in US naval history, the USS Liberty, was constructed in Portland during the boom. Her keel was laid down on 23 February 1945, under a Maritime Commission contract at Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation.
During World War II, Portland also housed an "assembly center" from which up to 3,676 people of Japanese descent were dispatched to internment camps in the heartland. It was the first American city to have residents report thus, and the Pacific International Livestock Exposition operated from May through September 10, 1942, processing people from the city, northern Oregon, and central Washington. General John DeWitt called the city the first "Jap-free city on the West Coast".
At the same time, Portland became a notorious hub for underground criminal activity and organized crime in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1957, Life magazine published an article detailing the city's history of government corruption and crime, specifically its gambling rackets and illegal nightclubs. The article, which focused on crime boss Jim Elkins, became the basis of a fictionalized film titled Portland Exposé (1957).
During the 1960s, an influx of hippie subculture began to take root in the city in the wake of San Francisco's burgeoning countercultural scene. The city's Crystal Ballroom became a hub for the city's psychedelic culture, while food cooperatives and listener-funded media and radio stations were established. A large social activist presence evolved during this time as well, specifically concerning Native American rights, environmentalist causes, and gay rights. By the 1970s, Portland had well established itself as a progressive city, and experienced an economic boom for the majority of the decade; however, the slowing of the housing market in 1979 caused demand for the city and state timber industries to drop significantly.
=== Since 1990 ===
In the 1990s, the technology industry began to emerge in Portland, specifically with the establishment of companies such as Intel, which brought more than US$10 billion in investments in 1995 alone. In the late 1990s, the Portland area was rated the fourth-least affordable place in the United States to purchase a new home. After 2000, Portland experienced significant growth, with a population rise of over 90,000 between 2000 and 2014. The city's increasing reputation for culture established it as a popular city for young people, and it was second only to Louisville, Kentucky, as one of the cities to attract and retain the highest number of college-educated people in the United States. Between 2001 and 2012, Portland's gross domestic product per person grew by fifty percent, more than any other city in the country.
The city acquired a diverse range of nicknames throughout its history, though it is most often called "Rose City" or "The City of Roses" (unofficial nickname since 1888, official since 2003). Another widely used nickname by local residents in everyday speech is "PDX", the airport code for Portland International Airport. Other nicknames include Bridgetown, Stumptown, Rip City, Soccer City, P-Town, Portlandia, and the more antiquated Little Beirut.
==== 2020 George Floyd protests ====
From May 28, 2020, until spring 2021, there were daily protests about the murder of George Floyd by police, and racial injustice. There were instances of looting, vandalism, and police actions causing injuries. One protestor was killed by an opposing one. Local businesses reported losses totaling millions of dollars as the result of vandalism and looting, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. Some protests caused injury to protesters and police. In July, federal officers were deployed to safeguard federal property; their presence and tactics were criticized by Oregon officials, who demanded they leave, while lawsuits were filed against local and federal law enforcement alleging wrongful actions by them.
On May 25, 2021, a protest to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Floyd's murder caused property damage, and was followed by a number of arrests.
== Geography ==
=== Geology ===
Portland lies on top of a dormant volcanic field known as the Boring Lava Field, named after the nearby bedroom community of Boring. The Boring Lava Field has at least 32 cinder cones such as Mount Tabor, and its center lies in southeast Portland. Mount St. Helens, a highly active volcano 50 miles (80 km) northeast of the city in Washington state, is easily visible on clear days and is close enough to have dusted the city with volcanic ash after its eruption on May 18, 1980. The rocks of the Portland area range in age from late Eocene to more recent eras.
Multiple shallow, active faults traverse the Portland metropolitan area. Among them are the Portland Hills Fault on the city's west side, and the East Bank Fault on the east side. According to a 2017 survey, several of these faults were characterized as "probably more of a hazard" than the Cascadia subduction zone due to their proximities to population centers, with the potential of producing magnitude 7 earthquakes. Notable earthquakes that have impacted the Portland area in recent history include the 6.8-magnitude Nisqually earthquake in 2001, and a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that struck on March 25, 1993.
Per a 2014 report, over 7,000 locations within the Portland area are at high risk for landslides and soil liquefaction in the event of a major earthquake, including much of the city's west side (such as Washington Park) and sections of Clackamas County.
=== Topography ===
Portland is 60 miles (97 km) east of the Pacific Ocean at the northern end of Oregon's most populated region, the Willamette Valley. Downtown Portland straddles the banks of the Willamette River, which flows north through the city center and separates the city's east and west neighborhoods. Less than 10 miles (16 km) from downtown, the Willamette River flows into the Columbia River, the fourth-largest river in the United States, which divides Oregon from Washington state. Portland is approximately 100 miles (160 km) upriver from the Pacific Ocean on the Columbia.
Though much of downtown Portland is relatively flat, the foothills of the Tualatin Mountains, more commonly referred to locally as the "West Hills", pierce through the northwest and southwest reaches of the city. Council Crest Park at 1,073 feet (327 m) is often quoted as the highest point in Portland; however, the highest point in Portland is on a section of NW Skyline Blvd just north of Willamette Stone Heritage site. The highest point east of the river is Mt. Tabor, an extinct volcanic cinder cone, which rises to 636 feet (194 m). Nearby Powell Butte and Rocky Butte rise to 614 feet (187 m) and 612 feet (187 m), respectively. To the west of the Tualatin Mountains lies the Oregon Coast Range, and to the east lies the actively volcanic Cascade Range. On clear days, Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens dominate the horizon, while Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier can also be seen in the distance.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 145.09 square miles (375.78 km2), of which 133.43 square miles (345.58 km2) is land and 11.66 square miles (30.20 km2) is water. Although almost all of Portland is within Multnomah County, small portions of the city are within Clackamas and Washington counties.
=== Climate ===
Portland has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb), falling just short of a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) with cool and rainy winters, and warm and dry summers. This climate is characterized by having overcast, wet, and changing weather conditions in fall, winter, and spring, as Portland lies in the direct path of the stormy westerly flow, and warm, dry summers when the North Pacific High reaches its northernmost point in mid-summer. Portland's USDA Plant Hardiness Zone is 8b, with parts of the Downtown area falling into zone 9a.
Winters are cool, cloudy, and rainy. The coldest month is December with an average daily high temperature of 46.9 °F (8.3 °C), although overnight lows usually remain above freezing by a few degrees. Evening temperatures fall to or below freezing 32 nights per year on average, but very rarely below 18 °F (−8 °C). There are only 2.1 days per year where the daytime high temperature fails to rise above freezing; the mean for the lowest high is at the exact freezing point of 32 °F (0 °C). The lowest overnight temperature ever recorded was −3 °F (−19 °C), on February 2, 1950, while the lowest daytime high temperature ever recorded was 9 °F (−13 °C) on January 15, 1888. The average window in which freezing temperatures may occur is between November 15 and March 19, allowing a growing season of 240 days.
Annual snowfall in Portland is 4.3 inches (10.9 cm), which usually falls between December and March. The city of Portland avoids snow more frequently than its suburbs, due in part to its low elevation and the urban heat island effect. Neighborhoods outside of the downtown core, especially in slightly higher elevations near the West Hills and Mount Tabor, can experience a dusting of snow while downtown receives no accumulation at all. The city has experienced a few major snow and ice storms in its past, with extreme totals having reached 44.5 in (113 cm) at the airport in 1949–50 and 60.9 in (155 cm) at downtown in 1892–93.
Summers in Portland are warm, dry, and sunny, though the sunny warm weather is short-lived, from mid-June to early September. June, July, August and September account for a combined 4.19 inches (106 mm) of total rainfall – only 11% of the 36.91 in (938 mm) of annual precipitation. The warmest month is August, with an average high temperature of 82.3 °F (27.9 °C). Because of its inland location 62 miles (100 km) from the coast, as well as the protective nature of the Oregon Coast Range to its west, Portland summers are less susceptible to the moderating influence of the nearby Pacific Ocean. Consequently, Portland occasionally experiences heat waves, with temperatures rising above 90 °F (32 °C) for a few days. However, on average, temperatures reach or exceed 80 °F (27 °C) on only 61 days per year, of which 15 days will reach 90 °F (32 °C) and only 1.3 days will reach 100 °F (38 °C). In 2018 more 90-degree days were recorded than ever before.
On June 28, 2021, Portland recorded its all-time record high temperature of 116 °F (47 °C) and its warmest daily low temperature of 75 °F (24 °C) during a major regional heat wave. The record had been broken for three consecutive days with daytime highs of 108 °F (42 °C) on June 26 and 112 °F (44 °C) on June 27; the previous record of 107 °F (42 °C) was set on July 30, 1965 and matched on August 8 & 10, 1981. A temperature of 100 °F (38 °C) has been recorded in all five months from May through September. The warmest night of the year averages 68 °F (20 °C).
Spring and fall can bring variable weather including high-pressure ridging that sends temperatures surging above 80 °F (27 °C) and cold fronts that plunge daytime temperatures into the 40s °F (4–9 °C). However, lengthy stretches of overcast days beginning in mid-fall and continuing into mid-spring are most common. Rain often falls as a light drizzle for several consecutive days at a time, contributing to 157 days on average with measurable (≥0.01 in or 0.25 mm) precipitation annually. Temperatures have reached 90 °F (32 °C) as early as April 20 and as late as October 5, while 80 °F (27 °C) has been reached as early as March 16 and as late as October 21. Thunderstorms are uncommon and tornadoes are very rare, although they do occur.
See or edit raw graph data.
=== Cityscape ===
Portland's cityscape derives much of its character from the many bridges that span the Willamette River downtown, several of which are historic landmarks, and Portland has been nicknamed "Bridgetown" for many decades as a result. Three of downtown's most heavily used bridges are more than 100 years old and are designated historic landmarks: Hawthorne Bridge (1910), Steel Bridge (1912), and Broadway Bridge (1913). Portland's newest bridge in the downtown area, Tilikum Crossing, opened in 2015 and is the first new bridge to span the Willamette in Portland since the 1973 opening of the double-decker Fremont Bridge.
Other bridges that span the Willamette River in the downtown area include the Burnside Bridge, the Ross Island Bridge (both built 1926), and the double-decker Marquam Bridge (built 1966). Other bridges outside the downtown area include the Sellwood Bridge (built 2016) to the south; and the St. Johns Bridge, a Gothic revival suspension bridge built in 1931, to the north. The Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge and the Interstate Bridge provide access from Portland across the Columbia River into Washington state.
=== Addressing sections ===
The Willamette River, which flows north through downtown, serves as the natural boundary between East and West Portland. The denser and earlier-developed west side extends into the lap of the West Hills, while the flatter east side extends for roughly 180 blocks until it meets the suburb of Gresham. In 1891 the cities of Portland, Albina, and East Portland were consolidated, creating inconsistent patterns of street names and addresses. It was not unusual for a street name to be duplicated in disparate areas. The "Great Renumbering" on September 2, 1931, standardized street naming patterns and divided Portland into five "general districts", North, Northwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest (which includes downtown Portland). House numbers were also changed from 20 per block to 100 per block and adopted a single street name on a grid. For example, the 200 block north of Burnside is either NW Davis Street or NE Davis Street throughout the entire city.
With the recent addition of South Portland, Portland now has six addressing sections. All addresses and streets within the city are prefixed by N, NW, NE, S, SW or SE with the exception of Burnside Street, which is prefixed with W or E. The Willamette River divides the city into east and west while Burnside, which traverses the entire city lengthwise, divides the north and south. Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest Portland are respectively north or south of Burnside, and east or west of the Willamette. North Portland is a triangular peninsula bounded on the north by the Columbia River, on the east by N Williams Avenue, and on the west by the Willamette River as it bends to the northwest. South Portland was established on May 1, 2020, from a former part of Southwest Portland where the Willamette bends east of the nominal North-South meridian. House numbers on east–west streets in this area formerly had a leading zero, which was dropped as the street prefix (including north–south streets) was changed from Southwest to South. For example, the current address of 246 S California St. was formerly 0246 SW California St. and the current address of 4310 S Macadam Ave. was formerly 4310 SW Macadam Ave.
The new South Portland addressing section was approved by the Portland City Council on June 6, 2018 and is bounded by SW Naito Parkway, SW View Point Terrace and the Tryon Creek State Natural Area to the west, SW Clay Street to the north, the Willamette River to the east, and city limits to the south. In 2018, the city's Bureau of Transportation finalized a plan to transition this part of Portland into South Portland, beginning on May 1, 2020, to reduce confusion by 9-1-1 dispatchers and delivery services. With the addition of South Portland, all six addressing sectors (N, NE, NW, S, SE and SW) are now officially known as sextants.
=== Neighborhoods ===
The five previous addressing sections of Portland, which were colloquially known as quadrants despite there being five, have developed distinctive identities, with mild cultural differences and friendly rivalries between their residents, especially between those who live east of the Willamette River versus west of the river.
The Pearl District in Northwest Portland, which was largely occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad classification yards in the early to mid-20th century, now houses upscale art galleries, restaurants, and retail stores, and is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city. Areas further west of the Pearl District include neighborhoods known as Uptown and Nob Hill, as well as the Alphabet District and NW 23rd Ave., a major shopping street lined with clothing boutiques and other upscale retail, mixed with cafes and restaurants.
Northeast Portland is home to the Lloyd District, Alberta Arts District, and the Hollywood District. North Portland is largely residential and industrial. It contains Kelley Point Park, the northernmost point of the city. It also contains the St. Johns neighborhood, which is historically one of the most ethnically diverse and poorest neighborhoods in the city.
Old Town Chinatown is next to the Pearl District in Northwest Portland. In 1890 it was the second largest Chinese community in the United States. In 2017, the crime rate was several times above the city average. This neighborhood has been called Portland's skid row.
Southwest Portland is largely residential. Downtown district, made up of commercial businesses, museums, skyscrapers, and public landmarks represents a small area within the southwest address section. Portland's South Waterfront area has been developing into a dense neighborhood of shops, condominiums, and apartments starting in the mid-2000s. Development in this area is ongoing. The area is served by the Portland Streetcar, the MAX Orange Line and four TriMet bus lines. This former industrial area sat as a brownfield prior to development in the mid-2000s.
Southeast Portland is largely residential, and consists of several neighborhoods, including Hawthorne District, Belmont, Brooklyn, and Mount Tabor. Reed College, a private liberal arts college that was founded in 1908, is located within the confines of Southeast Portland as is Mount Tabor, a volcanic landform.
South Portland includes the Lair Hill, Johns Landing and South Waterfront districts and Lewis & Clark College as well as the Riverdale area of unincorporated Multnomah County south of the Portland city limits.
== Demographics ==
=== Racial and ethnic composition ===
In 1940, Portland's African-American population was approximately 2,000 and largely consisted of railroad employees and their families. During the wartime Liberty Ship construction boom, the need for workers drew many Black people to the city. The new influx of Black people settled in specific neighborhoods, such as the Albina district and Vanport. The May 1948 flood, which destroyed Vanport, eliminated the only integrated neighborhood, and an influx of blacks into the northeast quadrant of the city continued. Portland's longshoremen racial mix was described as being "lily-white" in the 1960s when the local International Longshore and Warehouse Union declined to represent grain handlers since some were black.
Over two-thirds of Oregon's African-American residents live in Portland. As of the 2000 census, three of its high schools (Cleveland, Lincoln and Wilson) were over 70% White, reflecting the overall population, while Jefferson High School was 87% non-White. The remaining six schools have a higher number of non-Whites, including Blacks and Asians. Hispanic students average from 3.3% at Wells to 31% at Roosevelt.
Portland residents identifying solely as Asian Americans account for 7.1% of the population; an additional 1.8% is partially of Asian heritage. Vietnamese Americans make up 2.2% of Portland's population, and make up the largest Asian ethnic group in the city, followed by Chinese (1.7%), Filipinos (0.6%), Japanese (0.5%), Koreans (0.4%), Laotians (0.4%), Hmong (0.2%), and Cambodians (0.1%). A small population of Iu Mien live in Portland. Portland has two Chinatowns, with New Chinatown in the 'Jade District' along SE 82nd Avenue with Chinese supermarkets, Hong Kong-style noodle houses, dim sum, and Vietnamese phở restaurants.
With about 12,000 Vietnamese residing in the city proper, Portland has one of the largest Vietnamese populations in America per capita. According to statistics, there are over 4,500 Pacific Islanders in Portland, making up 0.7% of the city's population. There is a Tongan community in Portland, who arrived in the area in the 1970s, and Tongans and Pacific Islanders as a whole are one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the Portland area.
Portland's population has been and remains predominantly White. In 1940, Whites were over 98% of the city's population. In 2009, Portland had the fifth-highest percentage of White residents among the 40 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. A 2007 survey of the 40 largest cities in the U.S. concluded Portland's urban core has the highest percentage of White residents. Some scholars have noted the Pacific Northwest as a whole is "one of the last Caucasian bastions of the United States". While Portland's diversity was historically comparable to metro Seattle and Salt Lake City, those areas grew more diverse in the late 1990s and 2000s. Portland not only remains White, but migration to Portland is disproportionately White.
The Oregon Territory banned African American settlement in 1849. In the 19th century, certain laws allowed the immigration of Chinese laborers but prohibited them from owning property or bringing their families. The early 1920s saw the rapid growth of the Ku Klux Klan, which became very influential in Oregon politics, culminating in the election of Walter M. Pierce as governor.
The largest influxes of minority populations occurred during World War II, as the African American population grew by a factor of 10 for wartime work. After World War II, the Vanport flood in 1948 displaced many African Americans. As they resettled, redlining directed the displaced workers from the wartime settlement to neighboring Albina. There and elsewhere in Portland, they experienced police hostility, lack of employment, and mortgage discrimination, leading to half the black population leaving after the war.
In the 1980s and 1990s, radical skinhead groups flourished in Portland. In 1988, Mulugeta Seraw, an Ethiopian immigrant, was killed by three skinheads. The response to his murder involved a community-driven series of rallies, campaigns, nonprofits, and events designed to address Portland's racial history, leading to a city considered significantly more tolerant than in 1988 at Seraw's death.
76% of Latinos in Portland are of Mexican heritage. Italians and Russian Jews had a very visible presence in Portland. Portland also has a historic Roma population.
=== 2020 census ===
As of the 2020 census, Portland had a population of 652,503. The median age was 37.6 years. 17.0% of residents were under the age of 18, and 13.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.4 males age 18 and over. Whites not of Hispanic origin made up 66.4% of the total population.
99.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.2% lived in rural areas.
There were 282,110 households in Portland, of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 35.9% were married-couple households, 23.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 302,034 housing units, of which 6.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 49.8% were owner-occupied, and 50.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%, and the rental vacancy rate was 6.5%.
=== 2010 census ===
The 2010 census reported the city as 76.1% White (444,254 people), 7.1% Asian (41,448), 6.3% Black or African American (36,778), 1.0% Native American (5,838), 0.5% Pacific Islander (2,919), 4.7% belonging to two or more racial groups (24,437) and 5.0% from other races (28,987). 9.4% were Hispanic or Latino, of any race (54,840). Whites not of Hispanic origin made up 72.2% of the total population.
=== Households ===
As of the 2010 census, there were 583,776 people living in the city, organized into 235,508 households. The population density was 4,375.2 people per square mile. There were 265,439 housing units at an average density of 1,989.4 per square mile (768.1/km2). Population growth in Portland increased 10.3% between 2000 and 2010. Population growth in the Portland metropolitan area has outpaced the national average during the last decade, and this is expected to continue over the next 50 years.
Out of 223,737 households, 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.1% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.3, and the average family size was 3. The age distribution was 21.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 34.7% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,146, and the median income for a family was $50,271. Males had a reported median income of $35,279 versus $29,344 reported for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,643. 13.1% of the population and 8.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 15.7% of those under the age of 18 and 10.4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. Figures delineating the income levels based on race are not available at this time. According to the Modern Language Association, in 2010, 80.9% (539,885) of Multnomah County residents ages 5 and over spoke English as their primary language at home. 8.1% of the population spoke Spanish (54,036), with Vietnamese speakers making up 1.9%, and Russian 1.5%.
=== Social ===
The Portland metropolitan area has historically had a significant LGBT population throughout the late 20th and early 21st century. In 2015, the city metro had the second highest percentage of LGBT residents in the United States with 5.4% of residents identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, second only to San Francisco. In 2006, it was reported to have the seventh highest LGB population in the country, with 8.8% of residents identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, and the metro ranking fourth in the nation at 6.1%. The city held its first pride festival in 1975 on the Portland State University campus.
=== Religion ===
Portland has been cited as the least religious city in the United States with over 42% of residents identifying as religiously "unaffiliated", according to the nonpartisan and nonprofit Public Religion Research Institute's American Values Atlas.
=== Homelessness ===
A 2019 survey by the city's budget office showed that homelessness is perceived as the top challenge facing Portland, and was cited as a reason people move and do not participate in park programs. Calls to 911 concerning "unwanted persons" have significantly increased between 2013 and 2018, and the police are increasingly dealing with homeless and mentally ill. Homelessness has taken a toll on the sense of safety among visitors, and residents and business owners are adversely impacted. Even though homeless services and shelter beds have increased, as of 2020 homelessness is considered an intractable problem in Portland.
When encampments were being cleared in the Springwater Corridor in 2016, a community member from the nearby Lents neighborhood raised concerns that those campers were moving to their neighborhood. An aide, Lucas Hillier, from then-mayor Charlie Hales's office publicly mocked the citizen on a Facebook post that it's nothing compared to the Springwater Corridor camp, referencing a KPTV story, writing "You think that one is bad, check out this douchebag." While the aide issued an apology, the citizen commented that the mayor's office was very disconnected from issues faced by their constituents. As of 2020, Lucas Hillier manages the campsite cleanup program for the city.
The proposed budget for 2022–23 includes $5.8MM to buy land for affordable housing, and $36MM to equip and operate "safe rest villages". A 2022 initiative approved by the Portland city council makes homeless camping illegal, eventually requiring homeless individuals to move into mass shelters.
Portland voters passed the Supportive Housing Services tax in 2020. In 2019, the reported number of homeless people was around 4,000. That number rose to over 10,000, though some of that increase was due to a change in counting methods in 2022.
=== Crime ===
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report in 2009, Portland ranked 53rd in violent crime out of the top 75 U.S. cities with a population greater than 250,000. The murder rate in Portland in 2013 averaged 2.3 murders per 100,000 people per year, which was lower than the national average. In 2011, 72% of arrested male subjects tested positive for illegal drugs, and the city was dubbed the "deadliest drug market in the Pacific Northwest" due to drug-related deaths.
In the Portland Metropolitan statistical area, which includes Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill Counties, OR, and Clark and Skamania Counties, WA, for 2017, the murder rate was 2.6, and violent crime was 283.2 per 100,000 people per year. In 2017, the population within the city of Portland was 649,408, and there were 24 murders and 3,349 violent crimes.
In the years following the COVID pandemic, the city saw an increase in crime, with car theft rates in Portland reaching the fifth-highest of any US metropolitan area in 2023. More than 11,000 vehicles were stolen in 2022, up from 6,500 in 2019.
Similarly, an increase in violent crime peaked in 2022 with a record 101 homicides. In 2021, Portland recorded 90 homicides, compared with 20 in 2016, and 27 in 2017.
As of 2025, violent crime in the city saw a marked decline, representing the highest drop of any city covered by the Major City Chiefs Mid-Year Report at a 51% decrease from 2024. However, Portland has the second highest property crime per 100,000 population in the United States. The city saw just 17 homicides in the period from Jan 1, 2025 to June 30 as opposed to 35 during the same time frame in the previous year. Car theft also saw a significant decrease starting in 2024, with the city seeing the lowest number of cars stolen since recording began in 2015.
== Economy ==
Portland's location is beneficial for several industries. Relatively low energy cost, accessible resources, north–south and east–west Interstates, international air terminals, large marine shipping facilities, and both West Coast intercontinental railroads are all economic advantages.
The city's marine terminals alone handle over 13 million tons of cargo per year, and the port is home to one of the largest commercial dry docks in the country. The Port of Portland is the third-largest export tonnage port on the west coast of the U.S., and being about 80 miles (130 km) upriver, it is the largest freshwater port.
The scrap steel industry's history in Portland predates World War II. Radius Recycling (formerly Schnitzer Steel), a major scrap recycler is headquartered in the KOIN Tower in Portland. Other heavy industry companies in Portland include ESCO Group, and Evraz Oregon Steel Mills.
Technology is a major component of the city's economy, with more than 1,200 technology companies existing within the metro. This high density of technology companies has led to the nickname Silicon Forest being used to describe the Portland area, a reference to the abundance of trees in the region and to the Silicon Valley region in Northern California. The area also hosts facilities for software companies and online startup companies, some supported by local seed funding organizations and business incubators.
Providence Health & Services became the largest employer in the Portland Metro area in 2023 with the second largest being Intel.
The Portland metro area has become a business cluster for athletic/outdoor gear and footwear manufacturer's headquarters. The area is home to the global, North American or U.S. headquarters of Nike (the only Fortune 500 company headquartered in Oregon), Adidas, Columbia Sportswear, LaCrosse Footwear, Dr. Martens, Li-Ning, Keen, Hi-Tec Sports, and Snow Peak.
Other notable Portland-based companies include industrial goods and metal fabrication company Precision Castparts, film animation studio Laika; commercial vehicle manufacturer Daimler Trucks North America; shipbuilding and ship repair company Vigor Marine Group; advertising firm Wieden+Kennedy; bankers Umpqua Holdings; child care and early childhood education provider KinderCare Learning Centers; and retailers Fred Meyer, New Seasons Market, Storables, and Powell's Books.
Breweries are another major industry in Portland, which is home to 139 breweries/microbreweries, the 7th most in the nation, as of December 2018.
The Oregon Employment Department estimates that the 2024 annual average total nonfarm employment in the city of Portland was 440,797.
=== Top employers ===
As of 2024, Portland's top employers were:
=== Housing ===
In 2016, home prices in Portland grew faster than in any other city in the United States. Apartment rental costs in Portland reported in November 2019 were $1,337 for two bedrooms and $1,133 for one bedroom.
In 2017, developers projected an additional 6,500 apartments to be built in the Portland Metro Area over the next year. However, as of December 2019, the number of homes available for rent or purchase in Portland continues to shrink. Over the past year, housing prices in Portland have risen 2.5%. Housing prices in Portland continue to rise, the median price rising from $391,400 in November 2018 to $415,000 in November 2019. There has been a rise of people from out of state moving to Portland, which impacts housing availability. Because of the demand for affordable housing and influx of new residents, more Portlanders in their 20s and 30s are still living in their parents' homes. There is a considerable amount of "Airbnb type" rentals in the city. An audit in 2018 located around 4,600 listings, of which 80% were illegally operated.
In 2021, Portland became the largest city in the United States to end single-family zoning, allowing four homes by right on virtually all residential lots and eliminating most off-street parking requirements. In the three years since the law passed, approximately 1,400 new "missing middle" homes were created, outpacing other types of homes, and these homes cost approximately $300,000 less than comparable new single-family units.
=== Tax policy ===
Portland has no sales tax, and residents face some of the highest taxes in the United States. The state levies the sixth highest income tax on individuals, the top begins in at $125,000. Including taxes administered by Metro and Multnomah County, Portland Oregon has the 2nd highest top marginal rate in the United States at 14.7737%. The city rates ranks first for S-Corporations, Partnerships and LLCs and first for C-Corporations. In addition to state taxes, Portland has the nation's fifth-highest effective property tax rate on median-valued homes among major cities and the 13th highest rate for commercial property taxes. Due to Oregon Ballot Measure 50, property tax rates are related to the value of the land as of 1995, which has caused disparities in tax burden between two properties which sell for the same price but in different neighborhoods. The city also imposes a 1% Clean Energy Surcharge on business with more than $1 billion in worldwide receipts and more than $500k in Portland revenue. All Portland residents over age 18 who earn more than $1,000 and are in a household with income above the poverty level are also required to pay a $35 Portland Arts Tax.
In 2020, local voters passed bills to impose a Supportive Housing Services tax and a Preschool for All Personal Income tax. The goal of the Supportive Housing Services tax was to raise $250 million annually to address homelessness across the metro Portland region by levying a 1% tax on income above $125,000 for individuals or $200,000 for couples filing jointly, and a 1% business income tax on net income for business with receipts above $5 million. The Preschool for All tax is 1.5% on $125k individual / $200k joint filers and an additional 1.5% on income over $250k individuals / $400k joint, to fund preschool programs in Multnomah County. The Preschool for All rates are expected to increase by 0.8% in 2027. All local taxes are administered by the City of Portland Revenue Division, including for those who live in portions of Metro or Multnomah County outside the city.
== Arts and culture ==
=== Music, film, and performing arts ===
Portland is home to a range of classical performing arts institutions including the Portland Opera, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Oregon Symphony and Portland Youth Philharmonic; the last of these, established in 1924, was the first youth orchestra established in the United States. The city is also home to several theaters and performing arts institutions including the Oregon Ballet Theatre, Northwest Children's Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Artists Repertory Theatre, Curious Comedy Theatre and Miracle Theatre.
In 2013, The Guardian named the city's music scene as one of the "most vibrant" in the United States. Portland is home to famous bands such as the Kingsmen and Paul Revere & the Raiders, both famous for their association with the song "Louie Louie" (1963). Other widely known musical groups include the Dandy Warhols, Quarterflash, Everclear, Pink Martini, Sleater-Kinney, Blitzen Trapper, the Decemberists, and Elliott Smith. More recently, Portugal. The Man, Modest Mouse, and the Shins have made their home in Portland. In the 1980s, the city was home to a burgeoning punk scene, which included bands such as the Wipers and Dead Moon. The city's now-demolished Satyricon nightclub was a punk venue where Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain first encountered his future wife and Hole frontwoman Courtney Love in 1990. Love was then a resident of Portland and started several bands there with Kat Bjelland, later of Babes in Toyland. Multi-Grammy award-winning jazz artist Esperanza Spalding is from Portland and performed with the Chamber Music Society of Oregon at a young age.
A wide range of films have been shot in Portland, from various independent features to major big-budget productions. Director Gus Van Sant has notably set and shot many of his films in the city. The city has also been featured in various television programs, notably the IFC sketch comedy series Portlandia. The series, which ran for eight seasons from 2011 to 2018, was shot on location in Portland, and satirized the city as a hub of liberal politics, organic food, alternative lifestyles, and anti-establishment attitudes. MTV's long-time running reality show The Real World was also shot in Portland for the show's 28th season: The Real World: Portland premiered on MTV in 2013. Other television series shot in the city include Leverage, The Librarians, Under Suspicion, Grimm, and Nowhere Man.
An unusual feature of Portland entertainment is the large number of movie theaters serving beer, often with second-run or revival films. Notable examples of these "brew and view" theaters include the Bagdad Theater and Pub, a former vaudeville theater built in 1927 by Universal Studios; Cinema 21; and the Laurelhurst Theater, in operation since 1923. Portland hosts the world's longest-running H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival at the Hollywood Theatre.
=== Museums and recreation ===
Portland is home to numerous museums and educational institutions, ranging from art museums to institutions devoted to science and wildlife. Among the science-oriented institutions are the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), which consists of five main halls and other ticketed attractions, such as the USS Blueback submarine, the ultra-large-screen Empirical Theater (which replaced an OMNIMAX theater in 2013), and the Kendall Planetarium. The World Forestry Center Discovery Museum, located in the city's Washington Park area, offers educational exhibits on forests and forest-related subjects. Also located in Washington Park are the Hoyt Arboretum, the International Rose Test Garden, the Japanese Garden, and the Oregon Zoo.
The Portland Art Museum owns the city's largest art collection and presents a variety of touring exhibitions each year and, with the recent addition of the Modern and Contemporary Art wing, it became one of the United States' 25 largest museums. The Oregon Historical Society Museum, founded in 1898, which has a variety of books, film, pictures, artifacts, and maps dating back throughout Oregon's history. It houses permanent and temporary exhibits about Oregon history, and hosts traveling exhibits about the history of the United States.
Oaks Amusement Park, in the Sellwood district of Southeast Portland, is the city's only amusement park and is also one of the country's longest-running amusement parks. It has operated since 1905 and was known as the "Coney Island of the Northwest" upon its opening.
=== Cuisine and breweries ===
Portland was ranked #1 in the nation as food cart city by Food & Wine in 2023 and at the time, there were around 1,000 food carts in the city.
Portland has 58 active breweries within city limits, and 70+ within the surrounding metro area. and data compiled by the Brewers Association ranks Portland seventh in the United States as of 2018.
Portland hosts a number of festivals throughout the year that celebrate beer and brewing, including the Oregon Brewers Festival, held in Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Held each summer during the last full weekend of July, it is the largest outdoor craft beer festival in North America, with over 70,000 attendees in 2008. Other major beer festivals throughout the calendar year include the Spring Beer and Wine Festival in April, the North American Organic Brewers Festival in June, the Portland International Beerfest in July, and the Holiday Ale Festival in December.
=== Sustainability ===
The city became a pioneer of state-directed metropolitan planning, a program which was instituted statewide in 1969 to compact the urban growth boundaries of the city. Portland was the first city to enact a comprehensive plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
=== Free speech and public nudity ===
Strong free speech protections of the Oregon Constitution upheld by the Oregon Supreme Court in State v. Henry, specifically found that full nudity and lap dances in strip clubs are protected speech. Portland has the highest number of strip clubs per-capita in a city in the United States, and Oregon ranks as the highest state for per-capita strip clubs.
In November 2008, a Multnomah County judge dismissed charges against a nude bicyclist arrested on June 26, 2008. The judge stated that the city's annual World Naked Bike Ride – held each year in June since 2004 – has created a "well-established tradition" in Portland where cyclists may ride naked as a form of protest against cars and fossil fuel dependence. The defendant was not riding in the official World Naked Bike Ride at the time of his arrest as it had occurred 12 days earlier that year, on June 14.
=== Public art ===
The city of Portland has over 400 pieces of permanently sited public art. One of the oldest pieces of public art in the city is Skidmore Fountain, which was completed in 1888. Most pieces are maintained by the Regional Arts & Culture Council, an organization that is partially funded by the city government. Several outdoor statues, sculptures, and monuments were removed or vandalized following the 2020 George Floyd protests. A percent for art ordinance was passed by Portland's city council in 1980 to allocate funding for public artwork in the capital budgets of major city projects.
== Sports ==
Portland is home to three major league sports franchises: the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA, the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS), and the Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League. In 2015, the Timbers won the MLS Cup, which was the first male professional sports championship for a team from Portland since the Trail Blazers won the NBA championship in 1977.
Despite being the 19th most populated metro area in the United States, Portland contains only one franchise from the four major sports leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB), making it the United States' second most populated metro area with that distinction, behind San Antonio, which also has only an NBA team (the Spurs). The city has been often rumored to receive an additional franchise, although efforts to acquire a team have failed due to stadium funding issues. An organization known as the Portland Diamond Project (PDP) has worked with MLB and local government, and there are plans to have an MLB stadium constructed at Zidell Yards in the South Waterfront neighborhood. The PDP has not yet received the funding for this project.
On September 18, 2024, it was announced that the city would receive a WNBA franchise named the Portland Fire, slated to start in 2026.
Portland sports fans are characterized by their passionate support. The Trail Blazers sold out every home game between 1977 and 1995, a span of 814 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in American sports history. The Timbers joined MLS in 2011 and sold out 163 consecutive games through March 8, 2020, when they played their final home game prior to MLS suspending the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Timbers season ticket waiting list has reached over 10,000, the longest waiting list in MLS. In 2015, they became the first team in the Northwest to win the MLS Cup. Player Diego Valeri marked a new record for fastest goal in MLS Cup history at 27 seconds into the game.
The annual Cambia Portland Classic women's golf tournament in September, now in its 50th year, is the longest-running non-major tournament on the LPGA Tour, plays in the southern suburb of West Linn.
Two rival universities exist within Portland city limits: the University of Portland Pilots and the Portland State University Vikings, both of whom field teams in popular spectator sports including soccer, baseball, and basketball. Portland State also has a football team. Additionally, the University of Oregon Ducks (in Eugene) and the Oregon State University Beavers (in Corvallis) both receive substantial attention and support from many Portland residents, despite their campuses being 110 and 84 miles from the city, respectively.
Running is a popular activity in Portland, and every year the city hosts the Portland Marathon as well as parts of the Hood to Coast Relay, the world's largest long-distance relay race (by number of participants). Portland served as the center to an elite running group, the Nike Oregon Project until its 2019 disbandment following coach Alberto Salazar's ban due to doping violations.
Historic Erv Lind Stadium is located in Normandale Park.
Portland also hosts numerous cycling events and has become an elite bicycle racing destination. The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association supports hundreds of official bicycling events every year. Weekly events at Alpenrose Velodrome and Portland International Raceway allow for racing nearly every night of the week from March through September. Cyclocross races, such as the Cross Crusade, can attract over 1,000 riders and spectators.
== Parks and recreation ==
Parks and greenspace planning date back to John Charles Olmsted's 1903 Report to the Portland Park Board. In 1995, voters in the Portland metropolitan region passed a regional bond measure to acquire valuable natural areas for fish, wildlife, and people. Ten years later, more than 8,100 acres (33 km2) of ecologically valuable natural areas had been purchased and permanently protected from development.
Portland is one of only four cities in the U.S. with extinct volcanoes within its boundaries (along with Pilot Butte in Bend, Oregon, Jackson Volcano in Jackson, Mississippi, and Diamond Head in Honolulu, Hawaii). Mount Tabor Park is known for its scenic views and historic reservoirs.
Forest Park is the largest wilderness park within city limits in the United States, covering more than 5,000 acres (2,023 ha).
Portland's downtown features two groups of contiguous city blocks dedicated for park space: the North and South Park Blocks. The 37-acre (15 ha) Tom McCall Waterfront Park was built in 1974 along the length of the downtown waterfront after Harbor Drive was removed; it now hosts large events throughout the year. The nearby historically significant Burnside Skatepark and five indoor skateparks give Portland a reputation as possibly "the most skateboard-friendly town in America."
In February 2015, the City Council approved a total ban on smoking in all city parks and natural areas effective July 1, 2015. The ban includes cigarettes, vaping, as well as marijuana.
== Government ==
=== City hall ===
Since January 1, 2025, the city of Portland is governed by a mayor–council government system. Elected officials include the mayor, a 12-member city council, and a city auditor. The city council is responsible for legislative policy, while the mayor appoints a professional city manager who oversees the various bureaus and day-to-day operations of the city. The mayor is elected at-large, while the council is elected in four geographic districts using single transferable vote, with 3 winning candidates per district. Portland's current form of government was approved by voters in a 2022 ballot measure, with the first elections under the new system held in 2024.
The Portland Office of Community and Civic Life (formerly Office of Neighborhood Involvement) serves as a conduit between city government and Portland's 95 officially recognized neighborhoods. Each neighborhood is represented by a volunteer-based neighborhood association which serves as a liaison between residents of the neighborhood and the city government. The city provides funding to neighborhood associations through seven district coalitions, each of which is a geographical grouping of several neighborhood associations. Most (but not all) neighborhood associations belong to one of these district coalitions.
Portland and its surrounding metropolitan area are served by Metro, the United States' only directly elected metropolitan planning organization. Metro's charter gives it responsibility for land use and transportation planning, solid waste management, and map development.
The Multnomah County government provides many services to the Portland area, as do Washington and Clackamas counties to the west and south.
Fire and emergency services are provided by Portland Fire & Rescue.
=== Courts and law enforcement ===
Law enforcement is primarily provided by the Portland Police Bureau (PPB). The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) provides law enforcement on the city's transit system through their Transit Police division which is supplemented from officers from all local law enforcement agencies that fall within the transit authority's boundaries.
=== State and national politics ===
Portland strongly favors the Democratic Party; registered Democrats (51.2%) outnumber Republicans (10.5%) nearly 5 to 1. All city offices are non-partisan. However, almost all of the city's elected officials are known to be Democrats. Fred L. Peterson in 1952 is the city's last elected Republican mayor, and no Republican has served as mayor even on an interim basis since Connie McCready held the post from 1979 to 1980.
Portland is split among three of Oregon's U.S. congressional districts. Most of the city is in the 3rd District, represented by Maxine Dexter (D-Portland). Most of the city west of the Willamette River is part of the 1st District, represented by Suzanne Bonamici (D-Beaverton). A small portion of southeastern Portland is in the 5th District, currently represented by Democrat Janelle Bynum. Lori Chavez-DeRemer was the first Republican to represent a significant portion of the city in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1975, from 2023 to 2025. Both of Oregon's senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, are progressive Democrats from Portland.
In the 2008 presidential election, Democratic candidate Barack Obama easily carried Portland, winning 245,464 votes from city residents to 50,614 for his Republican rival, John McCain. In the 2012 presidential election, Democratic candidate Barack Obama again easily carried Portland, winning 256,925 votes from Multnomah county residents to 70,958 for his Republican rival, Mitt Romney.
Sam Adams, the former mayor of Portland, became the city's first openly gay mayor in 2009. In 2004, 59.7 percent of Multnomah County voters cast ballots against Oregon Ballot Measure 36, which amended the Oregon Constitution to prohibit recognition of same-sex marriages. The measure passed with 56.6% of the statewide vote. Multnomah County is one of two counties where a majority voted against the initiative; the other is Benton County, which includes Corvallis, home of Oregon State University. On April 28, 2005, Portland became the only city in the nation to withdraw from a Joint Terrorism Task Force. As of February 19, 2015, the Portland city council approved permanently staffing the JTTF with two of its city's police officers.
=== City planning and development ===
The city consulted with urban planners as far back as 1904, resulting in the development of Washington Park and the 40-Mile Loop greenway, which connects many of the city's parks. Portland is often cited as an example of a city with strong land use planning controls. This is largely the result of statewide land conservation policies adopted in 1973 under Governor Tom McCall, in particular the requirement for an urban growth boundary (UGB) for every city and metropolitan area. The opposite extreme, a city with few or no controls, is typically illustrated by Houston.
Oregon's 1973 "urban growth boundary" law limits the boundaries for large-scale development in each metropolitan area in Oregon. This limits access to utilities such as sewage, water and telecommunications, as well as coverage by fire, police and schools. Portland's urban growth boundary, adopted in 1979, separates urban areas (where high-density development is encouraged and focused) from traditional farm land (where restrictions on non-agricultural development are very strict). This was atypical in an era when automobile use led many areas to neglect their core cities in favor of development along interstate highways, in suburbs, and satellite cities.
The original state rules included a provision for expanding urban growth boundaries, but critics felt this was not being accomplished. In 1995, the State passed a law requiring cities to expand UGBs to provide enough undeveloped land for a 20-year supply of future housing at projected growth levels. In 2007, the legislature changed the law to require the maintenance of an estimated 50 years of growth within the boundary, as well as the protection of accompanying farm and rural lands. The growth boundary, along with efforts of the Portland Development Commission to create economic development zones, has led to the development of a large portion of downtown, a large number of mid- and high-rise developments, and an overall increase in housing and business density.
Prosper Portland (formerly the Portland Development Commission) is a semi-public agency that plays a major role in downtown development; city voters created it in 1958 to serve as the city's urban renewal agency. It provides housing and economic development programs within the city and works behind the scenes with major local developers to create large projects. In the early 1960s, the Portland Development Commission led the razing of a large Italian-Jewish neighborhood downtown, bounded roughly by I-405, the Willamette River, 4th Avenue and Market street. Mayor Neil Goldschmidt took office in 1972 as a proponent of bringing housing and the associated vitality back to the downtown area, which was seen as emptying out after 5 pm. The effort has had dramatic effects in the 30 years since, with many thousands of new housing units clustered in three areas: north of Portland State University (between I-405, SW Broadway, and SW Taylor St.); the RiverPlace development along the waterfront under the Marquam (I-5) bridge; and most notably in the Pearl District (between I-405, Burnside St., NW Northrup St., and NW 9th Ave.).
Historically, environmental consciousness has weighed significantly in the city's planning and development efforts. Portland was one of the first cities in the United States to promote and integrate alternative forms of transportation, such as the MAX Light Rail and extensive bike paths. The Urban Greenspaces Institute, housed in Portland State University Geography Department's Center for Mapping Research, promotes better integration of the built and natural environments. The institute works on urban park, trail, and natural areas planning issues, both at the local and regional levels. In October 2009, the Portland City Council unanimously adopted a climate action plan that will cut the city's greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
As of 2012, Portland was the largest city in the United States that did not add fluoride to its public water supply, and fluoridation has historically been a subject of controversy in the city. Portland voters have four times voted against fluoridation, in 1956, 1962, 1980 (repealing a 1978 vote in favor), and 2013. In 2012 the city council, responding to advocacy from public health organizations and others, voted unanimously to begin fluoridation by 2014. Fluoridation opponents forced a public vote on the issue, and on May 21, 2013, city voters again rejected fluoridation.
== Education ==
=== Primary and secondary education ===
Nine public school districts and many private schools include sections of Portland. Portland Public Schools is the largest school district, operating 86 public schools. In addition to PPS, other school districts in Multnomah County that serve parts of the city include the Beaverton School District, Centennial School District, David Douglas School District, Parkrose School District, Reynolds School District, Riverdale School District, and Scappoose School District. Portions in Clackamas County are in the North Clackamas School District and Centennial School District. Portions in Washington County are in Portland Public Schools.
David Douglas High School, in the Powellhurst neighborhood, has the largest enrollment of any public high school in the city. Other high schools include Benson, Cleveland, Franklin, Grant, Jefferson, Madison, Parkrose, Roosevelt, and Ida B Wells-Barnett (formerly Woodrow Wilson), and several suburban high schools which serve the city's outer areas. Established in 1869, Lincoln High School (formerly Portland High School) is the city's oldest public education institution, and is one of two of the oldest high schools west of the Mississippi River (after San Francisco's Lowell High School).
Former public schools in the city included Washington High School, which operated from 1906 until 1981, as well as Adams and Jackson, which also closed the same year.
=== Higher education ===
Portland State University has the second-largest enrollment rate of any university in the state (after Oregon State University), with a student body of nearly 30,000. It has been named among the top fifteen percentile of American regional universities by The Princeton Review for undergraduate education, and has been internationally recognized for its degrees in Master of Business Administration and urban planning. The city is also home to the Oregon Health & Science University, Portland Community College, and Carrington College.
Notable private universities include the University of Portland, a Roman Catholic university affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross; Reed College, a liberal arts college, and Lewis & Clark College.
== Media ==
The Oregonian is the only daily general-interest newspaper serving Portland. It also circulates throughout the state and in Clark County, Washington.
Smaller local newspapers, distributed free of charge in newspaper boxes and at venues around the city, Willamette Week (general-interest alternative weekly published on Wednesdays), and The Portland Mercury (another alt-weekly, targeted at younger urban readers and published every other Thursday). The Portland Tribune, a former print newspaper, continues to publish as a subscription-based digital media since July 2025. The Portland area also has newspapers that are published for specific communities, including The Asian Reporter (a weekly covering Asian news, both international and local) and The Skanner (a weekly African-American newspaper covering both local and national news). The Portland Business Journal covers business-related news on a weekly basis, as does The Daily Journal of Commerce, its main competitor. Portland Monthly is a monthly news and culture magazine. The Bee, over 110 years old, is another neighborhood newspaper serving the inner southeast neighborhoods.
== Infrastructure ==
=== Healthcare ===
Legacy Health, a non-profit healthcare system in Portland, operates multiple facilities in the city and surrounding suburbs. These include Legacy Emanuel, founded in 1912, in Northeast Portland; and Legacy Good Samaritan, founded in 1875, and in Northwest Portland. Randall's Children's Hospital operates at the Legacy Emanuel Campus. Good Samaritan has centers for breast health, cancer, and stroke, and is home to the Legacy Devers Eye Institute, the Legacy Obesity and Diabetes Institute, the Legacy Diabetes and Endocrinology Center, the Legacy Rehabilitation Clinic of Oregon, and the Linfield-Good Samaritan School of Nursing.
The Catholic-affiliated Providence Health & Services operates Providence Portland Medical Center in the North Tabor neighborhood of the city. Oregon Health & Science University is a university hospital formed in 1974. The Veterans Affairs Medical Center operates next to the Oregon Health & Science University main campus. Adventist Medical Center also serves the city. Shriners Hospital for Children is a small children's hospital established in 1923.
=== Transportation ===
The Portland metropolitan area has transportation services common to major U.S. cities, though Oregon's emphasis on proactive land-use planning and transit-oriented development within the urban growth boundary means commuters have multiple well-developed options.
In 2024, 7.1% of all commutes in Portland were on public transit. TriMet operates most of the region's buses and the MAX (short for Metropolitan Area Express) light rail system, which connects the city and suburbs. Opened in 1986, the MAX system has expanded to five lines, with the latest being the Orange Line to Milwaukie, which began operating in September 2015. WES Commuter Rail opened in February 2009 in Portland's western suburbs, linking Beaverton and Wilsonville.
The city-owned Portland Streetcar serves two routes in the Central City – downtown and adjacent districts. The first line, which opened in 2001 and was extended in 2005–07, operates from the South Waterfront District through Portland State University and north through the West End of downtown, to shopping areas and dense residential districts north and northwest of downtown. The second line that opened in 2012 added 3.3 miles (5.3 km) of tracks on the east side of the Willamette River and across the Broadway Bridge to a connection with the original line. The east-side line completed a loop to the tracks on the west side of the river upon completion of the new Tilikum Crossing in 2015, and, in anticipation of that, had been named the Central Loop line in 2012. However, it was renamed the Loop Service, with an A Loop (clockwise) and B Loop (counterclockwise), when it became a complete loop with the opening of the Tilikum Crossing bridge.
Fifth and Sixth avenues within downtown comprise the Portland Transit Mall, two streets devoted primarily to bus and light rail traffic with limited automobile access. Opened in 1977 for buses, the transit mall was renovated and rebuilt in 2007–09, with light rail added. Starting in 1975 and lasting nearly four decades, all transit service within downtown Portland was free, the area being known by TriMet as Fareless Square, but a need for minor budget cuts and funding needed for expansion prompted the agency to limit free rides to rail service only in 2010, and subsequently to discontinue the fare-free zone entirely in 2012.
TriMet provides real-time tracking of buses and trains with its TransitTracker, and makes the data available to software developers so they can create customized tools of their own.
I-5 connects Portland with the Willamette Valley, Southern Oregon, and California to the south and with Washington to the north. I-405 forms a loop with I-5 around the central downtown area of the city and I-205 is a loop freeway route on the east side which connects to the Portland International Airport. U.S. 26 supports commuting within the metro area and continues to the Pacific Ocean westward and Mount Hood and Central Oregon eastward. U.S. 30 has a main, bypass, and business route through the city extending to Astoria to the west; through Gresham, Oregon, and the eastern exurbs, and connects to I-84, traveling towards Boise, Idaho.
Portland's main airport is Portland International Airport (PDX), about 20 minutes by car (40 minutes by MAX) northeast of downtown. Portland is also home to Oregon's only public use heliport, the Portland Downtown Heliport.
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Portland at Union Station on three routes. Long-haul train routes include the Coast Starlight (with service from Los Angeles to Seattle) and the Empire Builder (with service to Chicago). The Amtrak Cascades state-supported trains operate between Vancouver, B.C., and Eugene, Oregon, and serve Portland several times daily. The city is also served by Greyhound Lines intercity bus service, which also operates BoltBus, an express bus service. The city's first airport was the Swan Island Municipal Airport, which was closed in the 1940s.
Portland is the only city in the United States that owns operating mainline steam locomotives, donated to the city in 1958 by the railroads that ran them. Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 and the world-famous Southern Pacific 4449 can be seen several times a year pulling a special excursion train, either locally or on an extended trip. The "Holiday Express", pulled over the tracks of the Oregon Pacific Railroad on weekends in December, has become a Portland tradition over its several years running. These trains and others are operated by volunteers of the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, an amalgamation of rail preservation groups which collaborated on the finance and construction of the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, a permanent and publicly accessible home for the locomotives, which opened in 2012 adjacent to OMSI.
In Portland, cycling is a significant mode of transportation. As the city has been particularly supportive of urban bicycling it now ranks highly among the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world. Bicycles accounted for 3.2% of commuting in 2024. Bicycle commuting declined by 46% between 2016 and 2022 according to Portland Bureau of Transportation report. For its achievements in promoting cycling as an everyday means of transportation, Portland has been recognized by the League of American Bicyclists and other cycling organizations for its network of on-street bicycling facilities and other bicycle-friendly services, being one of only three U.S. cities to have earned a Platinum-level rating. A new bicycle-sharing system, Biketown, launched on July 19, 2016, with 100 stations in the city's central and eastside neighborhoods.
Portland completely abolished the requirement for parking minimums in 2023.
As of 2015, Portland is owed $32.4 million in unpaid parking citations due to the city government's refusal to collect more aggressively.
=== Water ===
Portland's drinking water comes from two sources: The Bull Run Watershed and the Columbia South Shore Well Field. Most the city's supply of water water comes from the Bull Run Watershed, which consists of roughly 102 square miles (260 km2) of forested land about 30 miles (48 km) west of Mount Hood. The Columbia South Shore Well Field is a secondary water source that supplements the water supply during high-demand summer months and unexpected watershed events. The well field consists of 25 groundwater wells near the Columbia River in Northeast Portland.
Water from the Bull Run Watershed is treated first at the Headworks Treatment Facility for disinfection, then at the Lusted Hill Treatment Facility for chlorination and pH and alkalinity adjustment. Water from the Columbia South Short Well Field is treated onsite. All of the water is then sent to the Powell Butte reservoirs: Two large, concrete reservoirs buried underground at Powell Butte Nature Park with a capacity of 50 million gallons of water each. Powell Butte feeds two other smaller reservoirs in Portland: The Washington Park Reservoir and the Kelly Butte Reservoir.
== Notable people ==
== Sister cities ==
Portland's sister cities are:
Portland's friendship city agreements are with:
Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands (2012)
Lviv, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine (2022) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Hoover | Herbert Hoover | Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and was the director of the U.S. Food Administration, followed by post-war relief of Europe. As a member of the Republican Party, he served as the third United States secretary of commerce from 1921 to 1928 before being elected president in 1928. His presidency was dominated by the Great Depression, and his policies and methods to combat it were seen as inadequate and overly conservative. Amid his unpopularity, he decisively lost reelection to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932.
Born to a Quaker family in West Branch, Iowa, Hoover grew up in Oregon. He was one of the first graduates of the new Stanford University in 1895. Hoover took a position with a London-based mining company working in Australia and China. He rapidly became a wealthy mining engineer. In 1914, the outbreak of World War I, he organized and headed the Commission for Relief in Belgium, an international relief organization that provided food to occupied Belgium. When the U.S. entered the war in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Hoover to lead the Food Administration. He became famous as his country's "food dictator". After the war, Hoover led the American Relief Administration, which provided food to the starving millions in Central and Eastern Europe, especially Russia. His wartime service made him a favorite of many progressives, and he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in the 1920 United States presidential election.
Hoover served as Secretary of Commerce under presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Hoover was an unusually active and visible Cabinet member, becoming known as "Secretary of Commerce and Under-Secretary of all other departments." He was influential in the development of air travel and radio. Hoover led the federal response to the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. He won the Republican nomination in the 1928 presidential election and defeated Democratic candidate Al Smith in a landslide. In 1929, Hoover assumed the presidency. However, during his first year in office, the stock market crashed, signaling the onset of the Great Depression. Hoover supported the Mexican Repatriation and his response to the Great Depression was widely seen as lackluster.
In the midst of the Great Depression, he was decisively defeated by Democratic nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election. Hoover's retirement was over 31 years long, one of the longest presidential retirements. He authored numerous works and became increasingly conservative in retirement. He strongly criticized Roosevelt's foreign policy and the New Deal. In the 1940s and 1950s, public opinion of Hoover improved, largely due to his service in various assignments for presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, including chairing the influential Hoover Commission. Critical assessments of his presidency by historians and political scientists generally rank him as amongst the worst presidents in American history, although Hoover has received praise for his actions as a humanitarian and public official.
== Early life and education ==
Herbert Clark Hoover was born on August 10, 1874, in West Branch, Iowa. His father, Jesse Hoover, was a blacksmith and farm implement store owner of German, Swiss, and English ancestry. Hoover's mother, Hulda Randall Minthorn, was raised in Norwich, Ontario, Canada, before moving to Iowa in 1859. Like most other citizens of West Branch, Jesse and Hulda were Quakers. Around age two "Bertie", as he was called during that time, contracted a serious bout of croup, and was momentarily thought to have died until resuscitated by his uncle, John Minthorn. As a young child he was often referred to by his father as "my little stick in the mud" when he repeatedly got trapped in the mud crossing the unpaved street. Herbert's family figured prominently in the town's public prayer life, due almost entirely to mother Hulda's role in the church. As a child, Hoover consistently attended schools, but he did little reading on his own aside from the Bible. Hoover's father, noted by the local paper for his "pleasant, sunshiny disposition", died in 1880 at the age of 34 of a sudden heart attack. Hoover's mother died in 1884 of typhoid, leaving Hoover, his older brother, Theodore, and his younger sister, May, as orphans. Hoover lived the next 18 months with his uncle Allen Hoover at a nearby farm.
In November 1885, Hoover was sent to Newberg, Oregon, to live with his uncle John Minthorn, a Quaker physician and businessman whose own son had died the year before. The Minthorn household was considered cultured and educational, and imparted a strong work ethic. Much like West Branch, Newberg was a frontier town settled largely by Midwestern Quakers. Minthorn ensured that Hoover received an education, but Hoover disliked the many chores assigned to him and often resented Minthorn. One observer described Hoover as "an orphan [who] seemed to be neglected in many ways". Hoover attended Friends Pacific Academy (now George Fox University), but dropped out at the age of thirteen to become an office assistant for his uncle's real estate office (Oregon Land Company) in Salem, Oregon. Though he did not attend high school, Hoover learned bookkeeping, typing, and mathematics at a night school.
Hoover was a member of the inaugural "Pioneer Class" of Stanford University, entering in 1891 despite failing all the entrance exams except mathematics. During his freshman year, he switched his major from mechanical engineering to geology after working for John Casper Branner, the chairman of Stanford's geology department. During his sophomore year, Sam Collins proposed founding, Romero Hall Boarding Club, the first student cooperative boarding house at Romero Hall, for "sociability and economy", which Hoover and William Foster Hidden co-founded. Hoover was a mediocre student, and he spent much of his time working in various part-time jobs or participating in campus activities. Though he was initially shy among fellow students, Hoover won election as student treasurer and became known for his distaste for fraternities and sororities. He served as student manager of both the baseball and football teams, and helped organize the inaugural Big Game versus the University of California. During the summers before and after his senior year, Hoover interned under economic geologist Waldemar Lindgren of the United States Geological Survey; these experiences convinced Hoover to pursue a career as a mining geologist.
== Mining engineer ==
=== Bewick, Moreing ===
When Hoover graduated from Stanford in 1895, the country was in the midst of the Panic of 1893 and he initially struggled to find a job. He worked in various low-level mining jobs in the Sierra Nevada Mountains until persuading prominent mining engineer Louis Janin to hire him. After working as a mine scout for a year, Hoover was hired by Bewick, Moreing & Co. ("Bewick"), a London-based company that operated gold mines in Western Australia. He first went to Coolgardie, then the center of the Eastern Goldfields, which was actually in Western Australia, receiving a $5,000 salary (equivalent to $193,500 in 2025). Conditions were harsh in the goldfields; Hoover described the Coolgardie and Murchison rangelands on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert as a land of "black flies, red dust and white heat".
Hoover traveled constantly across the Outback to evaluate and manage the company's mines. He convinced Bewick to purchase the Sons of Gwalia gold mine, which proved to be one of the most successful mines in the region. Partly due to Hoover's efforts, the company eventually controlled approximately 50 percent of gold production in Western Australia. Hoover brought in many Italian immigrants to cut costs and counter the labour movement of the Australian miners. During his time with the mining company, Hoover became opposed to measures such as a minimum wage and workers' compensation, feeling that they were unfair to owners. Hoover's work impressed his employers, and in 1898 he was promoted to junior partner. An open feud developed between Hoover and his boss, Ernest Williams, but Bewick's leaders defused the situation by offering Hoover a compelling position in China.
Upon arriving in China, Hoover developed gold mines near Tianjin on behalf of Bewick and the Chinese-owned Chinese Engineering and Mining Company. He became deeply interested in Chinese history, but gave up on learning the language to a fluent level. He publicly warned that Chinese workers were inefficient and racially inferior. He made recommendations to improve the lot of the Chinese worker, seeking to end the practice of imposing long-term servitude contracts and to institute reforms for workers based on merit. The Boxer Rebellion broke out shortly after the Hoovers arrived in China, trapping them and numerous other foreign nationals until a multi-national military force defeated Boxer forces in the Battle of Tientsin. Fearing the imminent collapse of the Chinese government, the director of the Chinese Engineering and Mining Company agreed to establish a new Sino-British venture with Bewick. After they established effective control over the new Chinese mining company, Hoover became the operating partner in late 1901.
In this role, Hoover continually traveled the world on behalf of Bewick, visiting mines operated by the company on different continents. Beginning in December 1902, the company faced mounting legal and financial issues after one of the partners admitted to having fraudulently sold stock in a mine. More issues arose in 1904 after the British government formed two separate royal commissions to investigate Bewick's labor practices and financial dealings in Western Australia. After the company lost a lawsuit Hoover began looking for a way to get out of the partnership, and he sold his shares in mid-1908.
=== Sole proprietor ===
After leaving Bewick, Moreing, Hoover worked as a London-based independent mining consultant and financier. Though he had risen to prominence as a geologist and mine operator, Hoover focused much of his attention on raising money, restructuring corporate organizations, and financing new ventures. He specialized in rejuvenating troubled mining operations, taking a share of the profits in exchange for his technical and financial expertise. Hoover thought of himself and his associates as "engineering doctors to sick concerns", and he earned a reputation as a "doctor of sick mines". He made investments on every continent and had offices in San Francisco; London; New York City; Paris; Petrograd; and Mandalay, British Burma. By 1914, Hoover was a very wealthy man, with an estimated personal fortune of $4 million (equivalent to $128.57 million in 2025).
Hoover co-founded the Zinc Corporation to extract zinc near the Australian city of Broken Hill, New South Wales. The Zinc Corporation developed the froth flotation process to extract zinc from lead-silver ore and operated the world's first selective ore differential flotation plant. Hoover worked with the Burma Corporation, a British firm that produced silver, lead, and zinc in large quantities at the Namtu Bawdwin Mine. He also helped increase copper production in Kyshtym, Russia, through the use of pyritic smelting. He also agreed to manage a separate mine in the Altai Mountains that, according to Hoover, "developed probably the greatest and richest single body of ore known in the world".
In his spare time, Hoover wrote. His lectures at Columbia and Stanford universities were published in 1909 as Principles of Mining, which became a standard textbook. The book reflects his move towards progressive ideals, as Hoover came to endorse eight-hour workdays and organized labor. Hoover became deeply interested in the history of science, and he was especially drawn to the De re metallica, an influential 16th century work on mining and metallurgy by Georgius Agricola. In 1912, Hoover and his wife published the first English translation of De re metallica. Hoover also joined the board of trustees at Stanford, and led a successful campaign to appoint John Branner as the university's president.
== Marriage and family ==
During his senior year at Stanford, Hoover became smitten with a classmate named Lou Henry, though his financial situation precluded marriage at that time. The daughter of a banker from Monterey, California, Lou Henry decided to study geology at Stanford after attending a lecture delivered by John C. Branner. Immediately after earning a promotion in 1898, Hoover cabled Lou Henry, asking her to marry him. After she cabled back her acceptance of the proposal, Hoover briefly returned to the United States for their wedding. They would remain married until Lou Henry Hoover's death in 1944.
Though his Quaker upbringing strongly influenced his career, Hoover rarely attended Quaker meetings during his adult life. Hoover and his wife had two children: Herbert Hoover Jr. (born in 1903) and Allan Henry Hoover (born in 1907). The Hoover family began living in London in 1902, though they frequently traveled as part of Hoover's career. After 1916, the Hoovers began living in the United States, maintaining homes in Stanford, California, and Washington, D.C. Hoover's great-granddaughter (through Allan) is conservative political commentator, strategist, media personality and author Margaret Hoover.
Hoover's elder brother Theodore also studied mining engineering at Stanford, and returned there to become dean of the engineering school. In retirement, Theodore bought a large property on the remote north coast of Santa Cruz County. The Theodore J. Hoover Natural Preserve is now part of Big Basin State Park.
== World War I and aftermath ==
=== Relief in Europe ===
World War I broke out in August 1914, pitting Germany and its allies against France and its allies. The German Schlieffen plan was to achieve a quick victory by marching through neutral Belgium to envelop the French Army east of Paris. The maneuver failed to reach Paris, however the Germans were successful in taking nearly all of Belgium and would occupy the majority of nation for the remainder of the war. Hoover and other London-based American businessmen established a committee to organize the return of the roughly 100,000 Americans stranded in Europe. Hoover was appointed as the committee's chairman and, with the assent of Congress and the Wilson administration, took charge of the distribution of relief to Americans in Europe. Hoover later stated, "I did not realize it at the moment, but on August 3, 1914, my career was over forever. I was on the slippery road of public life." By early October 1914, Hoover's organization had distributed relief to at least 40,000 Americans.
The German invasion of Belgium in August 1914 set a food crisis into motion in Belgium, a nation which relied heavily on food imports. The Germans refused to take responsibility for feeding Belgian citizens in captured territory, and the British refused to lift their blockade of German-occupied Belgium unless the U.S. government supervised Belgian food imports as a neutral party in the war. With the cooperation of the Wilson administration and the CNSA, a Belgian relief organization, Hoover established the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB). The CRB obtained and imported millions of tons of foodstuffs for the CNSA to distribute, and helped ensure that the German army did not appropriate the food. Private donations and government grants supplied the majority of its $11-million-a-month budget, and the CRB became a veritable independent republic of relief, with its own flag, navy, factories, mills, and railroads.
Hoover worked 14-hour days from London, administering the distribution of over two million tons of food to nine million war victims. In an early form of shuttle diplomacy, he crossed the North Sea forty times to meet with German authorities and persuade them to allow food shipments. He also convinced British Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George to allow individuals to send money to the people of Belgium, thereby lessening workload of the CRB. At the request of the French government, the CRB began delivering supplies to the people of German-occupied Northern France in 1915. In 1926, American diplomat Walter Page described Hoover as "probably the only man living who has privately (i.e., without holding office) negotiated understandings with the British, French, German, Dutch, and Belgian governments".
=== U.S. Food Administration ===
War upon Germany was declared in April 1917, and American food was essential to Allied victory. With the U.S. mobilizing for war, President Wilson appointed Hoover to head the U.S. Food Administration, which was charged with ensuring the nation's food needs during the war. Hoover had hoped to join the administration in some capacity since at least 1916, and he obtained the position after lobbying several members of Congress and Wilson's confidant, Edward M. House. Earning the appellation of "food czar", Hoover recruited a volunteer force of hundreds of thousands of women and deployed propaganda in movie theaters, schools, and churches. He carefully selected men to assist in the agency leadership—Alonzo E. Taylor (technical abilities), Robert Taft (political associations), Gifford Pinchot (agricultural influence), and Julius Barnes (business acumen).
World War I had created a global food crisis that dramatically increased food prices and caused food riots and starvation in the countries at war. Hoover's chief goal as food czar was to provide supplies to the Allied Powers, but he also sought to stabilize domestic prices and to prevent domestic shortages. Under the broad powers granted by the Food and Fuel Control Act, the Food Administration supervised food production throughout the United States, and the administration made use of its authority to buy, import, store, and sell food. Determined to avoid rationing, Hoover established set days for people to avoid eating specified foods and save them for soldiers' rations: meatless Mondays, wheatless Wednesdays, and "when in doubt, eat potatoes". These policies were dubbed "Hooverizing" by government publicists, in spite of Hoover's continual orders that publicity should not mention him by name. The Food Administration shipped 23 million metric tons of food to the Allied Powers, preventing their collapse and earning Hoover great acclaim. As head of the Food Administration, Hoover gained a following in the United States, especially among progressives who saw in Hoover an expert administrator and symbol of efficiency. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society during his tenure.
=== Post-war relief in Europe ===
World War I came to an end in November 1918, but Europe continued to face a critical food situation; Hoover estimated that as many as 400 million people faced the possibility of starvation. The United States Food Administration became the American Relief Administration (ARA), and Hoover was charged with providing food to Central and Eastern Europe. In addition to providing relief, the ARA rebuilt infrastructure in an effort to rejuvenate the economy of Europe. Throughout the Paris Peace Conference, Hoover served as a close adviser to President Wilson, and he largely shared Wilson's goals of establishing the League of Nations, settling borders on the basis of self-determination, and refraining from inflicting a harsh punishment on the defeated Central Powers. The following year, the famed British economist John Maynard Keynes wrote in The Economic Consequences of the Peace that if Hoover's realism, "knowledge, magnanimity and disinterestedness" had found wider play in the councils of Paris, the world would have had "the Good Peace". After U.S. government funding for the ARA expired in mid-1919, Hoover transformed the ARA into a private organization, raising millions of dollars from private donors. He also established the European Children's Fund, which provided relief to fifteen million children across fourteen countries.
Despite the opposition of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge and other Republicans, Hoover provided aid to the defeated German nation after the war, as well as relief to famine-stricken Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Hoover condemned the Bolsheviks but warned President Wilson against an intervention in the Russian Civil War, as he viewed the White Russian forces as little better than the Bolsheviks and feared the possibility of a protracted U.S. involvement. The Russian famine of 1921–22 claimed six million people, but the intervention of the ARA likely saved millions of lives. When asked if he was not helping Bolshevism by providing relief, Hoover stated, "twenty million people are starving. Whatever their politics, they shall be fed!" Reflecting the gratitude of many Europeans, in July 1922, Soviet author Maxim Gorky told Hoover that "your help will enter history as a unique, gigantic achievement, worthy of the greatest glory, which will long remain in the memory of millions of Russians whom you have saved from death".
In 1919, Hoover established the Hoover War Collection at Stanford University. He donated all the files of the Commission for Relief in Belgium, the U.S. Food Administration, and the American Relief Administration, and pledged $50,000 as an endowment (equivalent to $928,503 in 2025). Scholars were sent to Europe to collect pamphlets, society publications, government documents, newspapers, posters, proclamations, and other ephemeral materials related to the war and the revolutions that followed it. The collection was renamed the Hoover War Library in 1922 and is now known as the Hoover Institution Library and Archives. During the post-war period, Hoover also served as the president of the Federated American Engineering Societies.
=== 1920 election ===
Hoover had been little known among the American public before 1914, but his service in the Wilson administration established him as a contender in the 1920 presidential election. Hoover's wartime push for higher taxes, criticism of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer's actions during the First Red Scare, and his advocacy for measures such as the minimum wage, forty-eight-hour workweek, and elimination of child labor made him appealing to progressives of both parties. Despite his service in the Democratic administration of Woodrow Wilson, Hoover had never been closely affiliated with either the Democrats or the Republicans. He initially sought to avoid committing to any party in the 1920 election, hoping that either of the two major parties would draft him for president at their national conventions. In March 1920, he changed strategy and declared himself a Republican; he was motivated in large part by the belief that the Democrats had little chance of winning. Despite his national renown, Hoover's service in the Wilson administration had alienated farmers and the conservative Old Guard of the GOP, and his presidential candidacy fizzled out after his defeat in the California primary by favorite son Hiram Johnson. At the 1920 Republican National Convention, Warren G. Harding emerged as a compromise candidate after the convention became deadlocked among supporters of Johnson, Leonard Wood, and Frank Orren Lowden. Hoover backed Harding's successful campaign in the general election, and he began laying the groundwork for a future presidential run by building a base of strong supporters in the Republican Party.
== Secretary of Commerce (1921–1928) ==
After his election as president in 1920, Harding rewarded Hoover for his support, offering to appoint him as either Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of Commerce. Secretary of Commerce was considered a minor Cabinet post, with limited and vaguely defined responsibilities, but Hoover decided to accept the position. Hoover's progressive stances, continuing support for the League of Nations, and recent conversion to the Republican Party aroused opposition to his appointment from many Senate Republicans. To overcome this opposition, Harding paired Hoover's nomination with that of conservative favorite Andrew Mellon as Secretary of the Treasury, and the nominations of both Hoover and Mellon were confirmed by the Senate. Hoover would serve as Secretary of Commerce from 1921 to 1928, serving under Harding and, after Harding's death in 1923, President Calvin Coolidge. While some of the most prominent members of the Harding administration, including Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty and Secretary of Interior Albert B. Fall, were implicated in major scandals, Hoover emerged largely unscathed from investigations into the Harding administration.
Hoover envisioned the Commerce Department as the hub of the nation's growth and stability. His experience mobilizing the war-time economy convinced him that the federal government could promote efficiency by eliminating waste, increasing production, encouraging the adoption of data-based practices, investing in infrastructure, and conserving natural resources. He promoted the scheme of "Super Power" for electrical utility interconnection, and accepted the first ceremonial Picturephone call in Washington in April 1927 from Walter Gifford, the Chairman of AT&T in New York City.
Contemporaries described Hoover's approach as a "third alternative" between "unrestrained capitalism" and socialism, which was becoming increasingly popular in Europe. Hoover sought to foster a balance among labor, capital, and the government, and for this, he has been variously labeled a corporatist or an associationalist. A high priority was economic diplomacy, including promoting the growth of exports, as well as protection against monopolistic practices of foreign governments, especially regarding rubber and coffee.
Hoover endorsed much of Mellon's tax reduction program but favored a more progressive tax system and opposed the treasury secretary's efforts to eliminate the estate tax. He also demanded, and received, authority to coordinate economic affairs throughout the government. He created many sub-departments and committees, overseeing and regulating everything from manufacturing statistics to air travel. In some instances, he "seized" control of responsibilities from other Cabinet departments when he deemed that they were not carrying out their responsibilities well; some began referring to him as the "Secretary of Commerce and Under-Secretary of all other departments". In response to the Depression of 1920–21, he convinced Harding to assemble a presidential commission on unemployment, which encouraged local governments to engage in countercyclical infrastructure spending. A conference was held to discuss the unemployment situation in 1921, with Hoover arguing that there “is no economic failure so terrible in its import as that of a country possessing a surplus of every necessity of life in which members, willing and anxious to work are deprived of these necessities.” Nevertheless, Hoover argued that the solution to the nation’s unemployment situation lay not in federal intervention but in voluntary and local action. He also opposed direct government payments to unemployed individuals, believing that this would not only lead to large deficit spending but also make people dependent on the government.
As Hoover put it during the conference:
It is not consonant with the spirit or institutions of the American people that a demand should be made upon the public treasury for the solution of every difficulty. The Administration has felt that a large degree of solution could be expected through the mobilization of the fine cooperative action of our manufacturers and employers and of our public bodies and local authorities. And that if a solution could be found in these directions we should accomplish even more than the care of our unemployed-that we will again demonstrate that independence and ability of action amongst our own people which saves our Government from that ultimate paternalism that would undermine our whole political system. In the other countries that have been primarily affected by the War, solution has been had by direct doles to individuals by their Governments. We have so far escaped this most vicious of solutions, and I am hopeful, and I believe you will be, that it is within the intelligence and initiative of our people that we may find remedies against hardship and bitterness that do not, except in exceptional cases, come within the range of charity.
=== Regulation of radio and transportation ===
Between 1923 and 1929, the number of families with radios grew from 300,000 to 10 million, and Hoover's tenure as Secretary of Commerce heavily influenced radio use in the United States. Between 1922 and 1925, Hoover organized conferences among radio manufacturers, news agencies, and government organizations which played a key role in the organization, development, and regulation of radio broadcasting. Hoover also helped pass the Radio Act of 1927, which allowed the government to intervene and abolish radio stations that were deemed "non-useful" to the public. Hoover's attempts at regulating radio were not supported by all congressmen, and he received much opposition from the Senate and from radio station owners.
Hoover was also influential in the early development of air travel, and he sought to create a thriving private industry boosted by government subsidies. He encouraged the development of emergency landing fields, required all runways to be equipped with lights and radio beams, and encouraged farmers to make use of planes for crop dusting. Hoover also established the federal government's power to inspect planes and license pilots, setting a precedent for the later Federal Aviation Administration.
As Commerce Secretary, he hosted national conferences on street traffic collectively known as the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety. His chief objective was to address the growing casualty toll of traffic accidents, but the scope of the conferences grew and soon embraced motor vehicle standards, rules of the road, and urban traffic control. He left the invited interest groups to negotiate agreements among themselves, which were then presented for adoption by states and localities. Because automotive trade associations were the best organized, many of the positions taken by the conferences reflected their interests. The conferences issued a model Uniform Vehicle Code for adoption by the states and a Model Municipal Traffic Ordinance for adoption by cities. Both were widely influential, promoting greater uniformity among jurisdictions and tending to promote the automobile's priority in city streets.
=== Hoover's image building ===
Phillips Payson O'Brien argues that Hoover had a British problem. He had spent so many years living in Great Britain and Australia, as an employee of British companies, there was a risk that he would be labeled a British tool. There were three solutions, all of which he tried in close collaboration with the media, which greatly admired him. First came the image of the dispassionate scientist, emotionally uninvolved but always committed to finding and implementing the best possible solution. The second solution was to gain the reputation of a humanitarian, deeply concerned with the world's troubles, such as famine in Belgium, as well as specific American problems which he had solved as food commissioner during the world war. The third solution was to fall back on the old tactic of twisting the British tail, which he employed during the 1925–1926 worldwide rubber crisis. The American auto industry consumed 70% of the world's output, but British investors controlled much of the supply. Their plan was to drastically cut back on output from British Malaya, which had the effect of tripling rubber prices. Hoover energetically gave a series of speeches and interviews denouncing the monopolistic practice and demanding that it be ended. The American State Department wanted no such crisis and compromised the issue in 1926. By then Hoover had solved his image problem, and during his 1928 campaign he successfully squelched attacks that alleged he was too close to British interests.
=== Mississippi flood ===
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 broke the banks and levees of the lower Mississippi River in early 1927, resulting in the flooding of millions of acres and leaving 1.5 million people displaced from their homes. Although disaster response did not fall under the duties of the Commerce Department, the governors of six states along the Mississippi River specifically asked President Coolidge to appoint Hoover to coordinate the response to the flood. Believing that disaster response was not the domain of the federal government, Coolidge initially refused to become involved, but he eventually acceded to political pressure and appointed Hoover to chair a special committee to help the region. Hoover established over one hundred tent cities and a fleet of more than six hundred vessels and raised $17 million (equivalent to $315.09 million in 2025). In large part due to his leadership during the flood crisis, by 1928, Hoover had begun to overshadow President Coolidge himself. Though Hoover received wide acclaim for his role in the crisis, he ordered the suppression of reports of mistreatment of African Americans in refugee camps. He did so with the cooperation of black American leader Robert Russa Moton, who was promised unprecedented influence once Hoover became president.
=== Other initiatives ===
With the goal of encouraging wise business investments, Hoover made the Commerce Department a clearinghouse of information. He recruited numerous academics from various fields and tasked them with publishing reports on different aspects of the economy, including steel production and films. To eliminate waste, he encouraged standardization of products like automobile tires and baby bottle nipples. Other efforts at eliminating waste included reducing labor losses from trade disputes and seasonal fluctuations, reducing industrial losses from accident and injury, and reducing the amount of crude oil spilled during extraction and shipping. He promoted international trade by opening overseas offices to advise businessmen. Hoover was especially eager to promote Hollywood films overseas. His "Own Your Own Home" campaign was a collaboration to promote ownership of single-family dwellings, with groups such as the Better Houses in America movement, the Architects' Small House Service Bureau, and the Home Modernizing Bureau. He worked with bankers and the savings and loan industry to promote the new long-term home mortgage, which dramatically stimulated home construction. Other accomplishments included winning the agreement of U.S. Steel to adopt an eight-hour workday, and the fostering of the Colorado River Compact, a water rights compact among Southwestern states.
=== Presidential election of 1928 ===
Hoover quietly gathered support for a future presidential bid throughout the 1920s, but he carefully avoided alienating Coolidge, who possibly could have run for another term in the 1928 presidential election. Along with the rest of the nation, he was surprised when Coolidge in August 1927 declared "I do not choose to run" for another term. With the impending retirement of Coolidge, Hoover immediately emerged as the front-runner for the 1928 Republican nomination, and he quickly put together a strong campaign team led by Hubert Work, Will H. Hays, and Reed Smoot. Coolidge was unwilling to anoint Hoover as his successor, and once remarked "for six years that man has given me unsolicited advice—all of it bad". Despite his lukewarm feelings towards Hoover, Coolidge had no desire to split the party by publicly opposing the popular Commerce Secretary's candidacy.
One public figure who endorsed Hoover for the Republican presidential candidacy was William Randolph Hearst, who argued that "The present situation demands conservatism, and Secretary Hoover’s conservatism is of the constructive and not the reactionary type."
Many wary Republican leaders cast about for an alternative candidate, such as Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon or former secretary of state Charles Evans Hughes. However, Hughes and Mellon declined to run, and other potential contenders like Frank Orren Lowden and Vice President Charles G. Dawes failed to garner widespread support. Hoover won the presidential nomination on the first ballot of the 1928 Republican National Convention. Convention delegates considered re-nominating Vice President Charles Dawes to be Hoover's running mate, but Coolidge, who hated Dawes, remarked that this would be "a personal affront" to him. The convention instead selected Senator Charles Curtis of Kansas. Hoover accepted the nomination at Stanford Stadium, telling a huge crowd that he would continue the policies of the Harding and Coolidge administrations. The Democrats nominated New York governor Al Smith, who became the first Catholic major party nominee for president.
Hoover submitted his resignation as Commerce Secretary on July 7, but Coolidge kept him on until August 21 to wind up pending business. Hoover centered his campaign around the Republican record of peace and prosperity, as well as his own reputation as a successful engineer and public official. Averse to giving political speeches, Hoover largely stayed out of the fray and left the campaigning to Curtis and other Republicans. Smith was more charismatic and gregarious than Hoover, but his campaign was damaged by anti-Catholicism and his overt opposition to Prohibition. Hoover had never been a strong proponent of Prohibition, but he accepted the Republican Party's plank in favor of it and issued an ambivalent statement calling Prohibition "a great social and economic experiment, noble in motive and far-reaching in purpose". In the South, Hoover and the national party pursued a "lily-white" strategy, removing black Republicans from leadership positions in an attempt to curry favor with white Southerners.
During the election campaign, Hoover denounced Democratic proposals for public control of water power, the modification of prohibition and farm relief as “state socialism” and also compared what he called American “rugged individualism” to what he regarded negatively as European state socialism and paternalism:
When the war closed, the most vital of all issues, both in our own country and throughout the world, was whether governments should continue their wartime ownership and operation of many instrumentalities of production and distribution. We were challenged with a peace-time choice between the American system of rugged individualism and a European philosophy of diametrically opposed doctrines- doctrines of paternalism and state socialism. The acceptance of these ideas would have meant the destruction of self-government through centralization of government. It would have meant the undermining of the individual initiative and enterprise through which our people have grown to unparalleled greatness.'
Hoover maintained polling leads throughout the 1928 campaign, and he decisively defeated Smith on election day, taking 58 percent of the popular vote and 444 of the 531 electoral votes. Historians agree that Hoover's national reputation and the booming economy, combined with deep splits in the Democratic Party over religion and Prohibition, guaranteed his landslide victory. Hoover's appeal to Southern white voters succeeded in cracking the "Solid South", and he won five Southern states. Hoover's victory was positively received by newspapers; one wrote that Hoover would "drive so forcefully at the tasks now before the nation that the end of his eight years as president will find us looking back on an era of prodigious achievement".
Hoover's detractors wondered why he did not do anything to reapportion congress after the 1920 United States census which saw an increase in urban and immigrant populations. The 1920 census was the first and only decennial census where the results were not used to reapportion Congress, which ultimately influenced the 1928 Electoral College and impacted the presidential election.
== Presidency (1929–1933) ==
Hoover saw the presidency as a vehicle for improving the conditions of all Americans by encouraging public-private cooperation—what he termed "volunteerism". He tended to oppose governmental coercion or intervention, as he thought they infringed on American ideals of individualism and self-reliance. Hoover did, however, advocate government-funded pensions for those over the age of 65, although this proposal was not acted on during his presidency. The first major bill that he signed, the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929, established the Federal Farm Board in order to stabilize farm prices. Hoover made extensive use of commissions to study issues and propose solutions, and many of those commissions were sponsored by private donors rather than by the government. One of the commissions started by Hoover, the Research Committee on Social Trends, was tasked with surveying the entirety of American society. He appointed a Cabinet consisting largely of wealthy, business-oriented conservatives, including Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon. Lou Henry Hoover was an activist First Lady. She typified the new woman of the post–World War I era: intelligent, robust, and aware of multiple female possibilities.
=== Great Depression ===
On taking office, Hoover said that "given the chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years, we shall soon with the help of God, be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation". Having seen the fruits of prosperity brought by technological progress, many shared Hoover's optimism, and the already bullish stock market climbed even higher on Hoover's accession. This optimism concealed several threats to sustained U.S. economic growth, including a persistent farm crisis, a saturation of consumer goods like automobiles, and growing income inequality. Most dangerous of all to the economy was excessive speculation that had raised stock prices far beyond their value. Some regulators and bankers had warned Coolidge and Hoover that a failure to curb speculation would lead to "one of the greatest financial catastrophes that this country has ever seen," but both presidents were reluctant to become involved with the workings of the Federal Reserve System, which regulated banks.
In late October 1929, the stock market crashed, and the worldwide economy began to spiral downward into the Great Depression. The causes of the Great Depression remain a matter of debate, but Hoover viewed a lack of confidence in the financial system as the fundamental economic problem facing the nation. He sought to avoid federal intervention, believing that the best way to bolster the economy was through the strengthening of businesses such as banks and railroads. He also feared that allowing individuals on the "dole" would permanently weaken the country, and believed that "relief to individuals from the federal government would bring an inevitable train of corruption and waste such as our nation had never witnessed." Instead, Hoover strongly believed that local governments and private giving should address the needs of individuals.
==== Early policies ====
Though he attempted to put a positive spin on Black Tuesday, Hoover moved quickly to address the stock market collapse. In the days following Black Tuesday, Hoover gathered business and labor leaders, asking them to avoid wage cuts and work stoppages while the country faced what he believed would be a short recession similar to the Depression of 1920–21. Hoover also convinced railroads and public utilities to increase spending on construction and maintenance, and the Federal Reserve announced that it would cut interest rates. In early 1930, Hoover acquired from Congress an additional $100 million to continue the Federal Farm Board lending and purchasing policies. These actions were collectively designed to prevent a cycle of deflation and provide a fiscal stimulus. At the same time, Hoover opposed congressional proposals to provide federal relief to the unemployed, as he believed that such programs were the responsibility of state and local governments and philanthropic organizations.
Hoover had taken office hoping to raise agricultural tariffs in order to help farmers reeling from the farm crisis of the 1920s, but his attempt to raise agricultural tariffs became connected with a bill that broadly raised tariffs. Hoover refused to become closely involved in the congressional debate over the tariff, and Congress produced a tariff bill that raised rates for many goods. Despite the widespread unpopularity of the bill, Hoover felt that he could not reject the main legislative accomplishment of the Republican-controlled 71st Congress. Over the objection of many economists, Hoover signed the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act into law in June 1930. Canada, France, and other nations retaliated by raising tariffs, resulting in a contraction of international trade and a worsening of the economy. Progressive Republicans such as Senator William E. Borah of Idaho were outraged when Hoover signed the tariff act, and Hoover's relations with that wing of the party never recovered.
==== Later policies ====
By the end of 1930, the national unemployment rate had reached 11.9 percent, but it was not yet clear to most Americans that the economic downturn would be worse than the Depression of 1920–21. A series of bank failures in late 1930 heralded a larger collapse of the economy in 1931. While other countries left the gold standard, Hoover refused to abandon it; he derided any other monetary system as "collectivism". Hoover viewed the weak European economy as a major cause of economic troubles in the United States. In response to the collapse of the German economy, Hoover marshaled congressional support behind a one-year moratorium on European war debts. The Hoover Moratorium was warmly received in Europe and the United States, but Germany remained on the brink of defaulting on its loans. As the worldwide economy worsened, democratic governments fell; in Germany, Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler assumed power and dismantled the Weimar Republic.
By mid-1931, the unemployment rate had reached 15 percent, giving rise to growing fears that the country was experiencing a depression far worse than recent economic downturns. A reserved man with a fear of public speaking, Hoover allowed his opponents in the Democratic Party to define him as cold, incompetent, reactionary, and out-of-touch. Hoover's opponents developed defamatory epithets to discredit him, such as "Hooverville" (the shanty towns and homeless encampments), "Hoover leather" (cardboard used to cover holes in the soles of shoes), and "Hoover blanket" (old newspaper used to cover oneself from the cold). While Hoover continued to resist federal relief efforts, Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York launched the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration to provide aid to the unemployed. Democrats positioned the program as a kinder alternative to Hoover's alleged apathy towards the unemployed, despite Hoover's belief that such programs were the responsibility of state and local governments.
The economy continued to worsen, with unemployment rates nearing 23 percent in early 1932, and Hoover finally heeded calls for more federal intervention. In January 1932, he convinced Congress to authorize the establishment of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which would provide government-secured loans to financial institutions, railroads, and local governments. The RFC saved numerous businesses from failure, but it failed to stimulate commercial lending as much as Hoover had hoped, partly because it was run by conservative bankers unwilling to make riskier loans. The same month the RFC was established, Hoover signed the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, establishing 12 district banks overseen by a Federal Home Loan Bank Board in a manner similar to the Federal Reserve System. He also helped arrange passage of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1932, emergency banking legislation designed to expand banking credit by expanding the collateral on which Federal Reserve banks were authorized to lend. As these measures failed to stem the economic crisis, Hoover signed the Emergency Relief and Construction Act, a $2 billion public works bill, in July 1932.
=== Budget policy ===
After a decade of budget surpluses, the federal government experienced a budget deficit in 1931. Though some economists, like William Trufant Foster, favored deficit spending to address the Great Depression, most politicians and economists believed in the necessity of keeping a balanced budget. In late 1931, Hoover proposed a tax plan to increase tax revenue by 30 percent, resulting in the passage of the Revenue Act of 1932. The act increased taxes across the board, rolling back much of the tax cut reduction program Mellon had presided over during the 1920s. Top earners were taxed at 63 percent on their net income, the highest rate since the early 1920s. The act also doubled the top estate tax rate, cut personal income tax exemptions, eliminated the corporate income tax exemption, and raised corporate tax rates. Prior to its passage, the legislation included a sales tax, but this part of the bill was defeated in the House of Representatives by 211 to 178 votes. Despite the passage of the Revenue Act, the federal government continued to run a budget deficit.
=== Civil rights and Mexican Repatriation ===
Hoover seldom mentioned civil rights while he was president. He believed that African Americans and other races could improve themselves with education and individual initiative. Hoover appointed more African Americans to federal positions than Harding and Coolidge combined, but many African American leaders condemned various aspects of the Hoover administration, including Hoover's unwillingness to push for a federal anti-lynching law. Hoover also continued to pursue the lily-white strategy, removing African Americans from positions of leadership in the Republican Party in an attempt to end the Democratic Party's dominance in the South. Though Robert Moton and some other black leaders accepted the lily-white strategy as a temporary measure, most African American leaders were outraged. Hoover further alienated black leaders by nominating conservative Southern judge John J. Parker to the Supreme Court; Parker's nomination ultimately failed in the Senate due to opposition from the NAACP and organized labor. Many black voters switched to the Democratic Party in the 1932 election, and African Americans would later become an important part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal coalition.
As part of his efforts to limit unemployment, Hoover sought to cut immigration to the United States, and in 1930 he promulgated an executive order requiring individuals to have employment before migrating to the United States. The Hoover Administration began a campaign to prosecute illegal immigrants in the United States, which most strongly affected Mexican Americans, especially those living in Southern California. The federal government also supported the Mexican repatriation which saw anywhere from 300,000 to two million Mexicans and Mexican Americans repatriated, deported, or expelled to Mexico during the 1930s primarily during Hoover's term. Forty to sixty percent of them were American citizens. While the federal government encouraged repatriations, they were largely organized by state and local authorities with support from private entities. The Hoover administration deported 34,000 people to Mexico between 1930 to 1933. It was however more common for people to repatriate voluntarily. Some scholars argue that the mass repatriations was a policy of Hoover's administration. According to legal professor Kevin R. Johnson, the repatriation campaign meets the modern legal standards of ethnic cleansing, as it involved the forced removal of a racial minority by government actors.
Hoover reorganized the Bureau of Indian Affairs to limit exploitation of Native Americans.
=== Prohibition ===
On taking office, Hoover urged Americans to obey the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act, which had established Prohibition across the United States. To make public policy recommendations regarding Prohibition, he created the Wickersham Commission. Hoover had hoped that the commission's public report would buttress his stance in favor of Prohibition, but the report criticized the enforcement of the Volstead Act and noted the growing public opposition to Prohibition. After the Wickersham Report was published in 1931, Hoover rejected the advice of some of his closest allies and refused to endorse any revision of the Volstead Act or the Eighteenth Amendment, as he feared doing so would undermine his support among Prohibition advocates. As public opinion increasingly turned against Prohibition, more and more people flouted the law, and a grassroots movement began working in earnest for Prohibition's repeal. In January 1933, a constitutional amendment repealing the Eighteenth Amendment was approved by Congress and submitted to the states for ratification. By December 1933, it had been ratified by the requisite number of states to become the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution.
=== Foreign relations ===
According to Leuchtenburg, Hoover was "the last American president to take office with no conspicuous need to pay attention to the rest of the world". Nevertheless, during Hoover's term, the world order established in the immediate aftermath of World War I began to crumble. As president, Hoover largely made good on his pledge made prior to assuming office not to interfere in Latin America's internal affairs. In 1930, he released the Clark Memorandum, a rejection of the Roosevelt Corollary and a move towards non-interventionism in Latin America. Hoover did not completely refrain from the use of the military in Latin American affairs; he thrice threatened intervention in the Dominican Republic, and he sent warships to El Salvador to support the government against a left-wing revolution. Notwithstanding those actions, he wound down the Banana Wars, ending the occupation of Nicaragua and nearly bringing an end to the occupation of Haiti.
Hoover placed a priority on disarmament, which he hoped would allow the United States to shift money from the military to domestic needs. Hoover and Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson focused on extending the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, which sought to prevent a naval arms race. As a result of Hoover's efforts, the United States and other major naval powers signed the 1930 London Naval Treaty. The treaty represented the first time that the naval powers had agreed to cap their tonnage of auxiliary vessels, as previous agreements had only affected capital ships.
At the 1932 World Disarmament Conference, Hoover urged further cutbacks in armaments and the outlawing of tanks and bombers, but his proposals were not adopted.
In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria, defeating the Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army and establishing Manchukuo, a puppet state. The Hoover administration deplored the invasion, but also sought to avoid antagonizing the Japanese, fearing that taking too strong a stand would weaken the moderate forces in the Japanese government and alienate a potential ally against the Soviet Union, which he saw as a much greater threat. In response to the Japanese invasion, Hoover and Secretary of State Stimson outlined the Stimson Doctrine, which held that the United States would not recognize territories gained by force.
=== Bonus Army ===
Thousands of World War I veterans and their families demonstrated and camped out in Washington, DC, during June 1932, calling for immediate payment of bonuses that had been promised by the World War Adjusted Compensation Act in 1924; the terms of the act called for payment of the bonuses in 1945. Although offered money by Congress to return home, some members of the "Bonus Army" remained. Washington police attempted to disperse the demonstrators, but they were outnumbered and unsuccessful. Shots were fired by the police in a futile attempt to attain order, and two protesters were killed while many officers were injured. Hoover sent U.S. Army forces led by General Douglas MacArthur to the protests. MacArthur, believing he was fighting a Communist revolution, chose to clear out the camp with military force. Though Hoover had not ordered MacArthur's clearing out of the protesters, he endorsed it after the fact. The incident proved embarrassing for the Hoover administration and hurt his bid for re-election.
=== 1932 re-election campaign ===
By mid-1931 few observers thought that Hoover had much hope of winning a second term in the midst of the ongoing economic crisis. The Republican expectations were so bleak that Hoover faced no serious opposition for re-nomination at the 1932 Republican National Convention. Coolidge and other prominent Republicans all passed on the opportunity to challenge Hoover. Franklin D. Roosevelt won the presidential nomination on the fourth ballot of the 1932 Democratic National Convention, defeating the 1928 Democratic nominee, Al Smith. The Democrats attacked Hoover as the cause of the Great Depression, and for being indifferent to the suffering of millions. As Governor of New York, Roosevelt had called on the New York legislature to provide aid for the needy, establishing Roosevelt's reputation for being more favorable toward government interventionism during the economic crisis. The Democratic Party, including Al Smith and other national leaders, coalesced behind Roosevelt, while progressive Republicans like George Norris and Robert La Follette Jr. deserted Hoover. Prohibition was increasingly unpopular and wets offered the argument that states and localities needed the tax money. Hoover proposed a new constitutional amendment that was vague on particulars. Roosevelt's platform promised repeal of the 18th Amendment.
Hoover originally planned to make only one or two major speeches and to leave the rest of the campaigning to proxies, as sitting presidents had traditionally done. However, encouraged by Republican pleas and outraged by Democratic claims, Hoover entered the public fray. In his nine major radio addresses Hoover primarily defended his administration and his philosophy of government, urging voters to hold to the "foundations of experience" and reject the notion that government interventionism could save the country from the Depression. Historians contend that his radio speeches were not received well in part due to his monotone, awkward delivery. In his campaign trips around the country, Hoover was faced with perhaps the most hostile crowds ever seen by a sitting president. Besides having his train and motorcades pelted with eggs and rotten fruit, he was often heckled while speaking, and on several occasions, the Secret Service halted attempts to hurt Hoover, including capturing one man nearing Hoover carrying sticks of dynamite, and another already having removed several spikes from the rails in front of the president's train. Hoover's attempts to vindicate his administration fell on deaf ears, as much of the public blamed his administration for the depression. In the electoral vote, Hoover lost 59–472, carrying six states. Hoover won 39.6 percent of the popular vote, a plunge of 18.6 percentage points from his result in the 1928 election.
== Post-presidency (1933–1964) ==
=== Roosevelt administration ===
==== Opposition to the New Deal ====
Hoover departed from Washington in March 1933, bitter at his election loss and continuing unpopularity. He and his wife lived in Palo Alto until her death in 1944, at which point Hoover began to live permanently at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. During the 1930s, Hoover increasingly self-identified as a conservative. He closely followed national events after leaving public office, becoming a constant critic of Franklin Roosevelt. In response to continued attacks on his character and presidency, Hoover wrote more than two dozen books, including The Challenge to Liberty (1934), which harshly criticized Roosevelt's New Deal. Hoover described the New Deal's National Recovery Administration and Agricultural Adjustment Administration as "fascistic", and he called the 1933 Banking Act a "move to gigantic socialism".
Only 58 when he left office, Hoover held out hope for another term as president throughout the 1930s. At the 1936 Republican National Convention, Hoover's speech attacking the New Deal was well received, but the nomination went to Kansas governor Alf Landon. In the general election, Hoover delivered numerous well-publicized speeches on behalf of Landon, but Landon was defeated by Roosevelt. Though Hoover was eager to oppose Roosevelt at every turn, Senator Arthur Vandenberg and other Republicans urged the still-unpopular Hoover to remain out of the fray during the debate over Roosevelt's proposed Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937. At the 1940 Republican National Convention, he again hoped for the presidential nomination, but it went to the internationalist Wendell Willkie, who lost to Roosevelt in the general election. Hoover was the last president to seek public office after leaving office until 2022 when Donald Trump announced his successful bid for president in the 2024 presidential election.
==== World War II ====
During a 1938 trip to Europe, Hoover met with Adolf Hitler and stayed at Hermann Göring's hunting lodge. He expressed dismay at the persecution of Jews in Germany and believed that Hitler was mad, but did not present a threat to the U.S. Instead, Hoover believed that Roosevelt posed the biggest threat to peace, holding that Roosevelt's policies provoked Japan and discouraged France and the United Kingdom from reaching an "accommodation" with Germany. After the September 1939 invasion of Poland by Germany, Hoover opposed U.S. involvement in World War II, including the Lend-Lease policy. He was active in the isolationist America First Committee. He rejected Roosevelt's offers to help coordinate relief in Europe, but, with the help of old friends from the CRB, helped establish the Commission for Polish Relief. After the beginning of the occupation of Belgium in 1940, Hoover provided aid for Belgian civilians, though this aid was described as unnecessary by German broadcasts.
In December 1939, sympathetic Americans led by Hoover formed the Finnish Relief Fund to donate money to aid Finnish civilians and refugees after the Soviet Union had started the Winter War by attacking Finland, which had outraged Americans. By the end of January, it had already sent more than two million dollars to the Finns.
During a radio broadcast on June 29, 1941, one week after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, Hoover disparaged any "tacit alliance" between the U.S. and the USSR, stating, "if we join the war and Stalin wins, we have aided him to impose more communism on Europe and the world... War alongside Stalin to impose freedom is more than a travesty. It is a tragedy." Much to his frustration, Hoover was not called upon to serve after the United States entered World War II due to his differences with Roosevelt and his continuing unpopularity. He did not pursue the presidential nomination at the 1944 Republican National Convention, and, at the request of Republican nominee Thomas E. Dewey, refrained from campaigning during the general election. In 1945, Hoover advised President Harry S. Truman to drop the United States' demand for the unconditional surrender of Japan because of the high projected casualties of the planned invasion of Japan, although Hoover was unaware of the Manhattan Project and the atomic bomb.
In 1943, Hoover expressed his support for Zionism.
=== Post-World War II ===
Following World War II, Hoover befriended President Truman despite their ideological differences. Because of Hoover's experience with Germany at the end of World War I, in 1946 Truman selected the former president to tour Allied-occupied Germany and Rome, Italy to ascertain the food needs of the occupied nations. After touring Germany, Hoover produced a number of reports critical of U.S. occupation policy. He stated in one report that "there is the illusion that the New Germany left after the annexations can be reduced to a 'pastoral state.' It cannot be done unless we exterminate or move 25,000,000 people out of it." On Hoover's initiative, a school meals program in the American and British occupation zones of Germany was begun on April 14, 1947; the program served 3,500,000 children.
Even more important, in 1947 Truman appointed Hoover to lead the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government a new high level study. Truman accepted some of the recommendations of the "Hoover Commission" for eliminating waste, fraud, and inefficiency, consolidating agencies, and strengthening White House control of policy. Though Hoover had opposed Roosevelt's concentration of power in the 1930s, he believed that a stronger presidency was required with the advent of the Atomic Age. During the 1948 presidential election, Hoover supported Republican nominee Thomas E. Dewey's unsuccessful campaign against Truman, but he remained on good terms with Truman. Hoover favored the United Nations in principle, but he opposed granting membership to the Soviet Union and other Communist states. He viewed the Soviet Union to be as morally repugnant as Nazi Germany and supported the efforts of Richard Nixon and others to expose Communists in the United States.
In 1949, Dewey, as governor of New York, offered Hoover the Senate seat vacated by Robert F. Wagner. It was a matter of being senator for only two months and he declined.
Hoover backed conservative leader Robert A. Taft at the 1952 Republican National Convention, but the party's presidential nomination instead went to Dwight D. Eisenhower, who went on to win the 1952 election. Though Eisenhower appointed Hoover to another presidential commission, Hoover disliked Eisenhower, faulting the latter's failure to roll back the New Deal. Hoover's public work helped to rehabilitate his reputation, as did his use of self-deprecating humor; he occasionally remarked that "I am the only person of distinction who's ever had a depression named after him." In 1958, Congress passed the Former Presidents Act, offering a $25,000 yearly pension (equivalent to $278,979 in 2025) to each former president. Hoover took the pension even though he did not need the money, possibly to avoid embarrassing Truman, whose allegedly precarious financial status played a role in the law's enactment. In the early 1960s, President John F. Kennedy offered Hoover various positions; Hoover declined the offers but defended the Kennedy administration after the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuban Missile Crisis and was personally distraught by the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963.
Hoover wrote several books during his retirement, including The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson, in which he strongly defended Wilson's actions at the Paris Peace Conference. In 1944, he began working on Freedom Betrayed, which he often referred to as his "magnum opus". In Freedom Betrayed, Hoover strongly critiques Roosevelt's foreign policy, especially Roosevelt's decision to recognize the Soviet Union in order to provide aid to that country during World War II. The book was published in 2012 after being edited by historian George H. Nash.
=== Death and Longevity ===
Hoover faced three major illnesses during the last two years of his life, including an August 1962 operation in which a growth on his large intestine was removed. He died in New York City on October 20, 1964, following massive internal bleeding. Though Hoover's last spoken words are unknown, his last-known written words were a get-well message to his friend former President Harry S. Truman, six days before his death, after he heard that Truman had sustained injuries from slipping in a bathroom: "Bathtubs are a menace to ex-presidents for as you may recall a bathtub rose up and fractured my vertebrae when I was in Venezuela on your world famine mission in 1946. My warmest sympathy and best wishes for your recovery."Two months earlier on August 10, Hoover reached the age of 90, only the second U.S. president (after John Adams) to do so. When asked how he felt on reaching the milestone, Hoover replied, "Too old." At the time of his death, Hoover had been out of office for over 31 years (11,553 days all together). This was the longest retirement in presidential history, surpassing Adams' 25 years, until Jimmy Carter broke that record in September 2012.
President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered flags flown at half-staff and was among the 500 guests invited for the funeral service held at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church. Other dignitaries included former Vice President and future President Richard Nixon, Representative William E. Miller, Governor Nelson Rockefeller, former Governor Thomas E. Dewey, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, former Postmaster General James A. Farley, Rear Admiral Lewis L. Strauss and Senators Hubert Humphrey, Barry Goldwater, Kenneth Keating, and Jacob Javits.
Hoover was honored with a state funeral in which he lay in state in the United States Capitol rotunda. President Johnson and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson attended, but former presidents Truman and Eisenhower were both too ill to attend. Then, on October 25, he was buried in West Branch, Iowa, near his presidential library and birthplace on the grounds of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. Afterwards, Hoover's wife, Lou Henry Hoover, who had been buried in Palo Alto, California, following her death in 1944, was re-interred beside him.
The state funeral was the third in a span of twelve months, following those of President John F. Kennedy and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur. Black Jack was the riderless horse in all three funerals.
== Legacy ==
=== Historical reputation ===
Hoover was extremely unpopular when he left office after the 1932 election, and his historical reputation would not begin to recover until the 1970s. According to Professor David E. Hamilton, historians have credited Hoover for his genuine belief in voluntarism and cooperation, as well as the innovation of some of his programs. However, Hamilton also notes that Hoover was politically inept and failed to recognize the severity of the Great Depression. Nicholas Lemann writes that Hoover has been remembered "as the man who was too rigidly conservative to react adeptly to the Depression, as the hapless foil to the great Franklin Roosevelt, and as the politician who managed to turn a Republican country into a Democratic one". Polls of historians and political scientists have generally ranked Hoover in the bottom third of presidents. A 2018 poll of the American Political Science Association's Presidents and Executive Politics section ranked Hoover as the 36th best president. A 2017 C-SPAN poll of historians also ranked Hoover as the 36th best president.
Although Hoover is generally regarded as having had a failed presidency, he has also received praise for his actions as a humanitarian and public official. Biographer Glen Jeansonne wrote in 2016 that Hoover was "one of the most extraordinary Americans of modern times," adding that Hoover "led a life that was a prototypical Horatio Alger story, except that Horatio Alger stories stop at the pinnacle of success". Biographer Kenneth Whyte writes that, "the question of where Hoover belongs in the American political tradition remains a loaded one to this day. While he clearly played important roles in the development of both the progressive and conservative traditions, neither side will embrace him for fear of contamination with the other."
Historian Richard Pipes, on his actions leading the American Relief Administration, said of him: "Many statesmen occupy a prominent place in history for having sent millions to their death; Herbert Hoover, maligned for his performance as President, and soon forgotten in Russia, has the rare distinction of having saved millions."
=== Views of race ===
Although racist remarks and humor were common at the time, Hoover never indulged in them while president, and deliberate discrimination was anathema to him. Like many of his peers, Hoover considered white people to be inherently superior to black people, considering the "mixture of bloods disadvantageous". He did think education and work would improve black people's standing, hence his support for the Tuskegee Institute. His wife Lou Henry Hoover broke the color bar as first lady by inviting Jessie De Priest, wife of the first black congressman elected in several decades, to a traditional tea for the wives of congressmen, as well as later inviting the Tuskegee Institute choir (then under the direction of William Dawson).
Although he thought of himself as a friend to black people and an advocate for their progress, many of his black contemporaries had a different view. W. E. B. Du Bois described him as an "undemocratic racist who saw blacks as a species of 'sub-men'". Some historians trace the disaffection of African-Americans with the Republican party to his time in office especially due to his attempt to remove African-Americans from leadership in the Republican party in the South.
Hoover's time in China shaped his views of Asian people and Asian-Americans. He wrote that "no world-startling mechanical invention" had come from China, claiming this was due to Chinese people not possessing the same mechanical instincts as Europeans. This may have influenced his decision to reduce immigration through restrictions on visas.
=== Memorials ===
The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is located in West Branch, Iowa next to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. The library is one of thirteen presidential libraries run by the National Archives and Records Administration. The Hoover–Minthorn House, where Hoover lived from 1885 to 1891, is located in Newberg, Oregon. His Rapidan fishing camp in Virginia, which he donated to the government in 1933, is now a National Historic Landmark within the Shenandoah National Park. The Lou Henry and Herbert Hoover House, built in 1919 in Stanford, California, is now the official residence of the president of Stanford University, and a National Historic Landmark. Also located at Stanford is the Hoover Institution, a think tank and research institution started by Hoover.
Hoover has been memorialized in the names of several things, including the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River and numerous elementary, middle, and high schools across the United States. Two minor planets, 932 Hooveria and 1363 Herberta, are named in his honor. The Polish capital of Warsaw has a square named after Hoover, and the historic townsite of Gwalia, Western Australia contains the Hoover House Bed and Breakfast, where Hoover resided while managing and visiting the mine during the first decade of the twentieth century. A medicine ball game known as Hooverball is named for Hoover; it was invented by White House physician Admiral Joel T. Boone to help Hoover keep fit while serving as president.
=== Other honors ===
Hoover was inducted into the National Mining Hall of Fame in 1988 (inaugural class). His wife was inducted into the hall in 1990.
Hoover was inducted into the Australian Prospectors and Miners' Hall of Fame in the category Directors and Management.
Hoover was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Charles University in Prague and University of Helsinki in March 1938. The ceremonial sword is today on display in the lobby of the Hoover tower. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons | The Simpsons | The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, in an unspecified location in the United States, it caricatures society, Western culture, television and the human condition. Widely regarded as one of the most influential animated series of all time, The Simpsons has been named by Time as the greatest television series of the 20th century.
The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer Brooks. He created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after his own family members, substituting Bart for his own name; he thought Simpson was a funny name in that it sounded similar to "simpleton". The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After three seasons, the sketch was developed into a half-hour primetime show and became Fox's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990).
Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 805 episodes of the show have been broadcast. It is the longest-running American animated series, longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, both in seasons and individual episodes. A feature-length film, The Simpsons Movie (2007), was released in theaters worldwide to critical and commercial success, with a sequel set to release in 2027. The series has also spawned numerous comic book series, video games, books and other related media, as well as a billion-dollar merchandising industry. The Simpsons was initially a joint production by Gracie Films and 20th Television; 20th Television's involvement was later moved to 20th Television Animation, a separate unit of Disney Television Studios. On April 2, 2025, the show was renewed for four additional seasons on Fox, with 15 episodes and two Disney+ specials each, bringing the episode total from 790 to 858.
The Simpsons received widespread critical acclaim throughout its early seasons in the 1990s, which are generally considered its "golden age". Since then, it has been criticized for a perceived decline in quality. Time named it the 20th century's best television series while Erik Adams of The A.V. Club named it "television's crowning achievement regardless of format". On January 14, 2000, the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 37 Primetime Emmy Awards, 34 Annie Awards, and 2 Peabody Awards. Homer's exclamatory catchphrase of "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English language. Upon its debut, The Simpsons was often credited with changing comedy on television and is noted for inspiring many other later adult-oriented, popular animated sitcom television series.
== Premise ==
=== Characters ===
The main characters are the Simpson family, who live in the fictional "Middle America" town of Springfield. Homer, the father, works as a safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, a position at odds with his careless, buffoonish personality. He is married to Marge (née Bouvier), a stereotypical American housewife and mother. They have three children: Bart, a ten-year-old troublemaker and prankster; Lisa, a precocious eight-year-old activist; and Maggie (named by Bart), the baby of the family who rarely speaks, but communicates by sucking on a pacifier. Although the family is dysfunctional, many episodes examine their relationships and bonds with each other and they are often shown to care about one another.
The family also owns a greyhound, Santa's Little Helper, (who first appeared in the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire") and a cat, Snowball II, who is replaced by a cat, also named Snowball II, in the fifteenth-season episode "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot". Extended members of the Simpson and Bouvier family in the main cast include Homer's father Abe and Marge's sisters Patty and Selma. Marge's mother Jacqueline and Homer's mother Mona appear less frequently.
The show includes a vast array of quirky supporting characters, which include Homer's friends Barney Gumble, Lenny Leonard, and Carl Carlson; the school principal Seymour Skinner and staff members such as Edna Krabappel and Groundskeeper Willie; students such as Milhouse Van Houten, Nelson Muntz, and Ralph Wiggum; shopkeepers such as Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Comic Book Guy, and Moe Szyslak; government figures Mayor "Diamond" Joe Quimby and Clancy Wiggum; next-door neighbor Ned Flanders; local celebrities such as Krusty the Clown and news reporter Kent Brockman; nuclear tycoon Montgomery Burns and his devoted assistant Waylon Smithers; and many more.
The creators originally intended many of these characters as one-time jokes or for fulfilling needed functions in the town. A number of them have gained expanded roles and subsequently starred in their own episodes. According to Matt Groening, the show adopted the concept of a large supporting cast from the comedy show SCTV.
=== Continuity and the floating timeline ===
Despite the depiction of yearly milestones such as holidays or birthdays passing, the characters never age. The series uses a floating timeline in which episodes generally take place in the year the episode is produced. Flashbacks and flashforwards do occasionally depict the characters at other points in their lives, with the timeline of these depictions also generally floating relative to the year the episode is produced. For example, the 1991 episodes "The Way We Was" and "I Married Marge" depict Homer and Marge as high schoolers in the 1970s who had Bart (who is always 10 years old) in the early '80s, while the 2008 episode "That '90s Show" depicts Homer and Marge as a childless couple in the '90s, and the 2021 episode "Do Pizza Bots Dream of Electric Guitars" portrays Homer as an adolescent in the same period. The 1995 episode "Lisa's Wedding" takes place during Lisa's college years in the then-future year of 2010, the same year the show began airing its 22nd season, in which Lisa was still 8. In 2015, the show reached the point where, had the characters been allowed to age in real time, Bart would have been older than Homer was in the first episode. Regarding the contradictory flashbacks, Selman stated that "they all kind of happened in their imaginary world".
The show follows a loose and inconsistent continuity. For example, Krusty the Clown may be able to read in one episode, but not in another. However, it is consistently portrayed that he is Jewish, that his father was a rabbi, and that his career began in the 1960s. The latter point introduces another snag in the floating timeline: historical periods that are a core part of a character's backstory remain so even when their age makes it unlikely or impossible, such as Grampa Simpson and Principal Skinner's respective service in World War II and Vietnam.
The only episodes not part of the series' main canon are the Treehouse of Horror episodes, which often feature the deaths of main characters. Characters who die in "regular" episodes, such as Maude Flanders, Mona Simpson, Edna Krabappel, etc, however, stay dead. An exception to this is Hans Moleman, who is often killed in his appearances – as of 2019 he has been killed 26 times only to reappear later. Most episodes end with the status quo being restored, though occasionally major changes will stick, such as Lisa's conversions to vegetarianism and Buddhism, the divorce of Milhouse van Houten's parents, and the marriage and subsequent parenthood of Apu and Manjula.
=== Setting ===
The Simpsons takes place in a fictional American town called Springfield. Although there are many real settlements in America named Springfield, the town the show is set in is fictional. The state it is in is not established. In fact, the show is intentionally evasive with regard to Springfield's location. Springfield's geography and that of its surroundings is inconsistent: from one episode to another, it may have coastlines, deserts, vast farmland, mountains, or whatever the story or joke requires. Groening has said that Springfield has much in common with Portland, Oregon, the city where he grew up. Groening has said that he named it after Springfield, Oregon, and the fictitious Springfield which was the setting of the series Father Knows Best. He "figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do." Many landmarks, including street names, have connections to Portland.
== Production ==
=== Development ===
When producer James L. Brooks was working on the television variety show The Tracey Ullman Show, he decided to include small animated sketches before and after the commercial breaks. Having seen one of cartoonist Matt Groening's Life in Hell comic strips, Brooks asked Groening to pitch an idea for a series of animated shorts. Groening initially intended to present an animated version of his Life in Hell series. However, Groening later realized that animating Life in Hell would require the rescinding of publication rights for his life's work. He therefore chose another approach while waiting in the lobby of Brooks's office for the pitch meeting, hurriedly formulating his version of a dysfunctional family that became the Simpsons. He named the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name, adopting an anagram of the word "brat".
The Simpson family first appeared as shorts in The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. Groening submitted only basic sketches to the animators and assumed that the figures would be cleaned up in production. However, the animators merely re-traced his drawings, which led to the crude appearance of the characters in the initial shorts. The animation was produced domestically at Klasky Csupo, with Wes Archer, David Silverman, and Bill Kopp being animators for the first season. The colorist, "Georgie" Gyorgyi Kovacs Peluce (Kovács Györgyike) made the characters yellow; as Bart, Lisa, and Maggie have no hairlines, she felt they would look strange if they were flesh-colored. Groening supported the decision, saying: "Marge is yellow with blue hair? That's hilarious — let's do it!"
In 1989, a team of production companies adapted The Simpsons into a half-hour series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The team included the Klasky Csupo animation house. Brooks negotiated a provision in the contract with the Fox network that prevented Fox from interfering with the show's content. Groening said his goal in creating the show was to offer the audience an alternative to what he called "the mainstream trash" that they were watching. The half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989, with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". "Some Enchanted Evening" was the first full-length episode produced, but it did not broadcast until May 1990, as the last episode of the first season, because of animation problems. In 1992, Tracey Ullman filed a lawsuit against Fox, claiming that her show was the source of the series' success. The suit said she should receive a share of the profits of The Simpsons—a claim rejected by the courts.
=== Executive producers and showrunners ===
Matt Groening and James L. Brooks have served as executive producers during the show's entire history, and also function as creative consultants. Sam Simon, described by former Simpsons director Brad Bird as "the unsung hero" of the show, served as creative supervisor for the first four seasons. He was constantly at odds with Groening, Brooks and the show's production company Gracie Films and left in 1993. Before leaving, he negotiated a deal that sees him receive a share of the profits every year, and an executive producer credit despite not having worked on the show since 1993, at least until his death in 2015. A more involved position on the show is the showrunner, who acts as head writer and manages the show's production for an entire season.
=== Writing ===
The first team of writers, assembled by Sam Simon, consisted of John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, George Meyer, Jeff Martin, Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jay Kogen, and Wallace Wolodarsky. Newer Simpsons' writing teams typically consist of sixteen writers who propose episode ideas at the beginning of each December. The main writer of each episode writes the first draft. Group rewriting sessions develop final scripts by adding or removing jokes, inserting scenes, and calling for re-readings of lines by the show's vocal performers. Until 2004, George Meyer, who had developed the show since the first season, was active in these sessions. According to long-time writer Jon Vitti, Meyer usually invented the best lines in a given episode, even though other writers may receive script credits. Each episode takes approximately six months to produce, so the show rarely comments on current events.
Credited with sixty episodes, John Swartzwelder is the most prolific writer on The Simpsons. One of the best-known former writers is Conan O'Brien, who contributed to several episodes in the early 1990s before replacing David Letterman as host of the talk show Late Night. English comedian Ricky Gervais wrote the episode "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife", becoming the first celebrity both to write and guest star in the same episode. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, writers of the film Superbad, wrote the episode "Homer the Whopper", with Rogen voicing a character in it.
At the end of 2007, the writers of The Simpsons went on strike together with the other members of the Writers Guild of America, East. The show's writers had joined the guild in 1998.
In May 2023, the writers of The Simpsons went on strike together with the other members of the Writers Guild of America, East.
=== Voice actors ===
The Simpsons has six main cast members: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, and Harry Shearer. Castellaneta voices Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby, Barney Gumble, and other adult male characters. Julie Kavner voices Marge Simpson, Patty, Selma, as well as several minor characters. Castellaneta and Kavner had been a part of The Tracey Ullman Show cast and were given the parts so that new actors would not be needed. Cartwright voices Bart Simpson, Maggie Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, and other children. Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson, is the only cast member who regularly voices only one character, although she occasionally plays other episodic characters. The producers decided to hold casting for the roles of Bart and Lisa. Smith had initially been asked to audition for the role of Bart, but casting director Bonita Pietila believed her voice was too high, so she was given the role of Lisa instead. Cartwright was originally brought in to voice Lisa, but upon arriving at the audition, she found that Lisa was simply described as the "middle child" and at the time did not have much personality. Cartwright became more interested in the role of Bart, who was described as "devious, underachieving, school-hating, irreverent, [and] clever". Groening let her try out for the part instead, and upon hearing her read, gave her the job on the spot. Cartwright is the only one of the six main Simpsons cast members who had been professionally trained in voice acting prior to working on the show. Azaria and Shearer do not voice members of the title family, but play a majority of the male townspeople. Azaria, who has been a part of the main voice cast since the second season in one episode "Old Money" and then perpetually part of the regular main voice cast since the third season, voices recurring characters such as Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, and Professor Frink. Shearer provides voices for Mr. Burns, Mr. Smithers, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, and formerly Dr. Hibbert. Every main cast member has won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.
With one exception, episode credits list only the voice actors, and not the characters they voice. Both Fox and the production crew wanted to keep their identities secret during the early seasons and, therefore, closed most of the recording sessions while refusing to publish photos of the recording artists. However, the network eventually revealed which roles each actor performed in the episode "Old Money", because the producers said the voice actors should receive credit for their work. In 2003, the cast appeared in an episode of Inside the Actors Studio, doing live performances of their characters' voices.
The six main actors were paid $30,000 per episode, until 1998, when they were involved in a pay dispute with Fox. The company threatened to replace them with new actors, even going as far as preparing for casting of new voices, but series creator Groening supported the actors in their action. The issue was soon resolved and, from 1998 to 2004, they were paid $125,000 per episode. The show's revenue continued to rise through syndication and DVD sales, and in April 2004 the main cast stopped appearing for script readings, demanding they be paid $360,000 per episode. The strike was resolved a month later and their salaries were increased to between $250,000 and $360,000 per episode. In 2008, production for the twentieth season was put on hold due to new contract negotiations with the voice actors, who wanted a "healthy bump" in salary to an amount close to $500,000 per episode. The negotiations were soon completed, and the actors' salary was raised to $400,000 per episode. Three years later, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were cut, the cast members accepted a 30 percent pay cut, down to just over $300,000 per episode.
In addition to the main cast, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Marcia Wallace, Maggie Roswell, and Russi Taylor voice supporting characters. From 1999 to 2002, Roswell's characters were voiced by Marcia Mitzman Gaven. Karl Wiedergott has also appeared in minor roles, but does not voice any recurring characters. Wiedergott left the show in 2010, and since then Chris Edgerly has appeared regularly to voice minor characters. Repeat "special guest" cast members include Albert Brooks, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Joe Mantegna, Maurice LaMarche, and Kelsey Grammer. Following Hartman's death in 1998, the characters he voiced (Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz) were retired; Wallace's character of Edna Krabappel was retired as well after her death in 2013. Following Taylor's death in 2019, her characters (including Sherri, Terri, and Martin Prince) are now voiced by Grey Griffin.
Episodes will quite often feature guest voices from a wide range of professions, including actors, athletes, authors, bands, musicians and scientists. In the earlier seasons, most of the guest stars voiced characters, but eventually more started appearing as themselves. Tony Bennett was the first guest star to appear as himself, appearing briefly in the season two episode "Dancin' Homer". The Simpsons holds the world record for "Most Guest Stars Featured in a Television Series".
The Simpsons has been dubbed into several other languages, including Japanese, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. It is also one of the few programs dubbed in both standard French and Quebec French. The show has been broadcast in Arabic, but due to Islamic customs, numerous aspects of the show have been changed. For example, Homer drinks soda instead of beer and eats Egyptian beef sausages instead of hot dogs. Because of such changes, the Arabized version of the series met with a negative reaction from the lifelong Simpsons fans in the area.
=== Animation ===
Several different American and international studios animate The Simpsons. Throughout the run of the animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, the animation was produced domestically at Klasky Csupo. With the debut of the series, because of an increased workload, Fox subcontracted production to several local and foreign studios. These are AKOM, Anivision, Rough Draft Studios, USAnimation, and Toonzone Entertainment.
For the first three seasons, Klasky Csupo animated The Simpsons in the United States. In 1992, the show's production company, Gracie Films, switched domestic production to Film Roman, who continued to animate the show until 2016 when they were replaced by Fox Television Animation, which allowed the show to be made more in-house. In the first episode of Season 14, production switched from traditional cel animation to digital ink and paint. The first episode to experiment with digital coloring was "Radioactive Man" in 1995. Animators used digital ink and paint during production of the season 12 episode "Tennis the Menace", but Gracie Films delayed the regular use of digital ink and paint until two seasons later. The already completed "Tennis the Menace" was broadcast as made.
The production staff at the American animation studio, Film Roman, draws storyboards, designs new characters, backgrounds, props and draws character and background layouts, which in turn become animatics to be screened for the writers at Gracie Films for any changes to be made before the work is shipped overseas. The overseas studios then draw the inbetweens, ink and paint, and render the animation to tape before it is shipped back to the United States to be delivered to Fox three to four months later.
The series began high-definition production in season 20; the first episode, "Take My Life, Please", aired February 15, 2009. The move to HDTV included a new opening sequence. Matt Groening called it a complicated change because it affected the timing and composition of animation.
== Themes ==
The Simpsons uses the standard setup of a situational comedy, or sitcom, as its premise. The series centers on a family and their life in a typical American town, serving as a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle. However, because of its animated nature, The Simpsons' scope is larger than that of a regular sitcom. The town of Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. By having Homer work in a nuclear power plant, the show can comment on the state of the environment. Through Bart and Lisa's days at Springfield Elementary School, the show's writers illustrate pressing or controversial issues in the field of education. The town features a vast array of television channels, which enables the producers to make jokes about the entertainment industry and the press.
Some commentators say the show is political in nature and susceptible to a left-wing bias. Al Jean acknowledged in an interview that "We [the show] are of liberal bent." The writers often evince an appreciation for progressive leanings, but the show makes jokes across the political spectrum. The show portrays government and large corporations as evil entities that take advantage of the common worker. Thus, the writers often portray authority figures in an unflattering or negative light. In The Simpsons, politicians are corrupt, ministers such as Reverend Lovejoy are dismissive to churchgoers, and the local police force is incompetent. Religion also figures as a recurring theme. In times of crisis, the family often turns to God, and the show has dealt with most of the major religions.
Sexuality is often a source of jokes in the series or serves as the theme of certain episodes. Even though homosexuals are sometimes sources of gags, the series often comments on how American society treats them, with "Homer's Phobia" devoting an entire episode to the family making a gay friend and Homer's initial hostility to him. In 1990, The Simpsons became the first animated early evening show to depict a kiss between two men in "Simpson and Delilah".
== Hallmarks ==
=== Opening sequence ===
The Simpsons' opening sequence is one of the show's most memorable hallmarks. The standard opening has gone through three iterations (a replacement of some shots at the start of the second season, and a brand new sequence when the show switched to high-definition in 2009).
Each has the same basic sequence of events: the camera zooms through cumulus clouds, through the show's title towards the town of Springfield. The camera then follows the members of the family on their way home. Upon entering their house, the Simpsons settle down on their couch to watch television. The original opening was created by David Silverman, and was the first task he did when production began on the show. The series' distinctive theme song was composed by musician Danny Elfman in 1989, after Groening approached him requesting a retro-style piece. This piece has been noted by Elfman as the most popular of his career.
One of the most distinctive aspects of the opening is that three of its elements change from episode to episode: Bart writes different things on the school chalkboard, Lisa plays different solos on her saxophone (or occasionally a different instrument), and different gags accompany the family as they enter their living room to sit on the couch.
=== Halloween episodes ===
The special Halloween episode has become an annual tradition. "Treehouse of Horror" first broadcast in 1990 as part of season two and established the pattern of three separate, self-contained stories in each Halloween episode. These pieces usually involve the family in some horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting and often parody or pay homage to a famous piece of work in those genres. They always take place outside the normal continuity of the show. Although the Treehouse series is meant to be seen on Halloween, this changed by the 2000s (and again in 2020), when new installments have premiered after Halloween due to Fox's current contract with Major League Baseball's World Series. Prior to 2020 (between 2011 and 2019), every Treehouse of Horror episode had aired in October.
=== Humor ===
The show's humor turns on cultural references that cover a wide spectrum of society so that viewers from all generations can enjoy the show. Such references, for example, come from movies, television, music, literature, science, and history. The animators also regularly add jokes or sight gags into the show's background via humorous or incongruous bits of text in signs, newspapers, billboards, and elsewhere. The audience may often not notice the visual jokes in a single viewing. Some are so fleeting that they become apparent only by pausing a video recording of the show or viewing it in slow motion. Kristin Thompson argues that The Simpsons uses a "flurry of cultural references, intentionally inconsistent characterization, and considerable self-reflexivity about television conventions and the status of the programme as a television show."
One of Bart's early hallmarks was his prank calls to Moe's Tavern owner Moe Szyslak where he asks for a gag name. Moe tries to find that person in the bar, but soon realizes it is a prank call and angrily threatens Bart. These calls were apparently based on a series of prank calls known as the Tube Bar recordings, though Groening has denied any causal connection.
Moe was based partly on Tube Bar owner Louis "Red" Deutsch, whose often profane responses inspired Moe's violent side. As the series progressed, it became more difficult for the writers to come up with a fake name and to write Moe's angry response, and the pranks were dropped as a regular joke during the fourth season. The Simpsons also often includes self-referential humor. The most common form is jokes about Fox Broadcasting. For example, the episode "She Used to Be My Girl" included a scene in which a Fox News Channel van drove down the street while displaying a large "Bush Cheney 2004" banner and playing Queen's "We Are the Champions", in reference to the 2004 U.S. presidential election and claims of conservative bias in Fox News.
The show uses catchphrases, and most of the primary and secondary characters have at least one each. Notable expressions include Homer's annoyed grunt "D'oh!", Mr. Burns' "Excellent" and Nelson Muntz's "Ha-ha!" Some of Bart's catchphrases, such as "¡Ay, caramba!", "Don't have a cow, man!" and "Eat my shorts!" appeared on T-shirts in the show's early days. However, Bart rarely used the latter two phrases until after they became popular through the merchandising. The use of many of these catchphrases has declined in recent seasons. The episode "Bart Gets Famous" mocks catchphrase-based humor, as Bart achieves fame on the Krusty the Clown Show solely for saying "I didn't do it".
==== Purported foreshadowing of actual events ====
The Simpsons has gained notoriety for jokes that appeared to become reality. Perhaps the most famous example comes from the episode "Bart to the Future", which mentions billionaire Donald Trump having been president of the United States at one time and leaving the nation broke. The episode first aired in 2000, sixteen years before Trump (who at the time was exploring a presidential run) was elected. Another episode, "When You Dish Upon a Star", lampooned 20th Century Fox as a division of The Walt Disney Company. Nineteen years later, Disney purchased Fox. Other examples purported as The Simpsons predicting the future include the introduction of the smartwatch, video chat services, Richard Branson's spaceflight and Lady Gaga's acrobatic performance at the Super Bowl LI halftime show.
Al Jean has commented on the show's purported ability to predict the future, explaining that they are really just "educated guesses" and stating that "if you throw enough darts, you're going to get some bullseyes." Producer Bill Oakley stated, "There are very few cases where The Simpsons predicted something. It's mainly just coincidence because the episodes are so old that history repeats itself." Fact-checking sources such as Snopes have debunked many of the claimed prophecies, explaining that the show's extensive run means "a lot of jokes, and a lot of opportunities for coincidences to appear" and "most of these 'predictions' have rather simple and mundane explanations". For example, the device shown on The Simpsons with autocorrection is an Apple Newton, a real 1993 device notorious for its poor handwriting recognition. Technologically advanced watches have appeared in numerous works of fiction, decades before The Simpsons.
== Influence and legacy ==
=== Idioms ===
A number of neologisms that originated on The Simpsons have entered popular vernacular. Mark Liberman, director of the Linguistic Data Consortium, remarked, "The Simpsons has apparently taken over from Shakespeare and the Bible as our culture's greatest source of idioms, catchphrases and sundry other textual allusions." The most famous catchphrase is Homer's annoyed grunt: "D'oh!" So ubiquitous is the expression that it is now listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, but without the apostrophe. The voice of Homer, Dan Castellaneta says he borrowed the phrase from James Finlayson, an actor in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, who pronounced it in a more elongated and whining tone. The staff of The Simpsons told Castellaneta to shorten the noise, and it went on to become the well-known exclamation in the television series.
Groundskeeper Willie's description of the French as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" was used by National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg in 2003, after France's opposition to the proposed invasion of Iraq. The phrase quickly spread to other journalists. "Cromulent" and "embiggen", words used in "Lisa the Iconoclast", have since appeared in the Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon, and scientific journals respectively. "Kwyjibo", a fake Scrabble word invented by Bart in "Bart the Genius", was used as one of the aliases of the creator of the Melissa worm. "I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords", was used by Kent Brockman in "Deep Space Homer" and has become a snowclone, with variants of the utterance used to express obsequious submission. It has been used in media, such as New Scientist magazine. The dismissive term "Meh", believed to have been popularized by the show, entered the Collins English Dictionary in 2008. Other words credited as stemming from the show include "yoink" and "craptacular".
The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations includes several quotations from the show. As well as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys", Homer's lines, "Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is never try", from "Burns' Heir" (season five, 1994) as well as "Kids are the best, Apu. You can teach them to hate the things you hate. And they practically raise themselves, what with the Internet and all", from "Eight Misbehavin'" (season 11, 1999), entered the dictionary in August 2007.
Many quotes/scenes have become popular Internet memes, including Jasper Beardley's quote "That's a paddlin'" from "The PTA Disbands" (season 6, 1995) and "Steamed Hams" from "22 Short Films About Springfield" (season 7, 1996).
=== Television ===
The Simpsons was the first successful animated program in American prime-time since Wait Till Your Father Gets Home in the 1970s. During most of the 1980s, American pundits considered animated shows as appropriate only for children, and animating a show was too expensive to achieve a quality suitable for prime-time television. The Simpsons changed this perception, initially leading to a short period where networks attempted to recreate prime-time cartoon success with shows like Capitol Critters, Fish Police, and Family Dog, which were expensive and unsuccessful. The Simpsons' use of Korean animation studios for tweening, coloring, and filming made the episodes cheaper. The success of The Simpsons and the lower production cost prompted American television networks to take chances on other adult animated series. This development led American producers to a 1990s boom in new, animated prime-time shows for adults, such as Beavis and Butt-Head, South Park, Family Guy, King of the Hill, Futurama (which was created by Matt Groening), and The Critic (which was also produced by Gracie Films). For Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, "The Simpsons created an audience for prime-time animation that had not been there for many, many years ... As far as I'm concerned, they basically re-invented the wheel. They created what is in many ways—you could classify it as—a wholly new medium."
The Simpsons has had crossovers with four other shows. In the episode "A Star Is Burns", Marge invites Jay Sherman, the main character of The Critic, to be a judge for a film festival in Springfield. Matt Groening had his name removed from the episode since he had no involvement with The Critic. South Park later paid homage to The Simpsons with the episode "Simpsons Already Did It". In "Simpsorama", the Planet Express crew from Futurama come to Springfield in the present to prevent the Simpsons from destroying the future. In the Family Guy episode "The Simpsons Guy", the Griffins visit Springfield and meet the Simpsons.
The Simpsons has also influenced live-action shows like Malcolm in the Middle, which featured the use of sight gags and did not use a laugh track unlike most sitcoms. Malcolm in the Middle debuted January 9, 2000, in the time slot after The Simpsons. Ricky Gervais called The Simpsons an influence on The Office, and fellow British sitcom Spaced was, according to its director Edgar Wright, "an attempt to do a live-action The Simpsons". In Georgia, the animated television sitcom The Samsonadzes, launched in November 2009, has been noted for its very strong resemblance with The Simpsons, which its creator Shalva Ramishvili has acknowledged.
=== LGBTQ representation ===
The Simpsons has historically been open to portrayals of LGBTQ characters and settings, and it has routinely challenged heteronormativity. It was one of several animated television shows in the United States that began introducing characters that were LGBTQ, both openly and implied, in the 1990s. While early episodes involving LGBTQ characters primarily included them through the use of stereotypes, The Simpsons developed several prominent LGBTQ characters over its run. Producers of the show, such as Matt Groening and Al Jean, have expressed their opinion that LGBTQ representation in media is important, and that they seek to actively include it. Some characters, such as Julio, were created with their sexual orientation in mind, with it being central to their character. The show expanded its roster of openly LGBTQ characters through episodes in which prominent characters Patty Bouvier and Waylon Smithers came out in seasons 16 and 27, respectively.
== Release ==
=== Broadcast ===
=== Renewals ===
On February 6, 2019, the series was renewed for Seasons 31 and 32, running from 2019 to 2021, and in March 2021, the series was renewed again for Seasons 33 and 34.
On January 26, 2023, the series was renewed for its 35th and 36th seasons, taking the show through the 2024–25 television season. The two seasons contain a combined total of 51 episodes. Seven of these episodes are season 34 holdovers, while the other 44 will be produced in the production cycle of the upcoming seasons, bringing the show's overall episode total up to 801. Season 35 premiered on October 1, 2023. Season 36 premiered on September 29, 2024.
On April 2, 2025, it was announced that The Simpsons 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, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the show. Each season will consist of 15 episodes.
=== Syndication ===
In the United States, the cable television network FXX, a sibling of 20th Television and formerly the Fox network, has exclusive cable and digital syndication rights for The Simpsons. Original contracts had previously stated that syndication rights for The Simpsons would not be sold to cable until the series conclusion, at a time when cable syndication deals were highly rare. The series has been syndicated to local broadcast stations in nearly all markets throughout the United States since September 1994.
FXX premiered The Simpsons on their network on August 21, 2014, by starting a twelve-day marathon which featured the first 552 episodes (every single episode that had already been released at the time) aired chronologically, including The Simpsons Movie, which FX Networks had already owned the rights to air. It was the longest continuous marathon in the history of television (until VH1 Classic aired a 433-hour, nineteen-day, marathon of Saturday Night Live in 2015; celebrating that program's 40th anniversary). The first day of the marathon was the highest rated broadcast day in the history of the network so far, the ratings more than tripled those of regular prime time programming for FXX. Ratings during the first six nights of the marathon grew night after night, with the network ranking within the top 5 networks in basic cable each night. In Australia, a marathon of every episode of the show (at the time) aired from December 16, 2019, to January 5, 2020, on Fox8 (a cable network operated on pay TV provider Foxtel and a corporate sibling to the American Fox network). In Canada, Bell Media's Much and Rogers Media's FXX Canada syndicate the series as of January 2025.
After Disney acquired both 20th Television and FX Networks, it was announced that The Simpsons would air on the company's Freeform channel starting October 2, 2019.
=== Streaming and digital sell-through ===
On October 21, 2014, a digital service courtesy of the FXNOW app, called Simpsons World, launched with every episode of the series accessible to authenticated FX subscribers, and is available on game consoles such as Xbox One, streaming devices such as Roku and Apple TV, and online via web browser. There was early criticism of both wrong aspect ratios for earlier episodes and the length of commercial breaks on the streaming service, but that problem was soon amended with fewer commercial breaks during individual episodes. Later it was announced that Simpsons World would now let users watch all of the SD episodes in their original format. Simpsons World was discontinued after the launch of Disney+ on November 12, 2019, where the series streams exclusively. Initially, the series was only available cropped to 16:9 without the option to view the original 4:3 versions, reigniting criticisms of cropping old episodes. In response, Disney announced that "in early 2020, Disney+ will make the first 19 seasons (and some episodes from season 20) of The Simpsons available in their original 4:3 aspect ratio, giving subscribers a choice of how they prefer to view the popular series." On May 28, 2020, Disney+ made the first 19 seasons, along with some episodes from season 20, of The Simpsons available in both 16:9 and the original 4:3 aspect ratio. Season 31 came to Disney+ on October 2, 2020, with Hulu streaming the latest episodes of season 32 the next day. Season 32 came to Disney+ on September 29, 2021.
The season 3 premiere "Stark Raving Dad", which features Michael Jackson as the voice of Leon Kompowsky, was pulled out of rotation in 2019 by Matt Groening, James L. Brooks and Al Jean after HBO aired the documentary Leaving Neverland, in which two men share details into how Jackson allegedly abused them as children. It is therefore unavailable on Disney+. However, the episode is still available on The Complete Third Season DVD box set released on August 26, 2003.
In July 2017, all episodes from seasons 4 to 19 were made available for purchase on the iTunes Store in Canada.
On August 10, 2024, it was announced that four episodes of season 36 would air exclusively on Disney+.
== Reception and achievements ==
=== Early success ===
The Simpsons was the Fox network's first television series to rank among a season's top 30 highest-rated shows. In 1990, Bart quickly became one of the most popular characters on television in what was termed "Bartmania". He became the most prevalent Simpsons character on memorabilia, such as T-shirts. In the early 1990s, millions of T-shirts featuring Bart were sold; as many as one million were sold on some days. Believing Bart to be a bad role model, several American public schools banned T-shirts featuring Bart next to captions such as "I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?" and "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')". The Simpsons merchandise sold well and generated $2 billion in revenue during the first 14 months of sales. Because of his popularity, Bart was often the most promoted member of the Simpson family in advertisements for the show, even for episodes in which he was not involved in the main plot.
Due to the show's success, over the summer of 1990 the Fox Network decided to switch The Simpsons' time slot from 8:00 p.m. ET on Sunday night to the same time on Thursday, where it competed with The Cosby Show on NBC, the number one show at the time. Through the summer, several news outlets published stories about the supposed "Bill vs. Bart" rivalry. "Bart Gets an 'F'" (season two, 1990) was the first episode to air against The Cosby Show, and it received a lower Nielsen rating, tying for eighth behind The Cosby Show, which had an 18.5 rating. The rating is based on the number of household televisions that were tuned into the show, but Nielsen Media Research estimated that 33.6 million viewers watched the episode, making it the number one show in terms of actual viewers that week. At the time, it was the most watched episode in the history of the Fox Network, and it is still the highest rated episode in the history of The Simpsons. The show moved back to its Sunday slot in 1994 and has remained there ever since.
The Simpsons has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, and it has been noted for being described as "the most irreverent and unapologetic show on the air". In a 1990 review of the show, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly described it as "the American family at its most complicated, drawn as simple cartoons. It's this neat paradox that makes millions of people turn away from the three big networks on Sunday nights to concentrate on The Simpsons." Tucker also described the show as a "pop-cultural phenomenon, a prime-time cartoon show that appeals to the entire family."
=== Run length achievements ===
On February 9, 1997, The Simpsons surpassed The Flintstones with the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" as the longest-running prime-time animated series in the United States. In 2004, The Simpsons replaced The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952 to 1966) as the longest-running sitcom (animated or live action) in the United States in terms of the number of years airing. In 2009, The Simpsons surpassed The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet's record of 435 episodes and is now recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's longest running sitcom (in terms of episode count). In October 2004, Scooby-Doo briefly overtook The Simpsons as the American animated show with the highest number of episodes (albeit under several different iterations). However, network executives in April 2005 again canceled Scooby-Doo, which finished with 371 episodes, and The Simpsons reclaimed the title with 378 episodes at the end of their seventeenth season. In May 2007, The Simpsons reached their 400th episode at the end of the eighteenth season. While The Simpsons has the record for the number of episodes by an American animated show, other animated series have surpassed The Simpsons. For example, the Japanese anime series Sazae-san has over 2,000 episodes (7,000+ segments) to its credit.
In 2009, Fox began a year-long celebration of the show titled "Best. 20 Years. Ever." to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the premiere of The Simpsons. One of the first parts of the celebration is the "Unleash Your Yellow" contest in which entrants must design a poster for the show. The celebration ended on January 10, 2010 (almost 20 years after "Bart the Genius" aired on January 14, 1990), with The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice!, a documentary special by documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock that examines the "cultural phenomenon of The Simpsons".
As of the twenty-first season (2009–2010), The Simpsons became the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, having surpassed the 1955–1975 run of Gunsmoke. On April 29, 2018, The Simpsons also surpassed Gunsmoke's 635-episode count with the episode "Forgive and Regret".
The Simpsons is both the longest-running and the highest ranking animated series to feature on TV Time's top 50 most followed TV shows ever.
On February 6, 2019, it was announced that The Simpsons has been renewed for seasons 31 and 32.
On March 3, 2021, it was announced that The Simpsons was renewed for seasons 33 and 34.
Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on certain U.S. television screens, reported that The Simpsons ranked as the tenth most-streamed acquired program of 2022, accumulating 15.87 billion minutes of watch time. The series also ranked as the fiftieth most-streamed title overall that year. In December 2025, Disney announced that The Simpsons surpassed one billion hours streamed on Disney+ during 2025.
=== Awards and honors ===
The Simpsons has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 34 Primetime Emmy Awards, 34 Annie Awards and a Peabody Award. In a 1999 issue celebrating the 20th century's greatest achievements in arts and entertainment, Time named The Simpsons the century's best television series, writing: "Dazzlingly intelligent and unapologetically vulgar, the Simpsons have surpassed the humor, topicality and, yes, humanity of past TV greats." In that same issue, Time included Bart Simpson in the Time 100, the publication's list of the century's 100 most influential people. Bart was the only fictional character on the list. On January 14, 2000, the Simpsons were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Also in 2000, Entertainment Weekly magazine TV critic Ken Tucker named The Simpsons the greatest television show of the 1990s. Furthermore, viewers of the UK television channel Channel 4 have voted The Simpsons at the top of two polls: 2001's 100 Greatest Kids' TV shows (despite the show not being aimed at children), and 2005's The 100 Greatest Cartoons, with Homer Simpson voted into first place in 2001's 100 Greatest TV Characters. Homer also placed ninth on Entertainment Weekly's list of the "50 Greatest TV icons".
In 2002, The Simpsons ranked No. 8 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, and was ranked the No. 6 cult show in 2004. In 2007, it moved to No. 8 on TV Guide's cult shows list and was included in Time's list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time". In 2008 the show was placed in first on Entertainment Weekly's "Top 100 Shows of the Past 25 Years". Empire named it the greatest TV show of all time. In 2010, Entertainment Weekly named Homer "the greatest character of the last 20 years", while in 2013 the Writers Guild of America listed The Simpsons as the 11th "best written" series in television history. In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Simpsons as the greatest TV cartoon of all time and the tenth greatest show of all time. A 2015 The Hollywood Reporter survey of 2,800 actors, producers, directors, and other industry people named it as their No. 10 favorite show. In 2015, British newspaper The Telegraph named The Simpsons as one of the 10 best TV sitcoms of all time. Television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked The Simpsons as the greatest American TV series of all time in their 2016 book TV (The Book). In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked The Simpsons as the second-greatest TV show of all time. In 2023, Variety ranked The Simpsons as the fourth-greatest TV show of all time.
=== Criticism ===
==== Controversy ====
Bart's rebellious, bad boy nature, which underlies his misbehavior and rarely leads to any punishment, led some people to characterize him as a poor role model for children. In schools, educators claimed that Bart was a "threat to learning" because of his "underachiever and proud of it" attitude and negative attitude regarding his education. Others described him as "egotistical, aggressive and mean-spirited". In a 1991 interview, Bill Cosby described Bart as a bad role model for children, calling him "angry, confused, frustrated". In response, Matt Groening said, "That sums up Bart, all right. Most people are in a struggle to be normal [and] he thinks normal is very boring, and does things that others just wished they dare do." On January 27, 1992, then-President George H. W. Bush said, "We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons." The writers rushed out a tongue-in-cheek reply in the form of a short segment that aired three days later before a rerun of "Stark Raving Dad" in which Bart replied, "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too."
The show also received criticism from the nuclear power industry in its early years, with its portrayal of the evil boss Mr. Burns and "bungling idiot" employees (including Homer Simpson himself) with their lack of safety and security. In a letter to the nuclear power-backed U.S. Council for Energy Awareness, producer Sam Simon apologized, stating, "I apologize that the Simpsons have offended a lot of people in the energy industry. I agree with you that in real life, Homer Simpson would not be employed at a nuclear power plant. On the other hand, he probably wouldn't be employed anywhere."
Various episodes of the show have generated controversy. The Simpsons visit Australia in "Bart vs. Australia" (season six, 1995) and Brazil in "Blame It on Lisa" (season 13, 2002) and both episodes generated controversy and negative reaction in the visited countries. In the latter case, Rio de Janeiro's tourist board—which claimed that the city was portrayed as having rampant street crime, kidnappings, slums, and monkey and rat infestations—went so far as to threaten Fox with legal action. Groening was a fierce and vocal critic of the episode "A Star Is Burns" (season six, 1995), which featured a crossover with The Critic. He felt that it was just an advertisement for The Critic, and that people would incorrectly associate the show with him. When he was unsuccessful in getting the episode pulled, he had his name removed from the credits and went public with his concerns, openly criticizing James L. Brooks and saying the episode "violates the Simpsons' universe". In response, Brooks said, "I am furious with Matt, ... he's allowed his opinion, but airing this publicly in the press is going too far. ... his behavior right now is rotten."
"The Principal and the Pauper" (season nine, 1997) is one of the most controversial episodes of The Simpsons. Many fans and critics reacted negatively to the revelation that Seymour Skinner, a recurring character since the first season, was an impostor. The episode has been criticized by Groening and by Harry Shearer, who provides the voice of Skinner. In a 2001 interview, Shearer recalled that after reading the script, he told the writers, "That's so wrong. You're taking something that an audience has built eight years or nine years of investment in and just tossed it in the trash can for no good reason, for a story we've done before with other characters. It's so arbitrary and gratuitous, and it's disrespectful to the audience."
==== Bans ====
The show has reportedly been taken off the air in several countries. China banned it from prime-time television in August 2006, "in an effort to protect China's struggling animation studios". In 2008, Venezuela barred the show from airing on morning television as it was deemed "unsuitable for children". The same year, several Russian Pentecostal churches demanded that The Simpsons, South Park and some other Western cartoons be removed from broadcast schedules "for propaganda of various vices" and the broadcaster's license to be revoked. However, a court decision later dismissed this request.
==== Perceived decline in quality ====
Critics' reviews of early Simpsons episodes praised the show for its sassy humor, wit, realism, and intelligence. However, in the late 1990s, around the airing of season nine, the tone and emphasis of the show began to change. Some critics started calling the show "tired". By 2000, some long-term fans had become disillusioned with the show, and pointed to its shift from character-driven plots to what they perceived as an overemphasis on zany antics. Jim Schembri of The Sydney Morning Herald attributed the decline in quality to an abandonment of character-driven storylines in favor of celebrity cameo appearances and references to popular culture. Schembri wrote in 2011: "The central tragedy of The Simpsons is that it has gone from commanding attention to merely being attention-seeking. It began by proving that cartoon characters don't have to be caricatures; they can be invested with real emotions. Now the show has in essence fermented into a limp parody of itself. Memorable story arcs have been sacrificed for the sake of celebrity walk-ons and punchline-hungry dialogue."
In 2010, the BBC noted "the common consensus is that The Simpsons' golden era ended after season nine", and Todd Leopold of CNN, in an article looking at its perceived decline, stated "for many fans ... the glory days are long past." Similarly, Tyler Wilson of Coeur d'Alene Press has referred to seasons one to nine as the show's "golden age", and Ian Nathan of Empire described the show's classic era as being "say, the first ten seasons". Jon Heacock of LucidWorks stated that "for the first ten years [seasons], the show was consistently at the top of its game", with "so many moments, quotations, and references – both epic and obscure – that helped turn the Simpson family into the cultural icons that they remain to this day".
Mike Scully, who was showrunner during seasons nine through twelve, has been the subject of criticism. Chris Suellentrop of Slate wrote that "under Scully's tenure, The Simpsons became, well, a cartoon ... Episodes that once would have ended with Homer and Marge bicycling into the sunset now end with Homer blowing a tranquilizer dart into Marge's neck. The show's still funny, but it hasn't been touching in years." When asked in 2007 how the series' longevity is sustained, Scully joked: "Lower your quality standards. Once you've done that you can go on forever."
Al Jean, who was showrunner during seasons thirteen through thirty-three, has also been the subject of criticism, with some arguing that the show has continued to decline in quality under his tenure. Former writers have complained that under Jean, the show is "on auto-pilot", "too sentimental", and the episodes are "just being cranked out". Some critics believe that the show has "entered a steady decline under Jean and is no longer really funny". John Ortved, author of The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History, characterized the Jean era as "toothless", and criticized what he perceived as the show's increase in social and political commentary. Jean responded: "Well, it's possible that we've declined. But honestly, I've been here the whole time and I do remember in season two people saying, 'It's gone downhill.' If we'd listened to that then we would have stopped after episode 13. I'm glad we didn't."
In 2004, cast member Harry Shearer criticized what he perceived as the show's declining quality: "I rate the last three seasons as among the worst, so season four looks very good to me now." Cast member Dan Castellaneta responded: "I don't agree, ... I think Harry's issue is that the show isn't as grounded as it was in the first three or four seasons, that it's gotten crazy or a little more madcap. I think it organically changes to stay fresh." Also in 2004 author Douglas Coupland described claims of declining quality in the series as "hogwash", saying "The Simpsons hasn't fumbled the ball in fourteen years, it's hardly likely to fumble it now." In an April 2006 interview, Groening said: "I honestly don't see any end in sight. I think it's possible that the show will get too financially cumbersome ... but right now, the show is creatively, I think, as good or better than it's ever been. The animation is incredibly detailed and imaginative, the stories do things that we haven't done before, so creatively there's no reason to quit."
In 2016, popular culture writer Anna Leszkiewicz suggested that even though The Simpsons still holds cultural relevance, "contemporary appeal" is only for the "first ten or so seasons", with recent episodes only garnering mainstream attention when a favorite character from the golden era is killed off, or when new information and shock twists are given for old characters. The series' ratings have also declined; while the first season enjoyed an average of 13.4 million viewing households per episode in the U.S., the twenty-first season had an average of 7.2 million viewers.
Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz argued in their 2016 book titled TV (The Book) that the peak of The Simpsons are "roughly seasons 3–12", and that despite the decline, episodes from the later seasons such as "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" and "Holidays of Future Passed" could be considered on par with the earlier classic episodes, further stating that "even if you want to call the show today a thin shadow of its former self, think about how mind-boggingly great its former self had to be for so-diminished a version to be watchable at all."
In 2020, Uproxx writer Josh Kurp stated that while he agrees with the sentiment that The Simpsons is not as good as it used to be, it is because "it was working at a level of comedy and characterization that no show ever has." He felt there were still many reasons to watch the series, as it was "still capable of quality television, and even the occasional new classic" and the fact that the show was willing to experiment, giving examples such as bringing on guest animators like Don Hertzfeldt and Sylvain Chomet to produce couch gags, and guest writers like Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Pete Holmes and Megan Amram to write episodes. In the season thirty-two episode "I, Carumbus", the show itself makes a nod to these concerns in its credits gag where the god Jupiter notes that "It definitely feels like they're wrapping it up ... any day now."
In a 2021 interview with NME, Jean was quoted as saying, "To people who say The Simpsons isn't as good as it used to be, I would say I think the world isn't as good as it used to be. But we're declining at a slower rate."
A counter-narrative since mid-2023 has asserted that—with seasons thirty-three and thirty-four—the show started to become "good again". ScreenRant asserted that season thirty-four was "seen as a return to form" and had been interpreted by reviewers as a "comeback". They then wrote of season thirty-five that there was "no denying that there has been an obvious uptick in quality beginning as early as season 33".
==== Race controversy ====
The stereotypical nature of the character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon has been the subject of controversy. Indian-American comedian Hari Kondabolu stated in his 2017 documentary The Problem with Apu that as a child he was a fan of The Simpsons and liked Apu, but he now finds the character's stereotypical nature troublesome. Defenders of the character responded that the show is built on comical stereotypes, with creator Matt Groening saying, "that's the nature of cartooning." He added that he was "proud of what we do on the show", and "it's a time in our culture where people love to pretend they're offended". In response to the controversy, Apu's voice actor, Hank Azaria, said he was willing to step aside from his role as Apu: "The most important thing is to listen to South Asian people, Indian people in this country when they talk about what they feel and how they think about this character." In February 2020, he confirmed that he would no longer voice Apu. Groening stated at the same time that the character would remain in the show.
The criticisms were referenced in the season 29 episode "No Good Read Goes Unpunished", when Lisa breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience by saying, "Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?" to which Marge replies, "Some things will be addressed at a later date." Lisa adds, "If at all." This reference was clarified by the fact that there was a framed photo of Apu with the caption on the photo saying "Don't have a cow, Apu", a play on Bart's catchphrase "Don't have a cow, man", as well as the fact that many Hindus do not eat cows as they are considered sacred. In October 2018, it was reported that Apu would be written out of the show, which Groening denied.
On June 26, 2020, in light of the various Black Lives Matter protests, Fox announced that recurring characters of color (Carl Carlson and Dr. Hibbert, among others) would no longer be voiced by white actors. Beginning with season 32, Carl, a black character originally voiced by Azaria, is now voiced by black actor Alex Désert. In addition, Bumblebee Man, a Spanish-speaking Latino character also originally voiced by Azaria, is now voiced by Mexican-American actor Eric Lopez, and Dr. Hibbert, a black character originally voiced by Harry Shearer, is now voiced by black actor Kevin Michael Richardson.
== Other media ==
=== Comic books ===
Numerous Simpson-related comic books have been released over the years. The first comic strips based on The Simpsons appeared in 1991 in the magazine Simpsons Illustrated, which was a companion magazine to the show. The comic strips were popular and a one-shot comic book titled Simpsons Comics and Stories, containing four different stories, was released in 1993 for the fans. The book was a success and due to this, Groening and his companions Bill Morrison, Mike Rote, and Steve and Cindy Vance created the publishing company Bongo Comics. A total of nine comic book series were published by Bongo Comics between 1993 and the company's dissolution in 2018. Issues of Simpsons Comics, Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror and Bart Simpson have been collected and reprinted in trade paperbacks in the United States by HarperCollins.
=== Film ===
20th Century Fox and Gracie Films produced The Simpsons Movie, an animated film that was released on July 27, 2007. The film was directed by long-time Simpsons producer David Silverman and written by a team of Simpsons writers comprising Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Al Jean, George Meyer, Mike Reiss, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, David Mirkin, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, and Ian Maxtone-Graham. Production of the film occurred alongside continued writing of the series despite long-time claims by those involved in the show that a film would enter production only after the series had concluded. There had been talk of a possible feature-length Simpsons film ever since the early seasons of the series. James L. Brooks originally thought that the story of the episode "Kamp Krusty" was suitable for a film, but he encountered difficulties in trying to expand the script to feature-length. For a long time, difficulties such as lack of a suitable story and an already fully engaged crew of writers delayed the project.
On August 10, 2018, 20th Century Fox announced that a sequel is in development. In September 2025, a sequel was officially announced to be in production. It is scheduled for release on September 3, 2027.
=== Music ===
Collections of original music featured in the series have been released on the albums Songs in the Key of Springfield, Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons and The Simpsons: Testify. Several songs have been recorded with the purpose of a single or album release and have not been featured on the show. The album The Simpsons Sing the Blues was released in September 1990 and was a success, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and becoming certified 2× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The first single from the album was the pop rap song "Do the Bartman", performed by Nancy Cartwright and released on November 20, 1990. The song had backing vocals by Michael Jackson, although he did not receive any credit. The Yellow Album was released in 1998, but received poor reception and did not chart in any country.
=== The Simpsons Ride ===
In 2007, it was officially announced that The Simpsons Ride, a simulator ride, would be implemented into the Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood. It officially opened May 15, 2008, in Florida and May 19, 2008, in Hollywood. In the ride, patrons are introduced to a cartoon theme park called Krustyland built by Krusty the Clown. However, Sideshow Bob is loose from prison to get revenge on Krusty and the Simpson family. It features more than 24 regular characters from The Simpsons and features the voices of the regular cast members, as well as Pamela Hayden, Russi Taylor and Kelsey Grammer. Harry Shearer did not participate in the ride, so none of his characters have vocal parts. The ride also features clips from the show in the waiting line.
=== Video games ===
Numerous video games based on the show have been produced. Some of the early games include Konami's arcade game The Simpsons (1991) and Acclaim Entertainment's The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants (1991). More modern games include The Simpsons: Road Rage (2001), The Simpsons: Hit & Run (2003) and The Simpsons Game (2007). Electronic Arts, which produced The Simpsons Game, has owned the exclusive rights to create video games based on the show since 2005. In 2010, they released a game called The Simpsons Arcade for iOS. Another EA-produced mobile game, Tapped Out, was released in 2012 for iOS users, then in 2013 for Android and Kindle users. Two Simpsons pinball machines have been produced: one that was available briefly after the first season, and another in 2007, both out of production.
== Merchandise ==
The popularity of The Simpsons has made it a billion-dollar merchandising industry. The title family and supporting characters appear on everything from T-shirts to posters. The Simpsons has been used as a theme for special editions of well-known board games, including Clue, Scrabble, Monopoly, Operation, and The Game of Life, as well as the trivia games What Would Homer Do? and Simpsons Jeopardy!. Several card games such as trump cards and The Simpsons Trading Card Game have also been released. Many official or unofficial Simpsons books such as episode guides have been published. Many episodes of the show have been released on DVD and VHS over the years. When the first season DVD was released in 2001, it quickly became the best-selling television DVD in history, although it was later overtaken by the first season of Chappelle's Show. In particular, seasons one through seventeen were released on DVD for 13 years between September 2001 to December 2014 in the U.S./Canada (Region 1), Europe (Region 2), and Australia/New Zealand/Latin America (Region 4). However, on April 8, 2015, Al Jean announced that the season 17 DVD would be the last one ever produced, leaving the collection from seasons 1 to 17, season 20 (released out of order in 2010), with seasons 18, 19, and 21 onwards unreleased. Jean also stated that the deleted scenes and commentaries would try to be released to the Simpsons World app, and that they were pushing for Simpsons World to be expanded outside of the U.S. Two years later, however, on July 22, 2017, it was announced that season 18 would be released on December 5, 2017, on DVD. Another two years later, on July 20, 2019, it was announced that season 19 would be released on December 3, 2019, on DVD.
In 2003, about 500 companies around the world were licensed to use Simpsons characters in their advertising. As a promotion for The Simpsons Movie, twelve 7-Eleven stores were transformed into Kwik-E-Marts and sold The Simpsons related products. These included "Buzz Cola", "Krusty-O" cereal, pink doughnuts with sprinkles, and "Squishees".
In 2008, consumers around the world spent $750 million on merchandise related to The Simpsons, with half of the amount originating from the United States. By 2009, 20th Century Fox had greatly increased merchandising efforts. On April 9, 2009, the United States Postal Service unveiled a series of five 44-cent stamps featuring Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, to commemorate the show's twentieth anniversary. The Simpsons is the first television series still in production to receive this recognition. The stamps, designed by Matt Groening, were made available for purchase on May 7, 2009. Approximately one billion were printed, but only 318 million were sold, costing the Postal Service $1.2 million. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bro%27Town | Bro'Town | bro'Town is a New Zealand adult animated sitcom that aired on TV3 from 22 September 2004 to 24 May 2009. It starred David Fane, Mario Gaoa, Shimpal Lelisi and Oscar Kightley.
== Overview ==
The main characters in the series are five 14 year old Polynesian New Zealand boys who live in Morningside, Auckland, New Zealand. They attend the local college, St Sylvester's. It was New Zealand's first primetime animated television show and was very popular when it was first shown in 2004 with 33 per cent of the viewing audience during its 8-8.30pm time slot for the first season. bro'Town is heavy with popular culture references, and is based on the comedy theatre group The Naked Samoans. The series has faced criticism often for being racist, for example every episode of the first season received complaints. The writers often describe the humour as being 'not PC' (politically correct) and is satire with characters being sent-up. One of the series writers Oscar Kightley says of the humour, "The only reason we get away with that irreverence and edgy stuff is because on the flipside is heart."
bro'Town has left a lasting legacy on popular culture in New Zealand driven by its urban Pacific Island culture. It has been critically acclaimed "as hilarious and alarmingly true to life", studied at universities, and used for health messages in a cartoon booklet with information about rheumatic fever.
=== Production ===
Produced by New Zealand company Firehorse Films which was created by Elizabeth Mitchell for bro'Town and funded by New Zealand On Air. The lead designer was Ant Sang who was responsible for character, location and prop designs. bro'Town was made using three animation studios – two in New Zealand and one in India – and involved over 100 staff. The series was done in traditional ink and paint animation. The show satirises the boys' culture, with dialogue in the local vernacular. The series includes references to New Zealand literature, particularly the novels and short stories of Witi Ihimaera. The series has strong religious references, with most episodes starting with events between God, Jesus Christ and other historical figures, which leads to the theme of the episode and the subsequent events between the boys.
== Characters ==
=== The Boys ===
Vale Pepelo (Oscar Kightley) – (Vale loosely translates to Dumb) Brother of Valea Pepelo. He has a strong social conscience. Contrary to his given name, Vale is considered the intelligent one of the group, frequently seen carrying a literary classic. (Samoan)
Valea Pepelo (Shimpal Lelisi) (Valea loosely translates to Dumber) – Brother of Vale Pepelo. He is more interested in girls than Vale. Whenever he sees an attractive girl, he does a rendition of the 'schwing!' gesture (peyow peyow!) Valea's name is an apt description. Valea has a description of "the pasher" after noting in a Bro' Town annual his goal in life is to "pash hot chicks" and his dream is for "hot chicks" that like to be "pashed". Although loosely translated to Dumber, Valea is known to be only slightly behind in the National Standards. Jeff da Māori is more likely to fail exams, and, if under correct conditions (getting hit by a bus, for example) Valea is amazingly intelligent. (Samoan)
Sione Tapili (Mario Gaoa) – From A Tongan Descent, his mother is known as a Sheman and is also Vale and Valea's best friend. Sione is considered the rich and smart one of the group and considers himself as a ladies' man, while he constantly looking for ways to impress the girl of his dreams, sixth former Mila Jizovich. He is also the "bro" likely to have dream sequences e.g. posing as a super hero and starring in famous movies. (Tongan)
Jeff da Māori (David Fane) – Jeff Da Māori lives with his mother and eight dads in a car shell outside the house. He is considered the clumsy and shy one by the group, He was brought up in the country by his aunt Queenie but then moved to the city for better TV reception and "because the thieving colonialist stole our land". He is often portrayed with a horribly runny nose. He is known for his catchphrase 'Not Even Ow!' (meaning 'that ain't right'). He is also known to call many people his cousin, and claims "everyone's my cousin, except Winston Peters he's a 'dick' ow". He is known to be actual cousins with famous actress Keisha Castle-Hughes and famous actor Cliff Curtis. (Māori)
Rodney David Damascus McCorkenstein-Taifule aka Mack (David Fane) – Mack rounds out the group as a heavyset boy with an effeminate demeanour and a knack for talking his way out of things. Although he does stand behind his word eventually. He is of Jewish and Samoan descent from his mother and father respectively. Mack is considered the tough guy of the group, claiming to have been raised in the streets. He actually lives in a high class mansion with a loving mother and father. Mack's homosexual tendencies and feminine behaviour are more and more obvious as the show develops, but his friends seem to choose to ignore it. He is also known to be a snob at school, probably excelling at most subjects, and noted to be reading Memoirs of a Geisha. (Tongan/Jewish)
=== Other characters of Morningside ===
Pepelo Pepelo (David Fane) – Vale and Valea's dad is a New Zealand Bogan benefit abusing, occasional fork-lift driver with a love of beer, pornography and gambling (aka "The Town Drunk"). His catchphrase is "I'm going to the pub... I may be some time". Pepelo's wife died when the boys were young and they were entrusted to his care. However, his method of child rearing was ignoring them to fend for themselves. The closest he inadvertently gets to parenting is occasionally telling the boys a relevant and touching story from his own life. He is known to discriminate against other ethnic minorities in Morningside, have frequent drunk-driving crashes and blame his dysfunctions on the war in Vietnam.
Wong (David Fane) – Initially a Chinese exchange student from Hong Kong. After a rocky start he quickly became mates with the boys by sharing his wealth and letting them ride in his car. He once helped the Boys by joining in the St. Sylvester's rugby team in Get Rucked and bet a million dollars on Honky the Wonderhorse. Wong has a brother named White, who exists only to facilitate a racist pun about being unable to tell White from Wong.
Constable "Bobby" Bababiba (Mario Gaoa) – A cynical and unsympathetic policeman who, being the only police officer to appear on the show, has been involved with many of the boys' mishaps as he tries to restore order in Morningside. His image and name are based on actor Robbie Magasiva.
Rakeesh Maadkraklikka (Mario Gaoa) – A disgruntled Indo-Fijian dairy store owner. He is eager to shoot and zap any potential troublemaker or thief in his store. Pepelo owes a massive debt to Rakeesh's store due to his indulgence and improper spending. He is married to the beautiful Satisha.
Satisha Maadkraklikka – Rakeesh's spouse. She is not as brash as her husband, but Satisha is just as tough. However, she shows a sympathetic side as well: on two occasions Satisha helped The Boys with their problems and issues.
Reverend Minister (Vela Manusaute) – Stereotypical minister who heads a Samoan flock in Morningside. He frequently preaches about the local issues in very vivid and exaggerated ways (as was featured in Sione-rella and Touched by a Teacher). He is also quick to drive his flock on mindless angry mob sprees. As a sideline for his church he also sells 'authentic' holy items at high prices (like holy water and sheep-shaped caps). There seems to be an intimate relationship between him and Agnes. Agnes' youngest child has an uncanny resemblance to the minister, including his hairdo – for that matter, so do most of the very young children of his congregation. He is very similar to the Minister character in the recurring sketch Milburn Place, part of the Skitz comedy series in which several Naked Samoans were involved.
Mahari Stevens (Vela Manusaute) – A Social worker from CYPFS -Children and Young Person's Family Services (a reference to the NZ CYFS -Children Youth and Family Services). She appeared in the first episode when Pepelo disappeared for four days, responding to a ten-year-old complaint about his terrible parenting, and made the Pepelo brothers "Wards of the State". She also later interrogated Mack and inadvertently manipulated him into accusing Brother Ken of child molestation, and threatened to take him away from his parents when he revealed it was in fact false.
=== Tapili family ===
Agnes Esmeralda Beatrice Tapili (David Fane) – Sione's mother and the Pepelos' neighbour. She is deeply religious and physically aggressive, especially to Sione (she refuses to show this side of her in public, though). Despite this, she seems to have intimate relations with the local minister. She serves as a caricature of the overbearing Polynesian mother who will not hesitate to humiliate her children. Willing for a husband, she is shown to have phone sex with Pepelo Pepelo, even though she is shown to hate him.
Sina Tapili – (Teuila Blakely) – Sione's older sister and Mila's friend. Sina views her brother and the boys disdainfully (constantly calling them losers), except for one time when Mack was crying. She attends St Cardinal's College for girls, known to the boys of neighbouring St. Sylvester's as 'Cardinal Knowledge.'
Timothy "Motorcycle Boy" Tapili – Agnes' eldest son. He is a delinquent who is a regular in the local delinquent centre (which Agnes euphemistically calls a "boarding school") and jail. His real name and nature were exposed in the episode "Go and ask Agnes", where it is revealed that his criminal record is not very impressive and he behaves more like a pretentious bully than the "hardcore" criminal he claims to be. He is shown to be a role model to Sione and Sione states he wants a bike like him.
Samson – Agnes' youngest son. He is the presumed son of the minister, though Agnes refers to him as "A miracle by Jesus".
=== School folk and students ===
Brother Ken (David Fane) – St. Sylvester's Fa’afafine principal. He is a personal childhood friend of many famous New Zealanders, including actress Lucy Lawless and former prime minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark. Brother Ken is a caring and reasonable principal, and once helped a then-young Mack (a nickname created by Brother Ken) to become friends with the boys. Because the concept of Fa’afafine, a person in Samoa, American Samoa and the Samoan diaspora who identifies themselves as having a third gender or non-binary role, which ranges from extravagantly feminine to conventionally masculine, does not readily translate, when the series was broadcast on Adult Swim Latin America, a decision was made not to translate Samoan words and just present them as part of the "cultural journey".
Rex Ruka – Rex is a typical sort of jock or alpha male in St. Sylvester's. He is regularly seen mocking the boys due to their supposed inferiority with Joost by his side. Rex is Sione's rival for Mila's hand.
Joost van der Van Van (Oscar Kightley) – A South African immigrant whose father Hansje manages the local zoo. As is expected, he acts as Rex's partner, providing appreciation for his many putdowns (often saying "Hilarious!"). However, it was revealed in "A Chicken Roll at My Table" that Joost's racism was an act and he only did it because he was discouraged by his grandfather from making friends with coloured people. His name is a nonsense parody of Dutch surnames and means 'of the of.' Although unknown, it has been suggested that his name may have been derived from Springbok player Joost van der Westhuizen.
Mila Jizovich – A Croatian student of St. Cardinal's, best friends with Sina Tapili and Sione’s crush. She is best known for helping Lucy Lawless with the birth control presentation in "Sionerella". Her name appears to be a combination of tribute to the actress Milla Jovovich and the word "jizz", a vulgar term in reference to semen.
Abo (Abercrombie Smith the Third) – An Aboriginal Australian who studies in St. Sylvester's. His nickname is either derived from a racial slur or his real name, Abercrombie. Abercrombie is known to celebrate every occasion with a (often very long) traditional song or dance. He is often seen riding an emu. Though Abercrombie has made political comments regarding Indigenous native title, the satirical point of this character is unclear as very few Aboriginal Australians live in New Zealand. As such, he is more surreal than satirical.
Ms. Lynn Grey – A teacher who manages The Boys' class at St. Sylvester's. She seems to have an affection for Māori men (as is shown in "A Māori at my Table"). A parody of well-meaning liberal Anglo-Saxon, she will carefully use Māori vocabulary but immediately follow it with a slightly patronising English explanation. Her name is a reference to the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn.
=== Figures in Heaven ===
God (Mario Gaoa) – As the creator of the universe, God can choose to be anything he wants. Thus he is satirically portrayed as a well-built Pacific Islander in a lavalava. He appears mellow and easy-going, rather than strict and wrathful. God starts each episode in Heaven as if it were a fairy-tale, usually telling it to Jesus Christ and other famous, deceased notable figures.
Jesus (Shimpal Lelisi) – The Lord's only son. Unlike the past serious and solemn renditions of the Christian divinity, Bro'Town portrays him as young and naive (despite his past mortal life more than 2000 years ago). He generally seems like a somewhat wimpish teenager, who often needs to be gently taught a lesson by his Father.
There are also two female angels Angelina and Angelita.
Occasionally, deceased relatives such as Pepelo's wife (Vale and Valea's mother), or Jeff da Maori's Auntie Queenie are featured, appearing in dreams to communicate with the living.
=== Guest stars ===
bro'Town frequently features special guests – notable celebrities from politics, art, culture, music, the media, business and sport. The most regular cameos are John Campbell and Carol Hirschfeld, newsreaders from TV3 at the time. Former All Blacks and Manu Samoa player Michael Jones plays the P.E. teacher at St Sylvester's. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has appeared in all seasons except the last and rapper Scribe has been a guest on five seasons of bro'Town. The show features numerous cameos of people playing themselves, including Russell Crowe, Rove McManus, Robyn Malcolm, Neil and Tim Finn, Lucy Lawless, Flight of the Conchords, H.R.H. Charles, Prince of Wales, Sir Howard Morrison, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Cliff Curtis and Madeline Sami.
== Episodes ==
=== Season 1 (2004) ===
=== Season 2 (2005) ===
=== Season 3 (2006) ===
=== Season 4 (2007) ===
=== Season 5 (2009) ===
== Awards ==
While it was running the series bro-Town was often nominated at New Zealand film and television awards in a range of categories. It won the following awards:
2005 New Zealand Screen Awards – Best Comedy Programme, Best Comedy Script – Television: episode 6, 'The Weakest Link' – Mario Gaoa, David Fane, Mario Gaoa, Oscar Kightley, Shimpal Lelisi and Elizabeth Mitchell
2005 Qantas Television Awards – Best Comedy Programme
2006 Air New Zealand Screen Awards – Best Comedy Programme, Comedy Script – Television: episode 2.6, 'Touched by a Teacher' – Oscar Kightley, Mario Gaoa, David Fane, Shimpal Lelisi, Elizabeth Mitchell, Production Design: Ant Sang
2007 Air New Zealand Screen Awards – Best Comedy Programme: Episode 3.2, 'Know Me Before'
2008 Qantas Film and Television Awards – Achievement in Production Design – Television: Ant Sang
== Books ==
Firehorse Films (2005). The bro'Town Annual. Auckland: Random House New Zealand. ISBN 978-1-86941-747-5. OCLC 972704194.
——————— (2006). The bro'Town Annual 2. Auckland: Random House New Zealand. ISBN 978-1-86941-841-0. OCLC 156718397.
——————— (2007). The bro'Town Annual 3. Auckland: Random House New Zealand. ISBN 978-1-86941-946-2. OCLC 861382922.
== DVD Releases == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_Brunhoff | Jean de Brunhoff | Jean de Brunhoff (French: [ʒɑ̃ də bʁynɔf]; 9 December 1899 – 16 October 1937) was a French writer and illustrator remembered best for creating the Babar series of children's books concerning a fictional elephant, the first of which was published in 1931.
== Early life ==
De Brunhoff was the fourth and youngest child of Maurice de Brunhoff, a publisher, and his wife Marguerite. He attended Protestant schools, including the prestigious École Alsacienne. De Brunhoff joined the army and was sent to the front when World War I was almost over. Afterward, he decided to be a professional artist and studied painting at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. In 1924, De Brunhoff married Cécile Sabouraud, a talented pianist, and they had three sons: Laurent (1925–2024) and Mathieu (born 1926), and Thierry (born 1934).
== Babar ==
The Babar books began as a bedtime story that Cécile de Brunhoff invented for their sons, Mathieu and Laurent, when they were four and five years old, respectively. She was allegedly trying to comfort Mathieu, who was sick. The boys liked the story of the little elephant who left the jungle for a city resembling Paris so much that they asked their father, a painter, to illustrate it. He made it into a picture book, with text, which was published by a family-owned publishing house, Le Jardin des Modes. Originally, it was planned that the book's title page would describe the story as told by Jean and Cécile de Brunhoff. However, she had her name omitted. Due to the role she played in the genesis of the Babar story, some sources refer to Cécile as the creator of the Babar story.
After the first book Histoire de Babar (The Story of Babar), five more titles followed before de Brunhoff died of tuberculosis at age 37. He is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
After de Brunhoff's death, his brother Michel, who was the editor of the magazine Vogue Paris, oversaw the publication in book form of Jean's two last books, Babar and His Children and Babar and Father Christmas, both of which had been drawn in black and white for a British newspaper, The Daily Sketch. Michel arranged for the black and white drawings to be painted in color, with the then-thirteen-year-old Laurent helping with the work. The French publishing house Hachette later bought the rights to the Babar series. The first six Babar books were reprinted with millions of copies sold around the world.
== Babar's revival ==
Soon after the end of World War II, Laurent, who had become an artistic painter like his father and had also studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, began work on a Babar book of his own. Although his style of painting was different from his father's and he emphasized picture more than text in the creation of his books, Laurent trained himself to draw elephants in strict accord with the style of his father. Consequently, many people did not notice any difference in authorship and assumed the six-year gap in the series was because of the war. Laurent has always been careful to emphasize that Babar was his father's creation (and to some extent his mother's) and that he continued the series largely as a way of keeping the memory of his father and his own childhood alive.
== Death ==
Jean de Brunhoff died from tuberculosis on 16 October 1937; he was 37 years old. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Man_and_the_Sea#Reception_and_legacy | The Old Man and the Sea#Reception and legacy | The Old Man and the Sea is a 1952 novella by the American author Ernest Hemingway. Written between December 1950 and February 1951, it was the last major fictional work Hemingway published during his lifetime. It tells the story of Santiago, an aging fisherman, and his long struggle to catch a giant marlin.
Hemingway began writing The Old Man and the Sea in Cuba during a tumultuous period in his life. His previous novel Across the River and Into the Trees had met with negative reviews and, amid a breakdown in relations with his wife Mary, he had fallen in love with his muse Adriana Ivancich. Having completed one book in a planned "sea trilogy", Hemingway began to write as an addendum a story about an old man and a marlin that had originally been told to him fifteen years earlier. He wrote up to a thousand words a day, completing the 26,531-word manuscript in six weeks.
Over the following year, Hemingway became increasingly convinced that the manuscript would stand on its own as a novella. Life magazine published the full novella in its September 1, 1952, issue. Hemingway's publisher, Scribner's, released their first edition a week later on the 8th. Thanks to favorable early reviews and word-of-mouth, popular anticipation was so high that both releases were heavily bootlegged. The magazine sold a record 5.3 million copies in two days, while Scribner's sold tens of thousands of copies. Translated into nine languages by the end of 1952, The Old Man and the Sea remained on the New York Times bestseller list for six months. In 1953, it received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and it was the only work explicitly mentioned when Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
Early reviews were positive, with many hailing what they saw as a return to form for Hemingway after Across the River's negative reception. The acclaim lessened over time, as literary critics began to think the initial reception overblown and over-enthusiastic. Whether The Old Man and the Sea is inferior or equal to Hemingway's other works has since been the subject of scholarly debate. Thematic analysis has focused on Christian imagery and symbolism, on the similarity of the novella's themes to its predecessors in the Hemingway canon, and on the character of the fisherman Santiago.
== Plot ==
Santiago is an elderly fisherman who has not caught a fish in eighty-four days and is considered salao (very unlucky). Manolin, a boy trained by Santiago, has been forced by his parents to work on a different, luckier boat; Manolin still helps Santiago prepare his gear every morning and evening and brings him food. They talk about baseball and Joe DiMaggio, before the boy leaves and Santiago sleeps. He dreams of the sights and experiences of his youth.
On the eighty-fifth day of his streak, Santiago takes his skiff out early, intending to row far into the Gulf Stream. He catches nothing except a small albacore in the morning before hooking a huge marlin. The fish is too heavy to haul in and begins to tow the skiff farther out to sea. Santiago holds on through the night, eating the albacore after sunrise. He sees the marlin for the first time—it is longer than the boat. Santiago increasingly appreciates the fish, showing respect and compassion towards his adversary. Sunset arrives for a second time and the fisherman manages some sleep; he is awoken by the fish panicking but manages to recover his equilibrium. On the third morning the marlin begins to circle. Almost delirious, Santiago draws the marlin in and harpoons it. He lashes the fish to his boat.
A mako shark smells blood in the water and takes a forty-pound bite of the marlin. Killing the shark but losing his harpoon, Santiago lashes his knife to an oar as a makeshift spear and kills three more sharks before the knife blade snaps. Cursing himself for going out too far, he apologizes to the mutilated carcass of the marlin. He clubs two more sharks at sunset, but the marlin is now half-eaten. In the third night, the sharks come as a pack and leave only bones behind them. Santiago reaches shore and sleeps in his shack, leaving the skeleton tied to his skiff.
In the morning, Manolin cries when he sees Santiago's state. He brings coffee and sits with Santiago until he wakes. He insists on accompanying Santiago in the future. A fisherman measures the marlin at eighteen feet long, and a pair of tourists mistake its skeleton for that of a shark. Santiago goes back to sleep and dreams of lions on an African beach.
== Background and publication ==
The Old Man and the Sea was Ernest Hemingway's sixth major novel, following The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929), To Have and Have Not (1937), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), and Across the River and Into the Trees (1950). Although the latter, published on September 7, sold 75,000 copies in its first month and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for twenty-one weeks, critical reception was largely negative. Amid a breakdown in marital relations with his wife Mary, Hemingway fell deeper into love with his muse, the young Italian Adriana Ivancich, who spent the winter of 1950–1951 in the Hemingways' company in Cuba. Suddenly finding himself able to write in early December, he completed one book (published in 1970 as Islands in the Stream) of a planned "sea trilogy", and, as his passion for Ivancich cooled, set about writing another story.
In the mid-1930s, the Cuban guide Carlos Gutiérrez had related a story involving an old man and a giant marlin to Hemingway, who retold it in Esquire magazine in an essay titled "On the Blue Water: A Gulf Stream Letter". According to Mary Cruz, this tale was likely first told by the Cuban author Ramón Meza y Suárez Inclán in 1891 and was consistently retold by fishermen over the next forty years. Significant influence came from Hemingway's own experience with the Gulf Stream, where he sailed for thousands of hours in the decades before writing The Old Man and the Sea. He greatly enjoyed the sport of big-game fishing, participating in and winning several tournaments, and he also became an avid amateur naturalist, inviting luminaries such as Henry Weed Fowler and Charles Cadwalader to record and describe catches on his boat, the Pilar. During a single month on board, aided by Hemingway's skill in fishing and sailing, the ichthyologist Fowler learnt enough to "revise the classification of marlin for the whole North Atlantic."
Having put off a novelization for sixteen years, but aided by his love and knowledge of fishing and the sea, Hemingway suddenly found himself writing a thousand words a day—twice as fast as usual. Although Ivancich's departure on February 7, 1951, caused Hemingway some disquiet, the novella was essentially finished by February 17; Mary, who read each day's production in the evenings, commented that she was "prepared to pardon [Hemingway] for all the disagreeable things [he] had done." Hemingway was himself struck by the quality of this seemingly simple story, which he had written in little more than six weeks. Over the next few months, he sent copies to trusted friends and associates including his publisher Charles Scribner and his friend A. E. Hotchner, who all responded very positively.
The 26,531-word manuscript was held in temporary abeyance for over a year, during which time Hemingway became increasingly certain he wished to publish it on its own merits, rather than as an addendum to the "sea trilogy". Conversations with Leland Hayward and Wallace Meyer encouraged him in this direction—Hemingway was delighted when Hayward secured the publication of the entire novella in one issue of Life magazine in May 1952. As he wrote to Meyer, Hemingway wished to rebuff the idea he should only write War and Peace or Crime and Punishment-like novels. He rejected the initial cover designs from his publisher Charles Scribner's Sons, and asked Ivancich to draw a set of sketches which he found much more suitable. He had intended to dedicate the book to Mary and to his boat, the Pilar, but changed his mind on Memorial Day when thinking about friends he had lost; Mary generously accepted the new dedication, to Scribner and Max Perkins. Events moved slowly yet positively during the summer. Hemingway's old adversary William Faulkner released a highly positive review, and word-of-mouth reached such proportions that both the Life and Scribner's editions were heavily bootlegged.
Life released their Labor Day printing, containing the first publication of The Old Man and the Sea, on September 1, 1952; they sold a record 5.3 million copies in two days. Advanced sales of Scribner's edition in America and Jonathan Cape's edition in Britain reached a total of 70,000, and afterwards combined weekly sales in the two countries averaged 5,000. It remained on the New York Times bestseller list for twenty-six weeks and had been translated into nine languages by the start of 1953.
== Reception and legacy ==
The Old Man and the Sea met with popular acclaim. In the three weeks after publication, Hemingway received more than eighty letters a day from well-wishers, and Life received many more. Religious figures began to cite the book's themes in their sermons. Critical reception was initially equally positive, placing the novella as superior in quality to Across the River and equal to Hemingway's earliest works. With Time magazine labeling it a "masterpiece", Cyril Connolly praised "the best story Hemingway has ever written" and Mark Schorer noted that Hemingway's "incomparable" work set him apart as "the greatest craftsman in the American novel in this century". Many reviewers, seeing it as "the apex of the Hemingway canon", termed it a "classic". Hemingway's favorite review was from the art historian Bernard Berenson, who wrote that The Old Man and the Sea was superior to Herman Melville's Moby-Dick and equal in many ways to the Homeric epics.
After the early adulation faded, less positive reviews began to appear. Delmore Schwartz believed that the initial reviewers had prejudiced public opinion in their relief that the novella was not as bad as Across the River. Seymour Krim wrote that The Old Man and the Sea was "only more of the same", while John W. Aldridge felt himself "unable to share in the prevailing wild enthusiasm" for the novella. Years later, Jeffrey Meyers called it Hemingway's "most overrated work", a "mock-serious fable" with "radical weaknesses". Despite the cooling critical outlook, The Old Man and the Sea won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction on May 4, 1953—this was the first time Hemingway had received the award, having been overlooked previously for A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls. He also accepted a Medal of Honor from Fulgencio Batista's newly-established Cuban dictatorship, despite personally disapproving of the new regime. The Old Man and the Sea's highest recognition came on October 28, 1954, as the only work of Hemingway's mentioned by the Swedish Academy when awarding him the Nobel Prize in Literature; they praised its "powerful, style-making mastery of the art of modern narration".
The Old Man and the Sea has been the subject of a significant amount of critical commentary that has changed over the generations. Wirt Williams noted that early scholarship focused upon "the naturalistic tragedy, the Christian tragedy, the parable of art and the artist, and even the autobiographical mode". Analysis of these themes continued into the 1960s, during which John Killinger connected the novella with Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Friedrich Nietzsche, and Richard Hovey linked its themes to the Oedipus complex. However, Philip Young's republication of Ernest Hemingway: A Reconsideration in 1966 was much less positive than the original edition in 1952, setting the disinterested scholarly tone that would dominate the next decades. Analysis only restarted in earnest with the publication of Gerry Brenner's hyper-critical The Old Man and the Sea: The Story of a Common Man in 1991, and has continued unabated since.
Writing in 1985, Meyers noted that The Old Man and the Sea was used in English lessons in schools worldwide and continued to earn $100,000 per year in royalties. According to the CIA, it was a favorite book of Saddam Hussein, who saw himself, like Santiago, as "struggl[ing] against overwhelming odds with courage, perseverance, and dignity". The Big Read, a 2003 survey of the United Kingdom's 200 "best-loved novels" conducted by the BBC, listed The Old Man and the Sea at number 173. Hemingway was directly involved in making a 1958 film adaptation starring Spencer Tracy. Production was marred by numerous difficulties and although the film soundtrack, composed by Dimitri Tiomkin, won the Academy Award for Best Original Score, Hemingway heartily disliked the final film. Two more adaptations have been produced: a 1990 television film starring Anthony Quinn, and a 1999 production by Aleksandr Petrov which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
== Critical analysis ==
=== Quality and accuracy ===
Some literary critics find The Old Man and the Sea inferior to Hemingway's earlier works. Dwight Macdonald criticizes the pseudo-archaic prose which pretends it is high culture, but in reality is anything but. He compares the novella unfavorably with Hemingway's earlier works; he deplored The Old Man and the Sea as garrulous and repetitive when compared to the "disciplined, businesslike understatement" of The Undefeated, a short story Hemingway wrote in 1927. Similarly, Brenner characterizes the novella as riddled with amateurish mistakes in style and prose. Meyers criticizes The Old Man and the Sea's melodrama, symbolism, and irony, concluding, like Macdonald, that "Hemingway either deceived himself about the profundity of his art" or expertly satisfied the desires of a pretentious audience.
Robert Weeks notes that the novella abounds in factual impossibilities—he cites Santiago's near-clairvoyance in identifying fishes and judging weather patterns. Weeks maintains that Hemingway—previously criticized for his distaste for narrative invention—had instilled insincerity at the heart of his novel. He concluded that The Old Man and the Sea is "an inferior Hemingway novel." Bickford Sylvester comments that most of the errors Weeks outlined were based upon faults in then-current science, and some others were intended to nudge readers towards the work's subtext and deepest details. Sylvester argues that seemingly-implausible narrative details in The Old Man and the Sea are actually hints. He cites the baseball conversation between Santiago and Manolin, which subtly indicates not only the precise dates of the novella's events (September 12–16, 1950) but also parallels the fisherman with his hero DiMaggio, also the son of a fisherman, who similarly resurged in performance during that week.
=== Classical themes ===
The novella contains significant Christian symbolism. The name "Santiago" is Spanish for St. James, the Apostle who had previously, according to the New Testament, been a fisherman, and who posthumously became the patron saint of Spain with his shrine at Santiago de Compostela. In a letter to a Father Brown in 1954, Hemingway wrote "You know about Santiago and you know that the name is no accident"; the academic H. R. Stoneback argues that this means The Old Man and the Sea has deep connections to the pilgrimage to Santiago, which is also heavily drawn upon in The Sun Also Rises. Stoneback draws an explicit link between the events of the novella and the miraculous catch of fish in the Gospel of Luke—both involve fishermen experiencing bad luck, going out into the deep sea, and taking a great catch; he also connects repeated allusions to stars in Hemingway's text to the traditional Latin etymology of "Compostela"—campus stellae (lit. 'field of stars'). Stoneback argues that Hemingway emphasises "the humility and gentleness, the poverty, resolution and endurance of St. James the pilgrim" while de-emphasising the warrior James Matamoros; this choice "reconstruct[s] the paradigm of sainthood".
One of Santiago's credos is that "a man can be destroyed but not defeated", a theme which is present in most of Hemingway's protagonists and stories, from Jake Barnes in The Sun Also Rises to Robert Jordan in For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Richard Cantwell in Across the River; it is also a primary theme in To Have and Have Not. Backman views Santiago as the climactic "matador" of Hemingway's works, who manages to seek a type of natural violence quite unlike the "violent ritualized" bullfighting or "uneasily insistent" killing found in previous novels. Joseph Waldmeir similarly finds The Old Man and the Sea to contain a better synthesis of Hemingway's views on mortality than works such as Death in the Afternoon (1932).
Many critics have drawn parallels not only between Santiago and St. James, but between Santiago and Jesus himself, especially with regard to Christ's Passion and crucifixion. Melvin Backman outlines several, beginning with the Santiago's wish to "rest gently ... against the wood and think of nothing"; Sylvester, Grimes, and Hays also cite the preceding scene, in which Santiago is cut and bleeds from near the eye, as a stigmatic evocation of the wounds inflicted by the crown of thorns. An often-cited passage occurs when Santiago spots two sharks:
"Ay," he said aloud. There is no translation for this word and perhaps it is just a noise such as a man might make, involuntarily, feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood.
This passage was characterized by Sylvester, Grimes, and Hays as "a clear reference to a crucifixion"; taking place, like Christ's death, at three o'clock on a Friday afternoon, it acts as the climax of the religious parallels. Brenner finds the Christian allusions deeply problematic, commenting that the "facile linking of Santiago's name with Christ's" was unnecessary and disrespectful towards the New Testament. Dismissing both Brenner's conclusion and any approach which defines Santiago as a Christ-figure as overly simplistic, Stoneback argues that the figure of Santiago ultimately embodied Hemingway's ideals, and was intended to be esteemed as such.
=== Modern themes ===
Brenner's 1991 critique characterizes Santiago as a supremely flawed individual: unintelligent, arrogant, paternalist, and anti-environmentalist. He criticizes the fisherman's inability to ignore economic considerations as he loots the sea of its treasures. He further commented that Santiago, portrayed as blatantly sexist and hostile towards all things female, was in fact feminized by his secret desire for Manolin, who was himself alternately traumatized and manipulated by Santiago's aggression and duplicity. Brenner's analysis has been strongly criticized: Stoneback terms it a "jejune litany of ... shock-schlock critical fast-food [and] tired old questions", while Sylvester, Grimes, and Hays notes that "much of the book reeks of rabid exaggeration and misreading". In answer to Glen Love's similar ecologist critiques, they write that both Brenner and Love dismiss economic realities and ask the uneducated Santiago to consider problems that few outside biology cared about in 1950.
Susan Beegel, analyzing The Old Man and the Sea from an ecofeminist perspective, rejects Brenner's view of Santiago's sexism; instead, she writes that Santiago is in effect wedded to and at the service of the female sea. Beegel nevertheless characterizes Santiago as viewing the feminine sea as tumultuous, cruel, and chaotic, and thus in need of being overcome by male power. Sylvester, Grimes, and Hays disagree, viewing Santiago's approach as wholly respectful. Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera comments that even though Santiago is firmly embedded in Cuban culture, he dreams about Spain every night; he interprets Santiago's immigrant background as a major and yet invisible aspect in the novella. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Bannister | Roger Bannister | Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub-4-minute mile.
At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and finished in fourth place. This achievement strengthened his resolve to become the first athlete to finish the mile run in under four minutes. He accomplished this feat on 6 May 1954 at Iffley Road track in Oxford, with Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher providing the pacing. When the announcer, Norris McWhirter, declared "The time was three...", the cheers of the crowd drowned out Bannister's exact time, which was 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. He had attained this record with minimal training, while practising as a junior doctor. Bannister's record lasted just 46 days.
Bannister went on to become a neurologist and Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, before retiring in 1993. As Master of Pembroke, he was on the governing body of Abingdon School from 1986 to 1993. When asked whether the 4-minute mile was his proudest achievement, he said he felt prouder of his contribution to academic medicine through research into the responses of the nervous system. Bannister was patron of the MSA Trust. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2011.
== Early life and education ==
Bannister was born on 23 March 1929 in Harrow, London. His parents, Ralph and Alice, were both from working-class families in Lancashire. Ralph had moved to London at the age of 15 to work in the Civil Service, and met Alice on a trip home. They married in 1925, and had a daughter, Joyce, before Roger was born.
The family moved to Bath shortly after the outbreak of World War II when Ralph was relocated there, and Roger continued his education at City of Bath Boys' School. Here he discovered a talent for cross country running, winning the junior cross-country cup three consecutive times, which led to him being presented with a miniature replica trophy.
During a bombing raid on Bath, the family house was severely damaged as the Bannisters sheltered in the basement.
In 1944, the family returned to London and Roger went to University College School. Bannister was accepted into St John's College, Cambridge but the Senior Tutor Robert Howland, a former Olympic shot putter, suggested that Bannister wait a year. After the year he proceeded to apply to Exeter College, Oxford and was accepted for a three-year degree in Medicine.
== Athletics career ==
=== Early running career ===
Bannister was inspired by miler Sydney Wooderson's comeback in 1945. Eight years after setting the mile record and seeing it surpassed during the war years by the Swedish runners Arne Andersson and Gunder Hägg, Wooderson regained his old form and challenged Andersson over the distance in several races. Wooderson lost to Andersson but set a British record of 4:04.2 in Gothenburg on 9 September.
Like Wooderson, Bannister would ultimately set a mile record, see it broken, and then set a new personal best slower than the new record.
Bannister started his running career at Oxford in the autumn of 1946 at the age of 17. He had never worn running spikes previously or run on a track. His training was light, even compared to the standards of the day, but he showed promise in running a mile in 1947 in 4:24.6 on only three weekly half-hour training sessions.
He was selected as an Olympic "possible" in 1948 but declined as he felt he was not ready to compete at that level. However, he was further inspired to become a great miler by watching the 1948 Olympics. He set his training goals on the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.
In 1949, he improved in the 880-yard (804.67 m) run to 1:52.7 and won several mile races in 4:11. Then, after a period of six weeks with no training, he came in third at White City in 4:14.2.
The year 1950 saw more improvements as he finished a relatively slow 4:13-mile on 1 July with an impressive 57.5 last quarter. Then, he ran the AAA 880 in 1:52.1, losing to Arthur Wint, and then ran 1:50.7 for the 800 m at the European Championships on 26 August, placing third. Chastened by this lack of success, Bannister started to train harder and more seriously.
His increased attention to training paid quick dividends, as he won a mile race in 4:09.9 on 30 December. Then in 1951 at the Penn Relays, Bannister broke away from the pack with a 56.7 final lap, finishing in 4:08.3. Then, in his biggest test to date, he won a mile race on 14 July in 4:07.8 at the AAA Championships at White City before 47,000 people. The time set a meet record and he defeated defending champion Bill Nankeville in the process.
Bannister suffered defeat, however, when Yugoslavia's Andrija Otenhajmer, aware of Bannister's final-lap kick, took a 1500 m race in Belgrade 25 August out at near-record pace, forcing Bannister to close the gap by the bell lap. Otenhajmer won in 3:47.0, though Bannister set a personal best finishing second in 3:48.4. Bannister was no longer seen as invincible.
His training was a very modern individualised mixture of interval training influenced by coach Franz Stampfl with elements of block periodisation, fell running and anaerobic elements of training which were later perfected by Arthur Lydiard.
From 1951 to 1954, Bannister trained at the track at Paddington Recreation Ground in Maida Vale while he was a medical student at the nearby St Mary's Hospital. There are two Bannister plaques at the pavilion, both unveiled by him on 10 September 2000; a circular blue plaque and a rectangular historic plaque containing additional information. According to the latter, Bannister was able to train for just an hour each day due to his medical studies.
=== 1952 Olympics ===
Bannister avoided racing after the 1951 season until late in the spring of 1952, saving his energy for Helsinki and the Olympics. He ran an 880-yard (800 m) run on 28 May 1952 in 1:53.00, followed by a 4:10.6-mile time-trial on 7 June, proclaiming himself satisfied with the results. At the AAA championships, he skipped the mile and won the 880 in 1:51.5. Then, 10 days before the Olympic final, he ran a 3⁄4 mile time trial in 2:52.9, which gave him confidence that he was ready for the Olympics as he considered the time to be the equivalent of a four-minute mile.
His confidence soon dissipated, however, as it was announced there would be semi-finals for the 1500 m at the Olympics, which he felt favoured runners who had much deeper training regimens than he did. When he ran his semi-final, Bannister finished fifth and thereby qualified for the final, but he felt "blown and unhappy".
The 1500 m final on 26 July 1952 would prove to be one of the more dramatic in Olympic history. The race was not decided until the final metres, Josy Barthel of Luxembourg prevailing in an Olympic-record 3:45.28 (3:45.1 by official hand-timing) with the next seven runners all under the old record. Bannister finished fourth, out of the medals, but set a British record of 3:46.30 (3:46.0) in the process.
=== New goal ===
After his relative failure at the 1952 Olympics, Bannister spent two months deciding whether to give up running. He set himself on a new goal: to be the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. Accordingly, he intensified his training and did hard intervals.
On 2 May 1953, he made an attempt on the British record at Oxford. Paced by Chris Chataway, Bannister ran 4:03.6, shattering Wooderson's 1945 standard. "This race made me realise that the four-minute mile was not out of reach," said Bannister.
On 27 June 1953, a mile race was inserted into the programme of the Surrey schools athletic meeting. Australian runner Don Macmillan, ninth in the 1500 m at the 1952 Olympics, set a strong pace with 59.6 for one lap and 1:59.7 for two. He gave up after two and a half laps, but Chris Brasher took up the pace. Brasher had jogged the race, allowing Bannister to lap him so he could be a fresh pace-setter. At 3⁄4 mile, Bannister was at 3:01.8, the record—and first sub-four-minute mile—in reach. But the effort fell short with a finish in 4:02.0, a time bettered by only Arne Andersson (4:01.6 in 1944) and Gunder Hägg (4:01.4 in 1945). British officials would not allow this performance to stand as a British record, which, Bannister felt in retrospect, was a good decision. "My feeling as I look back is one of great relief that I did not run a four-minute mile under such artificial circumstances," he said.
But other runners were making attempts at the four-minute barrier and coming close as well. American Wes Santee ran 4:02.4 on 5 June 1953, the fourth-fastest mile ever. And at the end of the year, Australian John Landy ran 4:02.0.
Then early in 1954, Landy made some more attempts at the distance. On 21 January 1954, he ran 4:02.4 in Melbourne, then 4:02.6 on 23 February 1954, and at the end of the Australian season on 19 April he ran 4:02.6 again.
Bannister had been following Landy's attempts and was certain his Australian rival would succeed with each one. But knowing that Landy's season-closing attempt on 19 April would be his last until he travelled to Finland for another attempt, Bannister knew he had to make his attempt soon.
=== Sub-4-minute mile ===
This historic event took place on 6 May 1954 during a meet between British AAA and Oxford University at Iffley Road Track in Oxford, watched by about 3,000 spectators. With winds of up to twenty-five miles per hour (40 km/h) before the event, Bannister twice expressed preference for not attempting to break the 4-minute barrier that day; he would try again at another meet. However, the winds dropped just before the race was scheduled to begin, and Bannister did attempt the record.
The pace-setters from his major 1953 attempts, future Commonwealth Games gold medallist Christopher Chataway from the 2 May attempt, and future Olympic Games gold medallist Chris Brasher from the 27 June attempt, combined to provide pacing for Bannister's run. The race was broadcast live by BBC Radio and commentated by 1924 Olympic 100 metres champion Harold Abrahams, of Chariots of Fire fame.
Bannister had begun his day at a hospital in London, where he sharpened his racing spikes and rubbed graphite on them so they would not pick up too much cinder ash. He took a mid-morning train from Paddington Station to Oxford, nervous about the rainy, windy conditions that afternoon.
Being a dual-meet format, there were seven men entered in the mile: Alan Gordon, George Dole and Nigel Miller from Oxford University; and four British AAA runners: Bannister, his two pacemakers Brasher and Chataway, and Tom Hulatt. Nigel Miller arrived as a spectator and he only realised that he was due to run when he read the programme. Efforts to borrow a running kit failed and he could not take part, thus reducing the field to six.
The race went off as scheduled at 6:00 pm, and Brasher and Bannister went immediately to the front of the pack. Brasher (wearing No. 44) led both the first lap in 58 seconds and the half-mile in 1:58, with Bannister (No. 41) tucked in behind, and Chataway (No. 42) a stride behind Bannister. Chataway moved to the front after the second lap and maintained the pace with a 3:01 split at the final lap bell. Chataway continued to lead around the front turn until Bannister began his finishing kick with about 275 yards to go (just over half a lap), running the last lap in just under 59 seconds.
The stadium announcer for the race was Norris McWhirter, who went on to co-publish and co-edit the Guinness Book of Records. He teased the crowd by delaying his announcement of Bannister's race time for as long as possible:
Ladies and gentlemen, here is the result of event nine, the one mile: first, number forty one, R. G. Bannister, Amateur Athletic Association and formerly of Exeter and Merton Colleges, Oxford, with a time which is a new meeting and track record, and which—subject to ratification—will be a new English Native, British National, All-Comers, European, British Empire and World Record. The time was three...
The roar of the crowd drowned out the rest of the announcement. Bannister's time was 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.
The claim that a four-minute mile was once thought to be impossible by "informed" observers was and is a widely propagated myth created by sportswriters and debunked by Bannister himself in his memoir, The Four-Minute Mile (1955).
The reason the myth took hold was that four minutes was a round number that lay slightly out of reach of the world record (by just 1.4 seconds) for nine years, which was longer than it might otherwise have been due to the effect of the Second World War in interrupting athletic progress in the combatant countries. Swedish runners Gunder Hägg and Arne Andersson, in a series of head-to-head races in the period 1942–1945, had already lowered the world mile record by five seconds to the pre-Bannister record. Knowledgeable track fans are still most impressed by the fact that Bannister ran a four-minute mile on very low-mileage training by modern standards.
Just 46 days later, on 21 June 1954, Bannister's record was broken by his rival, John Landy, in Turku, Finland, with a time of 3 minutes 57.9 seconds, which the IAAF ratified as 3 minutes 58.0 seconds due to the rounding rules then in effect.
=== 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games ===
On 7 August, at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, B.C., Bannister, running for England, competed against Landy for the first time in a race billed as "The Miracle Mile". They were the only two men in the world to have broken the 4-minute barrier, with Landy still holding the world record.
Landy led for most of the race, building a lead of 10 yards in the third lap (of four), but was overtaken on the last bend, and Bannister won in 3 min 58.8 s, with Landy 0.8 s behind in 3 min 59.6 s. Bannister and Landy have both pointed out that the crucial moment of the race was that at the moment when Bannister decided to try to pass Landy, Landy looked over his left shoulder to gauge Bannister's position and Bannister burst past him on the right, never relinquishing the lead.
A larger-than-life bronze sculpture of the two men at that moment was created by Vancouver sculptor Jack Harman in 1967 from a photograph by Vancouver Sun photographer Charlie Warner and stood for many years at the entrance to Empire Stadium; after the stadium was demolished the sculpture was moved a short distance away to the Hastings and Renfrew entrance of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) fairgrounds. Regarding this sculpture, Landy quipped: "While Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt for looking back, I am probably the only one ever turned into bronze for looking back."
Bannister went on that season to win the so-called metric mile, the 1500 m, at the European Championships in Bern, Switzerland, on 29 August, with a championship record in a time of 3 min 43.8 s. He retired from athletics late in 1954 to concentrate on his work as a junior doctor and to pursue a career in neurology. He was appointed a CBE the following year for "services to amateur athletics".
=== Sports Council and knighthood ===
Bannister later became the first Chairman of the Sports Council (now called Sport England) and was knighted for this service in 1975. Under his patronage, central and local government funding of sports centres and other sports facilities was rapidly increased, and he also initiated the first testing for use of anabolic steroids in sport.
== Medical career ==
After retiring from athletics in 1954, Bannister spent the next forty years practising medicine in the field of neurology. In March 1957, he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps at Crookham, where he started his two years of National Service with the rank of lieutenant.
His major contribution to academic medicine was in the field of autonomic failure, an area of neurology concerning illnesses characterised by the loss of certain automatic responses of the nervous system (for example, elevated heart rate when standing up). He ultimately published more than eighty papers, mostly concerned with the autonomic nervous system, cardiovascular physiology, and multiple system atrophy. He edited Autonomic Failure: A Textbook of Clinical Disorders of the Autonomic Nervous System with C.J. Mathias, a colleague at St Mary's, as well as five editions of Brain and Bannister's Clinical Neurology.
Bannister always said he was more proud of his contribution to medicine than his running career. In 2014, Bannister said in an interview: "I'd rather be remembered for my work in neurology than my running. If you offered me the chance to make a great breakthrough in the study of the autonomic nerve system, I'd take that over the four minute mile right away. I worked in medicine for sixty years. I ran for about eight."
== Personal life ==
In 1955, Bannister married the Swedish artist Moyra Elver Jacobsson in Basel, Switzerland. Moyra Jacobsson-Bannister was the daughter of the Swedish economist Per Jacobsson, who served as managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
They had four children: Carol E. E. Bannister (b. 1957); Clive C. R. Bannister (b. 1959), an insurance industry executive; Thurstan R. R. Bannister (b. July 1960), a company director in New York; and Charlotte B. M. Bannister (b. 1963), now Charlotte Bannister-Parker, associate priest at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford.
In 2011, Bannister was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He died of pneumonia at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on 3 March 2018, at the age of 88, 20 days before his 89th birthday. He is buried in Wolvercote Cemetery near Oxford. His widow, Lady Moyra Bannister, died in Oxford on 4 November 2022, at the age of 94.
== Legacy ==
On the 50th anniversary of running the mile in under four minutes, Bannister was interviewed by the BBC's sports correspondent Rob Bonnet. At the conclusion of the interview, Bannister was asked whether he looked back on the sub-4-minute mile as the most important achievement of his life. Bannister replied that he instead saw his subsequent forty years of practising medicine and some of the new procedures he introduced as being more significant. He also said that, in terms of athletic achievement, he felt his performances at the 1952 Olympics and the 1954 Commonwealth Games were more significant than running the sub-4-minute mile.
Ironically, although Roger Bannister is arguably the most famous record-setter in the mile, he is also the man who held the record for the shortest period of time, at least since the IAAF started to ratify records.
=== Media ===
For his efforts, Bannister was also made the inaugural recipient of the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year award for 1954 (awarded in January 1955) and is one of the few non-Americans recognised by the American-published magazine as such.
In a UK poll conducted by Channel 4 in 2002, the British public voted Bannister's historic sub-4-minute mile as number 13 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.
Bannister is the subject of the ESPN film Four Minutes (2005). This film is a dramatisation, its major departures from the factual record being the creation of a fictional character as Bannister's coach, who was actually Franz Stampfl, an Austrian, and secondly his meeting his wife, Moyra Jacobsson, in the early 1950s when in fact they met in London only a few months before the Miracle Mile itself took place. Bannister was portrayed by Jamie Maclachlan.
Bannister: Everest on the Track, The Roger Bannister Story is a 2016 TV documentary about his childhood and youth in WWII and postwar Britain and the breaking of the 4-minute mile barrier, with interviews of participants and witnesses to the 1954 race, and later runners inspired by Bannister and his achievement, including Phil Knight who says that Roger Bannister inspired him to start Nike.
In the 1988 television mini-series The Four Minute Mile, about the rivalry between Bannister, John Landy and Wes Santee to be first to break the 4-minute mile mark, Bannister was portrayed by actor Richard Huw.
=== Places ===
On 14 December 1973 the Black Lion Leisure Centre in Gillingham was officially opened by Bannister, noted in the local media "the runner best known for becoming the first person to run a sub-four-minute mile". The new centre was originally named Black Lion and later redeveloped and rebranded as Medway Park Sports Centre.
In 1996, Pembroke College at the University of Oxford (where Bannister was Master for eight years) named a building in honour of his achievements. The Bannister Building, an 18th-century townhouse in Brewer Street, was converted to provide accommodation for graduate students. Following extensive refurbishments during 2011 and 2012, it became part of the building complex surrounding the Rokos Quad, and was then used for undergraduate accommodation.
In March 2004, St Mary's Hospital Medical School named a lecture theatre after Bannister; on display is the stopwatch that was used to time the race, stopped at 3:59. Bannister also gave his name to the trophy presented to the winning team in the annual athletics varsity match between Imperial College School of Medicine and Imperial College London, as well as the award given to the graduating doctor of Imperial College School of Medicine who has achieved most in the sporting community. Bannister also purchased the cup (which bears his name) awarded to the winning team in the annual United Hospitals Cross-Country Championship, organised by London Universities and Colleges Athletics. The championship is contested by the five medical schools in London and the Royal Veterinary College.
In 2012, Bannister carried the Olympic flame at the site of his memorable feat, in the Oxford University track stadium now named after him.
On 28 September 2021, a memorial stone honouring Sir Roger, "pioneering neurologist, world champion runner", was unveiled in Westminster Abbey, in the area known as "Scientists' corner".
=== Memorabilia ===
The 50th anniversary of Bannister's achievement was marked by a commemorative British 50-pence coin. The reverse of the coin shows the legs of a runner and a stopwatch (stopped at 3:59.4). There were 9,032,500 minted. The coin was re-struck for collector sets in 2019 as part of the Royal Mint's '50 Years of the 50p coin', along with other designs.
In the gallery of Pembroke College dining hall, there is a cabinet containing over 80 exhibits covering Bannister's athletic career and including some academic highlights.
=== Anniversary Races ===
On 6 May 2024, exactly seventy years after Bannister's sub-four minute mile, hundreds of runners converged in Oxford to run a mile in Bannister's honor. The event saw thousands run a "Community Mile", and several races for elite runners on the Iffley Track. In the elite mile, four athletes broke the four minute barrier, with Italy's Ossama Meslek clocking the fastest mile, at 3:56.15.
This is the second time Iffley Track hosted an anniversary event for Bannister's achievement, with the previous time being in 2004.
Retired, accomplished milers including Steve Cram, Hicham El Guerrouj, Filbert Bayi, Noureddine Morceli, and Eamonn Coghlan attended, all of whom have had the mile world record to their name. Bayi ran 3:51.0 in May 1975, holding the mile world record for three months until August 1975, when John Walker of New Zealand ran 3:49.4. Cram ran 3:46.32 in 1985, holding the mile world record until Noureddine Morceli of Algeria ran 3:44.39 in 1993. Finally, on 7 July 1999, El Guerrouj ran 3:43.13, the current mile world record to this day, which is over sixteen seconds faster than Bannister's 3:59.4. Although not an outdoor record, Coghlan set an indoor mile world record of 3:49.78 in 1983, which was bettered by El Guerrouj in 1997 who ran 3:48.45.
== Awards and honours ==
Bannister received many honours for his achievements in sports and medicine. He was the inaugural Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 1954. He was also knighted in the 1975 New Year Honours, and appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to sport.
Bannister was an Honorary Fellow of both Exeter College and Merton College, where he studied at the University of Oxford; he was also Honorary Fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford. He received honorary degrees (Doctor of Science) from the University of Sheffield in 1978, and from the University of Bath in 1984. He also received honorary degrees from the University of Pavia in 1986 and from Brunel University London in 2008 (DUniv), as well as an honorary doctorate from Oxford Brookes University in 2014. In 2000, Bannister received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.
Bannister was made an Honorary Freeman of the London Borough of Harrow on 4 May 2004, and was granted the Freedom of the City of Oxford in 2004.
== Selected publications ==
=== Autobiography ===
The Four Minute Mile. Dodd, Mead. 1955.
First Four Minutes. Putnam. 1955.
Twin Tracks: The Autobiography. London: The Robson Press. 2014. ISBN 978-1-84954-686-7.
=== Academic ===
Bannister, R.; Mathias, C. J., eds. (1999). Autonomic failure : a textbook of clinical disorders of the autonomic nervous system (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0192628518. OCLC 39982611.
Bannister, Roger; Brain, Walter Russell, eds. (1992). Brain and Bannister's clinical neurology (7th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192619136. OCLC 24318711.
== Other media ==
In 2014, he appeared as a guest on BBC Radio 4's Midweek with Libby Purves, Kevin Warwick and Rachael Stirling. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Checkers_(1956%E2%80%931977) | Charlotte Checkers (1956–1977) | The Charlotte Checkers were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team began as the Baltimore Clippers in 1954, playing in the Eastern Hockey League. When the arena in Baltimore burned down, the team briefly played as the Charlotte Rebels, before permanently relocating to the Charlotte Coliseum in 1956, becoming the Charlotte Clippers. The team was renamed the Checkers in 1960, and played its final four seasons in the Southern Hockey League, before folding in 1977. The Clippers/Checkers franchise won five playoff championships in its existence, and were the first team to be based in the Southeast United States.
== Baltimore Clippers, 1954–1956 ==
The Baltimore Clippers began play in the Eastern Hockey League during the 1954–55 season, with Andy Brown as coach. Herve Lalonde led the team, scoring 22 goals, and 50 assists, winning the John Carlin Trophy, as the league's top scorer. In the playoffs, Baltimore defeated the Clinton Comets 3 games to 1 in the first round, but lost the finals in four straight games to the Washington Lions. On January 23, 1956, midway through the Clippers' second season, their home arena, Carlin's Iceland, burned down.
== Charlotte Rebels, 1956 ==
Without an arena, the Clippers searched for a temporary home to finish the season. Local businessmen in Charlotte offered the one-year-old Charlotte Coliseum as a temporary site. The Baltimore Clippers played six of their remaining 12 games in Charlotte, using the name Rebels. The first professional hockey game in Charlotte was played on January 30, 1956, attended by 10,363 fans, with approximately 3,000 more unable to find a ticket. The Rebels lost the game 6–2, to the New Haven Blades. The six games played in Charlotte by the Rebels drew more than 40,000 fans. By comparison, the Clippers typically drew 2,000 fans per game in Baltimore. The combined record of the Clippers and Rebels was 47 points for fifth place, missing the playoffs.
== Charlotte Clippers, 1956–1960 ==
Buoyed by the Rebels' strong attendance figures in Charlotte, owner Charles Rock chose to move the team there full-time for the following season as the Charlotte Clippers. In the 1956–57 season, the Clippers earned 101 points, to finish first place, and win the Walker Cup as regular season champions. The season included a winning streak of 21 games before the playoffs, and the team earning the nickname, "Dixie Dandies." Al O'Hearn lead the league in scoring with 46 goals, 71 assists, and 117 points, to win the John Carlin Trophy. In the playoffs, Charlotte defeated the New Haven Blades in six games in the first round, and defeated the Philadelphia Ramblers in seven games, to win the Atlantic City Boardwalk Trophy as playoff champions.
In the 1957–58 season, Charlotte repeated first place in the regular season with 77 points, and a second Walker Cup. In the playoffs, Charlotte defeated the New Haven Blades in seven games in the first round, but lost in the finals to the Washington Presidents in seven games.
In the 1958–59 season, Charlotte dropped to sixth place, and missed the playoffs. The team also ran into financial troubles, which led to the Charlotte Coliseum Authority taking over the team in 1959. A citizen's group raised $25,000 from stockholders, to keep the team on the ice.
In the 1959–60 season, coach Andy Brown moved on, and the EHL split into northern and southern divisions. Evel Knievel tried out with the Clippers in 1959, but decided that a traveling team was not for him. Pete Horeck led the team as a player-coach, the Clippers finished second place in the south, won the first round playoff series in three games versus the Greensboro Generals, and lost to the Johnstown Jets in the second round.
== Charlotte Checkers ==
=== Eastern Hockey League, 1960–1973 ===
The team was renamed the Charlotte Checkers, resulting from a name-the-team contest. Gordon Tottle became the player-coach, and despite the new name, Charlotte finished fourth place and missed the playoffs in the 1960–61 season. Joe Crozier was named coach in the 1961–62 season, but the team still finished fourth place and missed the playoffs. He returned for the 1962–63 season, and the Checkers placed third in the southern division. In the playoffs, Charlotte upset the second place Knoxville Knights in five games, then lost in five games to the Greensboro Generals in the second round. Turk Broda took over the coaching duties for the 1963–64 season, and led the team to a fourth-place finish in the south, and a first round playoff loss to Greensboro in three games.
Fred Creighton was brought in to coach for the 1964–65 season, beginning eight years at the helm of the Checkers. He improved the team to third place in the south, but the team still lost in the first round to the Nashville Dixie Flyers in three games. Creighton improved the team to 42 wins in the 1965–66 season, and second place in the south. In the playoffs, Charlotte defeated Greensboro in five games in the first round, then lost in four games straight to Nashville in the second round. Charlotte repeated a second-place finish in the 1966–67 season, then defeated Greensboro in three games in the first round of the playoffs, but lost to Nashville in five games in the second round. The Checkers won 42 games, and earned 93 points in the 1967–68 season, and finished second place in the south. Charlotte defeated Nashville in four games in the first round of the playoffs, and defeated Greensboro in six games in the second round. In the finals, the Checkers were swept in four games by the Clinton Comets.
Charlotte dropped to third place in the 1968–69 season, after many players moved up to higher leagues. The rebuilding effort was made easier by this being first season of an affiliation with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the playoffs, Charlotte lost in three games to Nashville. The Checkers repeated a third-place finish in the 1969–70 season. Center Tom Trevelyan was named EHL Rookie of the Year for the south division. In the playoffs, Charlotte defeated the Salem Rebels in five games in the first round, then lost to Greensboro in six games in the second round. Creighton led Charlotte to its best results in the 1970–71 season, with 55 wins, and 117 points to finish first overall in the EHL, and win the Walker Cup. Goaltender John Voss led the league in goals against average, and won the George L. Davis Jr. Trophy. In the playoffs, Charlotte defeated Nashville, then Greensboro both in four games, to reach the finals. The Checkers won the Atlantic City Boardwalk Trophy in five games over the New Haven Blades.
In the 1971–72 season, Charlotte switched affiliations to the Buffalo Sabres. Defenceman Don Brennan was voted the EHL Rookie of the Year for the south division, and goaltender Gaye Cooley led the league in goals against average to win the George L. Davis Jr. Trophy. The Checkers repeated the first-place finish and the Walker Cup in the regular season, with 47 wins and 102 points. In the playoffs, Charlotte defeated the St. Petersburg Suns in six games in the first round, and Greensboro in five games in the second round. Creighton and the Checkers won a second consecutive Atlantic City Boardwalk Trophy, defeating the Syracuse Blazers in four games in the finals. Creighton and many players moved on after the two championships, and Charlotte struggled in the 1972–73 season. Jack Wells was named player-coach, and the team finished fourth place in the south, missing the playoffs.
=== Southern Hockey League, 1973–1977 ===
The four teams in the EHL's Southern Division, including the Checkers, broke away to form the Southern Hockey League (SHL) in 1973. In the new league, Patrick J. Kelly took over coaching duties in all four seasons. Garry Swain led the SHL in scoring with 98 points. Charlotte finished second place in the 1973–74 season, then defeated Greensboro in six games in the first round of the playoffs, but lost the finals in seven games to the Roanoke Valley Rebels.
In the 1974–75 season, Charlotte began secondary affiliations with World Hockey Association teams, and the California Golden Seals, in addition to the existing agreement with Buffalo. Steve Hull led the SHL in scoring with 114 points. The Checkers finished first place in the regular season with 101 points, defeated Roanoke in four games in the first round of the playoffs, and defeated the Hampton Gulls in six games in the finals, to win the Crockett Cup.
In the 1975–76 season, Charlotte repeated first place in the regular season with 94 points. Yvon Dupuis led the SHL with 52 goals scored. In the playoffs, Charlotte defeated Roanoke in six games in the first round, and then won a second consecutive Crockett Cup in five games over Hampton.
The 1976–77 season was cut short when the SHL folded due to financial issues. The final Checkers game was played on January 30, 1977 against the revived Baltimore Clippers. Charlotte was in third place at that time, and folded along with the league.
== Major league affiliations ==
The Charlotte Checkers were affiliated with National Hockey League teams from 1968 to 1977, and several World Hockey Association teams from 1974 to 1977.
== Coaches ==
Coaches from 1954 to 1977.
† denotes a player/coach
== Records ==
Top scorers from 1956 to 1977.
== Notable players ==
List of notable players for the Baltimore Clippers/Charlotte Rebels (1954–1956), Charlotte Clippers (1956–1960) and Charlotte Checkers (1960–1977)
== Results ==
Combined season-by-season record for:
Baltimore Clippers (1954–55)
Baltimore Clippers / Charlotte Rebels (1955–56)
Charlotte Clippers (1956–1960)
Charlotte Checkers (1960–1977)
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hawk%27s_Pro_Skater | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, released as Tony Hawk's Skateboarding in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Europe, is a 1999 skateboarding video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the first installment in the Tony Hawk's series. It was released for the PlayStation on September 29, 1999 and was later ported to the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Dreamcast, and N-Gage.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater takes place in an urban environment permeated by an ambience of punk rock and ska punk music. The player takes control of a variety of skateboarders and must complete missions by performing skateboarding tricks and collecting objects. The game offers several modes of gameplay, including a career mode in which the player must complete objectives and evolve their character's attributes, a single session, in which the player accumulates a high score within two minutes, a free skate mode in which the player may skate without any given objective, and a multiplayer mode that features a number of competitive games.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was met with critical acclaim for all versions except the Game Boy Color version, which had a more mixed reception. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest video games ever made, praised for its innovative gameplay, soundtrack, and influence on the skateboarding genre. The game resulted in a successful franchise, receiving eight annualized sequels developed by Neversoft from Pro Skater 2 (2000) to Proving Ground (2007). It is also credited with introducing skateboarding to a more mainstream global audience. It received a remake along with the sequel, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, in 2020.
== Gameplay ==
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater puts the player in control of a skateboarder and takes place in a third-person view with a fixed camera. The goal of the game is to perform tricks and combinations thereof in an effort to increase the player's score. Movement can be altered using the d-pad or analog stick, and ollies, grabs, flips and grinds are each assigned to individual buttons. Each skateboarder has eight grabs, eight grinds and eight flips. The number of points earned from a successful trick sequence is dependent on the amount of time spent in the air, the degree of rotation, and the number and variety of tricks performed; the more a single trick is performed in a sequence, the fewer points it will earn. When the player succeeds in performing tricks, a special gauge increases. When this gauge is full and flashing, the player is capable of performing a special trick that is worth many more points than ordinary tricks. If the player bails (falls off their skateboard), any points that may have been earned from the current combo are lost, and the special gauge is emptied.
In the game's "Career Mode", the player must complete five objectives (represented by VHS tapes) in each level within a period of two minutes. The player is not obligated to complete all the objectives within a single run; any completed objective is committed to the game's memory, which allows other objectives to be completed within multiple playthroughs of a level. Two common objectives in each level are achieved by accumulating two defined scores, which gradually increases in difficulty throughout the game; while one other common objective is to collect letters of the word "SKATE". Another common objective is to destroy five of a certain object within each level. The fifth objective involves collecting a VHS tape hidden in the level. Completing objectives unlocks additional levels and equipment for use. Three of the mode's levels take place in a competition setting in which the player performs for judges and accumulates the highest score within three one-minute rounds. The player receives a bronze, silver or gold medal depending on the final score they are given. Other single-player modes include the "Single Session", in which the player can freely accumulate a high score within two minutes using any previously obtained levels and characters, and the "Free Skate", in which there is no time limit imposed.
The multiplayer mode is played by two players in a split screen view and offers three games: "Graffiti", "Trick Attack", and "HORSE". In "Graffiti", players must accumulate the highest score by changing level elements into their own color via the use of tricks. If a player performs a higher-scoring trick on an element that has already been marked, the element will change to that player's color. "Trick Attack" is a mode in which players must accumulate the highest score by chaining tricks together. "HORSE" is a game that is played intermittently between two players, who must compete in rounds lasting either eight seconds or until a trick has been made. The player with the lower score on any given turn receives a letter in the word "HORSE" or whatever word the players have generated prior to the game's start. The first player to accumulate the entire word loses.
=== Featured pro skaters ===
The game features a total of ten real life professional skateboarders, along with two unlockable original characters: Officer Dick and Private Carrera.
== Development ==
Following the releases of arcade game Top Skater (1997) by Sega and PlayStation game Street Sk8er (1998) by Electronic Arts, Activision identified skateboarding-simulation games as a growing market in the gaming industry and concluded that such a game would resonate with a young audience. Preceding Neversoft's involvement in the project, the task of developing a skateboarding game for Activision was initially given to another studio. However, this studio's attempt did not impress Activision and the game did not move past the concept stage. Activision then decided to entrust the project to Neversoft, which had recently completed the third-person shooter game Apocalypse (1998) within nine months. Although Neversoft had never developed a sports video game before, the development team was confident in its ability to accomplish the task before its given deadline of the 1999 Christmas season.
During development, the Neversoft team would spend their lunch breaks at a bowling alley near the studio, where they would play and subsequently study from Sega's Top Skater in the arcade. The game's design served as a strong basic influence, along with observances of real skaters performing in the X Games, which were taking place during the game's development. Although the team decided early on that Top Skater's linearity lacked the sense of fun they aimed for, the "racetrack" element was retained in two of the game's final levels. Contrary to subsequent games in the series, Neversoft did not primarily focus on using pre-existing locations as reference for the game's level design, but simply envisioned potential skating areas such as a school or a city and incorporated elements such as ramps and rails to benefit the gameplay. The team consciously prioritized fun over realism in the approach to the game's level design and physics.
The game's engine is a modified version of Neversoft's previous game Apocalypse, and the game's prototype used Bruce Willis's character from that game as the placeholder player character. Once the prototype reached a functional and demonstrable state, the Neversoft team realized that they would require a professional skateboarder to aid in the remainder of production. At the time, Tony Hawk had been a popular figure within skateboarding for quite some time. In September 1998, Activision established contact with Hawk and arranged a meeting between him and Neversoft. Hawk was quickly impressed by the design team members' devotion to skateboarding, the controls and engine of their game's early build and agreed to lend his name and involvement to the production. Subsequently, Hawk would turn down Activision's offer of a one-time buyout for the permanent use of his name and likeness on the game in favor of a royalty deal, in which Hawk would earn a percentage for every copy sold. As a result of the series' eventual success, Hawk would earn ten times Activision's initial offer within two years. By January 1999, Activision publicly announced their agreement with Hawk to include him in the game. Activision senior vice president Mitch Lasky, in an interview with GameSpot, stated that the character was "meant to reflect Tony's signature style – an intense mix of acrobatics and hard-core technical skating". Hawk remarked that "[he had] always wanted to help create a video game that represented the reality and excitement of professional skateboarding".
Hawk would spend the development time periodically playing through the game's beta builds and providing feedback, using a specially modified PlayStation console that can play games burned on CD-Rs. Hawk even went so far as to purposely send advance copies of the game to a trusted group of people who also owned modchipped PlayStations: "I had a modified PlayStation so I could use burned discs, and they'd send me new developments and we'd go back and forth. I'd let people play it, people that I trust. At one point, I felt it was getting so far along that I started to sneak out copies for those same people - these people had modded PlayStations. As subversive as that was, it started to create a buzz in the industry, because they were key players in the skating industry and they were also hardcore gamers". Hawk would also personally select a group of other professional skaters to include as playable characters based on their skills, personalities and diversity; each skater received a cut of the royalties and got to select their own attire and special tricks for the game. While animating the skaters, the design team largely depended on using available video footage as reference. The incorporation of motion capture was attempted to aid in the realism of the animation, but due to the technology's infancy, the result was ultimately determined to have not translated as well as what had already been animated. The 900 featured in the game was itself drawn from footage of Hawk's famed performance of the feat in the X Games that summer, and was a relatively late addition as a result.
The collection of VHS tapes was directly inspired by the collection of stars in Super Mario 64 (1996). In designing the objectives, the team would gather at a table, draw a level and then ask what could be done within said level, upon which the team members would provide ideas. Rejected concepts arising from these sessions include levels taking place on a highway and a jetty, and even a scenario in which the player would lose a wheel and have to skate on three wheels. Manuals were originally intended to be implemented into the game, but were omitted due to time constraints; manuals would subsequently be included in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.
=== Promotion and release ===
Elissa Steamer's inclusion in the game, along with the game's final release date of September 29, was presented on August 26, 1999. A playable demo with only two available skaters was integrated into the Jampack Summer '99 compilation CD released by PlayStation Underground. The game was made available for pre-order two weeks prior to the game's release; those who pre-ordered the game at Electronics Boutique or FuncoLand respectively received a miniature replica of Tony Hawk's Birdhouse skateboard, a sticker sheet featuring the game's ten professional skaters and a game tip on the back of each sticker. A second playable demo was included on a promotional compilation disc released by Pizza Hut on November 14.
While Neversoft would begin development of the game's sequel, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, shortly before the release of the first game, Activision would entrust the game's Nintendo 64 port to Edge of Reality, which had recently ported Monster Truck Madness 2 to the same system. The Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color versions received a multi-million dollar advertising campaign on several major youth-targeted channels in the United States beginning in April 2000. Customers who purchased the Game Boy Color version at Toys "R" Us or FuncoLand received a special-edition miniature skateboard.
As a result of the disappointing sales of Blue Stinger, Activision was discouraged from publishing further games for the Dreamcast and relinquished the distribution of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater on the console to Crave Entertainment. After online speculation and teasing comments from company insiders, a port for the Dreamcast was revealed to be developed by Treyarch. Later in 2003, the N-Gage version was in development. The game came bundled with the N-Gage QD that was released in 2004.
== Ports ==
The Nintendo 64 port of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was developed by Edge of Reality and released on March 15, 2000. While the port is largely faithful to the original version and retains all game modes, characters and levels, the game's soundtrack was severely truncated and the voices were removed to accommodate the lessened space in the cartridge format. The blood effects had also been removed, so Nintendo could market the game with an "E" game rating. The Dreamcast version was developed by Treyarch, published by Crave Entertainment and released on May 24, 2000. The graphics and animations in the Dreamcast version are improved from those in the PlayStation version.
The Game Boy Color version was developed by the Japanese company Natsume and released on March 30, 2000. The Game Boy Color version is an adaptation rather than a true port of the PlayStation version due to the limited capacity of the platform. The game offers two different gameplay styles: an overhead view with vertical scrolling, and a side-scrolling view in which there is a ramp on each side. There are four gameplay modes in which the player can only perform a few tricks. In "Half Pipe Mode", the player must attempt to achieve the highest score possible. "Tournament Mode" is a five-level vertically scrolling game in which the player must race against three computer-controlled skaters and achieve the highest rank. Jumps are made automatically when the player maneuvers onto ramps, and tricks are displayed as a brief static image. "Versus Mode" and "Rival Mode" are identical to "Tournament Mode", except the player plays in a single level against a single opponent; the opponent in "Rival Mode" is computer-controlled, while the opponent in "Versus Mode" is human, which necessitates the use of a Game Link Cable.
The N-Gage version was developed by Ideaworks3D and released on October 13, 2003, a week following the launch of the N-Gage. The game is a faithful port of the PlayStation version and retains most of the characters, levels, control scheme and original music while adding levels from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and two multiplayer games. The game's multiplayer functions via the N-Gage's Bluetooth feature. The N-Gage version was named "Best-Mobile Game" by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2004.
A remake of both the first game and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, titled Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, was developed by Vicarious Visions and released on September 4, 2020, for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, followed up a year later on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. The remake includes all of the original levels and skaters from the original games, but also includes improved skater creation and park creation modes, online multiplayer, and other new features, and featuring most of the original soundtracks, with a few exceptions due to licensing issues.
== Reception ==
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was met with critical acclaim. Doug Perry of IGN praised the game's "imaginative, deep, and amazingly addictive" gameplay, "steady and consistent" learning curve, "intuitive and natural" controls, large and complex levels, "jaw-dropping" physics and "perfect" soundtrack. Perry concluded that the game had "captured the pure grit and radical feel of skateboarding, delivering it in near perfect form onto the PlayStation with a mastery and sense of programming finesse beyond anyone's imagination", and described the game as "that rare gem of a game that defies what other developers say can't be done". Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot commended the game's graphics, frame rate, camera and sound effects, and declared the game to be "a worthy addition to anyone's PlayStation collection", though he was not personally fond of the soundtrack and wished that there was more variety in the game's tricks. He additionally noted that the Dreamcast version used the console's hardware to its advantage by displaying clearer textures and a smoother frame rate "that may very well cause longtime fans of the game to weep". Chris Carle of IGN also praised the Dreamcast version's improved textures.
Matt Casamassina of IGN praised the Nintendo 64 version's visuals as "very impressive" in spite of the reduced quality of the textures and the omitted full-motion video effects, and the audio as "surprisingly clear", albeit compressed and "dumbed down" to accommodate the cartridge format. Martin Taylor of Eurogamer cited the game's graphics as "crisp, smooth and very, very hard to fault", but noted that the game's soundtrack suffered from the compression process and that the looping music "quickly becomes incredibly annoying"; the latter sentiment was mirrored by Dr. Moo of Game Revolution.
In reviewing the Game Boy Color version, Craig Harris of IGN decided that while the half-pipe portion of the game "isn't half-bad", the overhead portion is "absolutely stupid"; he criticized the representation of tricks as static images as "completely destroy[ing] the flow of the game", and noted that the issue is exacerbated in the "Versus" mode by having both parties' game pause when either one performs a trick. Frank Provo of GameSpot cited the game's lack of level variety and "borderline mediocre" audio, but felt that it was the best skateboarding game to be made for a portable console. Both Chadd Chambers of IGN and Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot considered the N-Gage version to be the best game available on the system and were relatively impressed by the game's graphics, but noted the less comfortable control scheme and reduced sound quality.
Three reviewers for Next Generation magazine - Blake Fischer, Eric Bratcher, and Greg Orlando - gave five stars out of five for PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Dreamcast versions, respectively. They praised virtually every aspect of the game, despite noting some minor differences between all three versions.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was ranked #36 in Game Informer's "Top 100 Games of All Time" in its 100th issue in August 2001. The game was nominated for "Console Game of the Year" and "Console Sports Game of the Year" during the 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, but lost to Soulcalibur and Knockout Kings 2000, respectively. The game was included on Polygon's 2017 list of The 500 Best Games of All Time.
=== Sales ===
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was the third highest-selling PlayStation game of November 1999 in the United States. From its release date to late-December 1999, the game shipped in excess of 350,000 units and was available in over 10,000 retailers nationwide. The PlayStation version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland gave the PlayStation version a Gold Award for 100,000 sold copies in Germany by February 2000. The PlayStation versions of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and its successor were respectively the third and second highest-selling console games of 2000. The Nintendo 64 version was the sixth highest-selling Nintendo 64 game in the United States during the week of November 19–26, 2000. As of 2001, it has sold 3.5 million units.
== Sequels ==
The game resulted in a successful franchise, receiving eight annualized sequels developed by Neversoft from Pro Skater 2 (2000) to Proving Ground (2007), and a 2020 remake along with the sequel, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2.
== Cultural impact ==
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is credited with introducing skateboarding to a more mainstream global audience.
In a 2023 essay for The New York Times Magazine, Irish writer Jack Sheehan reflected on the game's impact, writing: "Released at a moment when skateboarding was beginning to go mainstream, T.H.P.S. became popular because it invited skaters and nonskaters alike to feel the thrill of getting air, doing a kick flip or landing a trick by the thinnest margin." In 2023, the book Right, Down + Circle: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater by Cole Nowicki was released, tackling and analyzing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater's meaning and impact. Reflecting on both the game's development history and his personal experience as a skateboarder and player, Nowicki called the game an "unprecedented success" and a "Trojan horse, entering the homes of millions worldwide, exposing kids, teenagers, their parents, and more to this gamified version of skateboarding."
In 2020, a documentary film Pretending I'm Superman: The Tony Hawk Video Game Story from Swedish director Ludvig Gür was released, chronicling the development and impact of the game.
Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, the game's soundtrack was acknowledged as having been a major cultural influence in music, particularly in spreading punk and metal to millennials. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose_Jaw_Warriors | Moose Jaw Warriors | The Moose Jaw Warriors are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The Warriors play in the East Division of the Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference, hosting games at the Temple Gardens Centre. The team was founded in 1980 as the Winnipeg Warriors, and relocated to Moose Jaw in 1984. The Warriors won their first league championship in 2024.
== History ==
The Moose Jaw Canucks were a founding franchise of the then-Western Canada Hockey League in 1966, and were the new league's first champion. However, after just two seasons and with the WCHL barred by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) from competing for the Memorial Cup, the Canucks opted to return to the revived Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in 1968. When the WCHL became recognized by CAHA in 1970, Moose Jaw was left without top-level junior hockey.
The Warriors franchise was established as the Winnipeg Warriors prior to the start of the 1980–81 WHL season, and played out of Winnipeg Arena, which they shared with the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets. In 1984, the franchise relocated to Moose Jaw, bringing major junior hockey back to the city for the first time since 1970.
The Warriors played in the Moose Jaw Civic Centre, also known as "The Crushed Can", for 26 seasons, before moving to Mosaic Place, now the Moose Jaw Events Centre, in the city centre in 2011.
The team's first few seasons in Moose Jaw saw Theoren Fleury emerge as the team's primary star—Fleury finished among the top five scorers in the WHL during his tenure with the team. Led by Fleury, Kelly Buchberger, Mike Keane, and Lyle Odelein, the Warriors made the franchise's first playoff appearance after the relocation during the 1985–86 season. The team captured its first regular season division title in 2003–04. In 2005–06, led by Troy Brouwer and Dustin Boyd, the Warriors followed their best regular season with their first ever trip to the championship series, in which they were swept by the Vancouver Giants. In 2017–18, the Warriors captured their first Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions with their first 50-win and 100-point season, before bowing out in the second round of the playoffs to the eventual champion Swift Current Broncos.
In the 2023–24 season—the Warriors' 40th in Moose Jaw—the Warriors won their first Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. Led by Jagger Firkus, Denton Mateychuk, and Brayden Yager, the Warriors advanced to their second league final by defeating the regular-season champion Saskatoon Blades in a seven game series that featured a WHL-record six overtime games, including the seventh and deciding game. In the final, they won four straight games versus the Portland Winterhawks to secure the championship and a berth in the 2024 Memorial Cup tournament. At their first Memorial Cup, the Warriors advanced to the semi-final, where they were eliminated by the host and eventual champion Saginaw Spirit.
== Logo and uniforms ==
The Warriors' original branding, based on the founding franchise in Winnipeg, featured Indigenous imagery, including a long-used logo featuring a silhouetted side-profile of a head wearing an Indigenous headdress. In 2020, in light of the Native American mascot controversy, the Warriors announced that they were reviewing their branding. In 2022, the team unveiled a new brand and logo based on the city's aviation history and connection with the Royal Canadian Air Force and Snowbirds—the logo features a CT-114 Tutor jet emblazoned with the Snowbirds logo. The team retained its original colour scheme featuring red, black, and white.
== Season-by-season record ==
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties OTL = Overtime losses Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
== Championship history ==
Ed Chynoweth Cup (1): 2023–24
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy (1): 2017–18
Regular Season Division titles (4): 2003–04, 2005–06, 2011–12, 2017–18
Conference Championships (2): 2005–06, 2023–24
=== WHL Championship ===
2005–06: Loss, 0–4 vs Vancouver Giants
2023–24: Win, 4–0 vs Portland Winterhawks
== Players ==
=== NHL alumni ===
The following Moose Jaw Warriors alumni have played in the National Hockey League (NHL).
=== NLL alumni ===
Warriors alumnus Kaleb Toth played thirteen seasons in the National Lacrosse League for the Calgary Roughnecks and Toronto Rock; he was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2022.
== Team records ==
== Awards == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Yeoh | Michelle Yeoh | Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng Todt (née Yeoh Choo Kheng, Chinese: 楊紫瓊; born 6 August 1962), known professionally as Michelle Yeoh ( YOH), is a Malaysian actress. In a career spanning over four decades, she has acted in film and television productions covering a wide range of genres and received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, along with nominations for two British Academy Film Awards. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early films, she rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s after starring in Hong Kong action and martial arts films where she performed her own stunts. These roles included Yes, Madam (1985), Magnificent Warriors (1987), Police Story 3: Super Cop (1992), The Heroic Trio and Tai Chi Master (both 1993), and Wing Chun (1994).
After moving to the United States, Yeoh gained international recognition for her starring roles in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and in Ang Lee's wuxia martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000); the latter earned her a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Her Hollywood career progressed with roles in Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), Sunshine (2007), and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008). She continued to appear in Hong Kong and Chinese cinema, starring in True Legend and Reign of Assassins (both 2010); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016); and Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018). In 2011, she portrayed Aung San Suu Kyi in the British biographical film The Lady (2011).
Yeoh played supporting roles in the romantic comedies Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and Last Christmas (2019), as well as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) and the television series Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2020). Her voice acting work has included Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011); Minions: The Rise of Gru and Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (both 2022); Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023); and The Tiger's Apprentice (2024). For her starring role as Evelyn Quan Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first Asian to win the category, and the first Malaysian to win an Academy Award. She has since featured in the mystery film A Haunting in Venice (2023) and the musical fantasy films Wicked (2024) and Wicked: For Good (2025).
The film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes ranked her the greatest action heroine of all time in 2008. In 1997, she was chosen by People as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World", and in 2009 the same magazine listed her as one of the "35 All-Time Screen Beauties." In 2022, Time named her one of the world's 100 most influential people on its annual listicle and its Icon of the Year. In 2024, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
== Early life and education ==
Yeoh was born on 6 August 1962 in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, to Yeoh Kian-teik (1925–2014), a politician, and Janet Yeoh (born 1939). She has a brother, Robert Yeoh, an eye surgeon, two half-brothers, Lam Hoe, a medical professional, and Ronald Yeoh, an eye surgeon, and a paternal half-sister, Tan Chee Koon (born 1949). Her father was elected as a Senator of Malaysia from 1959 to 1969 as a member of Perak's Malaysian Chinese Association, the Chairman of the Perak Bar Association, and the founder of "Sri Maju" in 1975, a major intercity coach service in Malaysia and Singapore. Of Hokkien and Cantonese ancestry, she grew up speaking English to her father, and could understand some Malaysian Cantonese from her maternal grandmother who lived with them. She learned to speak Cantonese and Mandarin fluently in the 1980s and 1990s after starting her career in Hong Kong. Despite that, she never learned to read or write Chinese characters, which she has said was her greatest regret.
Yeoh was keen on dance from an early age, beginning ballet at age four. She went to the girls school Main Convent Ipoh. At age fifteen, she moved with her parents to England. There, she was enrolled in The Hammond School, Chester, where she started to train as a ballet dancer. However, a spinal injury prevented her from becoming a professional ballet dancer, and she shifted her attention to choreography and other arts. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Crewe + Alsager College of Higher Education in 1983.
== Career ==
=== 1980s: Early career and first retirement ===
In 1983, twenty-year-old Yeoh won the Miss Malaysia World beauty contest. She was Malaysia's representative at the Miss World 1983 pageant in London, where she placed eighteenth. Later that year, she traveled to Australia where she won the 1984 Miss Moomba International pageant. Her first acting work was in a television commercial for Guy Laroche watches with Jackie Chan. This caught the attention of a fledgling Hong Kong film production company, D&B Films. Although she had a passive understanding of the Ipoh Cantonese spoken in her hometown, she could not speak it. During a phone call in Cantonese, she was offered to co-star in a television commercial with a Sing Long, and only realized that was Chan's Cantonese name when she arrived in the studio. She learned to speak Cantonese as she began her career in Hong Kong.
Yeoh began her acting career in action and martial arts films, in which she performed her own stunts. Yeoh's first lead role came in her third film, Yes, Madam (1985). Yeoh initially used the pseudonym Michelle Khan, a stage name selected by D&B Films for its potential appeal to international and Western audiences. In 1987, Yeoh married her first husband Dickson Poon, a co-founder of D&B Films, and decided to retire from acting.
=== 1990s and 2000s: Breakthrough as an action star ===
After five years of marriage, Yeoh divorced Poon and returned to acting with Police Story 3: Super Cop (1992). She appeared in The Heroic Trio (1993), and the Yuen Woo-ping films Tai Chi Master and Wing Chun in 1993 and 1994, respectively.
She changed her stage name back to Michelle Yeoh when she started her Hollywood career with Tomorrow Never Dies in 1997. In the 1997 James Bond film, she played Wai Lin opposite star Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan was impressed, describing her as a "wonderful actress" who was "serious and committed about her work." He referred to her as a "female James Bond" in reference to her combat abilities. Yeoh wanted to perform her own stunts but was prevented because director Roger Spottiswoode considered it too dangerous. Nevertheless, she performed all of her own fighting scenes.In 1997, Yeoh played Soong Ai-ling in the award-winning The Soong Sisters. Yeoh was approached by director Ang Lee to star as Yu Shu Lien in her first Mandarin-language martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). She did not speak Mandarin until the 2000s, and she had to learn the Mandarin lines for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon phonetically. The film was an international success, and earned Yeoh a BAFTA 2000 nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
In 2002, Yeoh produced her first English film, The Touch, through her own production company Mythical Films. In 2004, Yeoh met Jean Todt, a French motor racing executive, in Shanghai during a publicity event for Ferrari. They became engaged later that same year.
In 2005, Yeoh starred as Mameha in the film adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha, and she continued her English-language work in 2007 with Sunshine. In 2008, Yeoh starred in the fantasy action film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor with Brendan Fraser and Jet Li.
=== 2010s: Fluctuations and supporting roles ===
In 2011, she portrayed Aung San Suu Kyi in Luc Besson's The Lady. Yeoh was blacklisted by the Burmese government allegedly because of her participation in The Lady; she was refused entry to Myanmar on 22 June 2011 and was deported on the same day. In October 2011, Yeoh was chosen by Guerlain to be its skincare ambassador. Yeoh's role was to help strengthen the French cosmetics company's relationship with Asia.
Yeoh did not branch out into television until 2015, with her first role playing Mei Foster, wife to the British Ambassador to Thailand, who is secretly a North Korean spy named Li-Na, on the fifth season of the Cinemax/Sky series Strike Back.
In 2016, Yeoh was cast as Starfleet Captain Philippa Georgiou of the starship USS Shenzhou in the series Star Trek: Discovery, and recurs as Georgiou's "mirror" doppelganger later in the series. Yeoh went on to play the role for three seasons, garnering critical acclaim and becoming a fan favourite. Following the success of Star Trek: Discovery, a spin-off series with Yeoh in the leading role, was commissioned in 2019. The series, which would centre on Yeoh's character, Emperor Georgiou working as a member of Section 31, a secret galactic spy organization, was still "in development" as of January 2023, but in April, Paramount+ announced it had ordered a Star Trek: Section 31 feature film starring Yeoh, rather than a series.
In 2018, Yeoh played family matriarch Eleanor Young in Jon M. Chu's Crazy Rich Asians, a film adaptation of Kevin Kwan's book of the same name, opposite Constance Wu and Henry Golding. Carlos Aguilar of TheWrap described her performance as "convincingly subdued". In 2019, she played Christmas themed-store owner "Santa" in Last Christmas, opposite Henry Golding and Emilia Clarke. The film was a box office success, grossing over $121 million worldwide.
Yeoh played Ying Nan in Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. It was announced at The Game Awards 2020 that Yeoh would star in Ark: The Animated Series, a series based on the video game Ark: Survival Evolved by Studio Wildcard, in which she plays the role of Meiyin Li, a 3rd-century Chinese rebel leader, known as the Beast Queen.
=== 2020s: Critical resurgence ===
Yeoh starred in the science fiction surreal comedy film Everything Everywhere All at Once from filmmaking duo Daniels, released in March 2022 to widespread critical acclaim. In the film, she played struggling laundromat owner Evelyn Quan Wang, a role that was widely praised by critics, with David Ehrlich of IndieWire claiming it the "greatest performance that Michelle Yeoh has ever given". It was for this role that Yeoh earned her first Golden Globe win (becoming the first Malaysian actor to win Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes), her first Independent Spirit nomination and win, her first Oscar nomination and win, her second BAFTA nomination, and her first Critics' Choice Awards nomination. Additionally, she became the first Asian woman to win any individual lead film category in the Screen Actors Guild Awards, winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. She also became the first Malaysian to be nominated for and win an Academy Award, as well as the first Asian and second woman of colour to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Yeoh appeared in the Disney+ series American Born Chinese, based on the book of the same name by Gene Luen Yang. She starred as a psychic medium alongside Kenneth Branagh in A Haunting in Venice, released in 2023. In the same year, Yeoh became an International Olympic Committee member, and delivered a speech at Harvard Law School's 2023 class day.
In January 2024, she led the eight-part action comedy series The Brothers Sun for Netflix, which received generally positive reviews. She has since starred as Madame Morrible in the two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked directed by Jon M. Chu, with the first film released in November 2024, and the second film released the following year. In 2025, Yeoh joined the English-language cast of the Chinese animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2, voicing a lead character in the version released by A24 and CMC Pictures.
In May 2024, Yeoh was cast in a lead role as a replicant alongside Hunter Schafer in the Amazon science-fiction television series Blade Runner 2099. She will also star as human scientist Dr. Karina Mogue in Avatar 4, set to release on 21 December 2029 and Avatar 5, set to release on 19 December 2031. In November 2025, The Berlin International Film Festival announced it will award the 2026 Honorary Golden Bear to Yeoh in recognition of her outstanding achievements in film and cinema.
== Activism ==
Yeoh devotes a large part of her time to charitable and social endeavours, including disaster relief, HIV/AIDS, poverty reduction, animal conservation, gender equality and road safety. She has been an ambassador and leading campaigner for FIA's Make Roads Safe campaign to be recognised as a global public health and development priority since 2008. Among many activities on behalf of the campaign, she promoted safer road design at the events around the world, spoke at the United Nations General Assembly, Asia Development Bank, World Bank, walked to promote traffic safety at the Formula One race, and launched the Call for a Decade of Action for Road Safety at an event in Vietnam organised by the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation. She also filmed a documentary on global road safety, Turning Point, a version of which was shown on BBC World News.
Yeoh has donated her time as a WildAid ambassador for endangered animals and is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the Sustainable Development Goals initiative since 2016. Yeoh is a patron of the Save China's Tigers project committed to protecting the endangered South China tiger. She also joined UNDP's first-ever animal ambassadors, two panda cubs, to kick off the Pandas for the Global Goals campaign. In order to raise awareness about wildlife conservation and climate change, she collaborated with National Geographic to produce the documentary Among the Great Apes with Michelle Yeoh, while emphasising the importance of responsible consumerism, sustainable fashion, and ethical business practices. In 2013, she changed to the role of executive producer for the project Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey. The film recorded a journey of 700 people, led by the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa, to the perilous Himalayan mountain range. They traveled 450 miles, planted 50,000 trees, and educated the villagers on environmental responsibility.
Yeoh's activism extends to health and well-being issues, ranging from patrons to ambassadors, through organisations including AIDS Concern, Hong Kong Cancer Fund, amfAR, Live To Love, and Paris Brain Institute. She also joined UNAIDS's commissioner team, and serves on the board of directors of the Suu Foundation, a non-political charity established to support the health, education, human rights, and development of the people of Myanmar. As one of the survivors of the 2015 Nepal earthquake, after evacuation, she returned to the disaster-hit country to help rehabilitate affected people and donate €100,000 for victims.
Throughout her career, Yeoh has always portrayed strong roles and been defiant in working against stereotypes. After Tomorrow Never Dies, she did not work for nearly two years due to the stereotypical roles offered to her in America. She told People: "At that point (1990s), people in the industry couldn't really tell the difference between whether I was Chinese, Japanese, Korean or if I even spoke English. They would talk very loudly and very slowly". She has long spoken out about racism in Hollywood, typically in her awards acceptance speech at the Golden Globes. The day after her Oscar win, she published an opinion essay in The New York Times calling for true gender equality.
== Personal life ==
Yeoh was married to Hong Kong entrepreneur Dickson Poon, known for his ownership of businesses such as Harvey Nichols and Charles Jourdan, from 1988 to 1992. From 1998 to 2000, Yeoh dated and was eventually engaged to Alan Heldman, an American cardiologist.
In 2004, she began dating Jean Todt, then the general manager and CEO of Scuderia Ferrari and later the president of the FIA. They became engaged on 26 July 2004. As of 2019, she lives in Geneva, Switzerland, with Todt. In an Instagram post, former Scuderia Ferrari driver Felipe Massa said that Yeoh and Todt were married on 27 July 2023 in Geneva.
Yeoh does not have any children, and has cited her inability to have children as the reason for ending her first marriage.
Yeoh is Buddhist and an activist. Yeoh expressed her support for Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak and the political coalition Barisan Nasional ahead of the 2013 Malaysian general election. In 2022, she told Vanity Fair that Shakespeare and Stephen King were her favourite authors and that Tarzan was her favourite fictional hero.
== Filmography ==
== Accolades ==
Yeoh is widely regarded as one of the greatest female action stars in cinema history. Christina Newland of BBC Online credited her early work in Hong Kong action films with helping "redress the male-dominated nature of that cinema scene", and Pete Volk of Polygon said she had already established herself as "one of the best action stars in the world" before breaking through in the United States. She has been compared to Jackie Chan throughout her career, and has often been nicknamed the "female Jackie Chan" by the press.
In 1999, she was a member of the jury at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival. On 19 April 2001, Yeoh was awarded the Darjah Datuk Paduka Mahkota Perak (DPMP), which carries the title Dato', by Sultan Azlan Shah, the Sultan of Perak, her home state, in recognition of the fame she brought to the state. On 25 November 2002, Yeoh was honoured as The Outstanding Young People of the World (TOYP) (Cultural Achievement) by JCI (Junior Chamber International). On 23 April 2007, French President Jacques Chirac conferred upon Yeoh the title of Knight of the Legion of Honour (French: Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur). The decoration was presented to her in a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on 3 October 2007. She was promoted to Officer of the same French order (Officier de la Légion d'honneur) by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on 14 March 2012 at a ceremony held at the president's residence, the Élysée Palace, on that day, and promoted to Commander (Commandeur), the highest honour available to non-French citizens, by François Hollande at the official residence of the French ambassador in Kuala Lumpur on 27 March 2017.
On 22 May 2012, Yeoh was awarded the Darjah Seri Paduka Mahkota Perak (SPMP) which carries the title Dato' Seri during the investiture ceremony in conjunction with the Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah's birthday. Yeoh received the Excellence in Asian Cinema award during the 7th Asian Film Awards in March 2013 in Hong Kong. On 1 June 2013, Yeoh was awarded the Panglima Setia Mahkota (PSM) which carries the title Tan Sri during the investiture ceremony in conjunction with the birthday of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah. On 30 November 2013, Yeoh presided as the Chief Guest at the International Film Festival of India.
On 12 February 2016, Yeoh was made an Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, becoming the first Malaysian citizen to receive that honour. Yeoh was included in the BBC's 100 Women list of 2020. She was placed on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022. On 13 August 2022, Yeoh received an honorary doctorate of fine arts degree from the American Film Institute for her contributions of distinction to the art of the moving image. She became the first Asian artist to receive the honour. On 9 December 2022, Yeoh received the Kirk Douglas Award from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
On 9 January 2024, Yeoh was awarded the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum for her role as a cultural leader and for her contributions to society as an exceptional artist. On 3 May 2024, the United States government announced Yeoh would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour. Yeoh was cited for continuing "to shatter stereotypes and enrich American culture." On 18 February 2026, she became the first Malaysian to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.
=== Honours ===
==== Honours of Malaysia ====
Malaysia
Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (2013)
Perak
Knight Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (DPMP) – Dato' (2001)
Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (SPMP) – Dato' Seri (2012)
==== Foreign honours ====
France
Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (2007)
Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (2012)
Officier of the National Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2016)
Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (2017)
United States
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2024) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Tyler_Ferguson | Jesse Tyler Ferguson | Jesse Tyler Ferguson (born October 22, 1975) is an American actor. From 2009 to 2020, he portrayed Mitchell Pritchett on the sitcom Modern Family, for which he earned five consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
He is also known for his theatrical work, winning a Tony Award in 2022 for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Take Me Out, and originating the role of Leaf Coneybear in the original Broadway cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in 2006.
Ferguson made his Broadway debut in On the Town (1998), He has appeared in numerous productions of Shakespeare in the Park, acting in A Midsummer Night's Dream (2007), A Winter's Tale (2010), The Merchant of Venice (2010), The Tempest (2015), and Twelfth Night; or What You Will (2025).
In 2016, he starred on Broadway in Fully Committed, for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.
== Early life ==
Jesse Tyler Ferguson was born in Missoula, Montana, to Anne Ferguson (née Doyle; 1948–2024) and Robert "Bob" Ferguson (born 1946). He was named after his paternal grandmother, Jessie Uppercue Ferguson, to whom he was very close growing up. He was also named after his paternal great-grandfather, Jesse. He has a brother, Benjamin Ferguson, and a sister, Kelly Ferguson.
His family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he was raised. At age eight, Ferguson decided to become an actor, and joined the Albuquerque Children's Theater, where he was a member for six years. While attending St. Pius X High School, Ferguson acted in the musicals Bye Bye Birdie and Li'l Abner. He participated on the speech and debate team and graduated in 1994. He worked as a dancer/singer at Cliff's Amusement Park. Ferguson was 18 years old when his parents divorced. After high school, Ferguson attended The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City.
== Career ==
=== Theater ===
In New York City, Ferguson worked mainly in Off-Broadway and Broadway theatre, including the Tony Award-winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, where he originated the role of Leaf Coneybear. Ferguson starred in the Public Theater's 2007 Shakespeare in the Park production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and 2015 production of The Tempest. In the summer of 2015, he played Sir Robin in the Hollywood Bowl production of Monty Python's Spamalot.
In March 2012, Ferguson was featured as Dr. Ilan Meyer in a performance of Dustin Lance Black's play 8, a staged reenactment of Perry v. Brown, the federal trial that overturned California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage. The production was held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre and broadcast on YouTube to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, a non-profit organization funding the plaintiffs' legal team and sponsoring the play. He appeared in the 2022 Broadway revival of Take Me Out, for which he won a Tony Award.
=== Television and film ===
On television, Ferguson was among the large ensemble cast on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Class, playing Richie Velch. Ferguson also played a role in the 2008 thriller Untraceable.
From 2009 to 2020, he played the role of Mitchell Pritchett, the openly gay lawyer on the ABC sitcom Modern Family. For his performance, Ferguson received five consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He also appeared as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance and opposed actress Chrissy Metz in a 2017 episode of TBS's Drop the Mic. In 2020, he co-hosted HGTV's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition replacing Ty Pennington.
=== Other works ===
In 2018, Ferguson was one of the actors who voiced the audiobook A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo.
In 2019, Ferguson appeared in Taylor Swift's music video for "You Need to Calm Down".
== Philanthropy ==
In September 2012, Ferguson and his lawyer husband, Justin Mikita, started the non-profit charity Tie The Knot, an effort to raise funds in support of same-sex marriage, using bow ties sold to retail. They officially launched it as their engagement announcement in an online video where they explain only seven states at the time had same-sex marriage. In an interview Ferguson stated that he wanted to do something that was smaller and manageable in case it did not work out as a business model.
The foundation sells limited-edition bow ties to support organizations that advocate for same-sex marriage. Their collections are designed by the couple plus guest designers, and is sold by The Tie Bar, a Naperville, Illinois-based online men's neckwear company.
In January 2013, the couple were recruited by Lieutenant Governor of Illinois Sheila Simon to lobby legislators to pass SB10 which would allow same-sex marriage. The bill passed both legislative houses, and Governor Pat Quinn signed the bill into law, going into effect on June 1, 2014.
In October 2013, the American Civil Liberties Union named Ferguson the celebrity ambassador for the LGBT community. He participated heavily in the ACLU's "Out for Freedom" campaign They noted that Ferguson travelled to New Mexico, his home state, to take part in same sex marriage efforts. Before the state's full legalization of same-sex marriage on December 19, 2013, New Mexico did not explicitly permit or prohibit same-sex marriage; it was the only state lacking a statute or constitutional provision explicitly addressing same-sex marriage. The couple's non-profit made a grant of US$10,000 to the ACLU of New Mexico for same sex efforts.
In November 2013, a pop-up retail store for 'Tie The Knot' was located at the Los Angeles Beverly Center featuring the fourth collection from the couple, including professional athlete designs with Scott Fujita and Chris Kluwe, and Brittney Griner.
== Personal life ==
Ferguson uses his full name, as there was already an actor called Jesse Ferguson in the actors' union when he joined.
In September 2012, he announced his engagement to lawyer Justin Mikita, his boyfriend of nearly two years. They married in Manhattan on July 20, 2013, with the playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner officiating at their wedding. The couple have two children born through surrogacy; their first son was born on July 7, 2020 and their second son was born on November 15, 2022.
On the process of coming out, he said he had to tell his father three times (when he was 17, 19 and 21): "It's a coming out process for them as well, and it takes time".
He has a dog named Leaf, named after Leaf Coneybear, a character he created in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on Broadway. He is a supporter of the Democratic Party and is shown in the 2016 Democratic National Convention promotional trailer "Our Fight Song".
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
=== Theatre ===
=== Music videos ===
== Awards and nominations == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy | John F. Kennedy | John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person elected president, at 43 years, and the first Catholic president. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A member of the Democratic Party, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the United States Congress before his presidency.
Born into the prominent Kennedy family in Brookline, Massachusetts, Kennedy graduated from Harvard University in 1940, joining the U.S. Naval Reserve the following year. During World War II, he commanded PT boats in the Pacific theater. Kennedy's survival following the sinking of PT-109 and his rescue of his fellow sailors made him a war hero and earned the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, but left him with serious injuries. After a brief stint in journalism, Kennedy represented a working-class Boston district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953. He was subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate, serving as the junior senator from Massachusetts from 1953 to 1960. While in the Senate, Kennedy published his book Profiles in Courage, which won a Pulitzer Prize. Kennedy ran in the 1960 presidential election. His campaign gained momentum after the first televised presidential debates in American history, and he was elected president, narrowly defeating Republican opponent Richard Nixon, the incumbent vice president.
Kennedy's presidency saw high tensions with communist states in the Cold War. He increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam, and the Strategic Hamlet Program began during his presidency. In 1961, he authorized attempts to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro in the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion and Operation Mongoose. In October 1962, U.S. spy planes discovered Soviet missile bases had been deployed in Cuba. The resulting period of tensions, termed the Cuban Missile Crisis, nearly resulted in nuclear war. In August 1961, after East German troops erected the Berlin Wall, Kennedy sent an army convoy to reassure West Berliners of U.S. support, and delivered one of his most famous speeches in West Berlin in June 1963. In 1963, Kennedy signed the first nuclear weapons treaty. He presided over the establishment of the Peace Corps, Alliance for Progress with Latin America, and the continuation of the Apollo program with the goal of landing a man on the Moon before 1970. He supported the civil rights movement but was only somewhat successful in passing his New Frontier domestic policies.
On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. His vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, assumed the presidency. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the assassination, but he was shot and killed by Jack Ruby two days later. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Warren Commission both concluded Oswald had acted alone, but conspiracy theories about the assassination persist. After Kennedy's death, Congress enacted many of his proposals, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Revenue Act of 1964. He ranks highly in polls of U.S. presidents with historians and the general public. His personal life has been the focus of considerable sustained interest following public revelations in the 1970s of his chronic health ailments and extramarital affairs. Kennedy is the most recent U.S. president to have died in office.
== Early life and education ==
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, outside Boston in Brookline, Massachusetts, to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., a businessman and politician, and Rose Kennedy (née Fitzgerald), a philanthropist and socialite. His paternal grandfather, P. J. Kennedy, was an East Boston ward boss and Massachusetts state legislator. Kennedy's maternal grandfather and namesake, John F. Fitzgerald, was a U.S. congressman and two-term mayor of Boston. All four of his grandparents were children of Irish immigrants. Kennedy had an older brother, Joseph Jr., and seven younger siblings: Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean, and Ted.
Kennedy's father amassed a private fortune and established trust funds for his nine children, guaranteeing them lifelong financial independence. His business kept him away from home for long stretches, but Joe Sr. was a formidable presence in his children's lives. He encouraged them to be ambitious, emphasized political discussions at the dinner table, and demanded a high level of academic achievement. John's first exposure to politics came in 1922, when he toured Boston wards with his grandfather Fitzgerald during his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign. In September 1927, due to an outbreak of polio in Massachusetts and Joe Sr.'s business interests in Wall Street and Hollywood, the family relocated from Boston to the Riverdale neighborhood of New York City. Several years later, his brother Robert told Look magazine that his father left Boston because of job signs that read: "No Irish Need Apply." The Kennedys spent summers and early autumns at their home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, a village on Cape Cod, where they engaged in various outdoor activities. Christmas and Easter holidays were spent at their winter retreat in Palm Beach, Florida. In September 1930, Kennedy, 13 years old, was sent to the Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut, for 8th grade. In April 1931, he had an appendectomy, after which he withdrew from Canterbury and recuperated at home.
In September 1931, Kennedy began attending Choate, a preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut. Rose had wanted John and Joe Jr. to attend a Catholic school, but Joe Sr. believed that if they were to compete in the political world, they needed to be among boys from prominent Protestant families. John spent his first years at Choate in his older brother's shadow and compensated with rebellious behavior that attracted a clique. Their most notorious stunt was exploding a toilet seat with a firecracker. In the next chapel assembly, the headmaster, George St. John, brandished the toilet seat and spoke of "muckers" who would "spit in our sea," leading Kennedy to name his group "The Muckers Club." It included his roommate and lifelong friend Lem Billings. Kennedy graduated from Choate in June 1935, finishing 64th of 112 students. He had been the business manager of the school yearbook and was voted the "most likely to succeed."
Kennedy intended to study under Harold Laski at the London School of Economics, as his older brother had done. However, ill health forced his return to the United States in October 1935, when he enrolled late at Princeton University, but had to withdraw after two months due to gastrointestinal illness.
In September 1936, Kennedy enrolled at Harvard College. He wrote occasionally for The Harvard Crimson, the campus newspaper, but had little involvement with campus politics, preferring to concentrate on athletics and his social life. Kennedy played football and was on the junior varsity squad during his sophomore year, but an injury forced him off the team, and left him with back problems that plagued him for the rest of his life. He earned membership in the Hasty Pudding Club and the Spee Club, one of Harvard's elite "final clubs".
In July 1938, Kennedy sailed overseas with his older brother to work at the American embassy in London, where their father was serving as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's ambassador to the Court of St. James's. The following year, Kennedy traveled throughout Europe, the Soviet Union, the Balkans, and the Middle East in preparation for his Harvard senior honors thesis. He then went to Berlin, where a U.S. diplomatic representative gave him a secret message about war breaking out soon to pass on to his father, and to Czechoslovakia before returning to London on September 1, 1939—the day that Germany invaded Poland; the start of World War II. Two days later, the family was in the House of Commons for speeches endorsing the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Germany. Kennedy was sent as his father's representative to assist with arrangements for American survivors of the torpedoing of SS Athenia before flying back to the United States on his first transatlantic flight.
While an upperclassman at Harvard, Kennedy began to take his studies more seriously and developed an interest in political philosophy. He made the dean's list in his junior year. In 1940, Kennedy completed his thesis, "Appeasement in Munich", about British negotiations during the Munich Agreement. The thesis was released on July 24, under the title Why England Slept. The book was one of the first to offer information about the war and its origins, and quickly became a bestseller. In addition to addressing Britain's unwillingness to strengthen its military in the lead-up to the war, the book called for an Anglo-American alliance against the rising totalitarian powers. Kennedy became increasingly supportive of U.S. intervention in World War II, and his father's isolationist beliefs resulted in the latter's dismissal as ambassador.
In 1940, Kennedy graduated cum laude from Harvard with a Bachelor of Arts in government, concentrating on international affairs. That fall, he enrolled at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and audited classes, but he left after a semester to help his father complete his memoirs as an American ambassador. In early 1941, Kennedy toured South America.
== U.S. Naval Reserve (1941–1945) ==
Kennedy planned to attend Yale Law School, but canceled those plans when American entry into World War II seemed imminent. In 1940, Kennedy attempted to enter the Army's Officer Candidate School. Despite months of training, he was medically disqualified due to chronic back problems. On September 24, 1941, with the help of Alan Goodrich Kirk—the director of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) and former naval attaché to Joe Sr.—Kennedy joined the United States Naval Reserve. He was commissioned as an ensign on October 26, 1941, and joined the ONI staff in Washington, D.C.
In January 1942, Kennedy was assigned to the ONI field office at Headquarters, Sixth Naval District, in Charleston, South Carolina. He hoped to command a PT (patrol torpedo) boat, but his health problems seemed almost certain to prevent active duty. Kennedy's father intervened by providing misleading medical records and convincing PT officers that his presence would bring publicity to the fleet. Kennedy completed six months of training at the Naval Reserve Officer Training School in Chicago and at the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center in Melville, Rhode Island. His first command was PT-101 from December 7, 1942, until February 23, 1943. Unhappy with his assignment to the Panama Canal, far from the fighting, Kennedy appealed to Senator David I. Walsh of Massachusetts, who arranged for him to be reassigned to the South Pacific.
=== Commanding PT-109 and PT-59 ===
In April 1943, Kennedy was assigned to Motor Torpedo Squadron TWO, and on April 24 he took command of PT-109, then based on Tulagi Island in the Solomons. On the night of August 1–2, in support of the New Georgia campaign, PT-109 and fourteen other PTs were ordered to block or repel four Japanese destroyers and floatplanes carrying food, supplies, and 900 Japanese soldiers to the Vila Plantation garrison on the southern tip of the Solomon's Kolombangara Island. Intelligence had been sent to Kennedy's commander, Thomas G. Warfield, who, as a result, was expecting the arrival of the large Japanese naval force that would pass on the evening of August 1. Of the 24 torpedoes fired that night by eight of the American PTs, not one hit the Japanese convoy. On that moonless night, Kennedy spotted a Japanese destroyer heading north on its return from the base of Kolombangara around 2:00 a.m., and attempted to turn to attack, when PT-109 was suddenly rammed at an angle and cut in half by the destroyer Amagiri, killing two PT-109 crew members. Avoiding surrender, the remaining crew swam toward Plum Pudding Island, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southwest of the remains of PT-109, on August 2. Despite re-injuring his back in the collision, Kennedy towed a badly burned crewman named Patrick McMahon to the island with a life jacket strap clenched between his teeth. From there, Kennedy and his subordinate, Ensign George Ross, made forays through the coral islands, searching for help. When they encountered an English-speaking native with a canoe, Kennedy carved his location on a coconut shell and requested a boat rescue. Seven days after the collision, with the coconut message delivered, the PT-109 crew was rescued.
Almost immediately, the PT-109 rescue became a highly publicized event. The story was chronicled by John Hersey in The New Yorker in 1944; decades later, it was the basis of a successful film. It followed Kennedy into politics and provided a strong foundation for his appeal as a leader. Hersey portrayed Kennedy as a modest, self-deprecating hero. For his courage and leadership, Kennedy was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, and the injuries he suffered during the incident qualified him for a Purple Heart.
After a month's recovery, Kennedy returned to duty, commanding PT-59. On November 2, Kennedy's PT-59, along with two other PT boats, took part in the rescue of 40 to 50 Marines. The 59 acted as a shield from shore fire as they escaped on two rescue landing craft at the base of the Warrior River on Choiseul Island, taking ten Marines aboard and delivering them to safety. Under doctor's orders, Kennedy was relieved of his command on November 18, and sent to the hospital on Tulagi. By December 1943, with his health deteriorating, Kennedy left the Pacific front and arrived in San Francisco in early January 1944. After receiving treatment for his back injury at the Chelsea Naval Hospital in Massachusetts from May to December 1944, he was released from active duty. Beginning in January 1945, Kennedy spent three months recovering from his back injury at Castle Hot Springs, a resort and temporary military hospital in Arizona. On March 1, 1945, Kennedy retired from the Navy Reserve on physical disability and was honorably discharged with the full rank of lieutenant. When later asked how he became a war hero, Kennedy joked: "It was easy. They cut my PT boat in half."
On August 12, 1944, Kennedy's older brother, Joe Jr., a Navy pilot, was killed during an air mission. His body was never recovered. News of his death reached the family's home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, a day later. Kennedy felt that Joe Jr.'s reckless flight was partly an effort to outdo him. To console himself, Kennedy set out to assemble a privately published book of remembrances of his brother, As We Remember Joe.
== Journalism (1945) ==
In April 1945, Kennedy's father, who was a friend of William Randolph Hearst, arranged a position for his son as a special correspondent for Hearst Newspapers; the assignment kept Kennedy's name in the public eye and "expose[d] him to journalism as a possible career". He covered the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, the British elections, and the Potsdam Conference in Germany.
== U.S. House of Representatives (1947–1953) ==
Kennedy's elder brother, Joe Jr., had been the family's political standard-bearer and was tapped by their father to seek the presidency. After Joe's death, the assignment fell to John as the second eldest. Boston mayor Maurice J. Tobin discussed the possibility of John becoming his running mate in 1946 as a candidate for Massachusetts lieutenant governor, but Joe Sr. preferred a congressional campaign that could send John to Washington, where he could have national visibility.
At the urging of Joe Sr., U.S. Representative James Michael Curley vacated his seat in the solidly Democratic 11th congressional district of Massachusetts to become mayor of Boston in 1946. Kennedy established legal residency at 122 Bowdoin Street across from the Massachusetts State House. He won the Democratic primary with 42 percent of the vote, defeating nine other candidates. According to Fredrik Logevall, Joe Sr. spent hours on the phone with reporters and editors, seeking information, trading confidences, and cajoling them into publishing puff pieces on John, ones that invariably played up his war record in the Pacific. He oversaw a professional advertising campaign that ensured ads went up in just the right places. The campaign had a virtual monopoly on [Boston] subway space, and on window stickers ("Kennedy for Congress") for cars and homes, and was the force behind the mass mailing of Hersey's PT-109 article. Though Republicans took control of the House in the 1946 elections, Kennedy defeated his Republican opponent in the general election, taking 73 percent of the vote.
As a congressman, Kennedy had a reputation for taking little interest in the management of his office or his constituents' concerns, with one of the highest absenteeism rates in the House, although much was explained by illness. George Smathers, one of his few political friends at the time, claimed that he was more interested in being a writer than a politician, and at that time, he suffered from extreme shyness. Kennedy found "most of his fellow congressmen boring, preoccupied as they all seemed to be with their narrow political concerns". The arcane House rules and customs, which slowed legislation, exasperated him.
Kennedy served in the House for six years, joining the influential Education and Labor Committee and the Veterans' Affairs Committee. He concentrated his attention on international affairs, supporting the Truman Doctrine as an appropriate response to the emerging Cold War. He also supported public housing and opposed the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, which restricted the power of labor unions. Though not as vocally anti-communist as Joseph McCarthy, Kennedy supported the Internal Security Act of 1950, which required communists to register with the government, and he deplored the "loss of China". Kennedy denounced Truman and the State Department during a speech in Salem, Massachusetts on January 30, 1949, for contributing to the "tragic story of China whose freedom we once fought to preserve. What our young men had saved [in World War II], our diplomats and our President have frittered away." Having served as a Boy Scout during his childhood, Kennedy was active in the Boston Council from 1946 to 1955 as district vice chairman, member of the executive board, vice-president, and National Council Representative.
To appeal to the large Italian-American voting bloc in Massachusetts, Kennedy delivered a speech in November 1947 supporting a $227 million aid package to Italy. He maintained that Italy was in danger from an "onslaught of the communist minority" and that the country was the "initial battleground in the communist drive to capture Western Europe." To counter Soviet efforts to take control in Middle Eastern and Asian countries like Indochina, Kennedy wanted the United States to develop nonmilitary techniques of resistance that would not create suspicions of neoimperialism or add to the country's financial burden. The problem, as he saw it, was not simply to be anti-communist but to stand for something that these emerging nations would find appealing.
Almost every weekend that Congress was in session, Kennedy would fly back to Massachusetts to give speeches to veteran, fraternal, and civic groups, while maintaining an index card file on individuals who might be helpful in a future statewide campaign. Contemplating whether to run for Massachusetts governor or the U.S. Senate, Kennedy abandoned interest in the former, believing that the governor "sat in an office, handing out sewer contracts".
== U.S. Senate (1953–1960) ==
As early as 1949, Kennedy began preparing to run for the Senate in 1952 against Republican three-term incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. with the campaign slogan "KENNEDY WILL DO MORE FOR MASSACHUSETTS". Joe Sr. again financed his son's candidacy—persuading the Boston Post to switch its support to Kennedy by promising the publisher a $500,000 loan—while John's younger brother Robert emerged as campaign manager. Kennedy's mother and sisters were also highly effective canvassers, hosting a series of "teas" at hotels and parlors across Massachusetts to reach out to women voters. In the presidential election, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower carried Massachusetts by 208,000 votes, but Kennedy narrowly defeated Lodge by 70,000 votes for the Senate seat. The following year, he married Jacqueline Bouvier.
Kennedy underwent several spinal operations over the next two years. Often absent from the Senate, he was at times critically ill and received Catholic last rites. During his convalescence in 1956, he published Profiles in Courage, a book about U.S. senators who risked their careers for their personal beliefs, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957. Rumors that this work was ghostwritten by his close adviser and speechwriter, Ted Sorensen, were confirmed in Sorensen's 2008 autobiography.
At the start of his first term, Kennedy focused on fulfilling the promise of his campaign to do "more for Massachusetts" than his predecessor. Although Kennedy's and Lodge's legislative records were similarly liberal, Lodge voted for the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and Kennedy voted against it. On NBC's Meet the Press, Kennedy excoriated Lodge for not doing enough to prevent the increasing migration of manufacturing jobs from Massachusetts to the South, and blamed the right-to-work provision for giving the South an unfair advantage over Massachusetts in labor costs. In May 1953, Kennedy introduced "The Economic Problems of New England", a 36-point program to help Massachusetts industries such as fishing, textile manufacturing, watchmaking, and shipbuilding, as well as the Boston seaport. Kennedy's policy agenda included protective tariffs, preventing excessive speculation in raw wool, stronger efforts to research and market American fish products, an increase in the Fish and Wildlife Service budget (including funds for US FWS Albatross III), funds to rehabilitate the South Boston Army Base, shipbuilding contracts at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, and the development of hydroelectric and nuclear power in New England—such as the Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Station in Rowe, Massachusetts, which began construction in 1958. Kennedy's suggestions for stimulating the region's economy appealed to both parties by offering benefits to business and labor, and promising to serve national defense. Congress would eventually enact most of the program. A Massachusetts Audubon Society supporter, Kennedy wanted to make sure that the shorelines of Cape Cod remained unsullied by industrialization. On September 3, 1959, Kennedy co-sponsored the Cape Cod National Seashore bill with his Republican colleague Senator Leverett Saltonstall.
As a senator, Kennedy quickly won a reputation for responsiveness to requests from constituents (i.e., co-sponsoring legislation to provide federal loans to help rebuild communities damaged by the 1953 Worcester tornado), except on certain occasions when the national interest was at stake. In 1954, Kennedy voted in favor of the Saint Lawrence Seaway which would connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, despite opposition from Massachusetts politicians who argued that the project would hurt the Port of Boston economically.
In 1954, when the Senate voted to condemn Joseph McCarthy for breaking Senate rules and abusing an Army general, Kennedy was the only Democrat not to cast a vote against him. Kennedy drafted a speech supporting the censure. However, it was not delivered because Kennedy was hospitalized for back surgery in Boston. Although Kennedy never indicated how he would have voted, the episode damaged his support among members of the liberal community in the 1956 and 1960 elections.
In 1956, Kennedy gained control of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, and delivered the state delegation to the party's presidential nominee, Adlai Stevenson II, at the Democratic National Convention in August. Stevenson let the convention select the vice presidential nominee. Kennedy finished second in the balloting, losing to Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, but receiving national exposure.
In 1957, Kennedy joined the Senate's Select Committee on Labor Rackets (also known as the McClellan Committee) with his brother Robert, who was chief counsel, to investigate racketeering in labor-management relations. The hearings attracted extensive radio and television coverage where the Kennedy brothers engaged in dramatic arguments with controversial labor leaders, including Jimmy Hoffa of the Teamsters Union. The following year, Kennedy introduced a bill to prevent the expenditure of union dues for improper purposes or private gain; to forbid loans from union funds for illicit transactions; and to compel audits of unions, which would ensure against false financial reports. It was the first major labor relations bill to pass either house since the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947 and dealt largely with the control of union abuses exposed by the McClellan Committee, but did not incorporate tough Taft–Hartley amendments requested by President Eisenhower. It survived Senate floor attempts to include Taft-Hartley amendments and passed but was rejected by the House. "Honest union members and the general public can only regard it as a tragedy that politics has prevented the recommendations of the McClellan committee from being carried out this year," Kennedy announced.
That same year, Kennedy joined the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee. There he supported Algeria's effort to gain independence from France and sponsored an amendment to the Mutual Defense Assistance Act that would provide aid to Soviet satellite nations. Kennedy in 1959 introduced a controversial bill to eliminate from the National Defense Education Act of 1958 a provision requiring loyalty oaths and affidavits from aid recipients.
Kennedy cast a procedural vote against President Eisenhower's bill for the Civil Rights Act of 1957, and this was considered by some to be an appeasement of Southern Democratic opponents of the bill. Kennedy did vote for Title III of the act, which would have given the Attorney General powers to enjoin, but Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson agreed to let the provision die as a compromise measure. Kennedy also voted for the "Jury Trial Amendment." Many civil rights advocates criticized the vote as one that would weaken the Act. A final compromise bill, which Kennedy supported, was passed in September 1957. As a senator from Massachusetts, which lacked a sizable Black population, Kennedy was not particularly sensitive to the problems of African Americans. Robert Kennedy later reflected, "We weren't thinking of the Negroes of Mississippi or Alabama—what should be done for them. We were thinking of what needed to be done in Massachusetts."
Most historians and political scientists who have written about Kennedy refer to his U.S. Senate years as an interlude. According to historian Robert Dallek, Kennedy called being a senator "the most corrupting job in the world." He complained that they were all too quick to cut deals and please campaign contributors to ensure their political futures. Kennedy, with the luxury of a rich father who could finance his campaigns, could remain independent of any special interest, except for those in his home state of Massachusetts that could align against his reelection. According to author Robert Caro, Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson viewed Kennedy as a "playboy", describing his performance in the Senate and the House as "pathetic" on another occasion, saying that he was "smart enough, but he doesn't like the grunt work". Author John T. Shaw acknowledges that while his Senate career is not associated with acts of "historic statesmanship" or "novel political thought," Kennedy made modest contributions as a legislator, drafting more than 300 bills to benefit Massachusetts and the New England region, some of which became law.
In 1958, Kennedy was re-elected to the Senate, defeating his Republican opponent, Boston lawyer Vincent J. Celeste, with 73.6 percent of the vote, the largest winning margin in the history of Massachusetts politics. In the aftermath of his re-election, Kennedy began preparing to run for president by traveling throughout the U.S. to build his candidacy for 1960.
== 1960 presidential election ==
On January 2, 1960, Kennedy announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. Though some questioned Kennedy's age and experience, his charisma and eloquence earned him numerous supporters. Kennedy faced several potential challengers, including Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, Adlai Stevenson II, and Senator Hubert Humphrey.
Kennedy traveled extensively to build his support. His campaign strategy was to win several primaries to demonstrate his electability to the party bosses, who controlled most of the delegates, and to prove to his detractors that a Catholic could win popular support. Victories over Senator Humphrey in the Wisconsin and West Virginia primaries gave Kennedy momentum as he moved on to the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.
When Kennedy entered the convention, he had the most delegates, but not enough to ensure that he would win the nomination. Stevenson—the 1952 and 1956 presidential nominee—remained very popular, while Johnson also hoped to win the nomination with support from party leaders. Kennedy's candidacy also faced opposition from former President Harry S. Truman, who was concerned about Kennedy's lack of experience. Kennedy knew that a second ballot could give the nomination to Johnson or someone else, and his well-organized campaign was able to earn the support of just enough delegates to win the presidential nomination on the first ballot.
Kennedy ignored the opposition of his brother Robert, who wanted him to choose labor leader Walter Reuther, and other liberal supporters when he chose Johnson as his vice-presidential nominee. He believed that the Texas senator could help him win support from the South. In accepting the presidential nomination, Kennedy gave his well-known "New Frontier" speech: For the problems are not all solved and the battles are not all won—and we stand today on the edge of a New Frontier. ... But the New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises—it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them.
At the start of the fall general election campaign, the Republican nominee and incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon held a six-point lead in the polls. Major issues included how to get the economy moving again, Kennedy's Catholicism, the Cuban Revolution, and whether the space and missile programs of the Soviet Union had surpassed those of the U.S. To address fears that his Catholic faith would impact his decision-making, he told the Greater Houston Ministerial Association on September 12: "I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party candidate for president who also happens to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters—and the Church does not speak for me." He promised to respect the separation of church and state, and not to allow Catholic officials to dictate public policy.
The Kennedy and Nixon campaigns agreed to a series of televised debates. An estimated 70 million Americans, about two-thirds of the electorate, watched the first debate on September 26. Kennedy had met the day before with the producer to discuss the set design and camera placement. Nixon, recently released from the hospital after a painful knee injury, did not take advantage of this opportunity and, during the debate, looked at the reporters asking questions and not at the camera. Kennedy wore a blue suit and shirt to reduce glare and appeared sharply focused against the gray studio background. Nixon wore a light-colored suit that blended into the gray background; in combination with the harsh studio lighting that left Nixon perspiring, he offered a less-than-commanding presence. By contrast, Kennedy appeared relaxed, tanned, and telegenic, looking into the camera while answering questions. It is often claimed that television viewers overwhelmingly believed Kennedy, appearing to be the more attractive of the two, had won, while radio listeners (a smaller audience) thought Nixon had defeated him. However, only one poll split TV and radio voters like this and the methodology was poor. Pollster Elmo Roper concluded that the debates raised interest, boosted turnout, and gave Kennedy an estimated two million additional votes, largely due to the first debate. The debates are now considered a milestone in American political history—the point at which the medium of television began to play a dominant role.
Kennedy's campaign gained momentum after the first debate, and he pulled slightly ahead of Nixon in most polls. On Election Day, Kennedy defeated Nixon in one of the closest presidential elections of the 20th century. In the national popular vote, by most accounts, Kennedy led Nixon by just two-tenths of one percent (49.7% to 49.5%), while in the Electoral College, he won 303 votes to Nixon's 219 (269 were needed to win). Fourteen electors from Mississippi and Alabama refused to support Kennedy because he supported the civil rights movement; they voted for Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia, as did an elector from Oklahoma. Forty-three years old, Kennedy was the youngest person ever elected to the presidency (though Theodore Roosevelt was a year younger when he succeeded to the presidency after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901).
== Presidency (1961–1963) ==
Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president at noon on January 20, 1961. In his inaugural address, he spoke of the need for all Americans to be active citizens: "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." He asked the nations of the world to join to fight what he called the "common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself." He added:
"All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin." In closing, he expanded on his desire for greater internationalism: "Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you."
The address reflected Kennedy's confidence that his administration would chart a historically significant course in both domestic policy and foreign affairs. The contrast between this optimistic vision and the pressures of managing daily political realities would be one of the main tensions of the early years of his administration.
Kennedy scrapped the decision-making structure of Eisenhower, favoring an organizational model resembling a wheel, with all spokes leading to the president. He was willing to make the increased number of rapid decisions required in such an environment. Though the cabinet remained important, Kennedy generally relied more on his staffers within the Executive Office. Despite concerns over nepotism, Kennedy's father insisted that Robert Kennedy become U.S. Attorney General, and the younger Kennedy became the "assistant president" who advised on all major issues.
=== Foreign policy ===
==== Cold War and flexible response ====
Kennedy's foreign policy was dominated by American confrontations with the Soviet Union, manifested by proxy contests in the global state of tension known as the Cold War. Like his predecessors, Kennedy adopted the policy of containment to stop the spread of communism. Fearful of the possibility of nuclear war, Kennedy implemented a defense strategy known as flexible response. This strategy relied on multiple options for responding to the Soviet Union, discouraged massive retaliation, and encouraged mutual deterrence. In contrast to Eisenhower's warning about the perils of the military-industrial complex, Kennedy focused on rearmament. From 1961 to 1964 the number of nuclear weapons increased by 50 percent, as did the number of B-52 bombers to deliver them.
In January 1961, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev declared his support for wars of national liberation. Kennedy interpreted this step as a direct threat to the "free world."
==== Decolonization and the Congo Crisis ====
Between 1960 and 1963, twenty-four countries gained independence as the process of decolonization continued. Kennedy set out to woo the leaders and people of the "Third World," expanding economic aid and appointing knowledgeable ambassadors. His administration established the Food for Peace program and the Peace Corps to provide aid to developing countries. The Food for Peace program became a central element in American foreign policy, and eventually helped many countries to develop their economies and become commercial import customers.
During the election campaign, Kennedy attacked the Eisenhower administration for losing ground on the African continent, and stressed that the U.S. should be on the side of anti-colonialism and self-determination. Kennedy considered the Congo Crisis to be among the most important foreign policy issues facing his presidency, and he supported a UN operation that prevented the secession of Katanga. Moïse Tshombe, leader of Katanga, declared its independence from the Congo, and the Soviet Union responded by sending weapons and technicians to underwrite their struggle. On October 2, 1962, Kennedy signed the United Nations bond issue bill to ensure U.S. assistance in financing UN peacekeeping operations in the Congo and elsewhere.
==== Peace Corps ====
In one of his first presidential acts, Kennedy signed Executive Order 10924 that officially started the Peace Corps. He named his brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, as its first director. Through this program, Americans volunteered to help developing countries in fields like education, farming, health care, and construction. Kennedy believed that countries that received Peace Corps volunteers were less likely to succumb to a communist revolution. Tanganyika (present-day Tanzania) and Ghana were the first countries to participate. The organization grew to 5,000 members by March 1963 and 10,000 the year after. Since 1961, over 200,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps, representing 139 countries.
==== Vienna Summit and the Berlin Wall ====
Kennedy anxiously anticipated a summit with Nikita Khrushchev. The proceedings for the summit got off to a problematic start when Kennedy reacted aggressively to a routine Khrushchev speech on Cold War confrontation in early 1961. The speech was intended for domestic audiences in the Soviet Union, but Kennedy interpreted it as a personal challenge. His mistake helped raise tensions going into the Vienna summit. The summit would cover several topics, but both leaders knew that the most contentious issue would be Berlin, which had been divided in two with the start of the Cold War. The enclave of West Berlin lay within Soviet-allied East Germany, but was supported by the U.S. and other Western powers. The Soviets wanted to reunify Berlin under the control of East Germany, partly due to the large number of East Germans who had fled to West Berlin.
On June 4, 1961, Kennedy met with Khrushchev in Vienna and left the meeting angry and disappointed that he had allowed the premier to bully him, despite the warnings he had received. Khrushchev, for his part, was impressed with the president's intelligence but thought him weak. Kennedy did succeed in conveying the bottom line to Khrushchev on the most sensitive issue before them, a proposed treaty between Moscow and East Berlin. He made it clear that any treaty interfering with U.S. access rights in West Berlin would be regarded as an act of war. Shortly after Kennedy returned home, the Soviet Union announced its plan to sign a treaty with East Berlin, abrogating any third-party occupation rights in either sector of the city. Kennedy assumed that his only option was to prepare the country for nuclear war, which he thought had a one-in-five chance of occurring.
In the weeks immediately following the summit, more than 20,000 people fled from East Berlin to the western sector, reacting to statements from the Soviet Union. Kennedy began intensive meetings on the Berlin issue, where Dean Acheson took the lead in recommending a military buildup alongside NATO allies. In a July 1961 speech, Kennedy announced his decision to add $3.25 billion (equivalent to $35.02 billion in 2025) to the defense budget, along with over 200,000 additional troops, stating that an attack on West Berlin would be taken as an attack on the U.S. The speech received an 85% approval rating.
A month later, both the Soviet Union and East Berlin began blocking any further passage of East Germans into West Berlin and erected barbed-wire fences, which were quickly upgraded to the Berlin Wall. Kennedy acquiesced to the wall, though he sent Vice President Johnson to West Berlin to reaffirm U.S. commitment to the enclave's defense. In the following months, in a sign of rising Cold War tensions, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union ended a moratorium on nuclear weapon testing. A brief stand-off between U.S. and Soviet tanks occurred at Checkpoint Charlie in October following a dispute over free movement of Allied personnel. The crisis was defused largely through a backchannel communication the Kennedy administration had set up with Soviet spy Georgi Bolshakov. In remarks to his aides on the Berlin Wall, Kennedy noted that "it's not a very nice solution, but a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war."
==== Bay of Pigs Invasion ====
The Eisenhower administration had created a plan to overthrow Fidel Castro's regime though an invasion of Cuba by a counter-revolutionary insurgency composed of U.S.-trained, anti-Castro Cuban exiles led by CIA paramilitary officers. Kennedy had campaigned on a hardline stance against Castro, and when presented with the plan that had been developed under the Eisenhower administration, he enthusiastically adopted it regardless of the risk of inflaming tensions with the Soviet Union. Kennedy approved the final invasion plan on April 4, 1961.
On April 15, 1961, eight CIA-supplied B-26 bombers left Nicaragua to bomb Cuban airfields. The bombers missed many of their targets, leaving most of Castro's air force intact. On April 17, the 1,500 U.S.-trained Cuban exile invasion force, known as Brigade 2506, landed at beaches along the Bay of Pigs and immediately came under heavy fire. The goal was to spark a widespread popular uprising against Castro, but no such uprising occurred. No U.S. air support was provided. The invading force was defeated within two days by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces; 114 were killed and Kennedy was forced to negotiate for the release of the 1,189 survivors. After twenty months, Cuba released the captured exiles in exchange for a ransom of $53 million worth of food and medicine. The incident made Castro wary of the U.S. and led him to believe that another invasion would take place.
Biographer Richard Reeves said that Kennedy focused primarily on the political repercussions of the plan rather than military considerations. When it proved unsuccessful, he was convinced that the plan was a setup to make him look bad. He took responsibility for the failure, saying, "We got a big kick in the leg and we deserved it. But maybe we'll learn something from it." Kennedy's approval ratings climbed afterwards, helped in part by the vocal support given to him by Nixon and Eisenhower. He appointed Robert Kennedy to help lead a committee to examine the causes of the failure. The Kennedy administration banned all Cuban imports and convinced the Organization of American States (OAS) to expel Cuba.
==== Operation Mongoose ====
In late 1961, the White House formed the Special Group (Augmented), headed by Robert Kennedy and including Edward Lansdale, Secretary Robert McNamara, and others. The group's objective—to overthrow Castro via espionage, sabotage, and other covert tactics—was never pursued. In November 1961, he authorized Operation Mongoose. In March 1962, Kennedy rejected Operation Northwoods, proposals for false flag attacks against American military and civilian targets, and blaming them on the Cuban government to gain approval for a war against Cuba. However, the administration continued to plan for an invasion of Cuba in the summer of 1962.
==== Cuban Missile Crisis ====
In the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs invasion, Khrushchev increased economic and military assistance to Cuba. The Soviet Union planned to allocate in Cuba 49 medium-range ballistic missiles, 32 intermediate-range ballistic missiles, 49 light Il-28 bombers and about 100 tactical nuclear weapons. The Kennedy administration viewed the growing Cuba-Soviet alliance with alarm, fearing that it could eventually pose a threat to the U.S. On October 14, 1962, CIA U-2 spy planes took photographs of the Soviets' construction of intermediate-range ballistic missile sites in Cuba. The photos were shown to Kennedy on October 16; a consensus was reached that the missiles were offensive in nature and posed an immediate nuclear threat.
Kennedy faced a dilemma: if the U.S. attacked the sites, it might lead to nuclear war with the Soviet Union, but if the U.S. did nothing, it would be faced with the increased threat from close-range nuclear weapons (positioned approximately 90 mi (140 km) away from the Florida coast). The U.S. would also appear to the world as less committed to the defense of the Western Hemisphere. On a personal level, Kennedy needed to show resolve in reaction to Khrushchev, especially after the Vienna summit. To deal with the crisis, he formed an ad-hoc body of key advisers, later known as EXCOMM, that met secretly between October 16 and 28.
More than a third of U.S. National Security Council (NSC) members favored an unannounced air assault on the missile sites, but some saw this as "Pearl Harbor in reverse." There was some concern from the international community (asked in confidence) that the assault plan was an overreaction, given that Eisenhower had placed PGM-19 Jupiter missiles in Italy and Turkey in 1958. It also could not be assured that the assault would be 100% effective. In concurrence with a majority vote of the NSC, Kennedy decided on a naval blockade (or "quarantine"). On October 22, after privately informing the cabinet and leading members of Congress about the situation, Kennedy announced the naval blockade on national television and warned that U.S. forces would seize "offensive weapons and associated materiel" that Soviet vessels might attempt to deliver to Cuba.
The U.S. Navy would stop and inspect all Soviet ships arriving off Cuba, beginning October 24. Several Soviet ships approached the blockade line, but they stopped or reversed course. The OAS gave unanimous support to the removal of the missiles. Kennedy exchanged two sets of letters with Khrushchev, to no avail. UN Secretary General U Thant requested both parties to reverse their decisions and enter a cooling-off period. Khrushchev agreed, but Kennedy did not. Kennedy managed to preserve restraint when a Soviet missile unauthorizedly downed a U.S. Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft over Cuba, killing pilot Rudolf Anderson.
At the president's direction, Robert Kennedy privately informed Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin that the U.S. would remove the Jupiter missiles from Turkey "within a short time after this crisis was over." On October 28, Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the missile sites, subject to UN inspections. The U.S. publicly promised never to invade Cuba and privately agreed to remove its Jupiter missiles from Italy and Turkey, which were by then obsolete and had been supplanted by submarines equipped with UGM-27 Polaris missiles.
In the aftermath, a Moscow–Washington hotline was established to ensure clear communications between the leaders of the two countries. This crisis brought the world closer to nuclear war than at any point before or after, but "the humanity" of Khrushchev and Kennedy prevailed. The crisis improved the image of American willpower and the president's credibility. Kennedy's approval rating increased from 66% to 77% immediately thereafter.
==== Latin America and communism ====
Believing that "those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable," Kennedy sought to contain the perceived threat of communism in Latin America by establishing the Alliance for Progress, which sent aid to some countries and sought greater human rights standards in the region. In response to Kennedy's plea, Congress voted for an initial grant of $500 million in May 1961. The Alliance for Progress supported the construction of housing, schools, airports, hospitals, clinics and water-purification projects as well as the distribution of free textbooks to students. However, the program did not meet many of its goals. Massive land reform was not achieved; populations more than kept pace with gains in health and welfare; and according to one study, only 2 percent of economic growth in 1960s Latin America directly benefited the poor. U.S. presidents after Kennedy were less supportive of the program and by 1973, the permanent committee established to implement the Alliance was disbanded by the OAS.
The Eisenhower administration, through the CIA, had begun formulating plans to assassinate Castro in Cuba and Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. When Kennedy took office, he privately instructed the CIA that any plan must include plausible deniability by the U.S. His public position was in opposition. In June 1961, the Dominican Republic's leader was assassinated; in the days following, Undersecretary of State Chester Bowles led a cautious reaction by the nation. Robert Kennedy, who saw an opportunity for the U.S., called Bowles "a gutless bastard" to his face.
==== Laos ====
After the election, Eisenhower emphasized to Kennedy that the communist threat in Southeast Asia required priority; Eisenhower considered Laos to be "the cork in the bottle" in regards to the regional threat. In March 1961, Kennedy voiced a change in policy from supporting a "free" Laos to a "neutral" Laos, indicating privately that Vietnam should be deemed America's tripwire for communism's spread in the area. Though he was unwilling to commit U.S. forces to a major military intervention in Laos, Kennedy did approve CIA activities designed to defeat Communist insurgents through bombing raids and the recruitment of the Hmong people.
==== Vietnam ====
During his presidency, Kennedy continued policies that provided political, economic, and military support to the South Vietnamese government. Vietnam had been divided into a communist North Vietnam and a non-communist South Vietnam after the 1954 Geneva Conference, but Kennedy escalated American involvement in Vietnam in 1961 by financing the South Vietnam army, increasing the number of U.S. military advisors above the levels of the Eisenhower administration, and authorizing U.S. helicopter units to provide support to South Vietnamese forces. On January 18, 1962, Kennedy formally authorized escalated involvement when he signed the National Security Action Memorandum (NSAM) – "Subversive Insurgency (War of Liberation)." Operation Ranch Hand, a large-scale aerial defoliation effort using the herbicide Agent Orange, began on the roadsides of South Vietnam to combat guerrilla defendants.
Though Kennedy provided support for South Vietnam throughout his tenure, Vietnam remained a secondary issue for the Kennedy administration until 1963. On September 2, Kennedy declared in an interview with Walter Cronkite of CBS:
In the final analysis, it is their war. They are the ones who have to win it or lose it. We can help them, we can give them equipment, we can send our men out there as advisers, but they have to win it, the people of Vietnam, against the Communists... But I don't agree with those who say we should withdraw. That would be a great mistake... [The United States] made this effort to defend Europe. Now Europe is quite secure. We also have to participate—we may not like it—in the defense of Asia.
Kennedy increasingly soured on the president of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, whose violent crackdown on Buddhist practices galvanized opposition to his leadership. In August 1963, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. replaced Frederick Nolting as the U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam. Days after his arrival in South Vietnam, Lodge reported that several South Vietnamese generals sought the assent of the U.S. government to their plan of removing Diem from power. The Kennedy administration was split regarding not just the removal of Diem, but also their assessment of the military situation and the proper U.S. role in the country. After the State Department sent a diplomatic cable to Lodge that ordered him to pressure Diem to remove military authority from his brother, Ngô Đình Nhu, or face potential withdrawal of U.S. support and removal from power, Kennedy instructed Lodge to offer covert assistance to a coup d'état, excluding assassination. On November 1, 1963, a junta of senior military officers executed the coup which led to the arrest and assassinations of Diem and Nhu on November 2.
By November 1963, there were 16,000 American military personnel in South Vietnam, up from Eisenhower's 900 advisors; more than one hundred Americans had been killed in action and no final policy decision was made. In the aftermath of the aborted coup in September 1963, the Kennedy administration reevaluated its policies in South Vietnam. Kennedy rejected the full-scale deployment of ground soldiers but also the total withdrawal of U.S. forces. Historians disagree on whether the U.S. military presence in Vietnam would have escalated had Kennedy survived and been re-elected in 1964. Fueling the debate are statements made by Secretary of Defense McNamara in the 2003 documentary film The Fog of War that Kennedy was strongly considering pulling out of Vietnam after the 1964 election, and comments made by Kennedy administration White House Counsel and speechwriter Ted Sorensen in a 2008 memoir suggesting that Kennedy was undecided about what policy direction to take.
On October 11, 1963, Kennedy signed NSAM 263 ordering the withdrawal of 1,000 military personnel by the end of the year following the third recommendation of the McNamara–Taylor mission report, which concluded that the training program for the South Vietnamese military had sufficiently progressed to justify the withdrawal. However, NSAM 263 also approved the first recommendation of the report to continue providing support to South Vietnam to prevent the spread of communism and until the Viet Cong was suppressed, while the third recommendation suggested that even if the majority of the U.S. military objective was completed by the end of 1965 that continued presence of U.S. training personnel in more limited numbers could be necessary if the insurgency was not suppressed.
==== West Berlin speech ====
In 1963, Germany was enduring a time of particular vulnerability due to Soviet aggression to the east as well as the impending retirement of West German Chancellor Adenauer. At the same time, French President Charles de Gaulle was trying to build a Franco-West German counterweight to the American and Soviet spheres of influence. To Kennedy's eyes, this Franco-German cooperation seemed directed against NATO's influence in Europe.
To reinforce the U.S. alliance with West Germany, Kennedy travelled to West Germany and West Berlin in June 1963. On June 26, Kennedy toured West Berlin, culminating in a public speech at the city hall in front of hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic Berliners. He reiterated the American commitment to Germany and criticized communism, and was met with an ecstatic response from the massive audience. Kennedy used the construction of the Berlin Wall as an example of the failures of communism: "Freedom has many difficulties, and democracy is not perfect. But we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us." The speech is known for its famous phrase "Ich bin ein Berliner" ("I am a Berliner").
==== Middle East ====
Kennedy ended the arms embargo that the Truman and Eisenhower administrations had enforced on Israel in favor of increased security ties, becoming the founder of the U.S.-Israeli military alliance. Describing the protection of Israel as a moral and national commitment, he was the first to introduce the concept of a 'special relationship' between the U.S. and Israel. In 1962, the Kennedy administration sold Israel a major weapon system, the Hawk antiaircraft missile. Historians differ as to whether Kennedy pursued security ties with Israel primarily to shore up support with Jewish-American voters or because he admired the Jewish state.
In December 1961, Abd al-Karim Qasim's Iraqi government passed Public Law 80, which restricted the partially American-controlled Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC)'s concessionary holding to those areas in which oil was actually being produced (namely, the fields at Az Zubair and Kirkuk), effectively expropriating 99.5% of the IPC concession. British and U.S. officials demanded that the Kennedy administration place pressure on the Qasim regime. In April 1962, the State Department issued new guidelines on Iraq that were intended to increase American influence. Meanwhile, Kennedy instructed the CIA—under the direction of Archibald Bulloch Roosevelt Jr.—to begin making preparations for a military coup against Qasim.
The anti-imperialist and anti-communist Iraqi Ba'ath Party overthrew and executed Qasim in a violent coup on February 8, 1963. Despite persistent rumors that the CIA orchestrated the coup, declassified documents and the testimony of former CIA officers indicate that there was no direct American involvement. The Kennedy administration was pleased with the outcome and ultimately approved a $55-million arms deal for Iraq.
==== Ireland ====
During his four-day visit to his ancestral home of Ireland beginning on June 26, 1963, Kennedy accepted a grant of armorial bearings from the Chief Herald of Ireland, received honorary degrees from the National University of Ireland and Trinity College Dublin, attended a State Dinner in Dublin, and was conferred with the freedom of the towns and cities of Wexford, Cork, Dublin, Galway, and Limerick. He visited the cottage at Dunganstown, near New Ross, County Wexford, where his ancestors had lived before emigrating to America.
Kennedy was the first foreign leader to address the Houses of the Oireachtas, the Irish parliament. Kennedy later told aides that the trip was the best four days of his life.
==== American University speech ====
On June 10, 1963, Kennedy, at the high point of his rhetorical powers, delivered the commencement address at American University. Also known as "A Strategy of Peace", not only did Kennedy outline a plan to curb nuclear arms, but he also "laid out a hopeful, yet realistic route for world peace at a time when the U.S. and Soviet Union faced the potential for an escalating nuclear arms race." Kennedy also announced that the Soviets had expressed a desire to negotiate a nuclear test ban treaty, and that the U.S. had postponed planned atmospheric tests.
==== Nuclear Test Ban Treaty ====
Troubled by the long-term dangers of radioactive contamination and nuclear proliferation, Kennedy and Khrushchev agreed to negotiate a nuclear test ban treaty, originally conceived in Adlai Stevenson's 1956 presidential campaign. In their Vienna summit meeting in June 1961, Khrushchev and Kennedy reached an informal understanding against nuclear testing, but the Soviet Union began testing nuclear weapons that September. In response, the United States conducted tests five days later. Shortly afterwards, new U.S. satellites began delivering images that made it clear that the Soviets were substantially behind the U.S. in the arms race. Nevertheless, the greater nuclear strength of the U.S. was of little value as long as the Soviet Union perceived itself to be at parity.
In July 1963, Kennedy sent W. Averell Harriman to Moscow to negotiate a treaty with the Soviets. The introductory sessions included Khrushchev, who later delegated Soviet representation to Andrei Gromyko. It quickly became clear that a comprehensive test ban would not be implemented, due largely to the reluctance of the Soviets to allow inspections to verify compliance.
Ultimately, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union were the initial signatories to a limited treaty, which prohibited atomic testing on the ground, in the atmosphere, or underwater, but not underground. The U.S. Senate approved the treaty on September 23, 1963, and Kennedy signed it on October 7, 1963. France was quick to declare that it was free to continue developing and testing its nuclear defenses.
=== Domestic policy ===
==== New Frontier ====
Kennedy called his domestic proposals the "New Frontier". However, Kennedy's small margin of victory in the 1960 election, his lack of deep connections to influential members of Congress, and his administration's focus on foreign policy hindered the passage of New Frontier policies.
In 1961, Kennedy prioritized passing five bills: federal assistance for education, medical insurance for the elderly, housing legislation, federal aid to struggling areas, and an increase in the federal minimum wage. Kennedy's bill to increase the federal minimum wage to $1.25 an hour passed in early 1961, but an amendment inserted by conservative leader from Georgia, Carl Vinson, exempted laundry workers from the law. Kennedy also won passage of the Area Redevelopment Act and the Housing Act of 1961. The Area Redevelopment Act, a $394 million program, provided federal funding to economically struggling regions (primarily in Appalachia), while the Housing Act of 1961 provided funds for urban renewal and public housing and authorized federal mortgage loans to those who did not qualify for public housing. Kennedy proposed a bill providing for $2.3 billion in federal educational aid to the states, with more money going to states with lower per capita income. Though the Senate passed the education bill, it was defeated in the House by a coalition of Republicans, Southern Democrats, and Catholics. Kennedy's health insurance bill, which would have paid for hospitalization and nursing costs for the elderly, failed to pass either house of Congress. A bill that would have established the Department of Urban Affairs and Housing was also defeated.
In 1962, Kennedy won approval of the Manpower Development and Training Act, a three-year program aimed at retraining workers displaced by new technology. Its impact on structural unemployment, however, was minimal. At the urging of his sister Eunice, Kennedy made intellectual disabilities a priority for his administration. In 1963, Congress passed the Community Mental Health Act, which provided funding to local mental health community centers and research facilities.
Trade policy included both domestic and foreign policy. The 1962 Trade Expansion Act was passed by Congress with wide majorities. It authorized the president to negotiate tariff reductions on a reciprocal basis of up to 50 percent with the European Common Market. The legislation paved the way for the Kennedy Round of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade negotiations, concluding on June 30, 1967, the last day before expiration of the Act.
==== Taxes ====
Walter Heller, who served as the chairman of the CEA, advocated for a Keynesian-style tax cut designed to help spur economic growth, and Kennedy adopted this policy. The idea was that a tax cut would stimulate consumer demand, which in turn would lead to higher economic growth, lower unemployment, and increased federal revenues. To the disappointment of liberals like John Kenneth Galbraith, Kennedy's embrace of the tax cut shifted his administration's focus away from the proposed old-age health insurance program and other domestic expenditures. In January 1963, Kennedy proposed a tax cut that would reduce the top marginal tax rate from 91 to 65 percent, and lower the corporate tax rate from 52 to 47 percent. The predictions according to the Keynesian model indicated the cuts would decrease income taxes by about $10 billion and corporate taxes by about $3.5 billion. The plan included reforms designed to reduce the impact of itemized deductions, as well as provisions to help the elderly and handicapped. Republicans and many Southern Democrats opposed the bill, calling for simultaneous reductions in expenditures, but debate continued throughout 1963. Three months after Kennedy died, Johnson pushed the plan through Congress. The Revenue Act of 1964 lowered the top individual rate to 70 percent, and the top corporate rate to 48 percent.
==== Economy ====
Kennedy ended a period of tight fiscal policies, loosening monetary policy to keep interest rates down and to encourage growth of the economy. He presided over the first government budget to top the $100 billion mark, in 1962, and his first budget in 1961 resulted in the nation's first non-war, non-recession deficit. The economy, which had been through two recessions in three years and was in one when Kennedy took office, accelerated notably throughout his administration. Despite low inflation and interest rates, the GDP had grown by an average of only 2.2% per annum during the Eisenhower administration (scarcely more than population growth at the time), and it had declined by 1% during Eisenhower's last twelve months in office.
The economy turned around and prospered during Kennedy's presidency. The GDP expanded by an average of 5.5% from early 1961 to late 1963, while inflation remained steady at around 1% and unemployment eased. Industrial production rose by 15% and motor vehicle sales increased by 40%. This sustained rate of growth in GDP and industry continued until around 1969.
Kennedy was proud that his Labor Department helped keep wages steady in the steel industry, but was outraged in April 1962 when Roger Blough, the president of U.S. Steel, quietly informed Kennedy that his company would raise prices. In response, Attorney General Robert Kennedy began a price-fixing investigation against U.S. Steel, and President Kennedy convinced other steel companies to rescind their price increases until finally even U.S. Steel, isolated and in danger of being undersold, agreed to rescind its own price increase. An editorial in The New York Times praised Kennedy's actions and stated that the steel industry's price increase "imperil[ed] the economic welfare of the country by inviting a tidal wave of inflation." Nevertheless, the administration's Bureau of Budget reported the price increase would have caused a net gain for the GDP as well as a net budget surplus. The stock market, which had steadily declined since Kennedy's election in 1960, dropped 10% shortly after the administration's action on the steel industry took place.
==== Civil rights movement ====
Kennedy verbally supported civil rights during his 1960 presidential campaign; he telephoned Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., who had been jailed while trying to integrate a department store lunch counter. Robert Kennedy called Georgia Governor Ernest Vandiver and obtained King's release from prison, which drew additional Black support to his brother's candidacy. Recognizing that conservative Southern Democrats could block legislation, Kennedy did not introduce civil rights legislation on taking office. He needed their support to pass his economic and foreign policy agendas, and to support his reelection in 1964. Kennedy did appoint many Blacks to office, including civil rights attorney Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Abraham Bolden, the first black Secret Service agent, was appointed by Kennedy.
Kennedy believed the grassroots movement for civil rights would anger many Southern Whites and make it more difficult to pass civil rights laws in Congress, and he distanced himself from it. As articulated by Robert Kennedy, the administration's early priority was to "keep the president out of this civil rights mess." Civil rights movement participants, mainly those on the front line in the South, viewed Kennedy as lukewarm, especially concerning the Freedom Riders. In May 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality, led by James Farmer, organized integrated Freedom Rides to test a Supreme Court case ruling that declared segregation on interstate transportation illegal. The Riders were repeatedly met with mob violence, including by federal and state law enforcement officers. Kennedy assigned federal marshals to protect the Riders rather than using federal troops or uncooperative FBI agents. Kennedy feared sending federal troops would stir up "hated memories of Reconstruction" among conservative Southern whites. The Justice Department then petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to adhere to federal law. By September 1961, the ICC ruled in favor of the petition.
On March 6, 1961, Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925, which required government contractors to "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." It established the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.
In September 1962, James Meredith enrolled at the all-White University of Mississippi but was prevented from entering. In response, Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent 400 federal marshals. The Ole Miss riot of 1962 left two dead and dozens injured, prompting Kennedy to send in 3,000 troops to quell the riot. Meredith did finally enroll in class. Kennedy regretted not sending in troops earlier and he began to doubt whether the "evils of Reconstruction" he had been taught or believed were true. On November 20, 1962, Kennedy signed Executive Order 11063, which prohibited racial discrimination in federally supported housing.
On June 11, 1963, Kennedy intervened when Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked the doorway to the University of Alabama to stop two Black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending. Wallace moved aside only after being confronted by Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and the Alabama National Guard, which had just been federalized by order of the president. That evening Kennedy gave his famous Report to the American People on Civil Rights speech on national television and radio, launching his initiative for civil rights legislation—to provide equal access to public schools and other facilities, and greater protection of voting rights.
His proposals became part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The day ended with the murder of an NAACP leader, Medgar Evers, in Mississippi. As Kennedy had predicted, the day after his TV speech, and in reaction to it, House Majority leader Carl Albert called to advise him that his two-year signature effort in Congress to combat poverty in Appalachia had been defeated, primarily by the votes of Southern Democrats and Republicans. When Arthur Schlesinger Jr. complimented Kennedy on his remarks, Kennedy bitterly replied, "Yes, and look at what happened to area development the very next day in the House." He then added, "But of course, I had to give that speech, and I'm glad that I did." On June 16, The New York Times published an editorial which argued that while Kennedy had initially "moved too slowly and with little evidence of deep moral commitment" in regards to civil rights he "now demonstrate[d] a genuine sense of urgency about eradicating racial discrimination from our national life."
A crowd of over 250,000, predominantly African Americans, gathered in Washington for the civil rights March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. Kennedy initially opposed the march, fearing it would have a negative effect on the prospects for the civil rights bills pending in Congress. These fears were heightened just prior to the march when FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover presented Kennedy with reports that some of King's close advisers, specifically Jack O'Dell and Stanley Levison, were communists. When King ignored the administration's warning, Robert Kennedy authorized the FBI to wiretap King and other leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Although Kennedy only gave written approval for limited wiretapping of King's phones "on a trial basis, for a month or so," Hoover extended the clearance so his men were "unshackled" to look for evidence in any areas of King's life they deemed worthy.
The Department of Justice was assigned to coordinate the federal government's involvement in the March on Washington on August 28; several hundred thousand dollars were channeled to the six sponsors of the March. To ensure a peaceful demonstration, the organizers and the president personally edited speeches that were inflammatory and collaborated on all aspects related to times and venues. Thousands of troops were placed on standby. Kennedy watched King's speech on TV and was very impressed. The March was considered a "triumph of managed protest," and not one arrest relating to the demonstration occurred. Afterwards, the March leaders accepted an invitation to the White House to meet with Kennedy, and photos were taken. Kennedy felt that the March was a victory for him as well and bolstered the chances for his civil rights bill.
Three weeks later, on Sunday, September 15, a bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham; by the end of the day, four Black children had died in the explosion, and two others were shot to death in the aftermath. Due to this resurgent violence, the civil rights legislation underwent some drastic amendments that critically endangered any prospects for passage of the bill, to the outrage of Kennedy. He called the congressional leaders to the White House, and by the following day, the original bill, without the additions, had enough votes to get it out of the House committee. Gaining Republican support, Senator Everett Dirksen promised the legislation would be brought to a vote preventing a Senate filibuster. On July 2, 1964, the guarantees Kennedy proposed in his June 1963 speech became federal law, when President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.
==== Status of women ====
During the 1960 presidential campaign, Kennedy endorsed the concept of equal pay for equal work. In December 1961, Kennedy signed an executive order creating the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women to advise him on issues concerning the status of women. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt led the commission. The commission's final report was issued in October 1963; it documented the legal and cultural discrimination women in America faced and made several policy recommendations to bring about change. On June 10, 1963, Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which amended the Fair Labor Standards Act and abolished wage disparity based on sex.
==== Crime ====
Under the leadership of the attorney general, the Kennedy administration shifted the focus of the Justice Department, the FBI, and the IRS to organized crime. Kennedy won congressional approval for five bills (i.e., Federal Wire Act of 1961) designed to crack down on interstate racketeering, gambling, and the transportation of firearms.
On March 22, 1962, Kennedy signed into law a bill abolishing the mandatory death penalty for first degree murder in the District of Columbia, the only remaining jurisdiction in the United States with such a penalty. The death penalty has not been applied in D.C. since 1957 and has now been abolished.
==== Agriculture ====
Kennedy had relatively little interest in agricultural issues, but he sought to remedy the issue of overproduction, boost the income of farmers, and lower federal expenditures on agriculture. Under the direction of Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, the administration sought to limit the production of farmers, but these proposals were generally defeated in Congress. To increase demand for domestic agricultural products and help the impoverished, Kennedy launched a pilot Food Stamp program and expanded the federal school lunch program.
==== Native American relations ====
Construction of the Kinzua Dam flooded 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares) of Seneca nation land that they had occupied under the Treaty of 1794, and forced 600 Seneca to relocate to Salamanca, New York. Kennedy was asked by the American Civil Liberties Union to halt the project, but he declined, citing a critical need for flood control. He expressed concern about the plight of the Seneca and directed government agencies to assist in obtaining more land, damages, and assistance to mitigate their displacement.
==== Space policy ====
In the aftermath of the Soviet launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, NASA proposed a crewed lunar landing by the early 1970s. Funding for the program, known as the Apollo program, was far from certain as Eisenhower held an ambivalent attitude. Early in his presidency, Kennedy was poised to dismantle the crewed space program, but he postponed any decision out of deference to Vice President Johnson, who had been a strong supporter of the program in the Senate. With Jerome Wiesner, Johnson was given a major role in overseeing the administration's space policy, and at Johnson's recommendation, Kennedy appointed James E. Webb to head NASA.
In Kennedy's State of the Union address in 1961, he suggested international cooperation in space. Khrushchev declined, as the Soviets did not wish to reveal the status of their rocketry and space capabilities. In April 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to fly in space, reinforcing American fears about being left behind by the Soviet Union. Less than a month later, Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into space, strengthening Kennedy's confidence in NASA. The following year, John Glenn, aboard the Mercury craft Friendship 7, became the first American to orbit the Earth.
In the aftermath of Gagarin's flight, as well as the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, Kennedy felt pressured to respond to the perceived erosion of American prestige. He asked Johnson to explore the feasibility of beating the Soviets to the Moon. Though he was concerned about the program's costs, Kennedy agreed to Johnson's recommendation that the U.S. commit to a crewed lunar landing as the major objective of the space program. In a May 25 speech to Congress, Kennedy declared,
... I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.
Though Gallup polling showed that many in the public were skeptical of the necessity of the Apollo program, members of Congress were strongly supportive in 1961 and approved a major increase in NASA's funding. Webb began reorganizing NASA, increasing its staffing level, and building two new centers: a Launch Operations Center for the large Moon rocket northwest of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and a Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. Kennedy took the latter occasion as an opportunity to deliver another speech promoting the space effort on September 12, 1962, in which he said:
No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space. ... We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
On November 21, 1962, in a cabinet meeting with Webb and other officials, Kennedy explained that the Moon shot was important for reasons of international prestige, and that the expense was justified. On July 20, 1969, almost six years after Kennedy's death, Apollo 11 landed the first crewed spacecraft on the Moon.
=== Judicial appointments ===
In 1962, Kennedy appointed justices Byron White and Arthur Goldberg to the Supreme Court. Additionally, Kennedy appointed 21 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 102 judges to the United States district courts.
== Assassination ==
Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on November 22, 1963. He was in Texas on a political trip to smooth over frictions in the Democratic Party between liberals Ralph Yarborough and Don Yarborough (no relation) and conservative John Connally. While traveling in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza, he was shot once in the back, the bullet exiting via his throat, and once in the head.
Kennedy was taken to Parkland Hospital, where he was pronounced dead 30 minutes later, at 1:00 p.m. He was 46 years old. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the murder of police officer J. D. Tippit and was subsequently charged with Kennedy's assassination. Oswald denied shooting anyone, claiming he was a patsy. On November 24, before he could be prosecuted, he was shot and killed by Jack Ruby. Ruby was arrested and convicted for the murder of Oswald. Ruby successfully appealed his conviction but died of cancer on January 3, 1967, while the date for his new trial was being set.
President Johnson quickly issued an executive order to create the Warren Commission—chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren—to investigate the assassination. The commission concluded that Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy and that Oswald was not part of any conspiracy. These conclusions are disputed by many. A Gallup Poll in November 2013 showed 61% believed in a conspiracy, and only 30% thought that Oswald did it alone. In 1979, the U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded, with one third of the committee dissenting, "that Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy." The committee was unable to identify the other gunmen or the extent of the conspiracy. This conclusion was based largely on audio recordings of the shooting. Subsequently, investigative reports from the FBI and a specially appointed National Academy of Sciences Committee determined that "reliable acoustic data do not support a conclusion that there was a second gunman." The Justice Department later concluded "that no persuasive evidence can be identified to support the theory of a conspiracy".
=== Funeral ===
Kennedy's body was brought back to Washington. On November 23, six military pallbearers carried the flag-draped coffin into the East Room of the White House, where he lay in repose for 24 hours. The coffin was then transported on a horse-drawn caisson to the Capitol to lie in state. Throughout the day and night, hundreds of thousands of people lined up to view the guarded casket, with a quarter million passing through the rotunda during the 18 hours of lying in state.
Kennedy's funeral service was held on November 25, at Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C. The Requiem Mass was led by Cardinal Richard Cushing, then the Archbishop of Boston. It was attended by approximately 1,200 guests, including representatives from over 90 countries. After the service, Kennedy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia.
== Personal life, family, and reputation ==
The Kennedy family is one of the most established political families in the United States, having produced a president, three senators, three ambassadors, and numerous other representatives and public officials. While a congressman, Kennedy embarked on a seven-week trip to India, Japan, Vietnam, and Israel in 1951, at which point he became close with his then 25-year-old brother Robert, as well as his 27-year-old sister Patricia. Because they were several years apart in age, the brothers had previously seen little of each other. This 25,000-mile (40,000 km) journey was the first extended time they had spent together and resulted in their becoming best friends. Robert would eventually serve as his brother's attorney general and closest presidential advisor; he would later run for president in 1968 before his assassination, while another Kennedy brother, Ted, ran for president in 1980.
=== Wife and children ===
Kennedy met his wife, Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Bouvier, when he was a congressman. Charles L. Bartlett, a journalist, introduced the pair at a dinner party. They were married on September 12, 1953, at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island. The newlyweds honeymooned in Mexico before settling in their new home, Hickory Hill, in McLean, Virginia. In 1956, they sold their Hickory Hill estate to Kennedy's brother Robert, and bought a townhouse in Georgetown. The Kennedys also resided at an apartment in Boston, their legal residence during John's congressional career, and a summer home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
After a miscarriage in 1955 and a stillbirth in 1956 (their daughter Arabella), their daughter Caroline was born in 1957. John Jr., nicknamed "John-John" by the press as a child, was born in late November 1960, 17 days after his father was elected. John Jr. died in 1999 when the small plane he was piloting crashed. In August 1963, Jackie gave birth to a son, Patrick; however, he died after two days due to complications from birth.
=== Popular image ===
Kennedy and his wife were younger than the presidents and first ladies who preceded them, and both were popular in the media culture in ways more common to pop singers and movie stars than politicians, influencing fashion trends and becoming the subjects of photo spreads in popular magazines. Although Eisenhower had allowed presidential press conferences to be filmed for television, Kennedy was the first president to ask for them to be broadcast live and made good use of the medium. In 1961, the Radio-Television News Directors Association presented Kennedy with its highest honor, the Paul White Award, in recognition of his open relationship with the media.
The Kennedys invited a range of artists, writers, and intellectuals to White House dinners, raising the profile of the arts in America. On the White House lawn, they established a swimming pool and tree house, while Caroline attended a preschool with 10 other children inside the home.
Vaughn Meader's First Family comedy album, which parodied the president, the first lady, their family, and the administration, sold about four million copies.
=== Health ===
Kennedy was plagued by childhood diseases, including whooping cough, chickenpox, measles, and ear infections. These ailments compelled him to spend a considerable amount of time convalescing. Three months prior to his third birthday, in 1920, Kennedy came down with scarlet fever, a highly contagious and life-threatening disease, and was admitted to Boston City Hospital.
During his years at Choate, Kennedy was beset by health problems that culminated with his emergency hospitalization in 1934 at Yale New Haven Hospital, where doctors suspected leukemia. While ill, he became a passionate reader and also a fatalist. In June 1934, he was admitted to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota; the ultimate diagnosis was colitis. After withdrawing from Princeton University, Kennedy was hospitalized for observation at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. He then spent the spring of 1936 working as a ranch hand outside Benson, Arizona under Jack Speiden.
Years after Kennedy's death, it was revealed that in September 1947—at age 30 and during his first term in Congress—he was diagnosed by Sir Daniel Davis at The London Clinic with Addison's disease. Davis estimated that Kennedy would not live for another year, while Kennedy hoped he could live for ten. In 1966, White House physician Janet Travell disclosed that Kennedy also had hypothyroidism. The presence of two endocrine diseases raises the possibility that Kennedy had autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2.
Kennedy suffered from chronic severe back pain, for which he underwent surgery. His condition may have had diplomatic repercussions, as he was reportedly taking a combination of medications to manage the pain during the 1961 Vienna Summit. The combination included hormones, animal organ cells, steroids, vitamins, enzymes, and amphetamines, and possible side effects included hyperactivity, hypertension, impaired judgment, nervousness, and mood swings. Kennedy at one time was regularly seen by three doctors, one of whom, Max Jacobson, at first was unknown to the other two, as his mode of treatment was controversial and used for the most severe bouts of back pain.
Into late 1961, disagreements existed among Kennedy's doctors concerning the balance of medication and exercise. Kennedy preferred the former because he was short on time and desired immediate relief. The president's primary White House physician, George G. Burkley, set up gym equipment in the White House basement, where Kennedy performed stretching exercises three times a week. Details of these and other medical issues were not publicly disclosed during Kennedy's lifetime. Burkley realized that treatments by Jacobson and Travell, including excessive use of steroids and amphetamines, were medically inappropriate, and took action to remove Kennedy from their care.
In 2002, Robert Dallek wrote an extensive history of Kennedy's health based on a collection of Kennedy–associated papers from 1955 to 1963, including X-rays and prescription records from Travell. According to Travell's records, during his presidency, Kennedy suffered from high fevers; stomach, colon, and prostate issues; abscesses; high cholesterol; and adrenal problems. Travell kept a "Medicine Administration Record", cataloging Kennedy's medications: injected and ingested corticosteroids for his adrenal insufficiency; procaine shots and ultrasound treatments and hot packs for his back; Lomotil, Metamucil, paregoric, phenobarbital, testosterone, and trasentine to control his diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, and weight loss; penicillin and other antibiotics for his urinary-tract infections and an abscess; and Tuinal to help him sleep.
=== Affairs and friendships ===
Kennedy was single in the 1940s and had relationships with Danish journalist Inga Arvad and actress Gene Tierney. During his time as a senator, he had an affair with Gunilla von Post who later wrote that the future president tried to end his marriage to be with her before he and his wife had any children. Kennedy was also reported to have had affairs with Marilyn Monroe, Judith Campbell, Mary Pinchot Meyer, Marlene Dietrich, White House intern Mimi Alford, and his wife's press secretary, Pamela Turnure. Several conspiracy theories have surrounded Monroe's death, alleging that Kennedy may have been involved.
The full extent of Kennedy's relationship with Monroe—who in 1962 famously sang "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" at Kennedy's birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden—is not known, though it has been reported that they spent a weekend together in March 1962 while he was staying at Bing Crosby's house. Furthermore, people at the White House switchboard noted that Monroe had called Kennedy during 1962. J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI director, received reports about Kennedy's indiscretions. These included an alleged tryst with a suspected East German spy, Ellen Rometsch. According to historian Michael Beschloss, in July 1963, Hoover reportedly informed Robert Kennedy about the affair with a woman "suspected as a Soviet intelligence agent, someone linked to East German intelligence." Robert reportedly took the matter seriously enough to raise it with leading Democratic and Republican figures in Congress. However, the FBI never turned up "any solid evidence" that Rometsch was a spy or that she had a relationship with President Kennedy. Former Secret Service agent Larry Newman recalled "morale problems" that the president's indiscretions engendered within the Secret Service.
Kennedy inspired affection and loyalty from the members of his team and his supporters. According to Reeves, this included "the logistics of Kennedy's liaisons ... [which] required secrecy and devotion rare in the annals of the energetic service demanded by successful politicians." Kennedy believed that his friendly relationship with members of the press would help protect him from public revelations about his sex life.
=== Sports ===
Kennedy was a fan of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox and the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics. Growing up on Cape Cod, Kennedy and his siblings developed a lifelong passion for sailing. He also took up golf; playing regularly at the Hyannisport Club in Massachusetts and the Palm Beach Country Club in Florida.
=== Religion ===
Kennedy was the first Catholic elected to the presidency. During his childhood, he attended St. Aidan's Church in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he was baptized on June 19, 1917. From 1946 until he died in 1963, he served on the advisory board of the Roman Catholic Emmanuel College.
== Historical evaluations and legacy ==
=== Presidency ===
Historians and political scientists tend to rank Kennedy as an above-average president, and he is usually the highest-ranking president who served less than one full term. A 2010 survey by the Gallup Organization, when Americans were asked their opinions of modern presidents, Kennedy was found to be the most-popular, with an 85 percent retrospective approval rating. A 2014 survey from The Washington Post of 162 members of the American Political Science Association's Presidents and Executive Politics section ranked Kennedy 14th highest overall among the 43 persons who have been president, including then-president Barack Obama. The survey found Kennedy to be the most overrated U.S. president. A 2017 C-SPAN survey has Kennedy ranked among the top ten presidents. A 2023 Gallup survey showed Kennedy with a retrospective approval rating of 90 percent, the highest of all U.S. presidents in recent history. Assessments of his policies are mixed. Many of Kennedy's legislative proposals were passed after his death, during the Johnson administration, and Kennedy's death gave those proposals a powerful moral component.
Kennedy came in third (behind Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa) in Gallup's List of Widely Admired People of the 20th century. In 1961, he was awarded the Laetare Medal by the University of Notre Dame, considered the most prestigious award for American Catholics. He was posthumously awarded the Pacem in Terris Award (Latin: Peace on Earth) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
==== Camelot ====
The term "Camelot" is often used to describe his presidency, reflecting both the mythic grandeur accorded Kennedy in death and powerful nostalgia for that era of American history. According to Richard Dean Burns and Joseph M. Siracusa, the most popular theme surrounding Kennedy's legacy is its replay of the legend of King Arthur and Camelot from Arthurian Literature. In an interview following Kennedy's death, his widow Jacqueline mentioned his affection for the Broadway musical Camelot and quoted its closing lines: "Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief, shining moment that was known as Camelot." Critics, especially historians, have dismissed the Camelot myth as a distortion of Kennedy's actions, beliefs, and policies. However, in the public memory, the years of Kennedy's presidency are still seen as a brief, brilliant, and shining moment.
=== Memorials and eponyms ===
Examples of the extensive list include:
John F. Kennedy Space Center (formerly NASA Launch Operations Center), Merritt Island, Florida – renamed on November 29, 1963
John F. Kennedy International Airport (formerly Idlewild Airport), Queens, New York City – renamed on December 24, 1963
USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) – U.S. Navy aircraft carrier ordered in April 1964, launched in May 1967, and decommissioned in August 2007;
Kennedy half dollar – first minted in 1964
John F. Kennedy School of Government, part of Harvard University – renamed in 1966
John F. Kennedy Federal Building, Government Center section of Boston, – opened in 1966
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial, Dallas – opened in 1970
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. – named in 1964; opened in 1971
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Dorchester section of Boston, adjacent to the University of Massachusetts Boston – opened in 1979
Statue of John F. Kennedy by Isabel McIlvain, on the grounds of the Massachusetts State House, Boston – dedicated on May 29, 1990
== Works ==
=== Books ===
Kennedy, John F. (1940). Why England Slept. W. Funk. ISBN 978-1-44-084990-9. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Kennedy, John F. (1956). Profiles in Courage. Harper & Brothers. ISBN 978-0-06-095544-1. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Kennedy, John F. (1958). A Nation of Immigrants. Anti-Defamation League. ISBN 978-0-06-144754-9. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
=== Select speeches === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-God | U-God | Lamont Jody Hawkins (born November 10, 1970), better known by his stage name U-God, meaning Universal-God, is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He has been with the group since its inception, and is known for his deep voice and rhythmic flow that can alternate between gruff and smooth.
== Early life ==
Hawkins was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, on November 10, 1970. He moved to Staten Island as a youth. He was originally a beatboxer for Cappadonna, and was friends with future members Method Man, Inspectah Deck and childhood friend of Raekwon. Sometime before the members united, U-God was mentored in rap by Cappadonna. He soon became friends with RZA and Ghostface Killah, and he began rhyming under the alias Golden Arms, based on the Kung-Fu movie Kid with the Golden Arm. Later on he changed his name to U-God (which is short for his Five-Percent Nation righteous name "Universal God Allah").
== Career ==
=== Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) / Wu-Tang Forever ===
U-God was convicted on the grounds of firearm and drug possession charges on April 17, 1992, and was paroled in January 1993. His incarceration prevented him from attending the group's debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) recording sessions for the most part, his input on the seminal LP consisting of only a short bridge on the group's debut single "Protect Ya Neck" as well as the fan-favorite opening verse of "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'". Nevertheless, after his release, he quickly became known to fans for his rugged flow and bass-like voice on Wu tracks such as "Winter Warz", "Knuckleheadz", "Investigative Reports", and "Black Jesus". He was featured heavily on the group's second album Wu-Tang Forever, on which he was one of only four of the group to get a solo track – "Black Shampoo" (the others being Inspectah Deck with "The City", RZA with "Sunshower" and Ol' Dirty Bastard with "Dog Shit").
=== Golden Arms Redemption ===
U-God was the eighth member of the group to record a solo album, releasing Golden Arms Redemption in 1999 on Priority Records, which displayed a wide variety of sounds from gritty blaxploitation funk to urgent string sections, and featured guest appearances from several Wu-Tang members and affiliates. It had two singles in "Dat's Gangsta" and "Bizarre". The song "Rumble" was used as the main song for the video game Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style. Bizarre debuted #7 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles, but soon after Priority Records was on the verge of shutting down. Still, the album managed to go Gold in sales. Based on the initial success, U-God was able to open his own label, Suppa Nigga Productions. He released his second album Mr. Xcitement in 2005.
=== Dopium and The Keynote Speaker ===
In 2009, U-God released the album Dopium and had the lead single "Wu-Tang" featuring Method Man. The album featured guest appearances by Sheek Louch, Jim Jones, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, GZA, Cappadonna, Killah Priest and Scotty Wotty with production by Bloody Beat Roots, Felix Cartel and Large Professor. In 2013 U-God announced a new album The Keynote Speaker with production by RZA who also served as the albums executive producer. The album was released on July 23, 2013, by RZA's Soul Temple Records with guest appearances from Styles P, Kool Keith, Method Man, RZA, GZA and Inspectah Deck.
=== Venom and autobiographical book ===
On December 13, 2016, U-God released through Babygrande Records' SoundCloud account a song "Venom" and announced that his new album, also called Venom, would be released soon. On September 25, 2017, he added a tweet in which he announced that he had finished his autobiography entitled Raw: My Journey Into The Wu-Tang and it would be released along with his new album in March 2018. On February 2, 2018, he released a free mixtape Bring Back God II through DatPiff platform. Venom was released on March 30, 2018 and debuted at #34 on the U.S. Rap Albums Chart.
== Discography ==
=== Studio albums ===
Golden Arms Redemption (1999)
Mr. Xcitement (2005)
Dopium (2009)
The Keynote Speaker (2013)
Venom (2018)
=== Collaboration albums ===
UGodz-Illa Presents: The Hillside Scramblers with The Hillside Scramblers (2004)
== Personal life ==
Around the time of Wu Tang Forever, his two-year-old son Dontae (now a hip-hop artist as iNTeLL) was struck by a stray bullet while on his way to a birthday party, suffering permanent damage to his kidneys and hands, an ordeal U-God documented on the Wu-Tang Clan track "A Better Tomorrow". |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_blue_turaco | Great blue turaco | The great blue turaco (Corythaeola cristata) is a bird species of the family Musophagidae. At 70–76 cm (28–30 in) in length, it is the largest species of turaco. It has predominantly grey-blue plumage with an upright blue-black crest around 10 cm (3.9 in) high. The male and female have similar plumage. It is widespread throughout the African tropical rainforest.
== Taxonomy ==
French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot described the great blue turaco as Musophaga cristata in 1816, before German ornithologist Ferdinand Heine placed it in its own genus in 1860.
The great blue turaco is the sole member of the subfamily Corythaeolinae within the turaco family. Its closest relatives are the go-away birds and plantain eaters of the genus Crinifer. The common ancestor of both diverged from the ancestor of all other turaco species.
"Great blue turaco" has been designated the official common name by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC). It is also called blue plantain eater.
== Distribution and habitat ==
The species ranges from Guinea in the west, and east across the sub-Saharan nations to the Imatong Mountains in South Sudan; it also occurs in Uganda, Tanzania and western Kenya, south to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola. It inhabits rainforests and gallery forests. It has also adapted to areas cleared by humans and can thrive in these areas.
== Description ==
Generally, the great blue turaco is 70–76 cm (28–30 in) in length with a mass of 800–1,231 g (1.764–2.714 lb). The adult great blue turaco has predominantly grey-blue upperparts with an upright blue-black crest, white chin, yellow-green lower breast and yellow belly darkening to chestnut brown posteriorly. The undertail coverts are chestnut, and the undertail is black and yellowish. The yellow bill has an orange-red tip, the eyes are brown, and surrounded by a ring of black bare skin. The legs and feet are black with yellow soles. The sexes have similar plumage.
== Behaviour ==
The great blue turaco is gregarious, with birds forming small troops of some six or seven individuals.
=== Feeding ===
The great blue turaco eats leaves, flowers, as well as fruit of many plant species, including those of the genera Musanga, Cissus, Ficus (such as Ficus capensis) Polyalthia, Heisteria, Dacryodes, Pachypodanthium, Uapaca, Strombosia, Trichilia, Drypetes, Viscum, Beilschmiedia, Coelocaryon, Croton, and Pycnanthus. In Kenya, it has been recorded eating mitzeeri (Bridelia micrantha) in April, loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) in July, guava (Psidium guajava) in September and Cordia africana over November and December. Fieldwork in Rwanda revealed leaves constituted around 25% of its diet, being eaten more often when fruit is less abundant. The species also play a role in seed dispersal as it generally passes seed in its faeces some distance from parent trees.
=== Breeding ===
The species nests in trees between 8 and 25 metres (26 and 82 ft) above the ground, and the nest is a platform of sticks. Both sexes incubate the clutch of two (rarely one or three) eggs over 29–31 days. The eggs are white or greenish-white and almost round, measuring 46–50 mm by 41–43 mm (1.8–2.0 in by 1.6–1.7 in).
== Interactions with humans ==
Highly regarded as food in West Africa, it is often hunted and eaten by local people. The BaMbala and related tribes around the town of Kikwit in the DRC, call the great blue turaco kolonvo. The meat is popular in smaller villages, and the long tail feathers are prized for decorations. The Mbuti people of the Ituri Rainforest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo consider the great blue turaco (which they call kulkoko) to be associated with okapis, which they would warn of danger by calling loudly. They also believe that eating the species while pregnant may result in a difficult delivery or birth deformity. It is also a clan totem animal and as such, cannot be eaten by members of that clan; if they do eat it their teeth are said to fall out. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlton_Athletic_F.C. | Charlton Athletic F.C. | Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football.
Their home ground is The Valley, where the club has played since 1919. They played at The Mount in Catford during the 1923–24 season. They also played a combined seven years divided between firstly Selhurst Park, and secondly at the former Upton Park (also known as the Boleyn Ground) between 1985 and 1992, due to both their financial problems and the local council's safety concerns. The club's traditional kit consists of red shirts, white shorts and red socks. Their most commonly used nickname is The Addicks. Charlton shares local rivalries with fellow South London clubs Crystal Palace and Millwall.
The club was founded on 9 June 1905 and turned professional in 1920. They spent one season in the Kent League and one season in the Southern League, before being invited to join the newly-formed Football League Third Division South in 1921. They won the division in the 1928–29 season, and again in 1934–35 following relegation in 1933. Charlton was promoted out of the Second Division in 1935–36, and finished second in the First Division the next season. Having been beaten finalists in 1946, they lifted the FA Cup the following year with a 1–0 victory over Burnley. The departure of Jimmy Seed in 1956, manager for 23 years, saw the club relegated out of the top-flight the following year. Relegated again in 1972, Charlton was promoted from the Third Division in 1974–75, and again in 1980–81 following relegation the previous season.
Charlton recovered from administration to secure promotion back to the First Division in 1985–86, and went on to lose in the 1987 final of the Full Members' Cup, though they won the 1987 play-off final to retain their top-flight status. Having been relegated in 1990, Charlton won the 1998 play-off final to make their debut in the Premier League. Though they were relegated the next year, manager Alan Curbishley took them back up as champions in 1999–2000. Charlton spent seven successive years in the Premier League, before suffering two relegations in three years. They topped League One with 101 points in 2011–12, but were relegated from the Championship in 2016. They were promoted again after winning the 2019 EFL League One play-off final, but were relegated a year later after finishing 22nd. The club eventually returned to the Championship in 2025, via the play-offs.
== History ==
=== Early history (1905–1946) ===
Charlton Athletic was formed on 9 June 1905 by a group of 14 to 15-year-olds in East Street, Charlton, which is now known as Eastmoor Street and no longer residential.
Contrary to some histories, the club was founded as "Charlton Athletic" and had no connection to other teams or institutions such as East St Mission, Blundell Mission or Charlton Reds; it was not founded by a church, school, employer or as a franchise for an existing ground. Charlton spent most of the years before the First World War playing in local leagues but progressing rapidly, winning successive leagues promotions eight years in a row. In 1905–06 the team played only friendly games but joined, and won, the Lewisham League Division III for the 1906–07 season. For the 1907–08 season the team contested the Lewisham League, Woolwich League and entered the Woolwich Cup. It was also around this time the Addicks nickname was first used in the local press although it may have been in use before then. In the 1908–09 season Charlton Athletic were playing in the Blackheath and District League and by 1910–11 had progressed to the Southern Suburban League. During this period Charlton Athletic won the Woolwich Cup four times, the championship of the Woolwich League three times, won the Blackheath League twice and the Southern Suburban League three times.
They became a senior side in 1913, the same year that nearby Woolwich Arsenal relocated to North London.
At the outbreak of World War I, Charlton were one of the first clubs to close down to take part in the "Greater Game" overseas. The club was reformed in 1917, playing mainly friendlies to raise funds for charities connected to the war and for the Woolwich Memorial Hospital Cup, the trophy for which Charlton donated. It had previously been the Woolwich Cup that the team had won outright following three consecutive victories.
After the war, they joined the Kent League for one season (1919–20) before becoming professional, appointing Walter Rayner as the first full-time manager. They were accepted by the Southern League and played just a single season (1920–21) before being voted into the Football League along with Aberdare Athletic. Charlton's first Football League match was against Exeter City in August 1921, which they won 1–0. In 1923, Charlton became "giant killers" in the FA Cup beating top flight sides Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion, and Preston North End before losing to eventual winners Bolton Wanderers in the Quarter-Finals. Later that year, it was proposed that Charlton merge with Catford Southend to create a larger team with bigger support. In the 1923–24 season Charlton played in Catford at The Mount stadium and wore the colours of "The Enders", light and dark blue vertical stripes. However, the move fell through and the Addicks returned to the Charlton area in 1924, returning to the traditional red and white colours in the process.
Charlton finished second bottom in the Football League in 1926 and were forced to apply for re-election which was successful. Three years later the Addicks won the Division Three championship in 1929 and they remained at the Division Two level for four years. After relegation into the Third Division south at the end of the 1932–33 season the club appointed Jimmy Seed as manager and he oversaw the most successful period in Charlton's history either side of World War II. Seed, an ex-miner who had made a career as a footballer despite suffering the effects of poison gas in the First World War, remains the most successful manager in Charlton's history. He is commemorated in the name of a stand at The Valley. Seed was an innovative thinker about the game at a time when tactical formations were still relatively unsophisticated. He later recalled "a simple scheme that enabled us to pull several matches out of the fire" during the 1934–35 season: when the team was in trouble "the centre-half was to forsake his defensive role and go up into the attack to add weight to the five forwards." The organisation Seed brought to the team proved effective and the Addicks gained successive promotions from the Third Division to the First Division between 1934 and 1936, becoming the first club to ever do so. Charlton finally secured promotion to the First Division by beating local rivals West Ham United at Upton Park, (which was also known as the Boleyn Ground), with their centre-half John Oakes playing on despite concussion and a broken nose.
In 1937, Charlton finished runners up in the First Division, in 1938 finished fourth and 1939 finished third. They were the most consistent team in the top flight of English football over the three seasons immediately before World War II. This continued during the war years and they won the Football League War Cup and appeared in finals.
=== Post-war success and fall from grace (1946–1984) ===
Charlton reached the 1946 FA Cup final, but lost 4–1 to Derby County at Wembley. Charlton's Bert Turner scored an own goal in the 80th minute before equalising for the Addicks a minute later to take them into extra time, but they conceded three further goals in the extra period. When the full league programme resumed in 1946–47 Charlton could finish only 19th in the First Division, just above the relegation spots, but they made amends with their performance in the FA Cup, reaching the 1947 FA Cup final. This time they were successful, beating Burnley 1–0, with Chris Duffy scoring the only goal of the day. In this period of renewed football attendances, Charlton became one of only 13 English football teams to average over 40,000 as their attendance during a full season. The Valley was the largest football ground in the League, drawing crowds in excess of 70,000. However, in the 1950s little investment was made either for players or to The Valley, hampering the club's growth. In 1956, the then board undermined Jimmy Seed and asked for his resignation; Charlton were relegated the following year.
From the late 1950s until the early 1970s, Charlton remained a mainstay of the Second Division before relegation to the Third Division in 1972. It caused the team's support to drop, and even a promotion in 1975 back to the second division did little to re-invigorate the team's support and finances. In 1979–80 Charlton were relegated again to the Third Division, but won immediate promotion back to the Second Division in 1980–81. This was a turning point in the club's history leading to a period of turbulence and change including further promotion and exile. A change in management and shortly after a change in club ownership led to severe problems, such as the reckless signing of former European Footballer of the Year Allan Simonsen, and the club looked like it would go out of business.
=== The "exiled" years (1985–1992) ===
In 1984 financial matters came to a head and the club went into administration, to be reformed as Charlton Athletic (1984) Ltd. although the club's finances were still far from secure. They were forced to leave The Valley just after the start of the 1985–86 season, after its safety was criticised by Football League officials in the wake of the Bradford City stadium fire.
The club began to ground-share with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park and this arrangement looked to be for the long-term, as Charlton did not have enough funds to revamp The Valley to meet safety requirements.
Despite the move away from The Valley, Charlton were promoted to the First Division as Second Division runners-up at the end of 1985–86, and remained at this level for four years (achieving a highest league finish of 14th) often with late escapes, most notably against Leeds in 1987, where the Addicks triumphed in extra-time of the play-off final replay to secure their top flight place. In 1987 Charlton also returned to Wembley for the first time since the 1947 FA Cup final for the Full Members' Cup final against Blackburn.
Eventually, Charlton were relegated in 1990 along with Sheffield Wednesday and bottom club Millwall. Manager Lennie Lawrence remained in charge for one more season before he accepted an offer to take charge of Middlesbrough. He was replaced by joint player-managers Alan Curbishley and Steve Gritt. The pair had unexpected success in their first season finishing just outside the play-offs, and 1992–93 began promisingly and Charlton looked good bets for promotion in the new Division One (the new name of the old Second Division following the formation of the Premier League). However, the club was forced to sell players such as Rob Lee to help pay for a return to The Valley, while club fans formed the Valley Party, nominating candidates to stand in local elections in 1990, pressing the local council to enable the club's return to The Valley – finally achieved in December 1992.
In March 1993, defender Tommy Caton, who had been out of action because of injury since January 1991, announced his retirement from playing on medical advice. He died suddenly at the end of the following month at the age of 30.
=== Premier League years (1998–2007) ===
In the summer of 1995, new chairman Richard Murray appointed Alan Curbishley as sole manager of Charlton. Under his sole leadership Charlton made an appearance in the play-offs in 1996 but were eliminated by Crystal Palace in the semi-finals and the following season brought a disappointing 15th-place finish. 1997–98 was Charlton's best season for years. They reached the Division One play-off final and battled against Sunderland in a thrilling game which ended with a 4–4 draw after extra time. Charlton won 7–6 on penalties, with the match described as "arguably the most dramatic game of football in Wembley's history", and were promoted to the Premier League.
Charlton's first Premier League campaign began promisingly (they went top after two games) but they were unable to maintain their good form and were soon battling relegation. The battle was lost on the final day of the season but the club's board kept faith in Curbishley, confident that they could bounce back. Curbishley rewarded the chairman's loyalty with the Division One title in 2000 which signalled a return to the Premier League.
After the club's Premier League comeback, Curbishley proved an astute spender, guiding the Addicks to a ninth place finish in the season after promotion and they were soon established as a mid table side who at times were in contention for a European place.
Charlton spent much of the 2003–04 Premier League season challenging for a Champions League place, but a late-season slump in form and the sale of star player Scott Parker to Chelsea, left Charlton in seventh place, which was still the club's highest finish since the 1950s. Charlton were unable to build on this level of achievement and Curbishley departed in 2006, with the club still established as a solid mid-table side.
In May 2006, Iain Dowie was named as Curbishley's successor, but was sacked after 12 league matches in November 2006, with only two wins. Les Reed replaced Dowie as manager, however he too failed to improve Charlton's position in the league table and on Christmas Eve 2006, Reed was replaced by former player Alan Pardew. Although results did improve, Pardew was unable to keep Charlton up and relegation was confirmed in the penultimate match of the season.
=== Return to the Football League (2007–2014) ===
Charlton's return to the second tier of English football was a disappointment, with their promotion campaign tailing off to an 11th-place finish. Early in the following season the Addicks were linked with a foreign takeover, but this was swiftly denied by the club. On 10 October 2008, Charlton received an indicative offer for the club from a Dubai-based diversified investment company. However, the deal later fell through. The full significance of this soon became apparent as the club recorded net losses of over £13 million for that financial year. Pardew left on 22 November after a 2–5 home loss to Sheffield United that saw the team fall into the relegation places. Matters did not improve under caretaker manager Phil Parkinson, and the team went a club record 18 games without a win, a new club record, before finally achieving a 1–0 away victory over Norwich City in an FA Cup third round replay; Parkinson was hired on a permanent basis. The team were relegated to League One after a 2–2 draw against Blackpool on 18 April 2009.
The 2009–10 season, Charlton's first third-tier league campaign in 29 years, saw them occupy the top six for almost its entirety; they were defeated in the Football League One play-offs semi-final second leg on penalties against Swindon Town.
After a change in ownership, Parkinson and Charlton legend Mark Kinsella left after a poor run of results. Another Charlton legend, Chris Powell, was appointed manager of the club in January 2011, winning his first game in charge 2–0 over Plymouth at The Valley. This was Charlton's first league win since November. Powell's bright start continued with a further three victories, before running into a downturn which saw the club go 11 games in succession without a win. Yet the fans' respect for Powell saw him come under remarkably little criticism. The club's fortunes picked up towards the end of the season, but leaving them far short of the play-offs. In a busy summer, Powell brought in 19 new players and after a successful season, on 14 April 2012, Charlton Athletic won promotion back to the Championship with a 1–0 away win at Carlisle United. A week later, on 21 April 2012, they were confirmed as champions after a 2–1 home win over Wycombe Wanderers. Charlton then lifted the League One trophy on 5 May 2012, having been in the top position since 15 September 2011, and after recording a 3–2 victory over Hartlepool United, recorded their highest ever league points score of 101, the highest in any professional European league that year.
In the first season back in the Championship, the 2012–13 season saw Charlton finish ninth place with 65 points, just three points short of the play-off places to the Premier League.
=== Duchâtelet's ownership (2014–2019) ===
In early January 2014 during the 2013–14 season, Belgian businessman Roland Duchâtelet took over Charlton as owner in a deal worth £14million. This made Charlton a part of a network of football clubs owned by Duchâtelet. On 11 March 2014, two days after an FA Cup quarter-final loss to Sheffield United, and with Charlton sitting bottom of the table, Powell was sacked, private emails suggesting a rift with the owner.
New manager Jose Riga, despite having to join Charlton long after the transfer window had closed, was able to improve Charlton's form and eventually guide them to 18th place, successfully avoiding relegation. After Riga's departure to manage Blackpool, former Millwall player Bob Peeters was appointed as manager in May 2014 on a 12-month contract. Charlton started strong, but a long run of draws meant that after only 25 games in charge Peeters was dismissed with the team in 14th place. His replacement, Guy Luzon, ensured there was no relegation battle by winning most of the remaining matches, resulting in a 12th-place finish.
The 2015–16 season began promisingly but results under Luzon deteriorated and on 24 October 2015 after a 3–0 defeat at home to Brentford he was sacked. Luzon said in a News Shopper interview that he "was not the one who chose how to do the recruitment" as the reason why he failed as manager. Karel Fraeye was appointed "interim head coach", but was sacked after 14 games and just two wins, with the club then second from bottom in the Championship. On 14 January 2016, Jose Riga was appointed head coach for a second spell, but could not prevent Charlton from being relegated to League One for the 2016–17 season. Riga resigned at the end of the season. To many fans, the managerial changes and subsequent relegation to League One were symptomatic of the mismanagement of the club under Duchâtelet's ownership and several protests began.
After a slow start to the new season, with the club in 15th place of League One, the club announced that it had "parted company" with Russell Slade in November 2016. Karl Robinson was appointed on a permanent basis soon after. He led the Addicks to an uneventful 13th-place finish. The following season Robinson had the team challenging for the play-offs, but a drop in form in March led him to resign by mutual consent. He was replaced by former player Lee Bowyer as caretaker manager who guided them to a 6th-place finish, but lost in the play-off semi-final.
Bowyer was appointed permanently in September on a one-year contract and managed Charlton to third place in the 2018–19 EFL League One season, qualifying for the play-offs. In their first visit to the New Wembley Stadium and a repeat of their famous match in 1998, Charlton beat Sunderland 2–1 in the League One play-off final to earn promotion back to the EFL Championship after a three-season absence. Bowyer later signed a new one-year contract following promotion, which was later extended to three years in January 2020.
=== Multiple changes of ownership (2019–present) ===
==== ESI (2019–2020) ====
On 29 November 2019, Charlton Athletic were acquired by East Street Investments (ESI) from Abu Dhabi, subject to EFL approval. Approval was reportedly granted on 2 January 2020. However, on 10 March 2020, a public disagreement between the new owners erupted along with reports that the main investor was pulling out, and the EFL said the takeover had not been approved. The Valley and Charlton's training ground were still owned by Duchâtelet, and a transfer embargo was in place as the new owners had not provided evidence of funding through to June 2021. On 20 April 2020, the EFL said the club was being investigated for misconduct regarding the takeover. In June 2020, Charlton confirmed that ESI had been taken over by a consortium led by businessman Paul Elliott, and said it had contacted the EFL to finalise the ownership change. However, a legal dispute involving former ESI director Matt Southall continued. He attempted to regain control of the club to prevent Elliott's takeover from going ahead, but failed and was subsequently fined and dismissed for challenging the club's directors. On 7 August 2020, the EFL said three individuals, including ESI owner Elliott and lawyer Chris Farnell, had failed its Owners' and Directors' Test, leaving the club's ownership unclear; Charlton appealed against the decision. Meanwhile, Charlton were relegated to League One at the end of the 2019–20 season after finishing 22nd. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the final games of the season were played behind closed doors, which remained the case for the majority of the following season.
Later in August, Thomas Sandgaard, a Danish businessman based in Colorado, was reported to be negotiating to buy the club. After further court hearings, Elliott was granted an injunction blocking the sale of ESI until a hearing in November 2020.
==== Thomas Sandgaard (2020–2023) ====
On 25 September 2020, Thomas Sandgaard acquired the club itself from ESI, and was reported to have passed the EFL's Owners' and Directors' Tests; the EFL noted the change in control, but said the club's sale was now "a matter for the interested parties".
On 15 March 2021, with the club lying in eighth place, Bowyer resigned as club manager and was appointed manager of Birmingham City. His successor, Nigel Adkins, was appointed three days later. The club finished the 2020–21 season in seventh place, but started the following season by winning only two out of 13 League One matches and were in the relegation zone when Adkins was sacked on 21 October 2021.
After a successful spell as caretaker manager, Johnnie Jackson was appointed manager in December 2021, but, after Charlton finished the season in 13th place, he was also sacked. Swindon Town manager Ben Garner was appointed as his replacement in June 2022, but was sacked on 5 December 2022 with the team in 17th place. After the club was knocked out of the FA Cup by League Two side Stockport County on 7 December, supporters said Charlton was at its "lowest ebb in living memory", with fans "losing confidence" in owner Thomas Sandgaard. Dean Holden was appointed manager on 20 December 2022, and Charlton improved to finish the 2022–23 season in 10th place.
==== SE7 Partners (2023–present) ====
On 5 June 2023, the club announced that SE7 Partners, comprising former Sunderland director Charlie Methven and Edward Warrick, had agreed a takeover of Charlton Athletic, becoming the club's fourth set of owners in under four years. On 19 July, the EFL and FA cleared SE7 Partners to take over the club, and the deal was completed on 21 July 2023. On 27 August 2023, after one win in the opening six games of the 2023–24 season, Holden was sacked as manager, and succeeded by Michael Appleton. On 23 January 2024, following a 3–2 defeat at The Valley against Northampton Town - and no wins in 10 League One games - Appleton was sacked. He was replaced on 4 February 2024 by Nathan Jones, under whom Charlton lost one and drew three of their next four games as they matched the club's longest winless streak of 18 games. The winless run ended with a 2–1 win away to Derby County on 27 February 2024, extending what became a 14-match unbeaten run, Charlton's longest in 24 years. However, Charlton finished the disappointing season in 16th place, their worst finishing league position in 98 years, though Charlton striker Alfie May won the League One Golden Boot award for the 2023–24 EFL League One season, with his tally of 23 goals.
The following season, Charlton won promotion back to the Championship with a 1–0 victory over Leyton Orient in the League One play-off final on 25 May 2025. On 6 December 2025, Charlton's Championship match against Portsmouth at The Valley was abandoned after Charlton Athletic supporter of the year Norman Barker (known as "Headphones Norm") collapsed and later died in hospital.
== Club identity ==
=== Colours and crest ===
Charlton have used a number of crests and badges during their history, although the current design has not been changed since 1968. The first known badge, from the 1930s, consisted of the letters CAF in the shape of a club from a pack of cards. In the 1940s, Charlton used a design featuring a robin sitting in a football within a shield, sometimes with the letters CAFC in the four-quarters of the shield, which was worn for the 1946 FA Cup final. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the crest of the former Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich was used as a symbol for the club, although it did not appear on the team's shirts. A translation of the borough's Latin motto, Tempore utimur, ("We use time"), refers symbolically to the Prime Meridian in Greenwich.
In 1963, a competition was held to find a new badge for the club, and the winning entry was a hand holding a sword, which complied with Charlton's nickname of the time, the Valiants. Over the next five years modifications were made to this design, such as the addition of a circle surrounding the hand and sword and including the club's name in the badge. By 1968, the design had reached the one known today, and has been used continuously from this year, apart from a period in the 1970s when just the letters CAFC appeared on the team's shirts.
With the exception of one season, Charlton have always played in red and white – colours chosen by the boys who founded Charlton Athletic in 1905 after having to play their first matches in the borrowed kits of their local rivals Woolwich Arsenal, who also played in red and white. The exception came during part of the 1923–24 season when Charlton wore the colours of Catford Southend as part of the proposed move to Catford, which were light and dark blue stripes. However, after the move fell through, Charlton returned to wearing red and white as their home colours.
The sponsors were as follows:
=== Nicknames ===
Charlton's most common nickname is The Addicks. The origin of this name is from a local fishmonger, Arthur "Ikey" Bryan, who rewarded the team with meals of haddock and chips.
The progression of the nickname can be seen in the book The Addicks Cartoons: An Affectionate Look into the Early History of Charlton Athletic, which covers the pre-First World War history of Charlton through a narrative based on 56 cartoons which appeared in the now defunct Kentish Independent. The very first cartoon, from 31 October 1908, calls the team the Haddocks. By 1910, the name had changed to Addicks although it also appeared as Haddick. The club also have two other nicknames, The Robins, adopted in 1931, and The Valiants, chosen in a fan competition in the 1960s which also led to the adoption of the sword badge which is still in use. The Addicks nickname never went away and was revived by fans after the club lost its Valley home in 1985 and went into exile at Crystal Palace. It is now once again the official nickname of the club.
Charlton fans' chants have included "Valley, Floyd Road", a song noting the stadium's address to the tune of "Mull of Kintyre".
== Stadium ==
The club's first ground was Siemens Meadow (1905–1907), a patch of rough ground by the River Thames, over-shadowed by the Siemens Brothers Telegraph Works. Then followed Woolwich Common (1907–1908), Pound Park (1908–1913), and Angerstein Lane (1913–1915). After the end of the First World War, a chalk quarry known as the Swamps was identified as Charlton's new ground and, in the summer of 1919, work began to create the level playing area and remove debris from the site.
In September 1919, the first match was played at that site, now the club's current ground, known as The Valley. Charlton stayed at The Valley until 1923, when the club moved to The Mount stadium in Catford as part of a proposed merger with Catford Southend. However, after that move collapsed in 1924, Charlton returned to The Valley.
During the 1930s and 1940s, significant improvements were made to the ground, making it one of the largest in the country at that time. In 1938 the highest attendance to date at the ground was recorded at over 75,000 for a FA Cup match against Aston Villa. During the 1940s and 1950s the attendance was often above 40,000, and Charlton had one of the largest support bases in the country. However, after the club's relegation little investment was made in The Valley as it fell into decline.
In the 1980s matters came to a head as the ownership of the club and The Valley was divided. The large East Terrace had been closed down by the authorities after the Bradford City stadium fire and the ground's owner wanted to use part of the site for housing. In September 1985, Charlton made the controversial move to ground-share with South London neighbours Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. This move was unpopular with supporters and, in the late 1980s, significant steps were taken to bring about the club's return to The Valley.
A single issue political party, the Valley Party, contested the 1990 local Greenwich Borough Council elections on a ticket of reopening the stadium, capturing 11% of the vote, aiding the club's return. The Valley Gold investment scheme was created to help supporters fund the return to The Valley, and several players were also sold to raise funds. For the 1991–92 season and part of the 1992–93 season, the Addicks played at West Ham's Upton Park as Wimbledon had moved into Selhurst Park alongside Crystal Palace. Charlton finally returned to The Valley in December 1992, celebrating with a 1–0 victory against Portsmouth.
Since the return to The Valley, three sides of the ground have been completely redeveloped turning the venue into a modern, all-seater stadium with a 27,111 capacity, which is the biggest in South London. There are plans in place to increase the ground's capacity to approximately 31,000 and even around 40,000 in the future.
In May 2024, a new Desso GrassMaster pitch was laid.
== Supporters and rivalries ==
The bulk of the club's support base comes from South East London and Kent, particularly the London boroughs of Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley. Supporters played a key role in the return of the club to The Valley in 1992 and were rewarded by being granted a voice on the board in the form of an elected supporter director. Any season ticket holder could put themselves forward for election, with a certain number of nominations, and votes were cast by all season ticket holders over the age of 18. The last such director, Ben Hayes, was elected in 2006 to serve until 2008, when the role was discontinued as a result of legal issues. Its functions were replaced by a fans forum, which met for the first time in December 2008 and is still active to this day.
Charlton's main rivals are their South London neighbours, Crystal Palace and Millwall.
In 1985, Charlton were forced to ground-share with Crystal Palace after safety concerns at The Valley. They played their home fixtures at the Glaziers' Selhurst Park stadium until 1991. The arrangement was seen by Crystal Palace chairman Ron Noades as essential for the future of football, but it was unpopular with both sets of fans. Charlton fans campaigned for a return to The Valley throughout their time at Selhurst Park. In 2005, Palace were relegated by Charlton at The Valley after a 2–2 draw. Palace needed a win to survive. However, with seven minutes left, Charlton equalised, relegating their rivals. Post-match, there was a well-publicised altercation between the two chairmen of the respective clubs, Richard Murray and Simon Jordan. Since their first meeting in the Football League in 1925, Charlton have won 17, drawn 13 and lost 26 games against Palace. The teams last met in 2015, a 4–1 win for Palace in the League Cup.
Charlton are closest in proximity to Millwall than any other EFL club, with The Valley and The Den being less than four miles (6.4 km) apart. They last met in January 2026, a 4–0 win for Millwall at The Den. Since their first Football League game in 1921, Charlton have won 11, drawn 27 and lost 38 league games (the two sides also met twice in the Anglo-Italian Cup in the 1992–93 season; Charlton winning one tie, and one draw). The Addicks have not beaten Millwall in the last 14 league fixtures between the sides; their last win came on 9 March 1996 at The Valley.
== In popular culture ==
=== Film and TV ===
After promotion to Division 1 in 1936, the British Pathé company visited The Valley to film the players training. The commentary noted a "proud boast" that not a single player during their year in Division 2 was "cautioned". The subsequent film, Famous Football Teams at Home. No.5: Charlton Athletic (canister:PT 353, media URN: 39727), was released on 28 December 1936, and contains clear views of the early stadium.
British Movietone News filmed the sixth-round (quarter-final) FA Cup match versus Preston North End, at The Valley, on 1 March 1947, which Charlton won 2–1. The commentary was by Lionel Gamlin. It begins by showing German prisoners of war clearing snow from the former East terrace. (For identification purposes, the video i.d., is: BM48249. The film's Friendly Key, is: 470306131).
Charlton Athletic assumes a pivotal role in the film The Silent Playground (1963). Three children get in to trouble when their mother's boyfriend 'Uncle' Alan (John Ronane), gives them pocket money to wander off on their own, so that he can attend a Charlton football match. There is some footage from the ground which Ronane is later seen leaving.
In the long-running BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, Rodney Charlton Trotter (played by Nicholas Lyndhurst) is named after the club. In the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who, the Seventh Doctor's companion named Ace (played by Sophie Aldred) wears a Charlton Athletic badge on her black bomber jacket. A Charlton Athletic match against Manchester United in the 1950s is depicted in BBC Two television film United (released in 2011).
The Valley and manager Alan Curbishley made cameo appearances in the Sky One sports drama Dream Team.
Charlton Athletic featured in the ITV one-off drama Albert's Memorial, shown on 12 September 2010 and starring David Jason and David Warner.
A young Billy Butcher has a Charlton flag in his room in Amazon Prime Video superhero series The Boys.
=== Books ===
Charlton Athletic has also featured in several book publications, in both fictional and factual sports writing. These include works by Charlie Connelly and Paul Breen's work of popular fiction which is entitled The Charlton Men. The book is set against Charlton's successful 2011–12 season when they won the League One title and promotion back to the Championship in concurrence with the 2011 London riots.
Timothy Young, the protagonist in Out of the Shelter, a 1970 novel by David Lodge, supports Charlton Athletic. The book describes Timothy listening to Charlton's victory in the 1947 FA Cup final on the radio.
== Records and statistics ==
Sam Bartram is Charlton's record appearance maker, having played a total of 623 times between 1934 and 1956. But for six years lost to the Second World War, when no league football was played, this tally would be far higher.
Keith Peacock is the club's second highest appearance maker with 591 games between 1962 and 1979 He was also the first-ever substitute in a Football League game, replacing injured goalkeeper Mike Rose after 11 minutes of a match against Bolton Wanderers on 21 August 1965.
Defender and midfielder Radostin Kishishev is Charlton's record international appearance maker, having received 42 caps for Bulgaria while a Charlton player.
In total, 12 Charlton players have received full England caps. The first was Seth Plum, in 1923 and the most recent was Darren Bent, in 2006. Luke Young, with seven caps, is Charlton's most capped England international.
Charlton's record goalscorer is Derek Hales, who scored 168 times in all competitions in 368 matches, during two spells, for the club.
Counting only league goals, Stuart Leary is the club's record scorer with 153 goals between 1951 and 1962.
The record number of goals scored in one season is 33, scored by Ralph Allen in the 1934–35 season.
Charlton's record home attendance is 75,031 which was set on 12 February 1938 for an FA Cup match against Aston Villa
The record all-seated attendance is 27,111, The Valley's current capacity. This record was first set in September 2005 in a Premier League match against Chelsea and has since been equalled several times.
=== Player records ===
== Players ==
As of 23 March 2026
=== First-team squad ===
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
=== Out on loan ===
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
=== Under-21s squad ===
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
=== Under-18s squad ===
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
=== Women's team ===
=== Player of the Year ===
== Club officials ==
As of 23 December 2025
=== Coaching staff ===
=== Managerial history ===
Source:
=== List of chairmen ===
== Honours ==
Source:
League
First Division (level 1)
Runners-up: 1936–37
Second Division / First Division (level 2)
Champions: 1999–2000
2nd place promotion: 1935–36, 1985–86
Play-off winners: 1987, 1998
Third Division South / Third Division / League One (level 3)
Champions: 1928–29 (South), 1934–35 (South), 2011–12
3rd place promotion: 1974–75, 1980–81
Play-off winners: 2019, 2025
Cup
FA Cup
Winners: 1946–47
Runners-up: 1945–46
Full Members' Cup
Runners-up: 1986–87
Football League War Cup
Joint winners: 1943–44
Kent Senior Cup
Winners: 1994–95, 2012–13, 2014–15
Runners-up: 1995–96, 2015–16
London Senior Cup
Winners: 2022–23, 2023–24 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blyde_River_Canyon_Nature_Reserve | Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve | Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve (or Motlatse Canyon Provincial Nature Reserve) is situated in the Drakensberg escarpment region of eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. The reserve protects the Blyde River Canyon, including sections of the Ohrigstad and Blyde Rivers and the geological formations around Bourke's Luck Potholes, where the Treur River tumbles into the Blyde below. Southwards of the canyon, the reserve follows the escarpment, to include the Devil's and God's Window, the latter a popular viewpoint to the lowveld at the reserve's southern extremity.
The Mogologolo (1,794 m), Mariepskop (1,944 m) and Hebronberg (1,767 m) massifs are partially included in the reserve. Elevation varies from 560 m to 1,944 m above sea level. Its resort areas are F.H. Odendaal and Swadeni, the latter only accessible from Limpopo province. The area of approximately 29,000 hectares (290 km2) is administered by the Mpumalanga Parks Board.
== Bourke's Luck Potholes ==
This geological feature and day visitors' attraction, named after prospector Bernard Thomas Bourke (brother of Eddie Bourke), is situated at the confluence of the Treur and Blyde Rivers, on the reserve's western boundary 24°40′28″S 30°48′39″E. The reserve's nature conservation headquarters is located here, beside the village of Moremela, at the canyon's southern, or upper reaches. Bourke's Luck Potholes marks the beginning of the Blyde River Canyon.
Sustained kolks in the Treur River's plunge pools have eroded a number of cylindrical potholes or giant's kettles, which can be viewed from the crags above. It was named after a local prospector, Tom Bourke, who predicted the presence of gold, though he found none himself. The pedestrian bridges connect the various overlooks of the potholes and the gorge downstream.
== The Three Rondavels ==
The Three Rondavels are three round, grass-covered mountain tops with somewhat pointed peaks. They quite closely resemble the traditional round or oval rondavels or African homesteads, which are made with local materials. Sometimes they are also called the Three Sisters, though this may confuse them with a similar threesome visible from the N1 road in the Northern Cape, very far to the south.
The names of the peaks commemorate a 19th-century chief, Maripi, and three of his wives. The flat-topped peak adjacent to the rondavels is Mapjaneng, "the chief", who is remembered for opposing invading Swazis in a memorable battle. The three rondavels are named for three of his more troublesome wives – Magabolle, Mogoladikwe and Maseroto. Behind the rondavels the distant high plateau of Mariepskop may be visible. Beside the dam, the isolated Thabaneng hill is known as the "sundial" or "mountain with a shadow that moves". It is said that the position of its shadow indicates the time of day.
On a clear day the lookout point provides extensive views. From here one looks over the canyon to the Three Rondavels on the other side, which is flanked on various sides by promontories of the northern Drakensberg range.
The formation of the attractive sedimentary formations are explained geologically as the slow erosion of underlying soft stone, leaving exposed the more resistant quartzite and shale that form the rondavels.
== God's Window ==
God's Window 24°52′28″S 30°53′29″E is a popular vantage point along the Drakensberg escarpment, at the southern extremity of the Nature Reserve.
Here, sheer cliffs plunge over 700 metres to the Lowveld. From this escarpment—a mostly unbroken rampart of cliffs—opens a vista into the Lowveld expanse and escarpment forests, the Eden-like aesthetic appearance of which prompted the name. On a clear day it is possible to see over the Kruger National Park towards the Lebombo Mountains on the border with Mozambique. Although relatively uncommon, with extremely good visibility, the Indian Ocean is also partly visible.
God's Window features prominently in the plot of the 1980 cult film The Gods Must Be Crazy. Near the end of the movie, the Bushman character Xi (played by Namibian bush farmer N!xau) travels to God's Window, and due to some low-lying cloud cover believes it to be the end of the Earth.
The original Window is a rock that is set further back on a private farm and due to quarry operations and tree plantation farming, this actual rock that looks like a square window could not be used. The site was moved by the government to the edge of the escarpment.
A viewing platform 24°52′35.8″S 30°53′19.6″E near the car park gives extensive views down the gorge to the plain below.
== Fauna ==
The high plateaus are inhabited by mountain reedbuck, baboon troops and rock hyraxes. Impala, kudu, blue wildebeest, waterbuck and zebra roam the wooded lowveld area. Hippo and crocodile are present in the Blyderivierpoort Dam.
Three species of flat gecko were described in 2014 from the reserve and its vicinity. The Blyde River flat gecko, discovered in 1991, is as yet only known from the cliff face of one of the three rondavels, while the Mariepskop flat gecko was discovered on nearby Mariepskop in 1982. The Abel Erasmus flat gecko is known to occur at Bourke's Luck inside the reserve.
Exotic fish like smallmouth bass, brown and rainbow trout occur in the river, which have reduced the range of the local Treur river barb to upper catchments of the Blyde River system. Thanks to reintroductions after its rediscovery in the 1970s, it now flourishes here. The Natal mountain catfish occurs as an isolated population in the Limpopo system, and the Belvedere creek is the only place in the Limpopo system where the Rosefin barb is found.
African fish eagle and African finfoot are found along the Blyde River. The lowveld woodlands harbour purple-crested lourie, emerald cuckoo, red-backed mannikin, golden-tailed woodpecker, gorgeous bushshrike, white-faced owl and a number of raptors like white-backed vulture, gymnogene, black-chested snake eagle, Wahlberg's eagle and long-crested eagle. A number of raptors frequent the mountains and cliffs, including cape vulture, black eagle, jackal buzzard, peregrine falcon, lanner falcon and rock kestrel.
Birds associated with flowering plants of the higher slopes include Gurney's sugarbird and malachite sunbird. A breeding colony of bald ibis occurs in the grassy uplands, besides small numbers of cape eagle-owl and red-breasted sparrowhawk. Forest birds include crowned eagle, Knysna lourie, cinnamon dove, olive bushshrike, green twinspot and wood owl.
== Flora ==
The reserve's vegetation is classified as the Northeastern Drakensberg High-Mountain Sourveld ecoregion, an area prone to lightning-induced burning. Its very diverse flora is ascribed to the variation in altitude and rainfall (541 mm to 2,776 mm p.a.), and the extremes in geology and pedology. It is topographically complex with a variety of habitats which include grassland plateaus, wetlands and sponge areas, grassland slopes, afromontane forest, riparian forest, moist woodlands, dry woodlands and shrublands. Its four veld types are Afromontane Forest, North-eastern Mountain Sour Grassland, Sour Lowveld Bushveld and Mixed Lowveld Bushveld.
Around a 1,000 plant species have been recorded. This includes cycads, of which the Blyde river cycad is almost endemic to the reserve, with some 200 individuals remaining. A variety of orchid, lily and protea (genera Protea, Faurea and Leucospermum) species occur, including the Blyde river protea which is endemic to the canyon, and the escarpment pincushion of which about 30 plants are present. Tree ferns grow along seepages in the uplands.
Indigenous forest covers 2,111 ha of the nature reserve, or 7.3% of its surface area. These are fragmented into some 60 patches between 0.21 ha and 567 ha in extent. They are assigned to two forest communities, high altitude moist and low altitude dry afromontane forest. The altitudinal gradient accounts for most of their variation in plant communities.
== General area ==
The reserve is fringed to the east by the Mariepskop and Klaserie Waterfall Nature Reserves, and the Mapulaneng forestry region, below the escarpment. National Park status had been considered, if some adjacent areas were to be incorporated and their forestry activities discontinued.
Percy FitzPatrick and George Fullerton's summer quarters as transport riders during the 1880s was situated at Paradise Camp 24°55′24″S 30°52′08″E, some 6 km south of God's Window, and similarly perched on the edge of the escarpment. Close to God's Window are several waterfalls, including Berlin Falls and Lisbon Falls. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Waterhouse_Hawkins | Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins | Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (8 February 1807 – 27 January 1894) was an English sculptor and natural history artist renowned for his work on the life-size models of dinosaurs in the Crystal Palace Park in south London. The models, accurately made using the latest scientific knowledge, created a sensation at the time. Hawkins was also a noted lecturer on zoological topics.
== Education and early career ==
Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins was born in Bloomsbury, London, on 8 February 1807, the son of artist Thomas Hawkins and his wife Louisa Anna Waterhouse, the daughter of a plantation owner in Jamaica. He studied at St. Aloysius College, and learned sculpture from William Behnes. At the age of 20, he began to study natural history and later geology. He contributed illustrations to The Zoology of the Voyage of HMS Beagle.
During the 1840s, he produced studies of living animals in Knowsley Park, near Liverpool for Edward Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby. The park was one of the largest private menageries in Victorian England and Hawkins' work was later published with John Edward Gray's text as "Gleanings from the Menagerie at Knowsley" . Over the same period Hawkins exhibited four sculptures at the Royal Academy between 1847 and 1849, and was elected a member of the Society of Arts in 1846 and a fellow of the Linnean Society in 1847. Fellowship of the Geological Society of London followed in 1854.
== Great Exhibition ==
Meanwhile, possibly due to Derby's connections, Hawkins was appointed assistant superintendent of the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. The following year, he was appointed by the Crystal Palace company to create 33 life-size concrete models of extinct dinosaurs to be placed in the south London park to which the great glass exhibition hall was to be relocated. In this work, which took some three years, he collaborated with Sir Richard Owen and other leading scientific figures of the time: Owen estimated the size and overall shape of the animals, leaving Hawkins to sculpt the models according to Owen's directions.
A dinner was held inside the mould used to make the Iguanodon. The dinner party, hosted by Owen on 31 December 1853, garnered attention in the press. Most of the sculptures are still on display in Crystal Palace Park.
== United States ==
In 1868, he traveled to the United States to deliver a series of lectures. Working with the scientist Joseph Leidy, Hawkins designed and cast an almost complete skeleton of Hadrosaurus foulkii which was then displayed at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Supported on an iron framework in a lifelike pose, this was the world's first mounted dinosaur skeleton.
Hawkins was later commissioned to produce models for New York City's Central Park museum similar to these he had created in Sydenham. He established a studio on the original site of the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, and planned to create a Paleozoic Museum. During his ten years in America (1868–1878), Hawkins designed exhibit halls for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and began to create an enormous paleontological museum for New York City. The museum was to have been in Central Park. His work was all destroyed in 1871 by Henry Hilton, the corrupt and bizarre-acting Treasurer and VP of Central Park, but was for many decades thought to have been the work of Hilton's employer, William "Boss" Tweed, a corrupt politician who wasn't adequately compensated for his patronage. However, Tweed himself was fighting scandals regarding his corrupt dealings at the time, and was later proved innocent of the destruction of Hawkins' models in 2023, when the real culprit was revealed through reexamination of historical records and annual reports and minutes. Hilton's motivations towards the vandalism are largely unknown, but may have been personal, with Hilton being purported to have told Hawkins that he "should not bother with "dead animals", as there was enough to do among the living", and that Hilton had little understanding or appreciation for art or nature, with several instances being recorded of him whitewashing priceless relics, statues and artifacts in bizarre acts of vandalism. Furthermore, Hilton had been placed in charge of establishing the American Museum of Natural History, and it is possible he wanted to eliminate the planned Paleozoic Museum, which he saw as competition.
Following the tragic loss of his studio through destruction of all of his dinosaur models at the hands of Hilton's vandals, he returned to England in 1874, but almost immediately returned, doing dinosaur reconstructions at Princeton University (then called the College of New Jersey) in Princeton, New Jersey (where he also created paintings of dinosaurs). These paintings remain in the collection of the Princeton University Art Museum. Hawkins also worked at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia. He again returned to Britain in 1878.
== Personal life and death ==
Hawkins married Mary Selina Green on 4 July 1826. The couple had five children. On 23 April 1836, Hawkins bigamously married painter Frances Louisa Keenan, a daughter of artist John Keenan. On 17 May 1883, they remarried in a civil ceremony. Hawkins kept in touch with Mary and her children, but lived with Louisa, having two additional daughters. On his 1874 return to England, he seems to have become estranged from Louisa. He was living with his son by Mary, amidst what he described a "climax of domestic troubles" thought to indicate that Louisa had finally learned that their 38-year marriage had been invalid, and this may have led to his precipitous return to America in 1875. After his second return to England, he moved to West Brompton to be near his first wife, Mary, who was ill. Mary died in 1880.
In 1883, Hawkins again married Louisa, although since they were not cohabitants at the time this was probably done for legalistic reasons (to legitimize their children), and they apparently never reconciled before her death the next year. Hawkins suffered a debilitating stroke in 1889, leading to erroneous reports of his death. He died in Putney on 27 January 1894. There is a blue plaque at 22 Belvedere Road ("Fossil Villa") in Upper Norwood, commemorating where he lived between 1856 and 1872.
== Legacy ==
Robert J. Sawyer's 1994 novel End of an Era mentions the famous New Year's Eve 1853 dinner party inside the Iguanodon, citing both Hawkins and Sir Richard Owen by name. A biography of Hawkins titled All In The Bones was published.
== Works list ==
Comparative anatomy as applied to the purposes of the artist by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and George Wallis. Published by Winsor & Newton, Ltd. [1883] [1]
Fauna boreali-americana, or, The zoology of the northern parts of British America : containing descriptions of the objects of natural history collected on the late northern land expeditions under command of Captain Sir John Franklin, R.N. by: Sir John Richardson, Charles M Curtis, Sir John Franklin, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, William Kirby, Thomas Landseer, James de Carle Sowerby, William Swainson, Charles Edward Wagstaff. Published by John Murray (1829-1837) [2]
Gleanings from the menagerie and aviary at Knowsley Hall by John Edward Gray, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, Edward Lear. Published by Knowsley [Printed for private distribution] (1846–50) [3]
Group of European bison or aurochs sculpture in Bronze Exhibited at Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations (London), 1851. Modelled and chased for presentation to H.I.M. the Emperor of Russia, from the Zoological Society of London Currently there is only one known cast of the bronze in existence. The owners are also open to loan requests of the sculpture.
Bronze cobra inkwell with compass Published 1850. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PXL_20240413_230021826.jpg
Sculpture work for the famous Coalbrookdale company as exhibited at the 1851 Great exhibition. References to follow.
Coalbrookdale
== Gallery == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Mansfield,_1st_Baron_Sandhurst | William Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst | General William Rose Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst, (21 June 1819 – 23 June 1876) was a British military commander who served as Commander-in-Chief of India from 1865 to 1870.
In Bombay now Mumbai, there is local train station named after Baron Sandhurst. Sanhurst Road station in Central Line.
== Background and early life ==
Mansfield was born on 21 June 1819, in Ruxley, the fifth of the seven sons of John Mansfield of Diggeswell House in Hertfordshire, and his wife, Mary Buchanan Smith, daughter of General Samuel Smith of Baltimore in the United States. His grandfather was the prominent lawyer Sir James Mansfield, Solicitor General from 1780 to 1782 and in 1783 and Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1804 to 1814.
In 1854, he married Margaret Fellowes, who became a noted suffragist and spiritualist after his death. They had several children, among whom the eldest son, William, was a Liberal politician who served as Governor of Bombay and Lord Chamberlain of the Household of George V, before being ennobled.
== Military career ==
Mansfield was educated at Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and was commissioned into the 53rd Foot as an ensign in 1835. He was promoted to lieutenant on 31 August 1838 and to captain on 10 February 1843. He was mostly active in India and served in the Sutlej campaign of 1845 to 1846. Promoted to major on 3 December 1847, he commanded the 53rd Regiment in the Punjab from 1848 to 1849 and was employed in the Peshawar operations in 1851 and 1852, receiving promotion to lieutenant-colonel on 9 May 1851 and to colonel on 6 October 1854.
In 1855, during the Crimean War, Mansfield was appointed military adviser to the Ambassador at Constantinople Lord Stratford de Redcliff, and accompanied him to the Crimea. He then returned to India and served as Chief-of-Staff during the Indian Mutiny campaign from 1857 to 1859, initially with the local rank of major-general. His role during the Siege of Lucknow in November 1857 saw his appointment Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in March 1858. Promoted to major-general on 18 May 1858, he served as Commander-in-Chief of the Bombay Army from 1860 to 1865 and as Commander-in-Chief, India from 1865 to 1870. During this time, he was made Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI) and subsequently Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). Mansfield was then Commander-in-Chief, Ireland from 1870 to 1875. He was promoted to full general on 23 May 1872.
In 1871, he was admitted to the Irish Privy Council and raised to the peerage as Baron Sandhurst, of Sandhurst in the County of Berkshire.
Sandhurst died in London on 23 June 1876, aged 57, and was buried at Digswell church, Hertfordshire. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son William, who was created Viscount Sandhurst in 1917. Upon the latter's death, the viscountcy became extinct, while the barony passed to Sandhurt's younger son John.
== Arms == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_A_Coru%C3%B1a | Province of A Coruña | The province of A Coruña (Galician: provincia da Coruña [pɾoˈβinθjɐ ðɐ koˈɾuɲɐ]; Spanish: provincia de La Coruña [la koˈɾuɲa] ; historical English: Corunna) is the northwesternmost province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia. This province is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and north, Pontevedra Province to the south and Lugo Province to the east. It has a population of 1,128,449 across its 93 municipalities.
== History ==
The history of this province starts at the end of the Middle Ages during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. During those years this province was far smaller than today. This is because in the 1833 territorial division of Spain the entire Province of Betanzos together with half of the Mondoñedo were amalgamated into one single province with its capital city in A Coruña.
Since 1833, the province has always been the one with the largest population and largest coast. Until the second half of the 20th century, this province was both the religious and cultural centre of the entire region. The University of Santiago de Compostela was the only university in North-western Spain until the arrival of democracy after the death of General Francisco Franco.
== Municipalities ==
== Demographics ==
As of 2024, the foreign-born population is 125,311, equal to 11.1% of the total population. The 5 largest foreign nationalities are Venezuelans (23,027), Colombians (11,369), Argentinians (8,223), Brazilians (7,920) and Swiss (7,725).
== Main sights ==
The cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is the destination of the Way of St. James, a major historical pilgrimage route since the Middle Ages which still gathers thousands of pilgrims each year from all over the world.
== Parks ==
Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park is the only national park in Galicia. It is shared between the provinces of A Coruña and Pontevedra.
The "Fragas" of the River Eume Natural Park extends itself throughout the Eume and Ferrol regions of Ferrolterra.
The Dunes of Corrubedo Natural Park (Parque Natural das Dunas de Corrubedo e lagoas de Carregal e Vixán) is a beach park at the very end of the Barbanza Peninsula.
== Transport ==
=== Airports and airfields ===
Aeroporto da Lavacolla in Santiago de Compostela
Aeroporto de Alvedro in the City of A Coruña
Heliporto da Graña in the Naval Base of A Graña (Ferrolterra)
Heliporto de Narón in Naron (Ferrolterra)
=== Railway ===
Spanish National Railway Network Linking every major city: Barqueiro, Ferrol, Betanzos, A Coruña and Santiago de Compostela.
Spanish High Speed Railway Network (AVE) Linking most major cities of the province with Lisbon and Madrid is under construction.
== Economy ==
=== Ports ===
A Coruña – Major Commercial Port – Rías Altas
Malpica – Fishing Port – Costa da Morte
Camariñas – Fishing Port – Costa da Morte
Fisterra – Fishing Port – Costa da Morte
Ferrol – Major Commercial Ports (also: Military) – Rias altas
Cariño – Fishing Port – Rias altas
Espasante – Fishing Port – Rias altas
Cedeira – Fishing Port – Rias altas
== Sport ==
Deportivo de La Coruña Spanish Primera Federación team from the City of A Coruña.
Racing Ferrol Spanish Segunda División team from the City of Ferrol.
SD Compostela Spanish Segunda Federación team from the City of Santiago de Compostela.
Atlético Arteixo Spanish Tercera Federación team from the Municipality of Arteixo.
Bergantiños FC Spanish Tercera Federación team from the Municipality of Carballo.
SD Negreira Spanish Tercera Division team from the Municipality of Negreira.
Autos Lobelle de Santiago FS Spanish División de Honor of Futsal team from the City of Santiago de Compostela. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_Room#Theatrical_run | Panic Room#Theatrical run | Panic Room is a 2002 American thriller film directed by David Fincher. The film stars Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart as a mother and daughter whose new home is invaded by burglars, played by Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, and Dwight Yoakam. The script was written by David Koepp, whose screenplay was inspired by news coverage in 2000 about panic rooms.
The film was Fincher's fifth feature film, following Fight Club (1999). Fincher and Koepp brought together a crew of people with whom each had worked with before. The house and its panic room were built on a Raleigh Studios lot. Nicole Kidman was originally cast as the mother, but she left after aggravating a previous injury. Her departure threatened the completion of the film, but Foster quickly replaced Kidman. The filmmakers used computer-generated imagery to create the illusion of the film camera moving through the house's rooms. Foster became pregnant during the shooting schedule, so filming was suspended until after she gave birth. The film's production cost $48 million.
The film was commercially released in the United States and Canada on March 29, 2002 by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film grossed $30 million on its opening weekend. In the United States and Canada, it grossed $96.4 million. In other territories, it grossed $100.7 million for a worldwide total of $197.1 million. The film was positively reviewed by critics, who commended Fincher's direction and Foster's performance.
== Plot ==
Recently divorced Meg Altman and her eleven-year-old daughter, Sarah, move into a four-story brownstone in New York City's Upper West Side. The house's previous owner, a reclusive millionaire, had installed a "panic room" to protect himself from intruders. The room is reinforced with concrete and steel and features a thick steel door. It also includes an extensive security system with multiple surveillance cameras and a public address system.
On Meg and Sarah's first night in the house, three men break in: Junior, the previous owner's grandson; Burnham, an employee of the home's security company, who built the panic room; and Raoul, a thug brought along to the break in by Junior, without Burnham's knowledge. They intend to steal bearer bonds locked inside a floor safe in the panic room.
When Meg wakes during the night, she sees the men on the security cameras and rushes to the panic room with Sarah. To force them out, the men pump propane gas into the room's air vents. Meg ignites the gas while she and Sarah cover themselves with fireproof blankets; the ignited propane leaves Junior badly burned. Meg taps into the main telephone line and calls her ex-husband, Stephen. As she tries to explain their situation, the intruders cut the line, ending the call.
When all attempts to breach the room fail, Junior gives up on the robbery but lets slip that there is more money in the safe than he initially disclosed. When he tries to leave, Raoul fatally shoots him and forces Burnham to continue with the robbery. Stephen arrives and is immediately taken hostage. Raoul severely beats him, ensuring that Meg sees it on the security camera. Sarah, a diabetic, suffers a seizure as her glucagon syringes are in her bedroom.
Raoul tricks Meg into thinking it is safe to temporarily leave the panic room. When she leaves to retrieve Sarah's medication, the men enter the room with Sarah inside. Meg throws the med kit in just as Burnham closes the door, inadvertently crushing Raoul's hand. She pleads with the men to give Sarah her medication, which Burnham eventually does. Two police officers arrive at the house, following up on Stephen's earlier 911 call and complaints from the neighbors. To protect Sarah, Meg convinces the officers that everything is fine, and they leave. Meanwhile, Burnham opens the safe and finds $22 million in bearer bonds inside.
As the men prepare to leave with Sarah as a hostage, Meg leads them into an ambush, using a sledgehammer to knock Raoul over a banister and into a stairwell. As Burnham flees, the injured Raoul crawls back up and overpowers Meg, preparing to bludgeon her with the sledgehammer. Hearing Sarah's terrified screams, Burnham rushes back and shoots Raoul, killing him. The police, alerted by Meg's earlier odd behavior, return in force and apprehend Burnham.
A few days later, Meg and Sarah search the newspaper for a new, smaller home, having recovered from their ordeal.
== Cast ==
Jodie Foster stars as Meg Altman, a recently divorced woman who, with her daughter Sarah, looks for a new home in New York City. Nicole Kidman was originally cast as Meg, but she left the project due to a knee injury. Foster, who almost joined the cast of Fincher's 1997 film The Game, replaced Kidman. Fincher said Kidman's portrayal was "about glamour and physicality", while Foster's portrayal was "more political". Meg was originally written to be helpless, but with Foster's involvement, the character was revised to be stronger. The casting change also led to Meg's character being rewritten to be similar to her daughter, whereas Meg had been different from her before. Foster became pregnant soon after she started filming. She told the filmmakers, and they decided to keep filming her scenes but with a wardrobe that would conceal her pregnancy. Studio executives did not like the dailies and suspended production until Foster gave birth and returned to perform re-shoots. Foster was reportedly paid $12 million for her role.
Kristen Stewart stars as Sarah, Meg's diabetic daughter. Hayden Panettiere was originally cast as Sarah, but when she left the project toward the end of 2000, Stewart was cast in the role. Panic Room was Stewart's second feature film after The Safety of Objects (2001). When Kidman was cast as Meg, Fincher said Stewart was "to complement [Kidman's portrayal], to be her antithesis, tomboyish, androgynous, dismissive, a teenager at ten years old. It was about the daughter being a parent to her mother." When Foster replaced Kidman, the character Meg was rewritten so she and Sarah would be similar.
Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, and Dwight Yoakam star as the film's burglars, Burnham, Junior, and Raoul, respectively. Whitaker's character Burnham was originally written to be "a slick, technical type" and the designer of the panic room in Meg and Sarah's home. Fincher did not think a designer could be persuaded to break into a home, so he rewrote the character to be a blue-collar worker who installs panic rooms for a living. The director told Whitaker to watch Key Largo (1948) and to emulate Humphrey Bogart's character. Whitaker said he liked Burnham's "conflicted" nature and preferred it to Raoul's villainy. Raoul was originally written to be "a giant scary hulking guy", but Fincher rewrote him to be "this wiry, mean kind of ex-con white trash guy". In one revised instance, Raoul punches Meg instead of slapping her to be reinforced as "an appalling character". The role of Raoul was originally offered to Maynard James Keenan, whom Fincher had directed in a music video for A Perfect Circle's "Judith". Keenan was too busy as the singer for Tool, so Fincher then offered the role to Yoakam, knowing him from his performance in Sling Blade (1996). For the role of Junior, Fincher cast Leto, who was in the cast of Fincher's previous film Fight Club (1999). As part of atypical class division, Junior is "the uptown rich kid", where Burnham is blue-collar, and Raoul is undefinable.
Patrick Bauchau had a minor role as Meg's ex-husband Stephen. Kidman, though she left the primary role due to her knee injury, had an uncredited off-screen role as the voice of Stephen's supermodel girlfriend. Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker, who contributed as writer for several of Fincher's previous films, had a cameo in Panic Room as a sleepy neighbor.
== Crew ==
Panic Room's crew includes:
== Production ==
Panic Room was directed by David Fincher based on a screenplay written by David Koepp. The film, produced at Columbia Pictures, was Fincher's fifth feature film, following Fight Club (1999). Koepp was also a producer for Panic Room, and he was joined by Judy Hofflund and Gavin Polone, with whom he collaborated on Stir of Echoes (1999). Fincher included as producer Ceán Chaffin, with whom he had worked on commercials and music videos. Fincher also included in his initial crew people with whom he had worked before: cinematographer Darius Khondji, production designer Arthur Max, costume designer Michael Kaplan, and editors James Haygood and Angus Wall.
Fincher envisioned Panic Room as a popcorn movie about survival. His previous film Fight Club had 400 scenes and 100 locations, so he wanted to simplify the production of Panic Room. To this end, he wanted to focus production on a single set and to plan the scenes and shots thoroughly before the start of filming. Despite the preparation, he experienced difficulty in production with changes in the cast and the crew as well as the inherent inflexibility of his initial planning.
=== Development ===
Screenwriter David Koepp was inspired by news coverage in 2000 about how safe rooms were becoming prevalent among the wealthy living in urban areas. He sold the script to Sony Pictures for $4 million. Before Fincher's involvement, director Ridley Scott was briefly connected to the project, and actor-director Forest Whitaker studied the script before declining the opportunity to direct. Fincher said he was interested in the script's omniscience and that he was reminded of "the specific subjectivity" of Rear Window (1954). He also saw Panic Room as a cross between Rear Window and Straw Dogs (1971), though he was concerned "a modern audience" would compare Panic Room more to Home Alone (1990) than to Rear Window.
Fincher also saw Panic Room as a crime thriller similar to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), where money is "an object that everyone's after for the wrong reasons". The director was also interested in the story's conciseness of happening in one place and in one night, and how the screenplay was well-laid out to let the director decide a variety of shots and use of set-pieces. Fincher also saw the project as a way to be "in lock-step with the audience" in a change of pace from his previous films.
Koepp's screenplay emphasized pace over exposition. Koepp and Fincher agreed to streamline the film so the opening would introduce the characters as soon as possible. Fincher also sought to lay out the film so audiences could see characters make plans and thus be ahead of them, calling the tense foresight "a very cinematic notion". He wanted to track the different characters' agendas and to also keep scenes chronological, so he set up "computer-generated motion-control shots" to move the camera around the set. He planned scenes in which parallel scenes could be seen through the panic room's video monitors and also intercut between different characters. The final screenplay was similar in outline to the original one; there were minor changes in dialogue and specific moments, especially in the interaction between Meg and Sarah Altman due to Foster replacing Kidman. Explicit mention of Sarah's diabetes, such as the emergency syringe containing glucagon, were removed from the dialogue. Careful beverage intake, refrigerated medicine bottles, and Sarah's glucometer watch were intended as evidence of her diabetes.
=== Pre-production ===
The house was built on a soundstage on a Raleigh Studios lot. The set was designed by production designer Arthur Max, and it cost $6 million to build. The panic room was 6 feet (1.8 m) by 14 feet (4.3 m). Three versions of the room were built so Fincher could film scenes from multiple angles. A 3D computer model of the set on the soundstage was designed. Fincher, who had done pre-visualization for Fight Club, used the model to design shots and decide their sequence. The computer model also enabled the camera to have "total freedom to travel" inside the house. Fincher said, "What we were just trying to do with CG was to say, there's no camera operator, there's no crew, there's no track, and the camera can go everywhere." The crew applied photogrammetry—"mapping still images over the surface of computer-generated 'sets'". The filming schedule was also shortened since camera setups could be evaluated and discarded virtually. Fincher had two-thirds of Panic Room's shots planned before the start of filming. Director Steven Soderbergh reviewed Fincher's test footage and warned him that excessive planning would make actual production difficult for him and his crew.
Fincher sought to light his film less than most other films; he believed darkness contributed to the scare factor. Entering production, he initially planned to film the first half of the film in near-total darkness but decided that it required too much patience from audiences. Instead, he chose a "shadowy ambience" as a backdrop for Meg and Sarah Altman.
=== Casting and filming ===
Casting began in 2000, with Nicole Kidman and Hayden Panettiere cast as Meg and Sarah Altman, the film's mother and daughter. Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, and Dwight Yoakam were also cast as the film's burglars. In December 2000, before the start of filming, Panettiere left the project, and was replaced by Kristen Stewart. Filming began in January 2001. Shortly after the start of filming, cinematographer Darius Khondji was fired from the film. Khondji said he was fired after a conflict with a crew member that he did not want to name, but David Fincher said he and Khondji could not agree "on aspects of production". Much of the film was already planned in pre-production, and Khondji could not be given flexibility. Fincher replaced Khondji with Conrad W. Hall, with whom he found "a balance". Khondji said he supported Hall as his replacement.
After two weeks of filming, at the end of January 2001, Kidman was injured on set. An x-ray revealed a hairline fracture underneath one of her knee joints. The fracture was an injury from Kidman's filming of Moulin Rouge! (2001), and the fracture had never fully healed. When Kidman left the project, Fincher continued filming scenes that did not include her character. During the same time of Kidman's departure, the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild were threatening to strike over contractual disputes, so Fincher was pressured to re-cast the role of Meg Altman before it took place. Since the film was early in production, Fincher was ready to shut down, but the studio wanted to continue production and find a replacement. If the studio had shut down production permanently, it would have collected $3 million from insurance. If production was shut down then restarted, it would cost the studio $10 million, necessitating a quick replacement for Kidman. Rumored actors included Sandra Bullock, Angelina Jolie, and Robin Wright. Jodie Foster was previously occupied with directing duties of Flora Plum before its star Russell Crowe was injured and left the project, leading to that production's shutdown. To join Panic Room, Foster also stepped down as head of the awards jury at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Foster had a week to prepare for her role before filming resumed.
Five weeks after Foster began filming Panic Room, she learned she was pregnant. She informed Fincher and his producer Chaffin of her pregnancy, and they decided to continue filming. Fincher did not want to rush production, so Foster changed her wardrobe from a tank top to a heavy sweater to disguise indications of her pregnancy. For action scenes, stunt double Jill Stokesberry replaced Foster.
In the film's progression, the house degrades in quality, so Fincher filmed scenes in continuity as the set changed. He also filmed many sequences twice due to their near-parallel appearance on the panic room's video monitors. Editor Wall said there were 2,073 set-ups for the film with most set-ups having two cameras. One repeated take was when Raoul attempts to break into the panic room through the plaster ceiling below it. The plaster took 45 minutes to replace, so combined with repeated takes, a scene that was an eighth of a page in the script took two days to film. Another repeated take was one five-second shot being filmed over a hundred times: Meg being attacked by Raoul and dropping Sarah's medical kit. The shot was repeated so it would look like Meg did not toss the kit but instead lost it. Simultaneously, the kit needed to land in frame and in focus for the audience. Fincher argued for repeated takes so he could combine performances by the actors for "fluid" scenes. He also repeated takes with Stewart to ensure that her acting would be comparable to Foster's veteran performance.
The studio planned to release Panic Room in February 2002, but it determined that production could not be completed by then. Executives reviewed dailies of the film's opening scene and did not like Foster "hiding her stomach under a coat and purse". (Foster was also suffering from a sprained hip from distended ligaments due to her pregnancy.) The studio suspended production until after Foster's childbirth and rescheduled for the film to be released in March 2002. Foster gave birth in September 2001, and she returned to perform re-shoots, including the opening scene. She also returned two months later for additional filming, which concluded that November. Columbia Pictures screened the film for test audiences, who rated poorly the ending with the SWAT raid and Burnham's capture. By the screening, the set had been deconstructed due to storage costs, and Fincher estimated that it would cost $3 million to rebuild enough of the set to reshoot the ending. Instead, editors Haygood and Wall revisited Burnham's scenes and chose takes in which the character would appear less sympathetic. The final production budget for Panic Room was $48 million.
=== Visual and practical effects ===
A seamless shot at the beginning of Panic Room took nine days to film on set but took several months to complete in post-production. The shot was a combination of camera footage and computer-generated effects. Koepp originally wrote the opening scene to be a series of shots that would zero in on the brownstone house, but Fincher instead chose a sequence of landmarks in New York City with credits hovering in front of them before the sequence transited seamlessly to introduce the film's main characters. The opening titles were inspired by those seen in The Trouble with Harry (1955) and North by Northwest (1959). The scene of Burnham's arrest also used computer-generated effects. Several scenes also involved practical effects: Junior's injuries from a flaming gas burn and Stephen Altman's bloodied, beaten self. A team of puppeteers was used to move Stephen's sticking-out collarbone. Fincher also sent the film reel to be digitally color-corrected as he had done for Fight Club and Seven.
=== Music ===
The soundtrack was composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Howard Shore and performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony.
== Theatrical run ==
Columbia Pictures marketed Panic Room as being produced by the same director who produced Seven and Fight Club. Fincher disagreed with the approach because he believed that Panic Room did not match the tone of his previous two films and that it would not appeal to the same audiences. He believed Panic Room would appeal more to audiences who saw Kiss the Girls (1997) and The Bone Collector (1999). He also disagreed with the studio's marketing materials for Panic Room, which advertised it as "the most terrifying movie ever made". Fincher also argued with the studio about the poster design, which he believed reflected the film's themes, and the studio relented in publishing Fincher's poster.
Panic Room had its world premiere on March 18, 2002 in Los Angeles. Fincher refused to edit the film to receive a PG-13 rating (parental guidance for children under 13) from the Motion Picture Association of America, so the MPAA gave the film an R rating (restricted to filmgoers at least 17 years old) for violence and language. It was commercially released in the United States and Canada on March 29, 2002. It was screened in 3,053 theaters and grossed $30 million on its opening weekend. It ranked first at the box office, and for both actor Jodie Foster and director David Fincher, the opening weekend gross was a personal best to date. It surpassed The Matrix (1999) to have the biggest Easter holiday-weekend opening and also had the third biggest opening to date for a non-supernatural thriller film, following Hannibal (2001) and Ransom (1996). Audiences polled by CinemaScore, during the opening-weekend, gave Panic Room a "B" grade on an A+ to F scale. The audience demographic was 53% female and 47% male, and 62% of audience members were aged 25 years and older.
In the film's second weekend (April 5–7) in the United States and Canada, it ranked first again with $18.2 million, competing mainly with the new release High Crimes. The film went on to gross $96.4 million at the US and Canadian box office and $100 million in other territories' box offices for a worldwide total of $196.4 million. (In 2006, the film had a re-release in Hong Kong that grossed $682 thousand, increasing the total to $197.1 million.) The film was Fincher's second highest-grossing to date after Se7en, which grossed $327.3 million worldwide. In the United States and Canada, Panic Room ranks fifth among David Fincher's films in box office gross. Adjusted for inflation, Panic Room ranks third. Worldwide, unadjusted for inflation, it ranks fifth.
== Critical reception ==
Critics called Panic Room "a high-tension narrative". They compared the film to the works of Alfred Hitchcock, both positively and negatively. Several critics thought the film was too mainstream after Fincher's Fight Club. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, classifying reviews as positive or negative, reported 146 reviews as positive and 45 as negative for a score of 76%. Of the subset of reviews that had scores, the average rating was 6.9/10. Rotten Tomatoes summarized the critics' consensus, "Elevated by David Fincher's directorial talent and Jodie Foster's performance, Panic Room is a well-crafted, above-average thriller." Of 36 reviews, Metacritic categorized 23 as positive, 13 as mixed, and 0 as negative, and it gave weighted average score of 65 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal said, "Seven was stylishly gloomy, and Fight Club was smarmily pretentious, while Panic Room has been admirably stripped down to atmosphere as a function of architecture, and action as a consequence of character." Morgenstern commended the characters Meg and Sarah as feminist heroines and also called the home invaders "intriguing". He also applauded Foster's performance and the film's cinematography, and he said to Koepp's script as "all worked out too". Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, describing Panic Room as close to "the ideal of a thriller existing entirely in a world of physical and psychological plausibility." Ebert wrote, "There are moments when I want to shout advice at the screen, but just as often the characters are ahead of me." Ebert also called Fincher "a visual virtuoso", and applauded Foster's performance as "spellbinding".
== Home media ==
Panic Room was first released on VHS and DVD on September 17, 2002 by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. The studio produced VHS copies for rental only, believing that owners of DVD players were more likely to buy the film. The studio used the design from the theatrical release poster for the video cover, where Fincher had wanted a black cover that would differ from the poster. Though previsualization supervisor Ron Frankel wanted to include materials to show storyboard animation, the DVD was released as a single-disc edition with no audio commentary or other features. Fincher also chose not to include on the DVD scenes filmed with Nicole Kidman before she was replaced by Jodie Foster. In its first week, the film ranked second in DVD sales after Monsters, Inc., though it ranked first in DVD rentals. In March 2004, the studio released a special edition DVD, which consisted of three discs, two which provided featurettes of the pre-production, production, and post-production processes for the film. The DVD also had several commentary tracks, including one by the director. Author John T. Caldwell cites the special edition DVD of Panic Room as an example of demonstrating directorial control to "aesthetically elevate" the film.
Columbia Pictures sold the television rights for Panic Room to Turner Broadcasting and CBS, who shared the rights over five years. In September 2004, Turner aired the film on channels TBS and TNT for 12 months, and afterward, CBS aired the film three times in an 18-month span. Turner resumed airing Panic Room for 30 months after CBS's turn.
In 2014, The A.V. Club listed Panic Room as one of 15 films which (at the time) notably lacked a Blu-ray release. A decade later, Fincher would go on to supervise a 4K remaster of the film, which Sony would ultimately release on Ultra HD Blu-ray on February 18, 2025, in a special Steelbook edition also containing a standard Blu-ray disc and including the special features originally produced for DVD, marking its official debut on both formats.
== Accolades ==
Howard Shore won from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers an ASCAP Award in the Top Box Office Film music category for his scores for Panic Room and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The Art Directors Guild nominated Panic Room for the Excellence in Production Design for a Contemporary Film Award. The Online Film Critics Society Award nominated Panic Room for Best Editing. Panic Room won an award at the 3rd Golden Trailer Awards for having the Best Horror/Thriller film trailer, beating fellow nominees Signs, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Jurassic Park III, and No Such Thing. For her performance in the film, Jodie Foster was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress.
== Critical perspectives and themes ==
=== Social commentary and cultural relevance ===
Bianca Nielsen's analysis of Panic Room situates the film within the broader cultural and political anxieties surrounding personal and national security, particularly in the post-9/11 context. According to Nielsen, the film critiques the burgeoning "culture of fear" fostered by media and the security industry, which commodify panic as a means of social control. The titular panic room, ostensibly a haven against the dangers of home invasion, instead becomes a site of vulnerability, reflecting misplaced faith in security technologies. This contradiction underscores the limitations of consumerist solutions to threats, even as the film ultimately relies on the intervention of institutional forces, such as the police, to resolve its narrative.
Nielsen draws parallels between the film's depiction of a dystopian urban space and director David Fincher's broader oeuvre, including Fight Club and Seven. These works collectively explore themes of social and institutional decay. Panic Room critiques the commodification of fear and examines the intersections of gender, power, and security, especially through the character of Meg Altman (Jodie Foster). Foster's performance is seen as pivotal, blending her established on-screen persona of resilience and defiance with the film's commentary on societal reliance on patriarchal institutions. While the film questions the efficacy of both personal and systemic defenses, it reaffirms institutional authority, thereby reflecting the ambivalent politics of the era.
=== Feminism and the conspiracy thriller genre ===
In their analysis of Panic Room, Jyotsna Kapur contextualizes the film within a broader trend of conspiracy thrillers that explore themes of domestic vulnerability and parental anxiety. Kapur identifies the film's narrative as emblematic of a shift in contemporary American cinema, where the domestic sphere, traditionally viewed as a space of safety, becomes a site of intrusion and threat. She argues that Jodie Foster's character embodies a gendered portrayal of paranoia, marked by vulnerability and the blurring of rationality, reflecting societal anxieties about motherhood and the fragility of home life. The panic room itself, a technological safeguard against invasion, becomes a paradoxical symbol of both protection and entrapment, highlighting the protagonist's isolation and the broader insecurities of the neoliberal era.
Kapur further contrasts Panic Room with earlier cinematic portrayals of women's paranoia, noting how the film adapts tropes from Gothic literature and 1940s "women's films" to reflect contemporary fears. While the protagonist demonstrates resourcefulness and agency in confronting external threats, her portrayal simultaneously underscores traditional gendered associations with emotional instability and domestic responsibility. According to Kapur, the film's emphasis on surveillance, technological dependency, and invasive danger encapsulates a pervasive cultural unease tied to the privatization of risk and the erosion of collective social safety nets.
=== Tomboy identity and feminist resistance ===
In Panic Room, the mother-daughter relationship between Meg and Sarah Altman is a focal point for exploring feminist and gender-related themes, as Lynne Stahl observes in The Velvet Light Trap. The film subverts the typical cinematic trope of "tomboy taming", where tomboyish traits are abandoned in adolescence in favor of conventional femininity. Instead, Meg, portrayed by Jodie Foster, and her daughter Sarah, played by Kristen Stewart, exhibit a resistant gender nonconformity that persists throughout the narrative. Stahl argues that this dynamic, paired with Foster's legacy of portraying gender-defiant roles, redefines motherhood as a site of feminist resistance, challenging traditional maternal norms through a "queer feminist reproductivity". This relationship mirrors and strengthens Foster's star image, which has often aligned with themes of female autonomy and critique of heteronormativity.
Stahl further situates the home invasion scenario as a metaphor for patriarchal intrusion, with the panic room representing a space of autonomy reclaimed through tomboyish resilience. The narrative constructs Meg's transformation from a seemingly fragile mother into a decisive protector as one driven by her reconnection to a tomboyish past, inspired by Sarah's embodiment of defiant femininity. Through its metatextual engagement with Foster's career and its narrative elements, Panic Room challenges dominant cinematic conventions. The film resists the commodification of female vulnerability, opting instead to portray survival as an act of agency, reframing the interplay of gender and power in the thriller genre.
=== Surveillance and its duality ===
Dietmar Kammerer, in their analysis within Surveillance & Society, explores the portrayal of surveillance in Panic Room as emblematic of the broader cultural ambivalence toward surveillance technologies. Unlike other contemporary films that integrate surveillance aesthetics into their narrative framework, Panic Room depicts surveillance both as a tool of protection and a mechanism of entrapment. The film's titular room, equipped with a sophisticated CCTV system, initially symbolizes safety for the protagonist, Meg Altman, and her daughter. However, this secure space paradoxically becomes a prison, mirroring the contradiction inherent in surveillance as both enabling and constraining.
Kammerer highlights the film's unique cinematography, which eschews direct integration of CCTV imagery in favor of a "divine" omniscient camera. This approach allows the narrative to critique the panoptic nature of surveillance systems while maintaining the suspense of a closed environment. Ultimately, Meg's destruction of the surveillance cameras with a sledgehammer underscores the ambivalence of such technologies, aligning with David Lyon's framework of surveillance as having "two faces"—simultaneously protective and oppressive.
=== Diabetes as narrative and metaphor ===
In Panic Room, diabetes serves as a pivotal narrative device, reflecting broader themes of control and vulnerability. Kevin L. Ferguson, in their analysis published in the Journal of Medical Humanities, observes that the depiction of preteen Sarah Altman's (Kristen Stewart) diabetes is central to the film's dramatic tension. Her condition is revealed through subtle visual cues, such as her bedside refrigerator stocked with insulin and orange juice, as well as her sleek digital glucometer watch, which continuously displays her blood sugar levels. This watch becomes a visual countdown, heightening the stakes as her blood sugar dangerously drops during the siege of the panic room.
Ferguson notes that Panic Room employs Sarah's diabetes to explore the broader cinematic trope of "discipline and surveillance". The film's intricate exploration of technological surveillance, epitomized by the panic room's closed-circuit monitors, parallels Sarah's self-monitoring through her glucometer. This intertwining of technological transparency with Sarah's health condition not only underscores her vulnerability but also implicates viewers in the act of surveillance. Ferguson argues that this alignment positions diabetic self-care as a site of both personal discipline and external oversight, reflecting societal anxieties about control and dependence on technology.
Panic Room thus uses Sarah's diabetes not merely as a plot mechanism but as a metaphorical lens, examining the intersections of health, technology, and human fragility. Through its meticulous depiction of diabetic care and its integration into the narrative's central conflict, the film contributes to what Ferguson terms the "cinema of control", where illness becomes a tool for exploring themes of dependency and resilience.
=== Race, real estate, and systemic critique ===
Carol Siegel's analysis in Quarterly Review of Film and Video examines Panic Room through the dual lenses of race and real estate, exploring how the film metaphorically critiques systemic inequalities in American society. Siegel argues that the film uses the titular panic room and the broader architectural mise-en-scène to symbolize the intersections of race and property ownership. The panic room, designed by Burnham, an African American character, becomes both a literal and metaphorical fortress for its white inhabitants, highlighting the racialized boundaries that define access to safety and privilege. Meanwhile, the invaders represent those excluded from these privileges, with their race and economic struggles juxtaposed against the wealth and isolation of the film's protagonists.
The narrative explores how property and architecture reflect social hierarchies, positioning homeownership as a site of identity, security, and status. Siegel identifies the film's central tension as a critique of homeownership's mythos, presenting the house not as a sanctuary but as a site of entrapment and conflict. The analysis also underscores the racial implications of property ownership, as characters of color are either excluded from or sacrificed to maintain the sanctity of white domestic spaces. By intertwining race and real estate, Panic Room offers a symbolic critique of the economic and racial values underpinning American identity, emphasizing the exclusionary and hierarchical nature of the American dream.
=== Ecocriticism and Anthropocene anxiety ===
River Ramuglia, in Resilience: A Journal of the Environmental Humanities, explores the film through an ecocritical lens, interpreting it as a commentary on environmental consciousness intertwined with national security anxieties post-9/11. While Panic Room superficially aligns with domestic narratives of post-9/11 sociopolitical concerns, Ramuglia situates the film within broader ecological themes, particularly Robert Marzec's concept of "natural security". This framework expands traditional national security to encompass fears tied to climate change and resource scarcity. The panic room, with its fortified and surveillant design, serves as a microcosm of ecological and national insecurities, mirroring both the protagonists' urban privilege and their dependency on fragile environmental systems. By invoking Timothy Clark's notion of "Anthropocene disorder", Ramuglia suggests the film exposes the dissonance between human-scale domesticity and global ecological crises.
The film's use of cinematic techniques and visual metaphors reinforces this dual commentary. Scenes depicting the panic room's surveillance system juxtaposed with the broader mansion highlight human reliance on mediated perceptions of space, akin to the Anthropocene's cognitive challenges of comprehending planetary scales. Furthermore, the protagonists' journey—from the isolated, hermetically sealed panic room to the public spaces of New York City—mirrors the oscillation between private and public ecologies. According to Ramuglia, this trajectory critiques Western domestic security's complicity in exacerbating ecological instability. The film's allegorical layering extends beyond the domestic sphere to address systemic inequalities, urban ecological dependencies, and the persistent illusions of self-sufficiency in a destabilized world.
=== Domestic space, security, and fragility ===
Peter King, in their article in Housing, Theory and Society, examines Panic Room as a lens to critique Gaston Bachelard's idealized concept of home as a space of privacy, security, and intimacy. King argues that David Fincher's film disrupts this benign vision by presenting the home as a site of anxiety and potential violation. The titular panic room, a fortified sanctuary within the house, is both a symbol of ultimate security and an emblem of isolation and helplessness, highlighting the paradoxes inherent in the pursuit of absolute safety. King situates the film within broader discussions of domesticity, contending that its portrayal of invasion and defense underscores the fragility of the dwelling's role in fostering ontological security.
King further situates Panic Room within the context of housing research, emphasizing how Fincher's treatment of space and technology critiques the limitations of Bachelard's optimistic framework. King's analysis juxtaposes the panic room's physical impenetrability with the psychological and emotional vulnerabilities it exposes. By framing the narrative as a battle for control over domestic space, the film reflects broader tensions in housing phenomena, where security measures can paradoxically generate new anxieties. King's work underscores the potential of film as a medium for interrogating the complexities of housing and its sociocultural implications.
=== Mortality, security, and existential dread ===
In Panic Room, the portrayal of the titular safe room draws thematic parallels to Edgar Allan Poe's exploration of premature burial, as analyzed by John Kitterman. The film echoes the gothic tradition of Poe's tales, such as "The Premature Burial" and "The Fall of the House of Usher", by framing its narrative around the paradoxical entrapment of safety and fear. Kitterman observes that the film's protagonist, Meg Altman, symbolizes an unconscious desire to confront mortality, a notion mirrored in Poe's characters who unwittingly court their fears by seeking refuge. This dynamic underscores a broader cultural reflection on the illusion of security and the human impulse to face existential dread, even as they attempt to evade it.
Kitterman also connects the narrative to post-9/11 anxieties, drawing on the increased prominence of surveillance and the "bunker mentality" pervasive in early 21st-century America. The panic room itself becomes a metaphor for both physical and psychological entombment, revealing vulnerabilities rather than mitigating them. The film critiques the effectiveness of technological safeguards in a world fraught with uncertainties, much as Poe's stories question the limits of human control over mortality. Kitterman argues that Panic Room fails to provide true catharsis for these fears, offering instead a veneer of resolution that conceals deeper existential ambiguities.
== Remake ==
In December 2024, Sony Pictures began development of a Brazilian remake with Ísis Valverde attached to the lead role. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulona_grisea | Mulona grisea | Mulona grisea is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae first described by George Hampson in 1900. It is found on Jamaica. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Note | Death Note | Death Note is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2003 to May 2006, with its chapters collected in 12 tankōbon volumes. The story follows Light Yagami, a genius high school student who discovers a mysterious notebook, the Death Note, which belonged to the shinigami Ryuk and kills anyone whose name is written in its pages. The series centers on Light's use of the Death Note to carry out a worldwide massacre of individuals he deems immoral to create a crime-free society, using the alias of a god-like vigilante named Kira, and the efforts of an elite Japanese police task force, led by the detective L, to apprehend him.
A 37-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by Madhouse and directed by Tetsurō Araki, was broadcast on Nippon Television from October 2006 to June 2007. A light novel based on the series, written by Nisio Isin, was released in 2006. Various Death Note video games have been published by Konami for the Nintendo DS. The series was adapted into three live-action films released in Japan in June, November 2006, and February 2008, and a television drama in 2015. The miniseries Death Note: New Generation and a fourth film were released in 2016. An American film adaptation was released exclusively on Netflix in August 2017, and a series is reportedly in the works. Two one-shot manga sequels, C-Kira and a-Kira, were published in 2008 and 2020; they were later collected in a single volume, Death Note: Short Stories, alongside other standalone stories, in 2021. An online social deduction game, Death Note: Killer Within, was released by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Windows via Steam in 2024.
Death Note media, except for video games and soundtracks, is licensed and released in North America by Viz Media. The anime series was first made available in North America as downloadable from IGN before Viz Media licensed it. The series aired on YTV's Bionix programming block in Canada and on Adult Swim in the United States, with a DVD release following shortly after. The live-action films briefly showed in certain North American theaters in 2008 before receiving home video releases. By April 2015, the Death Note manga had over 30 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series.
== Plot ==
In Tokyo, brilliant yet disaffected high school student Light Yagami finds the "Death Note", a mysterious black notebook with rules that can end anyone's life in seconds if their name is written in it, as long as the writer knows both the target's true name and face. Light uses the notebook to kill high-profile criminals and is visited by Ryuk, a shinigami and the Death Note's original owner. Ryuk, invisible to anyone who has not touched the notebook, reveals that he dropped the notebook into the human world out of boredom and is amused by Light's actions.
Global media suggest that a single mastermind is responsible for the mysterious murders and name them "Kira" (キラ; the Japanese transliteration of the word "killer"). Interpol requests the assistance of the enigmatic detective L to assist in their investigation. L tricks Light into revealing that he is in the Kanto region of Japan by manipulating him to kill a decoy. Light vows to kill L, whom he views as obstructing his plans. L deduces that Kira has inside knowledge of the Japanese police investigation, led by Light's father, Soichiro Yagami. L assigns a team of FBI agents to monitor the families of those connected with the investigation and designates Light as the prime suspect. Light graduates from high school to college. L recruits Light into the Kira Task Force.
Actress-model Misa Amane obtains a second Death Note from a shinigami named Rem and makes a deal for shinigami eyes, which reveal the names of anyone whose face she sees, at the cost of half her remaining lifespan. Deeply admiring Kira and seeking him to become her boyfriend, Misa uncovers Kira's identity as Light. Light uses her love for him to his advantage, intending to use Misa's shinigami eyes to discern L's true name. L deduces that Misa is likely the second Kira and detains her. Rem threatens to kill Light if he does not find a way to save Misa. Light arranges a scheme in which he and Misa temporarily lose their memories of the Death Note, and has Rem pass the Death Note to Kyosuke Higuchi of the Yotsuba Group.
With memories of the Death Note erased, Light joins the investigation and, together with L, deduces Higuchi's identity and arrests him. Light regains his memories and uses the Death Note to kill Higuchi, regaining possession of the book. After restoring Misa's memories, Light instructs her to begin killing as Kira, causing L to cast suspicion on Misa. Rem realizes Light's plan to have Misa sacrifice herself to kill L. After Rem kills L, she disintegrates and Light obtains her Death Note. The task force agrees to have Light operate as the new L. The investigation stalls but crime rates continue to drop.
Four years later, cults worshiping Kira have risen. L's potential successors are introduced: Near and Mello. Mello joins the mafia whilst Near joins forces with the US government. Mello kidnaps Director Takimura, who is killed by Light. Mello kidnaps Light's sister and exchanges her for the Death Note, using it to kill almost all of Near's team. A Shinigami named Sidoh goes to Earth to reclaim his notebook and ends up meeting and helping Mello. Light uses the notebook to find Mello's hideout, but Soichiro is killed in the mission. Mello and Near exchange information and Mello kidnaps Mogi and gives him to Near. Kira's supporters attack Near's group, but they escape. Shuichi Aizawa, one of the task force members, becomes suspicious of Light and meets with Near. As suspicion falls again on Misa, Light passes Misa's Death Note to Teru Mikami, a fervent Kira supporter, and appoints newscaster Kiyomi Takada as Kira's public spokesperson. Near has Mikami followed whilst Aizawa's suspicions are confirmed. Realizing that Takada is connected to Kira, Mello kidnaps her. Takada kills Mello but is then killed by Light. Near arranges a meeting between Light and the current Kira Task Force members. Light tries to have Mikami kill Near as well as all the task force members, but Mikami's Death Note fails to work, having been replaced with a decoy. Near proves Light is Kira discovering Mikami had not written down Light's name. Light is severely wounded in a scuffle and begs Ryuk to write the names of everyone present. Ryuk instead writes down Light's name in his Death Note, as he had promised to do the day they met, and Light dies.
One year later, the world has returned to normal and the task force members are conflicted over whether they made the right decision. Meanwhile, cults continue to worship Kira.
=== C-Kira (one-shot sequel) ===
Three years later, Near, now functioning as the new L, receives word that a new Kira has appeared. Hearing that the new Kira is randomly killing people, Near concludes that the new Kira is an attention-seeker and denounces the new Kira as "boring" and not worth catching. A shinigami named Midora approaches Ryuk and gives him an apple from the human realm, in a bet to see if a random human could become the new Kira, but Midora loses the bet when the human writes his own name in the Death Note after hearing Near's announcement. Ryuk tells Midora that no human would ever surpass Light as the new Kira.
=== a-Kira (one-shot sequel) ===
Another ten years later, Ryuk returns to Earth and gives the Death Note to Minoru Tanaka, the top-scoring student in Japan, hoping that he will follow in Light Yagami's footsteps. On explaining the rules to Minoru, Ryuk is surprised when he returns the notebook and tells him to return it and his memory of their encounter to him in two years' time. Two years later, on receiving the notebook back from Ryuk, Minoru reveals he has no plans to use it himself but rather he plans to auction it off to the governments of the world, with Ryuk's help sending his offer out as "a-Kira", having waited two years until he was old enough to have a bank account to allow his plan to work. Elsewhere, Near (as L) is revealed to be developing technology meant to track Shinigami, although it is not yet advanced enough to be useful. After selling the Death Note to U.S. president Donald Trump for a sum that would ensure every Japanese citizen under the age of 60 would be financially set for life, Minoru relinquishes his ownership and memory of his plan to Ryuk, assuring his own anonymity, while Trump is left unable to use the Death Note after the King of Death creates a new rule disallowing the Death Note to be sold, and he secretly returns it to Ryuk. Minoru collapses to the ground in the bank after withdrawing his savings. It is revealed that Ryuk wrote his name in the Death Note next to Light's. He longs for a human who will use the notebook for a longer period of time.
== Production ==
=== Development ===
The Death Note concept derived from a rather general idea involving shinigami and "specific rules". Author Tsugumi Ohba felt that they would not be able to create a conventional fight-style manga for Weekly Shōnen Jump, so they preferred to develop a suspense-type conflict manga instead. After the publication of the pilot chapter, the series was not expected to receive approval for serialization. Eventually, upon learning that Death Note had received approval and that Takeshi Obata would illustrate the artwork, Ohba said they "couldn't even believe it". Due to positive reactions, Death Note became a serialized manga series.
"Thumbnails" incorporating dialogue, panel layout and basic drawings were created, reviewed by an editor and sent to Obata, and with the script finalized and the panel layout "mostly done". Obata then determined the expressions and "camera angles" and created the final artwork. Ohba concentrated on the tempo and the amount of dialogue, making the text as concise as possible. Ohba commented that "reading too much exposition" would be tiring and would negatively affect the atmosphere and "air of suspense". Obata had significant artistic license to interpret basic descriptions, such as "abandoned building", as well as the design of the Death Notes themselves. When Ohba was deciding on the plot, they visualized the panels while relaxing on their bed, drinking tea, or walking around their house. Often the original draft was too long and needed to be refined to finalize the desired "tempo" and "flow". The writer remarked on their preference for reading the previous "two or four" chapters carefully to ensure consistency in the story.
The typical weekly production schedule consisted of five days of creating and thinking and one day using a pencil to insert dialogue into rough drafts; after this point, the writer faxed any initial drafts to the editor. The illustrator's weekly production schedule involved one day with the thumbnails, layout, and pencils and one day for additional penciling and inking. Obata's assistants usually worked for four days and Obata spent one day to finish the artwork. Obata said that when he took a few extra days to color the pages, it "messed with the schedule". In contrast, the writer took three or four days to create a chapter on some occasions, while on others they took a month. Obata said that his schedule remained consistent except when he had to create color pages.
Ohba and Obata rarely met in person during the serialization of the manga; instead, the two met with and communicated through their editor. The first time they met in person was at an editorial party in January 2004. Obata said that, despite the intrigue, he did not ask his editor about Ohba's plot developments as he anticipated the new thumbnails every week. The two did not discuss the final chapters with one another and continued talking only with their editor. Ohba said that when they asked the editor if Obata had "said anything" about the story and plot, the editor responded: "No, nothing".
Ohba claims that the series ended more or less in the manner that they intended for it to end; they considered the idea of L defeating Light and the latter dying, but instead chose to use the "Yellow Box Warehouse" ending. According to Ohba, the details had been set "from the beginning". The writer wanted an ongoing plot line instead of an episodic series because Death Note was serialized and its focus was intended to be on a cast with a series of events triggered by the Death Note. 13: How to Read states that the humorous aspects of Death Note originated from Ohba's "enjoyment of humorous stories".
When Ohba was asked, during an interview, whether the series was meant to be about enjoying the plot twists and psychological warfare, Ohba responded by saying that this concept was the reason why they were "very happy" to have the story in Weekly Shōnen Jump.
=== Concepts ===
==== The Death Notes ====
The core plot device of the story is the "Death Note" itself, a black notebook with instructions written on the inside. When used correctly, it allows anyone, anywhere, to instantly commit a murder, provided they know the victim's name and face. According to the director of the live-action films, Shusuke Kaneko, "The idea of spirits living in words is an ancient Japanese concept... in a way, it's a very Japanese story".
Artist Takeshi Obata originally thought of the books as "something you would automatically think was a Death Note". Deciding that this design would be cumbersome, he instead opted for a more accessible college notebook. Death Notes were originally conceived as changing based on time and location, resembling scrolls in ancient Japan, or the Old Testament in medieval Europe. However, this idea was never used.
==== Themes ====
Ohba had no particular themes in mind for Death Note. When pushed, they suggested: "Humans will all eventually die, so let's give it our all while we're alive". In a 2012 paper, author Jolyon Baraka Thomas characterised Death Note as a psychological thriller released in the wake of the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, saying that it examines the human tendency to express itself through "horrific" cults.
=== Pilot chapter ===
The Death Note process began when Ohba brought thumbnails for two concept ideas to Shueisha; Ohba said that the Death Note pilot, one of the concepts, was "received well" by editors and attained positive reactions from readers. Ohba described keeping the story of the pilot to one chapter as "very difficult", declaring that it took over a month to begin writing the chapter. He added that the story had to revive the killed characters with the Death Eraser and that he "didn't really care" for that plot device.
Obata said that he wanted to draw the story after he heard of a "horror story featuring shinigami". According to Obata, when he first received the rough draft created by Ohba, he "didn't really get it" at first, and he wanted to work on the project due to the presence of shinigami and because the work "was dark". He also said he wondered about the progression of the plot as he read the thumbnails, and if Jump readers would enjoy reading the comic. Obata said that while there is little action and the main character "doesn't really drive the plot", he enjoyed the atmosphere of the story. He stated that he drew the pilot chapter so that it would appeal to himself.
Ohba brought the rough draft of the pilot chapter to the editorial department. Obata eventually joined forces with Ohba create the artwork. They did not meet in person while creating the pilot chapter. Ohba said that their editor told him he did not need to meet with Obata to discuss the pilot; Ohba said "I think it worked out all right".
=== Anime adaptation ===
Tetsurō Araki, the director of the Death Note anime adaptation, said that he wished to convey aspects that "made the series interesting" instead of simply "focusing on morals or the concept of justice". Toshiki Inoue, the series writer, agreed with Araki and added that, in anime adaptations, there is a lot of importance in highlighting the aspects that are "interesting in the original". He concluded that Light's presence was "the most compelling" aspect; therefore the adaptation chronicles Light's "thoughts and actions as much as possible". Inoue noted that to best incorporate the manga's plot into the anime, he "tweak[ed] the chronology a bit" and incorporated flashbacks that appear after the openings of the episodes; he said this revealed the desired tensions. Araki said that, because in an anime the viewer cannot "turn back pages" in the manner that a manga reader can, the anime staff ensured that the show clarified details. Inoue added that the staff did not want to get involved with every single detail, so the staff selected elements to emphasize. Due to the complexity of the original manga, he described the process as "definitely delicate and a great challenge". Inoue admitted that he placed more instructions and notes in the script than usual. Araki added that because of the importance of otherwise trivial details, this commentary became crucial to the development of the series.
Araki said that when he discovered the Death Note anime project, he "literally begged" to join the production team; when he did join, he insisted that Inoue should write the scripts. Inoue added that, because he enjoyed reading the manga, he wished to use his effort.
== Media ==
=== Manga ===
Death Note, written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 1, 2003, to May 15, 2006. The series' 108 chapters were collected into twelve tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, released from April 2, 2004, to July 4, 2006. A one-shot chapter, titled "C-Kira" (Cキラ編, C-Kira-hen) ("Death Note: Special One-Shot"), was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on February 9, 2008. Set two years after the manga's epilogue, it sees the introduction of a new Kira and the reactions of the main characters in response to the copycat's appearance. Several Death Note yonkoma (four-panel comics) appeared in Akamaru Jump. The yonkoma was written to be humorous. The Akamaru Jump issues that printed the comics include 2004 Spring, 2004 Summer, 2005 Winter, and 2005 Spring. In addition Weekly Shōnen Jump Gag Special 2005 included some Death Note yonkoma in a Jump Heroes Super 4-Panel Competition. Shueisha re-released the series in seven bunkoban volumes from March 18 to August 19, 2014. On October 4, 2016, all 12 original manga volumes and the February 2008 one-shot were released in a single All-in-One Edition, consisting of 2,400 pages in a single book.
In April 2005, Viz Media announced that they had licensed the series for English release in North America. The twelve volumes were released from October 10, 2005, to July 3, 2007. The manga was re-released in a six-volume omnibus edition, dubbed "Black Edition". The volumes were released from December 28, 2010, to November 1, 2011. The All-in-One Edition was released in English on September 6, 2017, resulting in the February 2008 one-shot being released in English for the first time.
In addition, a guidebook for the manga was also released on October 13, 2006. It was named Death Note 13: How to Read and contained information relating to the series, including character profiles of almost every character that is named, creator interviews, behind the scenes info for the series and the pilot chapter that preceded Death Note. It also reprinted all of the yonkoma published in Akamaru Jump and the Weekly Shōnen Jump Gag Special 2005. In North America, 13: How to Read was released on February 19, 2008.
In the June 2019 issue of Shueisha's Jump Square, it was announced that a new one-shot chapter of Death Note would be published. Part of the complete manuscript debuted at the "30th Work Anniversary Takeshi Obata Exhibition: Never Complete" event which ran in Tokyo from July 13 to August 12, 2019. Titled "Death Note: Special One-Shot", the entire 87-page chapter was published in Jump Square on February 4, 2020, and on Viz Media's website. A collected volume titled Death Note: Short Stories (DEATH NOTE短編集, Desu Nōto Tanpenshū), which includes the "C-Kira" one-shot chapter, the "Special One-Shot" (re-titled "a-Kira" (aキラ編, a-Kira-hen), the series' pilot chapter, the "L: The Wammy's House" and "L: One Day" one-shot chapters and the yonkoma, was released on February 4, 2021. The volume was published in English by Viz Media on May 10, 2022.
=== Light novels ===
A light novel adaptation of the series has been written by Nisio Isin, called Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases. The novel was released by Shueisha on August 1, 2006. It serves as a prequel to the manga series, with Mello narrating the story of L's first encounter with Naomi Misora during the Los Angeles "BB Serial Murder Case" mentioned in volume 2 of the manga. Besides Naomi's character, the novel focuses on how L works and one of the criminals L has to chase down. Insight was given into Watari's orphanage and how the whole system of geniuses such as L, Mello, Beyond Birthday, Matt and Near were put to work. Viz released the novel in English on February 19, 2008. The film L: Change the World was also adapted into a light novel with the same name on December 25, 2007, by "M", While the novel is similar to the film, there are many significant changes to the plot (for example, Near is not a Thai boy, but the same Near that appears in the manga). It also reveals more information about L and his past. Viz released it on October 20, 2009.
=== Anime ===
The Death Note anime, directed by Tetsurō Araki and animated by Madhouse, premiered on Nippon TV on October 4, 2006, and finished its run on June 27, 2007, totaling 37 episodes. The series aired on the network "every Tuesday at 0:56", which is effectively Wednesday. The series was co-produced by Madhouse, Nippon Television, Shueisha, D.N. Dream Partners and VAP. In North America, the series was licensed by Viz for American viewers to use "Download-to-Own" and "Download-to-Rent" services while it was still airing in Japan. This release was seen as "significant because it marked the first time a well known Japanese anime property was made legally available in the
United States for domestic audiences to download while the title was still airing on Japanese television". The downloadable episodes contained the original Japanese audio and English subtitles, and were made available through IGN's Windows-only Direct2Drive service. DVDs of the series have also been released, containing both an English dubbed audio track, produced by Ocean Productions, and the original Japanese audio track with optional English subtitles. Viz announced at Anime Expo 2007 that the first DVD would be officially released on November 20, 2007, in both regular and special editions, and also confirmed at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2007 that the first 15,000 copies of each DVD would contain collectible figures.
Death Note was slated to make its North American television premiere in Canada, as part of YTV's Bionix programming block, on September 7, 2007. However, the show was removed from the schedule at the last minute and the Canadian premiere was pushed back to October 26, 2007, at 10:00 p.m. The series premiered in the U.S. on October 20, 2007, at 12:00 a.m. on Adult Swim and ran until January 10, 2010, when its contract expired. The last episode aired on YTV on July 4, 2008, and would later air on Adult Swim two days later. The show was removed from YTV's schedule on July 5, 2008, with its last airing being a rerun of the final episode at 1:30 a.m. ET. Soon after, Bionix became a 2-hour block on Saturday nights. The show also streamed online for free on Adult Swim Video, with a new episode available every Saturday afternoon, on the day of its broadcast premiere. On July 26, 2017, Starz announced that they would be offering episodes of the series for their video on demand service starting on August 1 of that same year.
A two-hour animated Death Note Relight: Visions of a God (DEATH NOTE リライト·幻視する神, Desu Nōto Riraito: Genshisuru kami) TV special aired on Nippon Television in Japan on August 31, 2007, at 8:00 p.m. It is a recap which takes place after the series end, where a shinigami approaches Ryuk in the shinigami realm in order to learn more about the human world. Instead, Ryuk tells him of all the events leading up to the last story arc, about Light Yagami and his rival L. Originally, this special was advertised as a retelling told from Ryuk's point of view, but it does not give a different point of view from what was originally told. However, it contains updated dialogue, as well as a few new scenes.
Nippon TV aired the Death Note: Relight: L's Successors (DEATH NOTE リライト2 Lを継ぐ者, Desu Nōto Riraito 2: L o Tsugu Mono) special on August 22, 2008. Like the first special, this new compilation summarized a part of the 2006–2007 anime television series. Specifically, it recounted the final half of the suspenseful supernatural story, including the investigators Near and Mello's confrontations with the vigilante Kira. This version features more updates than the previous one, most notably the omission of the mafia plot.
==== Soundtracks ====
Several soundtracks for the series have been released. The music from the anime was composed by Yoshihisa Hirano and Hideki Taniuchi, while the CDs were also published by VAP. The first one was Death Note Original Soundtrack, which was released in Japan on December 21, 2006. It contains music from the series with the first opening and ending themes are sung by the Japanese band Nightmare in the TV size format. Death Note Original Soundtrack II was first released in Japan on March 21, 2007. It features the new opening and closing themes by Maximum the Hormone in the TV size format. The third CD, Death Note Original Soundtrack III was released on June 27, 2007. Tracks 1–21 were composed and arranged by Taniuchi, while tracks 22–28 were composed and arranged by Hirano. The album features one track sung by Aya Hirano, who was also the Japanese voice actress of Misa Amane in the anime series. Also appearing on this soundtrack is the ending theme Coda〜Death Note, which can be heard at the end of the final episode of the anime as the credits are shown.
Several soundtracks have also been released for the live action films. Sound of Death Note is a soundtrack featuring music from the first Death Note film composed and arranged by Kenji Kawai. It was released on June 17, 2006, by VAP. Sound of Death Note the Last name is the soundtrack from the second Death Note film, Death Note the Last name. It was released on November 2, 2006. Death Note Tribute is a tribute album dedicated to the live action film Death Note. Published by BMG Japan on June 21, 2006, Japan, it contains 15 tracks performed by various artists, such as Shikao Suga, M-Flo, Buck-Tick, and Aya Matsuura. The soundtrack came with a cosplay Death Note notebook. Another tribute album is The Songs for Death Note the movie〜the Last name Tribute dedicated to the second film. Published by Sony Music Entertainment Japan on December 20, 2006, it contains 14 tracks performed by various artists, such as Orange Range, Abingdon Boys School, High and Mighty Color, Doping Panda, and Galneryus.
=== Live action films ===
Death Note was adapted into a series of live action films in 2006. The first two films were directed by Shusuke Kaneko and the third was directed by Hideo Nakata and produced by Nippon Television, CG production of all three films were done by Digital Frontier and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Japan. The first film, simply titled Death Note, premiered in Japan on June 17, 2006, and topped the Japanese box office for two weeks, pushing The Da Vinci Code into second place. The first film briefly played in certain North American theaters on May 20–21, 2008. The film was broadcast in Canadian theaters for one night only on September 15, 2008. The DVD was released on September 16, 2008, one day after the Canadian showing. The sequel, Death Note 2: The Last Name, premiered in Japan on November 3, 2006. It was featured in U.S. theaters in October 2008.
A spin-off from the films named L: Change the World was released in Japan on February 9, 2008. It is focused on the final 23 days of L's life, as he solves one final case involving a bio-terrorist group. Two dubbed versions of the film were shown in the United States on April 29 and 30, 2009. In August 2016, a three-part miniseries entitled Death Note: New Generation was announced as a part of the Death Note live-action film series and aired in September. It bridges the 10-year gap between the previous films and the then-upcoming 2016 film. A fourth Japanese Death Note film was released in 2016 and featured a cyber-terrorism setting with the inclusion of six Death Notes brought into the human world. An American adaptation was released on Netflix on August 25, 2017. The film was directed by Adam Wingard and was written by Charles Parlapanides, Vlas Parlapanides, and Jeremy Slater. It starred Nat Wolff, Lakeith Stanfield, Margaret Qualley, Shea Whigham, Paul Nakauchi, Jason Liles, and Willem Dafoe. A sequel film is reportedly in the works.
=== Live action series ===
In April 2015, it was announced that a live action television series based on Death Note manga would begin airing from July 2015 on Nippon TV. Masataka Kubota stars as Light Yagami and Kento Yamazaki as L in the series.
In July 2022, it was announced that the Duffer Brothers recently founded Upside Down Pictures production company would be producing a new live-action series adaptation for Netflix. In October 2022, it was announced that Halia Abdel-Meguid was brought on to write and executive produce the series.
=== Video games ===
A Death Note video game developed and published by Konami for the Nintendo DS, titled Death Note: Kira Game (デスノート キラゲーム, Desu Nōto Kira Gēmu), was released on February 15, 2007. Kira Game is a strategy game where the player takes on the role of Kira or L. These are just titles, as any character can be Kira or L. The player will attempt to deduce who their enemy is (Kira will try to uncover L's identity and vice versa). This will play out in three phases: investigation, where the player will discuss the case and clues with other characters; voting, where each member of the investigation team casts a vote on who they suspect is L or Kira based on the player's performance in the previous phase; L/Kira, where the player can either focus their investigation on one member to see if they are Kira (L part), or force a member off of the team (Kira part). A sequel to the game, Death Note: Successors to L (デスノート Lを継ぐ者, Desu Nōto Eru o Tsugu Mono), was released in Japan on July 12, 2007. The storyline is based on the second part of the manga, featuring characters such as Mello and Near.
A third game, L the Prologue to Death Note: Spiraling Trap (L the proLogue to DEATH NOTE -螺旋の罠-, L the proLogue to DEATH NOTE -Rasen no Wana-), was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan on February 7, 2008. The player assumes the role of a rookie FBI agent who awakens in a strange hotel and attempts to escape with the help of L, who provides assistance via an in-game PDA. The story is set before the Kira investigation in the original series. Several characters from Death Note appear in Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars, a fighting game featuring multiple characters from Weekly Shōnen Jump titles. Light, Ryuk, and L appear in Jump Super Stars as support characters. Misa, Near, and Mello are added as support characters in Jump Ultimate Stars as well. The 2019 video game Jump Force features Light and Ryuk as non-playable characters, playing a key role in the game's story mode.
An online social deduction game, titled Death Note: Killer Within, was released by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Windows via Steam on November 5, 2024. In the game, up to ten players are split into two teams—Kira and his followers and L and the police investigation team. Kira's team aims to kill all its target with the Death Note and L's team must seize and dispose of the Death Note. Both teams try to uncover the identities of the opposing players. The players are represented by pawns, akin to those used by Near in the original series. An update, which includes a role as Mello, was released in January 2025, and another update, including the roles of Watari and Soichiro Yagami, was released in March of that same year.
=== Musical ===
In 2015, a musical adaptation of the manga called Death Note: The Musical ran in both Japan and South Korea. It was originally composed in English by Broadway composer Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics by Jack Murphy and book by Ivan Menchell. An English production was announced in May 2023 to play at the London Palladium for two nights on August 21–22, 2023, directed by Nick Winston starring Joaquin Pedro Valdes as Light, Dean John-Wilson as L and Frances Mayli McCann as Misa. The original Japanese production, produced by Japanese talent agency HoriPro, ran from 6 to April 29, 2015, and stars Kenji Urai and Hayato Kakizawa double-cast as Light Yagami, and Teppei Koike as L. A Korean production of the same musical ran from June 11 to August 11, 2015, in South Korea, starring musical actor Hong Kwang-ho and JYJ member and musical actor Kim Junsu.
== Reception ==
=== Manga ===
By April 2015, the Death Note manga had over 30 million copies in circulation. On ICv2's "Top 10 Shonen Properties Q2 2009", Death Note was the third best-selling manga in North America. The series ranked second on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga of 2006 and 2007 for male readers. It was nominated for the 38th Seiun Awards in the Best Comic category in 2007. The manga received the Grand Prize for Best Manga and Best Screenplay at the Japan Expo Awards 2007. The series won the 2008 Eagle Award for Favourite Manga as voted by UK fans. According to a survey conducted in 2007 by the ministry of culture of Japan, Death Note occupied the tenth place among the best manga of all time. It also received several nominations, such as Best Manga at the 2006 American Anime Awards, the 2007 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, an Official Selection at Angoulême International Comics Festival 2008, and Obata was nominated for Best Penciller/Inker at the 2008 Eisner Awards. In 2007, the first three volumes of Death Note appeared on the American Library Association's 2007 Great Graphic Novels for Teens Top Ten list.
Douglas Wolk of Salon said that a rumor circulated stating that the creators intended to have Death Note to last half as long as its actual run and Ohba and Obata had been persuaded to lengthen the storyline when Death Note's popularity increased, noting that the rumor "makes sense, since about halfway through the series, there's a point that seems like a natural ending". In addition, he said that fans wrote "thousands" of Death Note fan fiction stories and posted them on the internet. In 2006, Japanese fans pointed out the similarities between Death Note and the 1973 one-shot manga The Miraculous Notebook (不思議な手帖) by Shigeru Mizuki. Comipress reported that the only difference between the story and Death Note is that there are no shinigamis.
Anime News Network writer Zac Bertschy called Death Note a "surprisingly gripping and original suspense tale that raises a handful of interesting questions about morality". He noted that the difference between the series and other manga from the same demographic was very notable due to the murders the main character commits as well as how he hides his identity of Kira. Although Bertschy mentioned some manga readers will be surprised with the dark themes of Death Note, he praised the series for its "great art, great story, [and] compelling characters". Briana Lawrence from the same website stated that what makes Death Note so interesting is that there is no villain; "instead it had two opposing sides that both believe in the same thing: justice". She felt that once vital characters fading into the background, the ending brings back what the fans loved about the first volume and the supporting cast are "given a chance to shine". She also mentioned that the epilogue made no mention of what happens with Misa Amane and how Near and Mello were still treated like parts of L. Julie Rosato from Mania Entertainment found the story to be very entertaining, having liked Light's development in the story and L's introduction, as well as how the latter starts suspecting the former's identity. Additionally, she praised the story as it was "building a climax" with each detail introduced in the first chapter, making the reader look forward to upcoming chapters. Jolyon Baraka Thomas, in a Japanese Journal of Religious Studies article, describes the manga as having a "somber narrative" with a "dark cast". Obata's art is "[rendered] in stark strokes characterized---fittingly---by a complex interplay of light and shadow".
=== Anime ===
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Death Note is an exceptional anime that poses profound questions about justice and murder, all while delivering a supremely satisfying tale of tactical one-upmanship between a detective and killer."
The anime was commended by Tom S. Pepirium of IGN, who said that Death Note's "heavy serialized nature" is what "makes the show so engaging and discussion worthy". Pepirium, saying that translating Death Note is "no small task", stated that Stephen Hedley created an English dub with "nothing clunky". He added that Karl Willems, director of the dub, assembled a "stunning voice cast of professionals" with a "solid tone minus some of the cheesy yelling and screaming of other dubs". On the NPR show Fresh Air, John Powers said that Death Note is "at least as addictive as a show like Lost". Hyper wrote: Running over thirty-seven 20 minutes episodes, the anime sticks much closer to the manga so takes a far more languid approach to storytelling, better fleshing out the fantastic characters of Light and his nemesis, L. Light in particular is one of the most layered characters to appear in anime in a long time. Jacob Hope Chapman from Anime News Network praised Teru Mikami's role as bloody and flashy and even better than that of Near, Mello, and Misa. The Daily Telegraph's Henry St. Leger wrote, "What starts as a moral fable about the corruption of power becomes a slow-burning game of cat-and-mouse as Light is chased down by the world's greatest detective. Some droning voice acting leadens what is otherwise a brilliantly terse noir." Vulture's Maya Phillips wrote, "Beyond its deft twists and turns, Death Note also addresses questions about morality, justice, and capital punishment. All this, plus beautiful animation and well-written dialogue and plot, makes Death Note the cream of the animated crop."
The Death Note anime was one of the series to win Best TV Anime at the 2007 Tokyo International Anime Fair. In 2009, Death Note was ranked 51st in IGN's "Top 100 Animated Series" list.
=== Light novels ===
A.E. Sparrow of IGN reviewed the novel Another Note and gave it a 9.5 out of 10. Sparrow said that the author understood "what made these characters click so well" and that it "captures everything that made the manga the compelling read that it is". Sparrow said that fans of Death Note who read Another Note will "find a welcome home" in Nisio Isin's work, which "adds a few more fun layers" to the Death Note franchise. The novelization of L: Change the World became the second top-selling light novel in Japan in 2008.
== Legacy and controversies ==
The series release outside Japan has inspired other works, as well as individuals making their own mock "Death Notes", including one that was associated with a real-life murder. According to Wired magazine, Death Note "[turned] Japan's most-popular print medium into an internationally controversial topic that has parents wondering whether they should prohibit their kids from reading manga entirely". Live-action director Shusuke Kaneko commented in response, "If preventing them from seeing this movie is going to make kids better, then why not prevent them from watching all bad news?".
In regard to the 2019 The Twilight Zone episode "The Comedian", Rosie Knight of The Hollywood Reporter stated that Samir's story appears to take a large influence from Death Note. The Simpsons has parodied Death Note in both comic books and animation with the 2008 comic book story "Murder, He Wrote" in The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror #14, where Bart receives the notebook from the Ryuk-ified ghost of Krusty the Clown, and the "Death Tome" segment of the 2022 television episode "Treehouse of Horror XXXIII", with Lisa receiving the titular book.
=== Bans and attempted bans ===
Early in 2005, school officials in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning, China banned Death Note. The reason was that students had been altering notebooks to resemble Death Notes and then writing the names of acquaintances, enemies, and teachers in the books. The ban was designed to protect the "physical and mental health" of students from horror material that "misleads innocent children and distorts their mind and spirit". Jonathan Clements has suggested that the Chinese authorities acted partly against "superstition", but also against illegal, pirate publishers of Death Note. The ban has been extended to other Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Lanzhou in Gansu Province. Legally published Chinese-language versions of Death Note are published in Hong Kong. On June 12, 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Culture listed Death Note among 38 anime and manga titles banned in the country.
In 2007, the education bureau in Pingtung County, Taiwan asked teachers to pay attention to any negative influence on elementary school students reading the manga. In May 2010, the Albuquerque Public Schools school district in New Mexico held a hearing to ban the Death Note manga from their district's schools; it was unanimously voted down. After volumes of Death Note were found at the February 2013 suicide of a 15-year-old girl in Yekaterinburg, Russia, a local parents' group began campaigning to regulate all media based on the series, saying that it had an adverse effect on the minds of children. In March 2014, investigators concluded that the manga did not cause the girl to commit suicide.
=== Imitations of the series ===
There have been various imitations around the world of the premise of Death Note, and at least one instance was linked to a crime; on September 28, 2007, two notes written with Latin characters stating "Watashi wa Kira dess", one transliteration of "I am Kira" (私はキラです, Watashi wa Kira desu), were found near the partial remains of a white male in Belgium. The case has been called the "Mangamoord" (Dutch for Manga Murder) in Belgian media. It was not until 2010 that four people were arrested in connection to the murder. A senior at the Franklin Military Academy in Richmond, Virginia, United States was suspended in 2007 after being caught possessing a replica "Death Note" notebook with the names of fellow students. The school's principal wrote a letter to the student's parents linking to an unofficial website where visitors can write names and circumstances of death for people they want to die.
In South Carolina in March 2008, school officials seized a "Death Note" notebook from a Hartsville Middle School student. District officials linked the notebook to the anime/manga. The notebook listed seven students' names. The school planned a disciplinary hearing and contacted the seven students' parents. In Gadsden, Alabama in April 2008, two sixth-grade boys were arrested for possession of a "Death Note" that listed names of several staff members and fellow students. According to Etowah County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Lanny Handy, the notebook was discovered the previous afternoon by a staffer. The students were suspended from the county's schools, pending a juvenile court hearing. The students, their parents, and school officials had met with Handy and a junior probation officer. In Gig Harbor, Washington, one middle school student was expelled and three were suspended on May 14, 2008, for having 50 names in their own "Death Note" book, including President George W. Bush.
It was reported in September 2009, that a Year Eight boy in Sydney, Australia, created a "Death Note" that along with names contained a "battle plan" detailing where bombs could be placed inside his school. In December 2009, two students at an elementary school in Oklahoma were disciplined for a "Death Note" with the names and descriptions of deaths of two girls that had angered them. A Michigan middle school student was suspended indefinitely in March 2010 for possessing a "Death Note". In May 2010, a middle school student in the Avonworth School District in Pennsylvania was suspended for owning a "Death Note" with names of fellow students and pop singer Justin Bieber. In February 2015, a fifth-grade student of an elementary school near Pittsburgh was suspended for owning a "Death Note" and writing other students' names in it. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septifer_bilocularis | Septifer bilocularis | Septifer bilocularis is a marine bivalve species in the family Mytilidae, the mussels.
== Distribution ==
Tropical Indo-Pacific.; also in Australia. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling#Occupational_hazards | Professional wrestling#Occupational hazards | Professional wrestling, often referred to as pro wrestling, or simply, wrestling, is a form of athletic theater centered around mock combat, with the premise that its performers are competitive wrestlers. The legitimate sport of wrestling has never been popular enough in the United States to sustain a professional scene because the action is considered too slow-paced. In the late 19th century, wrestlers dealt with this by quietly fixing their matches so that they could display more entertaining action. Through improvisation and choreography, they could perform more spectacular moves that rarely (if ever) occurred in a real wrestling match, and thus managed to draw sustainable audiences.
Match fixing in sports was frowned upon then as much as it is now, so the wrestlers had to keep it a secret. Wrestling promoters scripted victories for their more charismatic wrestlers to please the fans. Since charisma mattered more than skill to a wrestler's success, wrestlers adopted personae and gimmicks to make themselves more entertaining. As promotions grew more sophisticated, they started writing dramatic stories for their wrestlers, pitting heroic "faces" against villainous "heels". Professional wrestlers were required to remain in character whenever they were in public, a practice known as "kayfabe". This requirement was relaxed in the 1990s as by then the fandom had not only become fully aware of the fakery, but had come to accept it. Despite a series of high-profile exposés, professional wrestling retained enough fans to remain viable.
Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various promotions, which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues. Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on the independent circuit to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential professional wrestling promotions are in the United States, Mexico, Japan, and Europe (particularly the United Kingdom, France, and Germany/Austria), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Many professional wrestlers also perform as freelancers and make appearances for different promotions.
Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community, including a unique glossary of terms. It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture; many wrestling phrases, tropes, and concepts are now referenced in everyday language and in film, television, music, and video games. Numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international sports icons with recognition by the wider public, with some finding further fame and success through other endeavours such as acting and music.
== Context ==
In the United States, wrestling is generally practiced in an amateur context. There is no professional league for competitive wrestling in most Western countries, mainly due to a lack of popularity. A case in point is Real Pro Wrestling, an American professional league for freestyle wrestling that dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, the New York Athletic Commission defines professional wrestling thus:
Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise a bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in a professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches.
The state of Washington instead refers to professional wrestling as "theatrical wrestling". In other countries such as India and Mongolia, legitimate wrestling enjoys widespread popularity, and the phrase "professional wrestling" thus carries a more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League, which governs competitive wrestling. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from a carnival term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. A fan who believes professional wrestling matches are real sport is referred to as a mark, whereas a fan who sees through the facade is a smart.
== History in the United States ==
=== Wrestling in early America ===
Wrestling in early America was typically a localized affair. Wrestlers would fight opponents from the same town or nearby towns within walking distance. Wrestlers sometimes competed for money but the winnings were usually small, not enough to live on. Because the winnings were small and the wrestlers were usually from the same community, the wrestling styles they practiced emphasized subduing opponents without inflicting injury, allowing the wrestlers to go back to their regular jobs the next day and avoid making enemies. The most common styles of wrestling during the early 19th century were Greco-Roman, collar-and-elbow, and catch-as-catch-can.
=== Transition to theater ===
Spectator sports grew increasingly popular in late 19th-century America due to rising income levels, urbanization, railroads, mass transit, and mass media. Before this time, sports were mostly a hobby, but now a star athlete could make a living touring the country and playing before large paying crowds. Wrestlers who attempted professional careers faced a problem: most spectators found wrestling boring. The wrestlers spent a lot of time on the mat just shoving each other or locked in unchanging positions. Matches could drag on for hours if the wrestlers were evenly matched. Matches were typically decided when a wrestler placed his opponent in a submission hold. A submission hold is impossible to break and typically easy to establish if the opponent's defense is lax.
In wrestling, the most successful attacks are often counterattacks, where a wrestler takes advantage of his opponent's aggression to create openings for his own offense. This motivated the wrestlers to fight defensively, which resulted in matches with little activity. This was in contrast to boxing, whose rules encouraged more dynamic and aggressive play. To solve this problem, wrestlers experimented with different styles and rules, but eventually they settled on quietly staging their matches (or "working" them, as they say in the industry). Through choreography and improvisation, the wrestlers could perform more spectacular moves and stunts. A wrestler might allow his opponent to perform a spectacular throw on him and put him in a hold, and seconds later his opponent would allow him to make a spectacular escape. The action flowed at a pace that pleased the audience. Fixed matches could also be kept short, which audiences preferred. Short matches were also easier to schedule and allowed wrestlers to perform more frequently. Audiences hated above all matches that ended in a draw, but fixed matches always produced a winner. The "winner" had to be agreed upon in advance by the wrestlers. This was not unique to America. Spectators in the United Kingdom also found legitimate wrestling too boring, and British professional wrestlers likewise were forced to "work" their bouts.
They wrestled in the Graeco-Roman style, which permits holds only above the waist, and can be intolerably slow when two well-matched men meet. ... I found this was generally the case where straight matches were concerned; whereas when a good exhibition wrestler would allow his opponent to slip away, and get out of dangerous-looking holds, with extraordinary head-spins and all sorts of monkey tricks which were nothing more or less than showmanship, the audience would go mad with excitement.
A second benefit of fixed matches was to reduce the risk of injury. Competitive wrestling matches, particularly the ones where large quantities of money were wagered, often ended with sprains or broken bones. A serious injury could prematurely end the career of a wrestler. Furthermore, around the start of the 20th century, the American public was increasingly disgusted by excessive violence in sports, which had led to bans on boxing in various parts of the country. In a fixed match, the wrestlers had no need to be so brutal. Unlike punches in boxing, wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. Shorter matches also suited aging wrestlers who no longer had the stamina for a long fight. It allowed wrestlers to perform more frequently. In later decades, audience tastes shifted and professional wrestling became more brutal, but in those early years, there was a strong desire to minimize injury.
A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Some wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For a fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, they won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers the art of staging matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the start of the 20th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were fixed, and the press had caught on.
American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that the game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high.
In the 1910s, promotion cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast, outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest. These promoters made long-term plans with their wrestlers, and ensured their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships. This meant further suppression of legitimate matches, which by this point were largely limited to challenges by independent wrestlers. A wrestler could claim that the rules of their promotion did not allow them to fight independent challengers. In other cases promoters would respond to such challenges by requiring the challenger to first defeat a "policeman": a powerful wrestler employed not for their star power but their ability to defeat, and often seriously injure, outside challengers. As the promotions grew, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges anyway.
The cartels suppressed double-crosses. A double-cross was when a wrestler broke his promise to throw a match and instead fought to win. At times a promoter had to award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of competition. However, promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging for these troublemakers to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, as Dick Shikat was in 1936. Despite the growing awareness that fixed matches were pervasive, professional wrestlers did not publicly admit that it had become the norm. The public preferred the staged matches but wanted to believe they were legitimate. Some people placed bets on the outcomes, and spectators would boo if they thought a match was faked.
If we put on a match that is on the level, it is often dull and tiresome and the crowd doesn't like it. So we have to fake most of our bouts to get by. And then the fake gets out in some way and the crowd still hollers. ... You're wrong any way you try it.
According to Lou Thesz, what few legitimate matches happened back in the 1930s tended to be either double-crosses or done to settle business disputes between rival wrestling groups. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by the commission. This requirement did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. The former wrestler William Muldoon was the chairman of the commission when this decree was made. On rare occasions, the commission handed out such certifications, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. The Seattle Athletic Commission passed a similar rule in April 1931 for professional wrestlers in Seattle. The rule imposed by the New York commission didn't hurt professional wrestling's popularity. On the contrary, it seems to have helped the industry because the following year, boxing promoters in New York asked the commission to impose the same rule on boxing matches. Since wrestlers in New York no longer had to worry about legal repercussions for match fixing, they were free to perform more absurd antics on the mat for the amusement of the crowds. Boxing promoters, who were reeling from numerous match-fixing scandals of their own, wanted to copy the wrestling business model.
In 1933, wrestling promoter Jack Pfefer divulged the inner workings of the industry with the New York Daily Mirror, maintaining no pretense that wrestling was legitimate and sharing planned results just before the matches took place. He exposed the truth to undermine his rival wrestling promoters when they excluded him from their cartels. Pfefer and a number of promoters including Jack Curley and Toots Mondt were questioned by the New York State Athletic Commission on 9 January 1934; despite being under oath, the others fiercely denied Pfefer's allegations. Pfefer's promotion subsequently saw a decline in attendance, but so did those of his rivals, and all spectator sports suffered during the Great Depression (1929–1939), so it is uncertain to what extent his indiscretion cost him; however, his business did not collapse. In fact, Pfefer outlasted most of his rivals from the 1930s. Pfefer adapted by leaning in to the theatricality. He promoted "freakishly" ugly wrestlers such as The French Angel, wrote crazier storylines, and popularized novelties such as tag-teams, midget wrestlers, and women wrestlers. He wanted the public to appreciate professional wrestling as an art form, not a sport. Other promoters who did not agree maintained the facade of kayfabe.
Newspapers refused to cover professional wrestling as if it were a sport, so promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to attain press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine, Wrestling As You Like It, printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon began discretely lobbying various state governments to recognize professional wrestling as a non-sport so that his promotion, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), could be exempted from sports licensing fees and health-and-safety oversight. In 1985, McMahon rebranded the World Wrestling Federation as a "sports entertainment" company. In 1985, he testified in a lawsuit that professional wrestling is rigged.
In 1989, McMahon testified before the New Jersey State legislature that professional wrestling is not a legitimate sport and therefore should be exempted from sports regulations and taxes. McMahon's testimonies were exposed in The New York Times and the New York Post. This was not the first time a promoter admitted in court that professional wrestling is all theater, but Vince McMahon controlled more than half of the industry in America by 1989, and The New York Times was one of the most important newspapers in the country if not the world. Consequently, the revelation caused irreversible damage to the facade of professional wrestling. McMahon had only wanted to avoid taxes, not do away with kayfabe, and for a few years he kept punishing his wrestlers for violating it. In May 1996, during an untelevised wrestling match at Madison Square Garden, which was the final performances of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall for the WWF, the wrestlers all climbed into the ring and embraced each other, faces and heels together, to the confusion of the audience. Although McMahon fined each of these transgressors $2,500, the incident further eroded kayfabe, and McMahon decided there was no going back. He was willing to reveal some truths to the public, but on his own terms. McMahon began incorporating actual backstage politics into WWF storylines using a new dramatic conceit called the "worked shoot", which was a performance that appeared to be wrestlers breaking character backstage but in fact was scripted.
=== Evolution in the television age ===
Professional wrestling's fanbase had traditionally largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers, and ethnic minorities. The rise of television in the 1950s brought unprecedented national exposure to a broader audience, as networks were short on content. Professional wrestling enjoyed a period of mainstream popularity that was buoyed by the visual spectacles and showmanship of performers such as Gorgeous George and Buddy Rogers.
Beginning in the 1960s, networks increasingly shifted to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped from primetime slots, if not altogether; the core audience then shrank back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. Nevertheless, this period saw some a brief boost in ratings and signs of strength; the American Wrestling Association's (AWA), which had emerged as an independent promotion in 1960, was setting new standards in how professional wrestling was presented on television, while the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) maintained a strong following in the South. By the 1970s, professional wrestling entered a more pronounced and sustained decline that persisted into the 1980s.
=== Development of stylistic conventions ===
In the early 20th century, the style of wrestling that was mimicked in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling. Promoters at the time wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In his memoir, Lou Thesz recalled that when he started wrestling as a boy in the 1920s, only people trained in legitimate wrestling could see that professional wrestling matches were staged. In the 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves that have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes, punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs.
By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (heroes) or heels (villains). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in the 1930s and 1940s. Some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in; with the rise of television and thus national exposure, most wrestlers maintained a single persona and narrative. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in the case of heels). The matches could also have gimmicks, such as wrestlers fighting in mud or piles of tomatoes. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming.
Towards the end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill as they believed it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled and charming were very rare. After this time, matches became more theatrical and any semblance professional wrestling had to legitimate wrestling styles faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George, who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over the arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance. He also wore a costume—a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring—and had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers; for instance, McMahon's top star, Hulk Hogan, would entertain the audience by tearing his shirt off before each match.
=== Evolution of regional cartels ===
The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley, Lou Daro, Paul Bowser, and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As the cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among the members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser, bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in a match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929.
Bowser then broke away to form his own cartel, the Boston-based American Wrestling Association, in September 1930, declaring Sonnenberg as AWA World Heavyweight Championship. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association, which in turn crowned a champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat. In 1948, several promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA); Bowser's AWA would join the following year. The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from the NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from the independent.
By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions in the United States and several more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that independent promotions appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the U.S. Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with the government: It pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. In 1957, just one year after settlement, the AWA withdrew from the Alliance and renamed itself the Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC); the AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota. Unlike the NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him.
=== Consolidation and renewed growth ===
In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the northeast, withdrew from the NWA; Vince McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into the territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the US. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. The widespread success of the WWF led to the 1980s professional wrestling boom, turning the sport consciously mainstream in society.
Before cable TV, a typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting. Cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in a new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, protective of their territories, did not wish to be beholden to a central authority. They also did not wish to leave the NWA to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would compete against other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to the promotion's closing in 1991.
In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS. McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so McMahon sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. Professional wrestling experienced a second boom in the late 1990s. During this period, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF (see also Monday Night War), while the WWF's output, coinciding with the rise of "trash TV", became increasingly crude. By the turn of the century, WCW suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of the company's mistakes was the diminished glamor of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Between January 2000 and March 2001, the WCW title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches.
== Industry conventions ==
Professional wrestling performances are governed primarily by a script and overarching storyline devised by producers, who often are professional wrestlers themselves. Real-life events, such as a performer's contract status and legitimate injuries, may be incorporated into storylines, and some wrestlers integrate elements of their genuine personalities or background into their performances or personas; for example, Kurt Angle, who performed his fictional persona eponymously, often utilized his genuine Olympic gold medal in wrestling as a defining aspect of his character. The actions of the character in shows are considered fictional and wholly separate from the life of the performer, although some performers will remain in character outside the ring, such as in promotional videos, interviews, and even social media; consequently, the line between real-life and scripted events and personas are often blurred. For example, Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) is well known for staying in character at all times while in public, going so far as to insult his fans, often to their delight as they are aware of his persona.
=== Kayfabe ===
Kayfabe is the term given to the fictional element of professional wrestling. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say "kayfabe" to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present for whom they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted the truth, their audiences would desert them; accordingly, promotions have often disciplined or punished performers for breaking kayfabe.
Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted the industry was anything but a competitive sport.
The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer. In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror, resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore the facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to a degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans.
=== Sports entertainment ===
The wrestling industry convention of kayfabe has increasingly been challenged by the modern concept of sports entertainment, which openly acknowledges professional wrestling's predetermined nature and celebrates its roots in both competitive sport and dramatic theater. The term "sports entertainment" was coined by World Wrestling Federation chairman Vince McMahon during the 1980s as a marketing term to describe the professional wrestling industry, primarily to potential advertisers; however, precursors date back to at least February 1935, when Toronto Star sports editor Lou Marsh described professional wrestling as "sportive entertainment". In 1989, the WWF used the phrase in a case before the New Jersey Senate to classify professional wrestling as "sports entertainment" and thus not subject to regulation like a directly competitive sport.
In subsequent years, WWE insisted that its talent use "sports entertainment" rather than "pro wrestling" to describe its business, to the point that the term was sometimes used in other promotions to generate "heat" (fan reaction and engagement). The line between sports entertainment and competitive sports was further blurred in 2023, when WWE merged (as TKO Group Holdings) with the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a genuinely competitive mixed martial arts promotion, in what was officially announced as an effort to "bring together two leading pureplay sports and entertainment companies" and provide "significant operating synergies" between them. The following year, WWE moved away from its insistence on being a sports entertainment company after Vince McMahon's departure from the company, but still uses "sports entertainment" in some contexts.
Whether professional wrestling is a genuine sport often reflects a broader debate as to the nature and qualities of a sport categorically. Some commentators and analysts identify baseline commonalities between professional wrestling and other sports, such as performance entailing "physical activity governed by a set of rules of customs" and there still being competition among pro wrestlers with respect to their performances.
Just because there's a script involved it doesn't take away from the competitive environment of professional wrestling. Ask any former wrestler, read an autobiography on a wrestler or use common sense. There is tremendous competition within the WWE. Not performing to the high standards in the ring? "You're Fired". Not getting over with the fans? "You're Fired." Being a nuisance and refusing to be a team player? "You're fired." Don't want to continually train, live the grueling road schedule and establish connections...see where I'm going with all this? While NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and overseas soccer players (football, I know, I apologize) are getting paid ridiculous contracts (with a lump sum up front, and a lot of the contract guaranteed), professional wrestlers do much more work for a lot less. We can safely take the competition argument out of the discussion. So ultimately, if you can look past the script, then professional wrestling is a sport.
Others retort that while professional wrestling is comparable in its physical and athletic requirements—including "shared values of resilience and excellence" and similar risks of bodily injury—its scripted nature preempts one of the purported defining characteristics of a sport: genuine competition over the outcome. The ambiguity of professional wrestling as a form of sports entertainment is further heightened by news media, which often cover professional wrestling matches and events as if they were genuine sports; for example, in 2024, Forbes ranked professional wrestling promotions WWE and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) among the world's "most valuable combat sports promotions" alongside bona fide competitive sport organizations UFC, ONE Championship, and Matchroom Boxing.
=== Performance aspects ===
I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie. Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar.
Professional wrestling shows can be considered a form of theater in the round, with the ring, ringside area, and entryway comprising a stage. There is less of a fourth wall than in most theatric performances; like pantomime, audience involvement is expected and encouraged. Attendees are recognized and acknowledged by performers as spectators to the sporting event being portrayed and are encouraged to interact as such; their reactions can dictate how the performance unfolds, leading to a high level of audience participation. Often, individual matches will be part of a longer storyline conflict between "babyfaces" (often shortened to just "faces") and "heels". "Faces" (the "good guys") are those whose actions are intended to encourage the audience to cheer, while "heels" (the "bad guys") act to draw the spectators' ire.
In pro wrestling matches, performers often execute a series of pre-planned moves and attacks, ranging from grappling and throws found in some traditional forms of wrestling, to more spectacular stunts, sometimes involving props and special effects. Although match outcomes and narratives are predetermined, wrestlers are expected to improvise and weave elements of their character. Attacks are designed to appear dramatic while reducing the risk of serious injury as much as possible; the overall aim is to minimize the actual injurious impact of their moves while maximizing their entertainment value. Shows produced by the largest professional wrestling promotions like WWE are traditionally performed in indoor venues, while flagship events like WrestleMania are sometimes taking place at outdoor venues; these shows are generally video recorded for live or delayed broadcasting. Additionally filmed footage known as "segments" or "promos" are usually used to accompany the drama in these shows.
Prior experience in legitimate wrestling is not a requirement for aspiring professional wrestlers but is seen as an advantageous background. Despite its scripted format, several notable performers have had prior experience in legitimate wrestling before transitioning to its theatrical form. A popular performer, Kurt Angle, is the first Olympic gold medalist in professional wrestling history, having won his gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in freestyle wrestling. Another prominent performer is Brock Lesnar, a former NCAA wrestler who won the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in 2000.
== Rules and other dramatic elements ==
Professional wrestlers nominally compete under rules promulgated by wrestling promotions. However, the rules are not legitimate standards for sporting activity, instead serving as a basis to advance plotlines, similar to the artificial constraints imposed in other fictional universes. Sociologist Thomas S. Henricks has argued the rules serve as a basis for a structuralist moral order, serving to advance plot lines involving charismatic heroes applying an instrumentally rationalist approach to social conflicts. Professional wrestlers do not follow an industry-standard set of rules, unlike most sporting events, which generally have a governing body to regulate competitions. While each promoter can set their own standards, promoters have long understood that fans enjoy professional wrestling more when all matches appear to follow a consistent set of rules. The rules described in this section represent common standards but may not precisely align with the ruleset of any specific promotion.
=== Structure of performances ===
Matches are staged between two or more sides ("corners"). Each corner may consist of one wrestler, or a team of two or more. Most team matches are nominally governed by tag team rules. Other matches present under the premise of a free-for-alls, with multiple combatants but no teams. In all variants, there can be only one winning team or wrestler. Matches generally take place within a wrestling ring, an elevated square canvas mat with posts on each corner. A cloth apron hangs over the edges of the ring. Three horizontal ropes or cables surround the ring, suspended with turnbuckles which are connected to the posts. For safety, the ropes are padded at the turnbuckles and cushioned mats surround the floor outside the ring. Guardrails or a similar barrier enclose this area from the audience. Wrestlers are generally expected to stay within the confines of the ring, although matches sometimes end up moving outside the ring, and even into the audience. The standard method of scoring is the "fall", which, is premised as being accomplished by:
Pinning the opponent's shoulders to the mat, typically for three seconds (although other times have been used)
Forcing the opponent to submit
Disqualification of the opponent
The opponent remaining outside the ring for too long (countout)
Knocking out or otherwise incapacitating the opponent
These are each explained in greater detail below. Pinfalls and submissions must occur within the ring unless stipulated otherwise. Most wrestling matches last for a set number of falls, with the first side to achieve the majority number of pinfalls, submissions, or countouts being the kayfabe winner. Historically, the matches went to 3 falls ("best 2 out of 3") or 5 falls ("best 3 out of 5"). For modern wrestling, the genre convention is 1 fall. These matches have a time limit; if not enough falls are scored by the end of the time limit, the match is presented as draw. Modern matches are generally given a 10- to 30-minute time limit for standard matches; title matches can go for up to one hour. British wrestling matches held under Admiral-Lord Mountevans rules (and similar systems across Europe) consist of a series of rounds – typically six rounds each lasting three minutes or until a fall or submission is scored, with a thirty-second break between each round and can either be two-out-of-three falls, one fall to a finish (mostly for low-priority warmup matches) or the wrestler with the most falls wins at the end of the final round.
An alternative subgenre involves is a match set for a prescribed length of time, with a running tally of falls. The entrant with the most falls at the end of the time limit is declared the winner. This is usually for 20, 30 or 60 minutes, and is commonly called an Iron Man match. This type of match can be modified so that fewer types of falls are allowed. In performances staged with multiple competitors, an elimination system may be used. Any wrestler who has a fall scored against them is forced out of the match, and the match continues until only one remains. It is much more common when more than two wrestlers are involved to simply go one fall, with the one scoring the fall, regardless of who they scored it against, being the winner. In championship matches, this means that, unlike one-on-one matches (where the champion can simply disqualify himself or get himself counted out to retain the title via the Champion's Advantage), the champion does not have to be pinned or involved in the decision to lose the championship. Heel champions often find advantages, not in Champion's Advantage, but in the use of weapons and outside interference, as these poly-sided matches tend to involve no holds barred rules.
Some wrestling performances are staged with unique winning conditions, often to allow a thing theoristic plot construction. An example is the ladder match. In the basic ladder match, the premise is wrestlers or teams of wrestlers must climb a ladder to obtain a prize that is hoist above the ring. The key to winning this match is that the wrestler or team of wrestlers must try to incapacitate each other long enough for one wrestler to climb the ladder and secure that prize for their team. As a result, the ladder can be used as a weapon. The prizes include, but are not limited to, any given championship belt (the traditional prize), a document granting the winner the right to a future title shot, or any document that matters to the wrestlers involved in the match (such as one granting the winner a cash prize). Something that is also common in pro wrestling is the cage match which comes with the added rule that victory can be achieved by escaping the cage. Another common specialty match is known as the battle royal. In a battle royal, all the wrestlers enter the ring to the point that there are 20–30 wrestlers in the ring at one time. When the match begins, the simple objective is to throw the opponent over the top rope and out of the ring with both feet on the floor to eliminate that opponent. The last wrestler standing is declared the winner. A variant on this type of match is the WWE's Royal Rumble where two wrestlers enter the ring to start the match and other wrestlers follow in 90 second intervals (previously 2 minutes) until 30–40 wrestlers have entered the ring. All other rules stay the same.
Almost every professional wrestling match features referee, who is the final arbitrator of the fictional rules, which may vary from promotion to promotion. In multi-man lucha libre matches, two referees are used, one inside the ring and one outside. Due to the legitimate role that referees play in wrestling of serving as liaison between the bookers backstage and the wrestlers in the ring (the role of being a final arbitrator is merely kayfabe), the referee is present, even in matches that do not at first glance appear to require a referee (such as a ladder match, as it is no holds barred, and the criteria for victory could theoretically be assessed from afar). Although their actions are also frequently scripted for dramatic effect, referees are subject to certain general rules and requirements to maintain the theatrical appearance of unbiased authority. The most basic rule is that an action must be seen by a referee to be declared for a fall or disqualification. This allows for heel characters to gain a scripted advantage by distracting or disabling the referee to perform some ostensibly illegal maneuver on their opponent. Most referees are unnamed and essentially anonymous, although some wrestling promotions, most notably in the present All Elite Wrestling, have made officials known by their names (and there are some cases where fans have called their names during matches).
Special guest referees may be used from time to time; by virtue of their celebrity status, they are often scripted to dispense with the appearance of neutrality and use their influence to unfairly influence the outcome of the match for added dramatic impact. Face special referees will often fight back against hostile heel wrestlers, particularly if the special referee is either a wrestler himself or a famous martial artist (such as Tito Ortiz at the main event at Hard Justice 2005). For dramatic effect, heel referees may assist a heel wrestler. Several common plot devices involve the heel referee assisting the heel wrestler.
Counting fast whenever the face wrestler is being pinned, while counting slow, faking a wrist or eye injury, or even refusing to count at all, when the heel wrestler is being pinned.
Allowing heel wrestlers to use blatantly illegal tactics that most normal referees would instantly disqualify for, while not extending these relaxed rules to face wrestlers.
Disqualifying the face wrestler for unfair reasons, such as an accidental attack on the referee or a maneuver that appears to be an illegal attack.
Feigning unconsciousness far longer than they would normally otherwise be out, or using convenient distractions to look away from the wrestlers for a prolonged period of time. This allows for greater opportunities for run-ins or use of illegal weapons and tactics, or can be used as an excuse to avoid counting a pinfall or calling a submission in the face's favor. The referee is often instantly up the moment the heel wrestler seems to have an advantage, usually the moment the heel goes for the pinfall or applies a submission finisher.
Directly assisting in attacking the face wrestler.
=== Tag rules ===
In some team matches, there is a fictional premise that only one entrant from each team may be designated as the "legal" or "active" wrestler at any given moment. Two wrestlers must make physical contact in the corner (typically palm-to-palm) to transfer this legal status. This is known as a "tag", with the participants "tagging out" and "tagging in". Typically, the wrestler who is tagging out has a five count to leave the ring, whereas the one tagging in can enter the ring at any time, resulting in heels legally double-teaming a face. The non-legal wrestlers must remain outside the ring or other legal area at all times, and avoid purposeful contact with the opposing wrestlers, or face reprimand from the referee. In most promotions, the wrestler to be tagged in must be touching the turnbuckle on his corner, or a cloth strap attached to the turnbuckle.
Some multi-wrestler matches allow for a set number of legal wrestlers; this rule is commonplace in four-way tag team matches, where only two wrestlers are legal in the match, meaning two teams will have both members on the outside at any given time. In these matches, tags can be made between any two teams regardless if they are on the same team or not. As a result of this stipulation, tags between different teams are not usually mutual effort; a non-legal wrestler will usually tag themselves in against the legal wrestler's will. A legal wrestler will only voluntarily tag themselves out to another team if their own partner is incapacitated, or are being held in a submission hold and are closer to another tag team than their own.
Sometimes, poly-sided matches that pit every man for himself will incorporate tagging rules. Outside of kayfabe, this is done to give wrestlers a break from the action (as these matches tend to go on for long periods of time), and to make the action in the ring easier to choreograph. One of the most mainstream examples of this is the Four-Corner match, the most common type of match in the WWE before it was replaced with its equivalent Fatal Four-Way; four wrestlers, each for himself, fight in a match, but only two wrestlers can be in the match at any given time. The other two are positioned in the corner, and tags can be made between any two wrestlers.
In a Texas Tornado Tag Team match, all the competitors are legal in the match, and tagging in and out is not necessary. All matches fought under hardcore rules (such as no disqualification, no holds barred, ladder match, etc.) are all contested under de facto Texas Tornado rules, since the lack of ability of a referee to issue a disqualification renders any tagging requirements moot. Regardless of rules of tagging, a wrestler cannot pin his or her own tag team partner, even if it is technically possible from the rules of the match (e.g. Texas Tornado rules, or a three-way tag team match). This is called the "Outlaw Rule" because the first team to attempt to use that (in an attempt to unfairly retain their tag team titles) was the New Age Outlaws.
=== Victory ===
Although scripted and choreographed, wrestling matches are presented as being legitimate athletic competitions decided on one of several possible outcomes.
==== Pinfall ====
A match's fictional premise may allow a score by pinfall, in which a wrestling performer must pin both their opponent's shoulders against the mat while the referee slaps the mat three times (referred to as a "three count"). This is the most common form presented a defeat. The pinned wrestler must also be on their back (if the opponent is lying on their stomach, it usually does not count). A count may be started at any time that a wrestler's shoulders are down (both shoulders touching the mat), back-first and any part of the opponent's body is lying over the wrestler. This often results in pins that can easily be kicked out of, if the defensive wrestler is even slightly conscious. For example, an attacking wrestler who is half-conscious may simply drape an arm over an opponent, or a cocky wrestler may place a foot gently on the opponent's body, prompting a three-count from the referee.
In some promotions, there is a premise that certain pinning methods are disallowed, including using the ropes for leverage and hooking the opponent's clothing. As a plot device, disallowed pinning methods can be depicted as a cheating method for heels. Pins such as these are rarely seen by the referee and are often used by heels and on occasion by cheating faces to win matches. Even if it is noticed, storylines rarely result in a disqualification and instead it simply results in nullification of the pin attempt, so the wrestler rarely has anything to lose. Occasionally, there are instances where a pinfall is presented as being made where both wrestlers' shoulders were on the mat for the three-count. This situation will most likely lead to a draw, and in some cases a continuation of the match or a future match to determine the winner.
If a wrestler's shoulders are flat on the mat, even while locked in a submission hold like a figure-four leglock, it can legally be counted as a pinfall. This rule exists solely because pinfalls and submissions are separate win conditions, and the referee must call a pin whenever both shoulders are down for a three-count, regardless of the situation. Even if a wrestler is applying or enduring a submission hold, the referee's job is to check shoulders first. If they are down, the match can end by pinfall before a tap-out occurs. Wrestlers applying submissions on the mat (like triangle chokes or armbars) sometimes unintentionally put their own shoulders down, risking being pinned while trying to force a tap. Some promotions use this rule to add drama—forcing wrestlers to balance between maintaining a painful hold and protecting themselves from being pinned.
==== Submission ====
To score by submission, the performer must make their opponent give up, usually by putting them in a submission hold (e.g. figure four leg-lock, arm-lock, sleeper-hold). A performer may appear to voluntarily submit by verbally informing the referee (usually used in moves such as the Mexican Surfboard, where all four limbs are incapacitated, making tapping impossible). Since Ken Shamrock popularized it in 1997, a wrestler can indicate a voluntary submission by "tapping out", that is, tapping a free hand against the mat or against an opponent. Submission was initially a large factor in professional wrestling, but following the decline of the submission-oriented catch-as-catch-can style from mainstream professional wrestling, the submission largely faded. Despite this, some wrestlers, such as Chris Jericho, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Kurt Angle, Ken Shamrock, Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, Bryan Danielson, and Tazz, became famous for their fictional depictions of winning matches via submission. A wrestler with a signature submission technique is portrayed as better at applying the hold, making it more painful or more difficult to get out of than others, or can be falsely credited as inventing the hold (such as when Tazz popularized the kata ha jime judo choke in pro wrestling as the "Tazzmission").
Under wrestling nominal rules, all contact between the wrestlers must cease if any part of the body is touching or underneath the ropes. As such, many performances will attempt to break submission holds by deliberately grabbing the bottom ropes. This is called a "rope break", and it is one of the most common ways to break a submission hold. Most holds leave an arm or leg free, so that the person can tap out if they want. Instead, they use these free limbs to either grab one of the ring ropes or drape their foot across or underneath one. Once this has been accomplished and witnessed by the referee, the referee will demand that the offending wrestler break the hold and start counting to five if the wrestler does not. If the referee reaches the count of five and the wrestler still does not break the hold, they are disqualified.
If a manager decides that their wrestler presented as their client should tap out, but cannot convince the wrestler to do so, they may "throw in the towel" (by literally taking a gym towel and hurling it into the ring where the referee can see it). This is the same as a submission, as in kayfabe the manager is considered the wrestler's agent and therefore authorized to make formal decisions (such as forfeiting a match) on the client's behalf.
==== Knockout ====
Some wrestling performances are presented as resulting in a knockout, mirroring legitimate martial arts and concluding with a technical knockout or technical submission. To determine if a wrestler has passed out in WWE, the referee usually picks up and drops his hand. If it drops to the mat or floor one or three consecutive times without the wrestler having the strength to hold it up, the wrestler is considered to have passed out. A performer can also be presented as winning by technical knockout even if he does not resort to submission holds, but still beats the opponent to the point of unconsciousness or to the impossibility to defend himself. To check for a technical knockout in this manner a referee would wave his hand in front of the wrestler's face and, if this produces no reaction of any kind, the referee would award the victory to the other wrestler. A wrestler can also request a ten-count from the referee when, under the event's fictional premise, they think an opponent is sufficiently incapacitated to not be able to stand before the count of ten. Except in traditional European promotions where following down on a fallen opponent was prohibited, these knockouts are rarely used or mentioned as logically it makes more sense for a wrestler to actively pin an opponent for three seconds rather than leaving an opponent the chance to stand up before ten. In such European promotions, countouts as described below are treated as a variant of a knockout.
==== Countout ====
A performance can be depicted as ending in a countout (alternatively spelled as "count-out" or "count out"), where wrestler is out of the ring long enough for the referee to count to ten (twenty in some promotions) and thus, under the event's fictional premise, is disqualified. The count is broken and restarted when a wrestler in the ring exits the ring. Playing into this, some wrestlers are depicted as "milking" the count by sliding in the ring and immediately sliding back out. As the wrestler was technically inside the ring for a split second before exiting again, it is sufficient to restart the count. This is often referred to by commentators as "breaking the count". Heels often use this tactic in order to buy themselves more time to catch their breath, or to attempt to frustrate their babyface opponents.
If all the active wrestlers in a match are down inside the ring at the same time, the referee begins a count (usually ten seconds, twenty in Japan). If nobody rises to their feet by the end of the count, the match is ruled a draw. Any participant who stands up in time ends the count for everyone else, while in a Last Man Standing match this form of a countout is the only way that the match can end, so the referee counts when one or more wrestlers are down and one wrestler standing up before the 10-count does not stop the count for another wrestler who is still down. In most major modern promotions, championships are not permitted to change hands via a countout, unless the on-screen authority figure declares otherwise; this rule varies in some promotions, however. In some storylines, heels are presented as taking advantage of this and will intentionally get counted out when facing difficult opponents while defending championships.
==== Disqualification ====
Disqualification (sometimes abbreviated as "DQ") occurs when a wrestler violates the rules established as part of the performance's fictional premise, thus losing automatically. Although a countout can technically be considered a disqualification (as it is, for all intents and purposes, an automatic loss suffered as a result of violating a match rule), the two concepts are often distinct in wrestling. A no disqualification match can still end by countout (although this is rare). Typically, a match must be declared a "no holds barred" match, a "street fight" or some other term, in order for both disqualifications and countouts to be waived. Disqualification from a match is called when the fictional storyline involves:
Performing any illegal holds or maneuvers, such as refusing to break a hold when an opponent is in the ropes, hair-pulling, choking or biting an opponent, or repeatedly punching with a closed fist. These violations are usually subject to a referee-administered five count and will result in disqualification if the wrestler does not cease the offending behavior in time. Note that the ban on closed fists does not apply if the attacker is in midair when the punch connects, like with Jerry Lawler's diving fist drop or Roman Reigns's Superman Punch.
Deliberate injury of an opponent, such as attacking an opponent's eye, such as raking it, poking it, gouging it, punching it or other severe attacks to the eye. This was imposed when Sexy Star was disqualified for a legitimate injury on Rosemary at AAA Triplemanía XXV by popping her arm out of the socket. This type of disqualification can also be grounds for stripping a wrestler of a championship, as AAA overturned the result of that AAA Women's Championship match, stripping her of the title.
Any outside interference involving a person not involved in the match striking or holding a wrestler. Sometimes (depending on the promotion and uniqueness of the situation), if a heel attempts to interfere but is ejected from the ring by a wrestler or referee before this occurs, there may not be a disqualification (All Elite Wrestling is known to use ejections, as AEW referees Earl Hebner and Aubrey Edwards have ejected numerous wrestlers during events, all for outside interference). In this disqualification method, the wrestler being attacked by the foreign member is awarded the win. Sometimes this can work in heels' favor. In February 2009, Shawn Michaels, who was under the kayfabe employment of John "Bradshaw" Layfield, interfered in a match and super kicked JBL in front of the referee to get his employer the win via "outside interference".
Striking an opponent with a foreign object (an object not permitted by the rules of the match; see hardcore wrestling). Sometimes the win decision can be reversed if the referee spots the weapon before pin attempt or after the match because a wrestler tried to strike when the referee was either distracted or knocked out.
Using any kind of "banned" move
A direct low blow to the groin (unless the rules of the match specifically allow this).
Intentionally laying hands on the referee.
Pulling an opponent's mask off during a match (this is illegal in Mexico, and sometimes in Japan).
Throwing an opponent over the top rope during a match (illegal in the National Wrestling Alliance).
In a mixed tag team match, a male wrestler hitting a female wrestler (intergender), or a normal sized wrestler attacking an opposing midget wrestler (tag team matches involving teams with one normal-sized and one midget wrestler).
In the fictional universe of some promotions, not all rule violations result in a disqualification as the referee may be depicted as using his own judgement and is not obligated to stop the match. Usually, the only offenses that the referee will see and immediately disqualify a wrestler for (as opposed to having multiple offenses) are low blows, weapon usage, interference, or assaulting the referee. In WWE, the plot convention is that a referee must see the violation with his own eyes to rule that the match end in a disqualification (simply watching the video tape is usually not enough) and the referee's ruling is almost always final, although "Dusty finishes" (named after, and made famous by, Dusty Rhodes) will often result in the referee's decision being overturned. It is not uncommon for the referees themselves to get knocked out during a match, which is commonly referred to by the term "ref bump". While the referee remains "unconscious", wrestlers are free to violate rules until he is revived or replaced. In some cases, a referee might disqualify a person under the presumption that it was that wrestler who knocked him out; most referee knockouts are arranged to allow a wrestler, usually a heel, to gain an advantage. For example, a wrestler may get whipped into a referee at a slower speed, knocking the ref down for short amount of time; during that interim period, one wrestler may pin his opponent for a three-count and would have won the match but for the referee being down (sometimes, another referee will sprint to the ring from backstage to attempt to make the count, but by then, the other wrestler has had enough time to kick out on his own accord). In most promotions, a championship title cannot normally change hands via disqualification; this rule is explicitly enforced in a title match under special circumstances.
In traditional European promotions, severe or persistent infractions of the rules result in a formal caution, called a "public warning" in the UK, "avertissement" (warning) in France and a soccer-style yellow card in Germany. Three of these will result in disqualification (a red card in Germany). One major North American promotion (Stampede Wrestling of Calgary) also used the German card system from the late 1970s onward. If all participants in a match continue to breach the referee's instructions, the staged performance may presented as ending in a double disqualification, where both wrestlers and/or teams (in a tag team match) have been disqualified. The match is essentially nullified and called a draw or in some cases a restart or the same match being held at a pay-per-view or next night's show. Sometimes, in a match to determine the challenger for a heel champion's title, the champion is forced to face both opponents simultaneously for the title. Usually, the double disqualification is caused by the heel wrestler's associates in a match between two face wrestlers to determine his opponent.
==== Forfeit ====
Although extremely rare, some fictional storylines involve a match ending in a forfeit if the opponent is depicted as either not showing up for the match, or showing up but refusing to compete. Although the plot premise is that championship usually cannot change hands except by pinfall or submission, a forfeit victory is enough to crown a new champion. A famous example of this happened on the December 8, 1997, episode of Raw Is War, when Stone Cold Steve Austin handed the WWF Intercontinental Championship to The Rock after refusing to defend the title. When a pay-per-view match is booked and one wrestler is unable to make it for one reason or another, the genre convention is to insert a last-minute replacement rather than award a wrestler a victory by forfeit. Forfeit victories are almost always reserved for when the story the promotion is telling specifically requires such an ending. Despite being statistically an extremely rare occurrence, Charles Wright is one wrestler whose gimmick was centered around forfeit victories. During the late 1990s, Wright called himself "The Godfather" and portrayed the gimmick of a pimp. He often brought multiple women, whom he referred to as "hos", to the ring with him, and offered them to his opponents in exchange for their forfeit.
==== Draw ====
A professional wrestling match can be depicted as ending in a draw. A draw occurs if both opponents are simultaneously disqualified (e.g. Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker at Unforgiven 2002), neither opponent is able to answer a ten-count (e.g. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H at Royal Rumble 2004), or both opponents simultaneously win the match. The latter can occur if, for example, both wrestlers pin each other (e.g. MJF vs. Adam Cole at All In 2023, before the match was restarted), or one competitor scores a submission victory while the other scores a pinfall victory (e.g. Kurt Angle being pinned while successfully applying the triangle choke to The Undertaker on a 2002 episode of SmackDown). Traditionally, a championship may not change hands in the event of a draw. A variant of the draw is the time-limit draw, where the match does not have a winner by a specified time period; a one-hour draw, which was once common, is known in wrestling circles as a "Broadway". In European promotions where wrestling is traditionally timed in rounds, a best of three falls match is stopped and declared a one-fall-each draw if an equalizing pinfall or submission is scored in the final round.
==== No contest ====
A wrestling match may be declared a no contest if, under the fictional storyline, the winning conditions are unable to occur. The storyline may attribute such an outcome to factors such as excessive interference, the loss of referee's control over the match, an injury unrelated to the fictitious storyline, or other fictional circumstances presenting the scheduled match to even begin. A no contest is a state separate and distinct from a draw — a draw indicates winning conditions were met. Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably in practice, this usage is technically incorrect.
=== Other dramatic elements ===
While each wrestling match is ostensibly a competition of athletics and strategy, the goal from a business standpoint is to excite and entertain the audience. Although the competition is staged, dramatic emphasis draws out the most intense reaction. Heightened interest results in higher attendance, increased ticket sales, higher ratings on television broadcasts (greater ad revenue), higher pay-per-view buyrates, and sales of branded merchandise and recorded video footage. All of these contribute to the profit of the promotion company.
==== Character gimmicks ====
In Latin America and English-speaking countries, most wrestlers (and other on-stage performers) portray character roles, sometimes with personalities wildly different from their own. These personalities are a gimmick intended to heighten interest in a wrestler without regard to athletic ability. Some can be unrealistic and cartoon-like (such as Doink the Clown), while others carry more verisimilitude (such as Chris Jericho, The Rock, John Cena, Steve Austin, and CM Punk). In lucha libre, many characters wear masks, adopting a secret identity akin to a superhero or a supervillain, a near-sacred tradition.
An individual wrestler may use their real name, or a minor variation of it, for much of their career, such as Bret Hart, John Cena and Randy Orton. Others can keep one ring name for their entire career (Shawn Michaels, CM Punk, and Ricky Steamboat), or may change from time to time to better suit the demands of the audience or company. Sometimes a character is owned and trademarked by the company, forcing the wrestler to find a new one when he leaves, although a simple typeset change such as changing Rhyno to Rhino can get around this, and sometimes a character is owned by the wrestler. Sometimes, a wrestler may change their legal name to obtain ownership of their ring name (Andrew Martin and Warrior). Many wrestlers (such as The Rock and The Undertaker) are strongly identified with their character, even responding to the name in public or between friends. Proper decorum is for wrestlers to refer to each other by their stage names/characters rather than their birth/legal names, unless otherwise introduced. A character can become so popular that it appears in other media (Hulk Hogan and El Santo) or even gives the performer enough visibility to enter politics (Antonio Inoki and Jesse Ventura).
Typically, matches are staged between a protagonist (historically an audience favorite, known as a babyface, or "the good guy") and an antagonist (historically a villain with arrogance, a tendency to break rules, or other unlikable qualities, called a heel, or "the bad guy"). In the early decades of the 21st century, antiheroes have also become prominent in professional wrestling. There is also a less common role of a "tweener", who is neither fully face nor fully heel yet able to play either role effectively (case in point, Samoa Joe during his first run in Impact Wrestling from June 2005 to November 2006).
At times, a character may "turn", altering their face/heel alignment. This may be an abrupt, surprising event, or it may slowly build over time. It is almost always accomplished with a markable change in behavior. Some turns become defining points in a career, as when Hulk Hogan turned heel after being a top face for over a decade. Others may have no noticeable effect on the character's status. If a character repeatedly switches between face and heel, this lessens the effect of such turns, and may result in apathy from the audience.
Big Show is a good example of having more heel and face turns than anyone in WWE history. Sometimes a character's heel turn will become so popular that eventually the audience response will alter the character's heel-face cycle to the point where the heel persona will, in practice, become a face persona, and what was previously the face persona, will turn into the heel persona, such as when Dwayne Johnson first began using "The Rock" persona as a heel character, as opposed to his original "Rocky Maivia" babyface persona. Another legendary example is Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was originally booked as a heel, with such mannerisms as drinking on the job, using profanity, breaking company property, and even breaking into people's private homes, as in the case of Brian Pillman. The fans' response to Austin was so positive that he effectively became one of the most popular antiheroes in professional wrestling. Austin, along with the stable of D-Generation X, Bret Hart and his Hart Foundation, is generally credited with ushering the Attitude Era of WWF programming.
==== Story ====
While real exhibition matches are now not uncommon, most matches tell a story analogous to an episode of a serial drama: the face will from time to time win (triumph) or from time to time lose (tragedy), and longer story arcs can result from a couple of matches. Since most promotions have a championship title, opposition for the championship is a frequent impetus for stories. For added stakes, anything from a character's own hair to their job can be wagered in a match. Some matches are designed to further the story of only one participant. It could be intended to portray an unstoppable force, a lucky underdog, a sore loser, or any other characterization. Sometimes non-wrestling vignettes are shown to enhance a character's image without the need for matches.
Other stories result from a natural rivalry. Outside of performance, these are referred to as feuds. A feud can exist between any number of participants and can last from a few days to decades. The feud between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat lasted from the late 1970s into the early 1990s and allegedly spanned over two thousand matches (although most of those matches were mere dark matches). The career-spanning history between characters Mike Awesome and Masato Tanaka is another example of a long-running feud, as is the case of Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon, one of the most lucrative feuds in the World Wrestling Federation during 1998 and 1999.
In theory, the longer a feud is built up, the more audience interest (aka heat) lasts. The main event of a wrestling show is generally the most heated. Commonly, a heel will hold the upper hand over a face until a final showdown, heightening dramatic tension as the face's fans desire to see them win. Throughout the history of professional wrestling, many other elements of media have been utilized in professional wrestling storytelling: pre- and post-match interviews, "backstage" skits, positions of authority and worked behind-the-scenes feuds, division rankings (typically the No. 1 contendership spot), contracts, lotteries, news stories on websites, and in recent years social media.
Anything that can be used as an element of drama can exist in professional wrestling stories: romantic relationships (including love triangles and marriage), racism, classism, nepotism, favoritism, corporate corruption, family bonds, personal histories, grudges, theft, cheating, assault, betrayal, bribery, seduction, stalking, confidence tricks, extortion, blackmail, substance abuse, self-doubt, self-sacrifice; even kidnapping, sexual fetishism, necrophilia, misogyny, rape and death have been portrayed in wrestling. Some promotions have included supernatural elements such as magic, curses, the undead and Satanic imagery (most notably the Undertaker and his Ministry of Darkness, a stable that regularly performed evil rituals and human sacrifice in Satanic-like worship of a hidden power figure). Commentators have become important in communicating the relevance of the characters' actions to the story at hand, filling in past details and pointing out subtle actions that may otherwise go unnoticed.
===== Promos =====
A main part of storytelling in wrestling is a promo, short for promotional interview. Promos are performed, or "cut" in wrestling jargon, for a variety of reasons, including to heighten interest in a wrestler, or to hype an upcoming match. Since the crowd is often too loud or the venue too large for promos to be heard naturally, wrestlers generally use amplification when speaking in the ring. Unlike most stage acting, large and highly visible handheld microphones are typically used and wrestlers frequently speak directly to the audience.
==== Championships ====
Professional wrestling mimics the structure of title match combat sports. Participants compete for a championship and must defend it after winning it. These titles are represented physically by a title belt that can be worn by the champion. In the case of team wrestling, there is a title belt for each member of the team. Almost all professional wrestling promotions have at least one title, and some have more. Championships are designated by divisions of weight, height, gender, wrestling style and other qualifications.
Typically, each promotion only recognizes the "legitimacy" of their own titles, although cross-promotion does happen. When one promotion absorbs or purchases another, the titles from the defunct promotion may continue to be defended in the new promotion or be decommissioned. Behind the scenes, the bookers in a company will place the title on the most accomplished performer, or those the bookers believe will generate fan interest in terms of event attendance and television viewership. Historically, a world champion was typically a legitimate shooter/hooker who had the skills to prevent double crosses by shooters who would deviate from the planned finish for personal glory. Lower ranked titles may also be used on the performers who show potential, thus allowing them greater exposure to the audience. Other circumstances may also determine the use of a championship. A combination of a championship's lineage, the caliber of performers as champion, and the frequency and manner of title changes, dictates the audience's perception of the title's quality, significance and reputation.
A wrestler's championship accomplishments can be central to their career, becoming a measure of their performance ability and drawing power. In general, a wrestler with multiple title reigns or an extended title reign is indicative of a wrestler's ability to maintain audience interest or a wrestler's ability to perform in the ring. As such, the most accomplished or decorated wrestlers tend to be revered as legends due to the amount of title reigns they hold. American wrestler Ric Flair has had multiple world heavyweight championship reigns spanning over three decades. Japanese wrestler Último Dragón once held and defended a record ten titles simultaneously.
==== Ring entrance ====
While the wrestling matches themselves are the primary focus of professional wrestling, a key dramatic element of the business can be entrances of the wrestlers to the arena and ring. It is typical for a wrestler to get their biggest crowd reaction (or "pop") for their ring entrance, rather than for anything they do in the wrestling match itself, especially if former main event stars are returning to a promotion after a long absence.
All notable wrestlers now enter the ring accompanied by music, and regularly add other elements to their entrance. The music played during the ring entrance will usually mirror the wrestler's personality. Many wrestlers, particularly in the U.S., have music and lyrics specially written for their ring entrance. While invented long before, the practice of including music with the entrance gained rapid popularity during the 1980s, largely as a result of the huge success of Hulk Hogan and the WWF, and their Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection. When a match is won, the victor's theme music is usually also played in celebration.
Because wrestling is predetermined, a wrestler's entrance music will play as they enter the arena, even if they are, in kayfabe, not supposed to be there. For example, in 2012 through 2014, The Shield was a trio of wrestlers who were (in kayfabe) not at the time under contract with WWE (hence their gimmick of entering the ring through the crowd), but they still had entrance music which was played whenever they entered the arena, despite the fact that they were kayfabe invaders. With the introduction of the Titantron entrance screen in 1997, WWF wrestlers also had entrance videos play along with their music. Other dramatic elements of a ring entrance can include:
Pyrotechnics such as a ring of fire for The Brood when they ascend to the stage, multi-colour fireworks (most notably for Edge), fire for Kane and Seth Rollins, a stage of smoke for Finn Bálor and (for a short period of time) falling fireworks for Christian Cage.
Additional visual graphics or staging props to complement the entrance video/routine or further emphasize the character. For instance, Kane's entrance graphics employ heavy use of fire-themed visuals, The Undertaker's entrance features dark lighting, fire, fog and dry ice, and lightning-themed effects, and Goldust has been known to use on-screen visual effects in his entrance to simulate the presentation of a feature film (i.e. widescreen, production company credits), as to emphasize his Hollywood-themed film aficionado character. Adam Page is usually accompanied by humorous sub-headings such as "Anxious Millenial Cowboy", "New Boot Goofin'", "Finally Showed Up To Work", and "For The Love Of God, Give Me A Lower Third This Week Even If It's For 1 Frame".
A distinct sound or opening note in the music (used to elicit a Pavlovian response from the crowd). For example, the glass shattering in Steve Austin's entrance theme, The Undertaker's signature bell toll, sirens, such as used by Scott Steiner or Right to Censor, CM Punk's static sound, Bret Hart's electric guitar stinger, the NYSE trading bell and a cow's moo in JBL's theme.
Darkening of the arena, often accompanied by mood lighting or strobe lighting, such as in The Undertaker's, Triple H's, or Sting's entrances. Certain colors of lighting have been associated with specific wrestlers; for instance, blue lighting for The Undertaker and Alexa Bliss, green lighting for Triple H, D-Generation X, and Shane McMahon, a mixture of red and yellow lighting for Brock Lesnar, a lot of red for Seth Rollins (mainly for his "Embrace The Vision" character, also known by his theme named "Visionary"), a mixture of red and orange lighting for Kane, multicolored lighting for John Morrison, gold lighting for Goldust, pink lighting for Val Venis and Trish Stratus, and so forth.
Driving a vehicle into the arena. For example, Eddie Guerrero arrived in a lowrider, The Undertaker (in his "American Bad Ass" biker gimmick), Chuck Palumbo, Tara, and the Disciples of Apocalypse on motorcycles, The Mexicools on riding lawn mowers, JBL in his limousine, Alberto Del Rio arriving into the arena in various luxury cars, Steve Austin driving an all-terrain vehicle, and Camacho and Hunico entering on a lowrider bicycle. Darby Allin in similar fashion rides a skateboard down to the ring, which is occasionally used as a weapon if the match type permits.
Talking to the crowd using a distinctive patter. For instance, chanting or rapping along with the music (i.e. Road Dogg, R-Truth). Another example is Vickie Guerrero entering to no music, but announcing her arrival with the words "Excuse me!". The Acclaimed's Max Caster will perform a freestyle rap, usually at the expense of the opponent or a real life figure that has been brought up in recent news.
Alternative forms of announcing one's entrance. Orange Cassidy, whose persona is a carefree individual, has his weight billed as "whatever", and being billed from "wherever". In similar fashion, Danhausen (wrestler) is billed as "claiming to stand 6 ft 7 in. tall, and over 300 lbs", despite being nowhere near either of those statistics. Mr. Kennedy would enter with his theme music, but would notably have a microphone descend from the ceiling when he reached the ring, where he would announce himself, rather than the traditional announcer. Maxwell Jacob Friedman during his heel persona would occasionally have the announcer begrudgingly announce him as "He's better than you, and you know it...", generally after a large victory for the character, or being surrounded by henchman of his that threaten to harm the announcer if they do not read off the card verbatim.
Many heels with narcissistic gimmicks (Lex Luger, Shawn Michaels, Cody Rhodes, Paul Orndorff, etc.) admired themselves in mirrors on their way to the ring.
Coming through the audience, such as The Sandman's beer drinking and can smashing entrance, or Diamond Dallas Page's exit through the crowd, or Jon Moxley entering through the crowd.
Accompaniment by a ringside crew or personal security, as Goldberg did.
Entering the arena by a lift in the stage, such as Kurt Angle, The Brood and Rey Mysterio.
Special ring entrances are also developed for big occasions, most notably the WrestleMania event. For example, WrestleMania III and VI both saw all wrestlers enter the arena on motorized miniature wrestling rings. Live bands are sometimes hired to perform live entrance music at special events. John Cena and Triple H are particularly notable in recent years for their highly theatrical entrances at WrestleMania.
== Training and qualifications ==
Physical fitness is considered the minimum requirement for entry in the field, with most professional wrestlers having at least some athletic background or training. Professional wrestlers receive at least some formal training in specialized professional wrestling schools or academies; these institutions can be independent or associated with a specific promotion. Candidates are typically trained and coached by experienced professional wrestlers; training regimens encompass both the athletic and performative aspects of professional wrestling, including physical fitness, choreography, and dramatization. Trainees are often pitted against one another or with their instructors in matches before small crowds to demonstrate and refine their skill in improvisation, mock combat, and stage presence.
=== Occupational hazards ===
Professional wrestling has been characterized by endemic and widespread health risks from its very inception in the 19th century. Although matches have predetermined results, the inherently physical nature of the performances, combined with an emphasis on spectacle and showmanship, results in a high chance of injury and even death. Strikes are often stiff, especially in Japan, and in independent wrestling promotions such as Combat Zone Wrestling. The ring is often made out of 2-by-12-inch (5 by 30 cm) timber planks. There have been many brutal accidents, hits and injuries. Injuries are commonly sustained on the shoulders, knees, back, neck, and ribs. Professional wrestler Davey Richards said in 2015, "We train to take damage, we know we are going to take damage and we accept that."
Occupational hazards have been attributed to professional wrestling's uniquely ambiguous nature—as neither a true sport nor a formal performing art, yet still some combination of the two—which makes it difficult to regulate; as noted by Claire Warden, Professor of Performance and Physical Culture at Loughborough University, "Set up a rugby club tomorrow and the Rugby Football Union would soon be knocking on your door to ask about concussion protocol or safeguarding. Set up a wrestling school or promotion and, well, no-one will demand anything." Warden also identifies related issues and practices in the industry, such as inadequate health and safety provisions among promotions, lack of unionization or labor representation, and the fact that most professional wrestlers are employed as independent contractors, thereby typically lacking healthcare access while remaining economically precarious.
Some wrestling performers use steroids and suffer from associated health issues. In 2007, American Congressman Cliff Stearns noted that between 1985 and 2006, 89 performers had died under the age of 50. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disorder often caused by repeated concussions and head injury, may have been a factor in the 2007 double homicide committed by wrestler Chris Benoit. A 2014 study of male professional wrestlers active between 1985 and 2011 found a "very high premature mortality rate" compared to the general population; cardiovascular disease was by far the leading cause, while deaths related to drug overdoses and cancer were likewise substantially high, at 122.7 and 6.4 times greater than the general population.
Wrestling performers frequently experience real pain during routine performances. Sociologist R. Tyson Smith attributes wrestlers' willingness to endure occupational injury to the substantivism of their socioeconomic viewpoint: From this viewpoint, Smith argues, wrestlers are willing to accept bodily pain by both practicing denialism and the sociologic embedded desire for authenticity, solidarity, and dominance. These findings are corroborated by the UK-based "Health and Wellbeing in Professional Wrestling" project, which interviewed professional wrestlers and identified common risks such as "downplaying injury to secure that important spot on the card, performing a macho-masculine sense of resilience ... [and] acknowledging that there are always physical risks associated with contact sports."
== Regional variations and subgenres ==
The United States/Canada, northwest Europe (specifically the UK, Germany/Austria, and France), Japan, and Mexico are the four largest and most popular markets for professional wrestling and known for their distinctive styles and independent development. Professional wrestling in the U.S., which overlaps into Canada, tends to focus on history building and the establishment of characters and their personalities. There is a story for each match, merging into a narrative arc stretching across successive matches. Stories usually contain characters like faces, heels, and—less often—"tweeners" providing character arc. It is a "triumph" if the face wins and a "tragedy" if the heel wins. American wrestling features intense narrative conflict between faces and heels, with the heels sometimes attacking the faces during TV interviews. The relationship between different characters can also be complex, with sharp and strong personalities providing an element of literary verisimilitude.
In Mexican professional wrestling, or lucha libre, places less emphasis on narrative development. Mexican professional wrestling tradition repeats very usually brutal tactics, specially more aerial holds than professional wrestlers in the U.S. who, more often, rely on power moves and strikes to subdue their opponents. The difference in styles is due to the independent evolution of the sport in Mexico beginning in the 1930s and the fact that wrestlers in the cruiserweight division (Spanish: peso semicompleto) are often the most popular wrestlers in Mexican lucha libre. Wrestlers often execute high flying moves characteristic of lucha libre by utilizing the wrestling ring's ropes to catapult themselves towards their opponents, using intricate combinations in rapid-fire succession, and applying complex submission holds. Lucha libre is also known for its tag team wrestling matches, in which the teams are often made up of three members, instead of two as is common in the U.S.
Japanese professional wrestling (puroresu) also developed distinctively, initially drawing from traditional American style wrestling and becoming an entity in itself. Although matches are predetermined, the psychology and presentation of performances differ markedly: Among the largest promotions, such as New Japan Pro-Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling Noah, professional wrestling is treated as a full contact sport that mixes hard hitting martial arts strikes with shoot style submission holds, whilst in the U.S. it is rather more regarded as an entertainment show. Wrestlers incorporate kicks and strikes from martial arts disciplines, and a strong emphasis is placed on submission wrestling, and unlike the use of involved storylines in the U.S., Japanese storylines are not as intricate, with emphasis on the concept of "fighting spirit" via displays of physical and mental stamina. Many of Japan's wrestlers including top stars such as Shinya Hashimoto, Riki Chōshū and Keiji Mutoh came from a legitimate martial arts background and many Japanese wrestlers in the 1990s began to pursue careers in mixed martial arts organizations such as Pancrase and Shooto which at the time retained the original look of puroresu but were actual competitions. Other companies, such as Michinoku Pro Wrestling and Dragon Gate, wrestle in a style similar to Mexican companies like AAA and CMLL. This is known as "Lucharesu".
Much of the more serious style of Japanese wrestling derives from wrestling in Europe, particularly traditional British wrestling, which strongly emphasizes pure technical skill (particularly chain sequences of counters/reversals/escapes from holds) and high proportion of clean sportsmanly scientific matches between two "blue-eyes" as babyfaces were called there. This spread across mainland Europe (where it was known as "Catch" in non-English speaking countries) but in the Mediterranean south it soon died out after an initial flush of popularity, with the major league promotions of Italy and Spain closing in 1965 and 1975-1986 respectively and Greece's annual stadium show last held in 1980 although some low-grade house shows limped on until 1991. This left the UK, France, and West Germany/Austria as the three strongholds of European wrestling by the 1980s. In Germany and Austria, wrestling shows—particularly major trophy tournaments in Graz, Hamburg, Bremen, Vienna, and other cities featuring visiting wrestlers from around the world—were a key part of the celebrations of various cultural festivals. Longtime CWA World Heavyweight Champion and promoter Otto Wanz maintained strong links with American promotions, frequently importing U.S. talent and even briefly winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1982.
Meanwhile, in both the UK and France, national television coverage from the 1950s to the late 1980s made household names of top stars. In the UK in the late 1970s and through the 1980s, the dominant Joint Promotions underwent a major boom by rebranding as family entertainment centred around superheavyweight lead blue-eye Big Daddy. Eventually however the sheer lopsided nature of his victories over heels alienated fellow wrestlers and adult fans alike to the point where both groups defected in droves to opposition promoter All Star Wrestling which expanded (taking a share of the final two years of TV coverage) until it eclipsed Joint as dominant promotion, a position it still holds in 2026. During the same period, professional wrestling in France moved to a more acrobatic style of action and colourful gimmick-led presentation, as exemplified by lead babyface Flesh Gordon (Gerard Hervé) who had learned his craft in 1970s Mexico. By the beginning of the 1990s in all three countries, local styles of wrestling were largely supplanted in mainstream popular culture by the WWF and WCW. While the traditional styles survive at grassroots level they face stiff competition not only from the major American wrestling corporations but also from homegrown "American style" promotions conforming to the general pattern of the contemporary U.S. independent wrestling scene.
=== Women's wrestling ===
The women's division of professional wrestling has maintained a recognized world champion since 1937, when Mildred Burke won the original World Women's title. She then formed the World Women's Wrestling Association in the early 1950s and recognized herself as the first champion, although the championship was vacated upon her retirement in 1956. The NWA ceased to acknowledge Burke as the Women's World champion in 1954 and instead acknowledged June Byers as champion after a controversial finish to a high-profile match between Burke and Byers that year. Upon Byers's retirement in 1964, The Fabulous Moolah, who won a junior heavyweight version of the NWA World Women's Championship (the predecessor to the WWE Women's Championship) in a tournament back in 1958, was recognized by most NWA promoters as champion by default.
=== Intergender ===
For most of its history, men and women rarely worked against each other in professional wrestling, as it was deemed to be unfair and unchivalrous. Andy Kaufman used this to gain notoriety when he created an Intergender Championship and declared it open to any female challenger. This led to a long (worked) feud with Jerry Lawler. Cathy Davis sued the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) in 1977 because she was denied a boxing license because she was a woman, and the case was decided in her favor later that year, with the judge invalidating New York State rule number 205.15, which stated, "No woman may be licensed as a boxer or second or licensed to compete in any wrestling exhibition with men." In his opinion the judge cited the precedent set by Garrett v. New York State Athletic Commission (1975), which "found the regulation invalid under the equal protection clauses of the State and Federal Constitutions". The NYSAC filed an appeal of the ruling but later dropped it.
In the 1980s, mixed tag team matches began to take place, with a male and female on each team and a rule stating that each wrestler could only attack the opponent of the same gender. If a tag was made, the other team had to automatically switch their legal wrestler as well. Despite these restrictions, many mixed tag matches do feature some physical interaction between participants of different genders. For example, a heel may take a cheap shot at the female wrestler of the opposing team to draw a negative crowd reaction. In lucha libre, cheap shots and male-female attacks are not uncommon. Intergender singles bouts were first fought on a national level in the 1990s. This began with Luna Vachon, who faced men in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and WWF. Later, Chyna became the first female to hold a belt that was not exclusive to women when she won the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Intergender wrestling was uncommon in Impact Wrestling. ODB, had participated in intergender matches and once held the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship with Eric Young for a record 478 days. Other notable Impact Knockouts that competed in intergender matches include Scarlett Bordeaux; Tessa Blanchard, who became the first woman to win the Impact World Championship; and Jordynne Grace, who became the inaugural Impact Digital Media Championship.
=== Midget wrestling ===
Midget wrestling can be traced to professional wrestling's carnival and vaudeville origins. In recent years, the popularity and prevalence of midgets in wrestling has greatly decreased due to wrestling companies depriving midget divisions of storyline or feud. WWE has made a few attempts to enter this market with their "minis" in the 1990s and the "junior's league" as recent as 2006. It is still a popular form of entertainment in Mexican wrestling, mostly as a "sideshow".
Some wrestlers may have their own specific "mini me", like Mascarita Sagrada, Alebrije has Quije, etc. There are also cases in which midgets can become valets for a wrestler, and even get physically involved in matches, like Alushe, who often accompanies Tinieblas, or KeMonito, who is portrayed as Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre's mascot and is also a valet for Mistico. Dave Finlay was often aided in his matches by a midget known mainly as Hornswoggle while in WWE, who hid under the ring and gave a shillelagh to Finlay to use on his opponent. Finlay also occasionally threw him at his opponents. Hornswoggle was given a run with the WWE Cruiserweight Championship and feuded with D-X in 2009.
== Culture and sociology ==
Professional wrestling has developed its own unique culture among both spectators and performers. Professional wrestlers have developed a kind of global fraternity, with familial bonds, shared language, and passed-down traditions. New performers are expected to "pay their dues" for a few years by working in lower-profile promotions and working as ring crew before working their way upward. The permanent rosters of most promotions develop a backstage pecking order, with veterans mediating conflicts and mentoring younger wrestlers. For many decades and still to a lesser extent in the early 21st century, performers were expected to keep the illusions of wrestling's legitimacy alive even while not performing, essentially acting in character any time they were in public. Some veterans speak of a "sickness" among wrestling performers, an inexplicable pull to remain active in the wrestling world despite the devastating effects the job can have on one's life and health.
Fans of professional wrestling likewise have their own subculture, comparable to those of science fiction, video games, or comic books. Like sports fans, many enthusiasts not only attend and view events but take an active interest in backstage occurrences, future storylines, and reasonings behind company decisions; they are catered to by a large and diverse industry of newsletters written by journalists with insider ties to the wrestling industry. Known in the subculture as "rags" or "dirt sheets", these sources have proliferated online and sometimes provide breaking news; some have expanded into radio shows.
Some fans enjoy collecting recordings of wrestling shows from specific companies, of certain wrestlers, or of specific genres. Since the 1990s, many companies have been founded which deal primarily in wrestling footage. When the WWE purchased both WCW and ECW in 2001, they also obtained the entire past video libraries of both productions and have released many past matches online and on home video. Additionally, the internet has exposed fans to previously unavailable variations of wrestling from around the world.
As in competitive sports, fantasy leagues have developed around professional wrestling. Some take this concept further by creating E-feds (electronic federations), where a user can create their own fictional wrestling character, and role-playing storylines with other users, leading to scheduled "shows" where match results are determined by the organizers, usually based on a combination of the characters' statistics and the players' roleplaying aptitude, sometimes with audience voting.
=== Mainstream popularity ===
From the first established world championship, the top professional wrestlers have garnered fame within mainstream society. Each successive generation has produced a number of wrestlers who extend their careers into the realms of music, acting, writing, business, politics or public speaking, and are known to those who are unfamiliar with wrestling in general. Conversely, celebrities from other sports or general pop culture also become involved with wrestling for brief periods of time. A prime example of this is The Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection of the 1980s, which combined wrestling with MTV.
Professional wrestling is often portrayed within other works using parody, and its general elements have become familiar tropes and memes in American culture. Some terminology originating in professional wrestling has found its way into the common vernacular. Phrases such as "body slam", "sleeper hold" and "tag team" are used by those who do not follow professional wrestling. The term "smackdown", popularized by The Rock and SmackDown! in the 1990s, has been included in Merriam-Webster dictionaries since 2007.
Many television shows and films have been produced which portray in-character professional wrestlers as protagonists, such as Ready to Rumble, ¡Mucha Lucha!, Nacho Libre, and the Santo film series. There have been multiple stage plays set in the world of pro wrestling: The Baron is a comedy that retells the life of an actual performer known as Baron von Raschke. From Parts Unknown... is an award-nominated Canadian drama about the rise and fall of a fictional wrestler. Trafford Tanzi is a play set in a wrestling ring and divided into ten rounds, in which all the cast members participate in wrestling. The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is a dramatic comedy about a fictional wrestler, which involves scenes of professional wrestling that take place in a wrestling ring. Mythos: Ragnarök adapts Norse mythology for the stage by combining dramatic dialogue with scenes of professional wrestling, in the first example of wrestling being used as theatrical stage combat.
The 2009 South Park episode "W.T.F." played on the soap operatic elements of professional wrestling. One of the lead characters on the Disney Channel series Kim Possible was a huge fan of pro wrestling and actually featured it on an episode (with two former WWE wrestlers voicing the two fictitious wrestlers featured in the episode). The 2008 film The Wrestler, about a washed-up professional wrestler, garnered several Oscar nominations. The 2017 TV series GLOW, based on the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling promotion, gained critical acclaim, including a nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.
The 1950 film noir Night and the City, directed by Jules Dassin and starring Richard Widmark and Gene Tierney, told the story of a promoter in London trying to make it big, and featured a match involving professional wrestler Stanislaus Zbyszko. The 2019 Fighting with My Family is a biographical sports comedy-drama film that depicts the career of English professional wrestler Paige. Walk Like A Panther is 2018 British comedy film about a group of 1980s wrestlers staging one final show to raise money to save their pub. Many professional wrestlers have also become mainstream in their own right, including John Cena, Dave Bautista, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, mainly for acting in major films, as well as Chris Jericho and "Macho Man" Randy Savage for their musical ventures. Wrestling has also gained a major following on YouTube, with WWE being the most subscribed wrestling channel and sixth most subscribed channel in the world. Other promotions, such as All Elite Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, Impact Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance have distributed their own weekly programming on the platform.
==== Measures of popularity ====
Professional wrestling has become especially prominent in North America, Japan and Europe (especially the United Kingdom). In Brazil, there was a very popular wrestling television program that aired from the 1960s to the early 1980s called Telecatch. High-profile figures in the sport have become celebrities and even cultural icons in their home countries. Although professional wrestling started out as a small sideshow in traveling circuses and carnivals, today it is a multi-billion-dollar industry. Revenue is drawn from ticket sales, network television broadcasts, pay-per-view broadcasts, branded merchandise and home video.
Wrestling was instrumental in making pay-per-view a viable method of content delivery. Annual shows such as WrestleMania, All In, Bound for Glory, Wrestle Kingdom and formerly Starrcade are among the highest-selling pay-per-view programming each year. In modern day, internet programming has been utilized by a number of companies to air web shows, internet pay per views (IPPVs) or on-demand content, helping to generate internet-related revenue earnings from the evolving World Wide Web. Home video sales dominate the Billboard charts Recreational Sports DVD sales, with wrestling holding anywhere from 3 to 9 of the top 10 spots every week.
Due to its persistent cultural presence and to its novelty within the performing arts, wrestling constitutes a recurring topic in both academia and the media. Several documentaries have been produced looking at professional wrestling, most notably Beyond the Mat directed by Barry W. Blaustein, and Wrestling with Shadows featuring retired wrestler Bret Hart and directed by Paul Jay. There have also been many fictional depictions of wrestling; the 2008 film The Wrestler received several Oscar nominations and began a career revival for its star Mickey Rourke. The largest professional wrestling company worldwide is the United States–based WWE, which bought out many smaller regional companies in the late 20th century, as well as primary competitors World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ECW in early 2001. Other major companies worldwide include All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in the United States, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) in Mexico; and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan.
=== Study and analysis ===
With its growing popularity, professional wrestling has attracted attention as a subject of serious academic study and journalistic criticism. Many courses, theses, essays and dissertations have analyzed wrestling's conventions, content, and its role in modern society. It is often included as part of studies on theater, sociology, performance, and media. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a course of study on the cultural significance of professional wrestling, and anthropologist Heather Levi has written an ethnography about the culture of lucha libre in Mexico.
In the early 20th century, once it became apparent that the "sport" was worked, pro wrestling was looked down on as a cheap entertainment for the uneducated working class, an attitude that still exists to varying degrees today. The French theorist Roland Barthes was among the first to propose that wrestling was worthy of deeper analysis, in his essay "The World of Wrestling" from his book Mythologies, first published in 1957. Barthes argued that it should be looked at not as a scamming of the ignorant, but as spectacle; a mode of theatric performance for a willing, if bloodthirsty, audience. Wrestling is described as performed art which demands an immediate reading of the juxtaposed meanings. The logical conclusion is given least importance over the theatrical performers of the wrestlers and the referee. According to Barthes, the function of a wrestler is not to win: it is to go exactly through the motions which are expected of him and to give the audience a theatrical spectacle. This work is considered a foundation of all later study.
While pro wrestling is often described simplistically as a "soap opera for males", it has also been cited as filling the role of past forms of literature and theater; a synthesis of classical heroics, commedia dell'arte, revenge tragedies, morality plays, and burlesque. The characters and storylines portrayed by a successful promotion are seen to reflect the current mood, attitudes, and concerns of that promotion's society, and can in turn influence those same things. For example, wrestling's high levels of violence and masculinity make it a vicarious outlet for aggression during peacetime. The displays of masculinity are said to incorporate homoerotic elements and elements of pageantry that have been compared to drag or Ball culture; some scholars posit that the homoerotic undertones target the desires of ostensibly heterosexual male viewers, "[allowing] them the vicarious pleasure of transgressing gender norms" by identifying with "wrestlers who perform culturally transgressive notions of masculinity including flamboyance, attention to physical appearance, and ambiguous sexual identity". Beyond childhood, almost all fans recognize that professional wrestling is not a bonafide athletic contest. Nonetheless, Mazer argues that fans are drawn in by perception of authenticity, seeking to relive childhood aloofness.
The more insistent fans become in their exposes of wrestling's fakery, the more they look to experience the real. ... This phantom of the real is at the heart of professional wrestling's appeal.
Documentary filmmakers have studied the lives of wrestlers and the effects the profession has on them and their families. The 1999 theatrical documentary Beyond the Mat focused on Terry Funk, a wrestler nearing retirement; Mick Foley, a wrestler within his prime; Jake Roberts, a former star fallen from grace; and a school of wrestling students trying to break into the business. The 2005 release Lipstick and Dynamite, Piss and Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling chronicled the development of women's wrestling throughout the 20th century. Pro wrestling has been featured several times on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. MTV's documentary series True Life featured two episodes titled "I'm a Professional Wrestler" and "I Want to Be a Professional Wrestler". Other documentaries have been produced by The Learning Channel (The Secret World of Professional Wrestling) and A&E (Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows). Bloodstained Memoirs explored the careers of several pro wrestlers, including Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam, and Roddy Piper. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Ferdinand_(band) | Franz Ferdinand (band) | Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 2002. Their original line-up was composed of Alex Kapranos (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Nick McCarthy (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Bob Hardy (bass) and Paul Thomson (drums, percussion, backing vocals). Julian Corrie (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals) and Dino Bardot (guitar, backing vocals) joined the band in 2017 after McCarthy left during the previous year, and Audrey Tait (drums, percussion) joined the band after Thomson left in 2021. The band were categorised as a post-punk revival band, and garnered multiple UK top 20 hits in the 2000s. They have been nominated for several Grammy Awards and have received two Brit Awards—winning one for Best British Group—as well as one NME Award.
The band's 2003 debut single, "Darts of Pleasure", narrowly missed the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 44, but their second single that same year, "Take Me Out", yielded their commercial breakthrough, peaking at number three. "Take Me Out" charted in several other countries and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal; it became the band's signature song. Their debut album Franz Ferdinand won the 2004 Mercury Prize and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Album.
In 2005, the band released their second studio album, You Could Have It So Much Better, produced by Rich Costey. It peaked within the top-ten in multiple countries and earned Grammy-nominations for Best Alternative Album and for one of the singles, "Do You Want To". The band's third studio album, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, was released in January 2009; by then the band had shifted from a post-punk-focused sound to a more dance-oriented sound. A remix album of Tonight, titled Blood, was released in July 2009.
Four years after the release of Tonight, the band released their fourth studio album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, in August 2013. In 2015, Franz Ferdinand and American rock band Sparks formed the supergroup FFS and released a one-off album, FFS, in June 2015. The band underwent multiple line-up changes following FFS, beginning with McCarthy's departure in 2016. After acquiring Corrie and Bardot, the band released their fifth studio album Always Ascending in February 2018. Thomson departed in 2021 and was replaced by Tait. The band's sixth studio album, The Human Fear, was released in January 2025 to commercial success.
== History ==
=== Formation (2001–2003) ===
The band's members played in various bands during the 1990s, including The Karelia, Yummy Fur, 10p Invaders, and Embryo. Alex Kapranos and Paul Thomson met at a party and began a close friendship and played together in Yummy Fur, and subsequently teamed up to write songs. Around the same time, Kapranos taught his friend Bob Hardy how to play bass after being given a bass by Mick Cooke of Belle & Sebastian. Kapranos met guitarist Nick McCarthy, who had returned to Scotland after studying jazz bass in Germany, in 2001.
Once the members came together, they settled on the name Franz Ferdinand for their band. The name was originally inspired by a racehorse called Archduke Ferdinand. After seeing the horse win the Northumberland Plate in 2001, the band began to discuss Archduke Franz Ferdinand and thought it would be a good band name because of the alliteration of the name and the implications of the Archduke's death: his assassination was a significant factor in the lead-up to World War I. In an interview, Hardy recollected that "mainly we just liked the way it sounded. We liked the alliteration." Kapranos continued, saying "he was an incredible figure as well. His life, or at least the ending of it, was the catalyst for the complete transformation of the world and that is what we want our music to be. But I don't want to over-intellectualise the name thing. Basically a name should just sound good ... like music." Thomson concluded, saying “I like the idea that, if we become popular, maybe the words Franz Ferdinand will make people think of the band instead of the historical figure.”
=== Franz Ferdinand and international breakthrough (2003–2005) ===
In May 2003 the band signed to Laurence Bell's independent record label, Domino Recording Company. The band moved to Gula Studios in Malmö, Sweden, with Cardigans producer Tore Johansson to record their debut album. In the latter part of 2003, the band released their debut single, "Darts of Pleasure". In January 2004, the single "Take Me Out" reached No. 3 in the UK charts. The album, Franz Ferdinand, was released in early 2004, debuting at No. 3 in the UK Albums Chart in February 2004, and at No. 12 in the Australian album charts in April 2004. The album only reached the lowest levels of the Billboard 200 album charts in the US as of early 2004, but reached the top 5 of the indie rock chart and the Heatseeker chart for debut artists. After a couple of North American tours and heavy rotation of the "Take Me Out" video on MTV, the album eventually reached No. 32 on the Billboard 200 later in 2004, and sold over a million copies in the United States. Franz Ferdinand received a generally strong positive response from critics. NME rated it 9 out of 10, and said that the band was the latest in the line of art school rock bands featuring the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Roxy Music, the Sex Pistols, Wire, Travis and Blur.
On 7 September 2004, the album was awarded the 2004 Mercury Music Prize. "Take Me Out" gained first place in the Australian Triple J Hottest 100 for 2004, winning more than twice the votes of the second-place entry, with This Fire and The Dark of the Matinee entering at No. 24 and No. 50 respectively. Franz Ferdinand won an Ivor Novello Award in 2004 and two Brit Awards in 2005. The avant-garde music video for "Take Me Out" earned them a Breakthrough Video MTV Award. NME named Franz Ferdinand the best album of 2004, and placed it 38th on their 100 Best Albums of All Time list. The band performed "Take Me Out" as a live medley with Los Lonely Boys, Maroon 5, The Black Eyed Peas and Gwen Stefani at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards in 2005, in which "Take Me Out" was nominated for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Franz Ferdinand was nominated for Best Alternative Album. "Take Me Out" was featured on the video games NHL 2005, Madden NFL 2005 and the breakthrough game Guitar Hero. The album has sold around 3.6 million copies worldwide.
=== You Could Have It So Much Better (2005–2007) ===
The band spent much of 2005 in the studio in Glasgow working on their follow-up album, You Could Have It So Much Better, which was released on 3 October 2005. The band initially intended to leave the album self-titled like their debut, but they changed it to You Could Have It So Much Better...With Franz Ferdinand before settling on the final title. The album's cover design was modelled on Alexander Rodchenko's 1924 portrait of Lilya Brik. The band attempted to broaden its musical range on the album; Hardy said, "There's more to life than disco-beat guitar music". It was generally well received in the press and seen as an album equal to, or better than, their first by most critics. It entered the UK Album Charts at Number 1 and the US charts at Number 8. The album eventually sold 2 million copies worldwide.
To support the album, four singles were released. Included in that set is a double A-side single that contained a video-clip-only single as well (both the AA-side "L. Wells" and the video-clip "Jeremy Fraser" are not featured on the album, recorded in early 2006 during the band's tour of Australia in support of the album). Also included is another video-clip-only single called "Wine, In the Afternoon" which is the B-side to "Eleanor Put Your Boots On", and was also not featured on the album, but recorded on tour in Michigan. "Do You Want To" made it to number 4 and was declared by Q to be the greatest single of 2005, while "Walk Away" and "The Fallen" entered the top 15 of the UK Singles Chart. The fourth and final single from the second album, "Eleanor Put Your Boots On", peaked at number 30. You Could Have It So Much Better went on to earn a nomination for Best Alternative Album at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in 2006, as did "Do You Want To" for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
=== Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (2007–2011) ===
On 26 January 2009, the band released their third studio album, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, which they had been recording in Glasgow since mid-2007. The band recorded the album in a disused building in Glasgow that had been a town hall in the past. Alex Kapranos has stated that "The last record was...like a teenager having sex. This one's a bit more assured and a bit friendlier for the dance floor."
Tonight was mixed by Canadian Mix Engineer Mike Fraser. The song "Ulysses" was chosen to be the first single and was released on 19 January 2009. It was first played by Zane Lowe on 17 November 2008. Shortly afterwards it hit YouTube. It did not see that much success in the UK Top 40, reaching only No. 20, but it fared better in Spain and Japan where it reached No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. It also entered the Top 20 of the US Modern Rock Chart. The album, Tonight was released 26 January 2009 and debuted at No. 2 in the UK Album Chart and No. 9 in the US Billboard 200. The second single, "No You Girls" saw success both in the charts and on the radio prior to release, eventually reaching No. 7 on the US Modern Rock Chart and was performed by Franz Ferdinand on Comic Relief 2009 Top of The Pops special. "Can't Stop Feeling" was released on 6 July as the third single from the album and on 28 August, "What She Came For" was released as the 4th single in the form of a remix single. The band performed "What She Came For" on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on Wednesday, 26 August 2009.
The band appeared on Radio 1's live lounge performing their second single "No You Girls", and did a cover of Britney Spears' comeback single "Womanizer". In February 2009, Glastonbury Festival announced Franz Ferdinand as the first major band playing at that year's festival. The band also unveiled a 19-date tour of the US during the spring, in support of the new album. The tour included a set at the Coachella Festival. The band were also one of the main stage acts performing at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Swindon in May. On 6 May 2009, it was announced that Franz Ferdinand would be the third opening act for the Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown World Tour. They played 8–26 August 2009, and they followed Kaiser Chiefs and The Bravery.
On 1 June 2009, the band released Blood, a compilation album that includes dub music versions of songs from Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. The release was timed to coincide with Record Store Day. iTunes Festival: London 2009, iTunes Store exclusive, was released in June as well.
Also made for the Record Store Day, on 16 April 2011 Domino released the compilation Covers E.P., which featured songs of Tonight: Franz Ferdinand played by Peaches, LCD Soundsystem, Stephin Merritt, ESG and Debbie Harry (who recorded in duet with the band). The first edition was only vinyl, but on 2 May 2011 it was released on CD.
=== Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action and FFS with Sparks (2012–2015) ===
Writing for a fourth studio album began in 2010. Kapranos stated that the band promised themselves they would also focus on not over-publicising their progress as he felt that's something he regretted about their previous album. In May 2012, the band returned to touring, playing several festivals during the summer of 2012 including a headlining slot at Field Day festival in London's Victoria Park. Other appearances included Barcelona's Primavera Sound Festival, Montreal's 2012 Osheaga Music Festival, Chicago's 2012 Lollapalooza Music Festival, Belgium's Dour Festival, Portugal's Marés Vivas Festival and San Francisco's 2012 Outside Lands Music Festival.
During their 2012 tour, the band gradually introduced new songs to their repertoire, along with a reworked version of Tonight cut "Can't Stop Feeling" combined with "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer. In March 2013, Franz Ferdinand continued touring and premiering new songs. In early March they performed "Evil Eye" and "Love Illumination", while the end of the month saw the live premiere of "Goodbye Lovers & Friends". On 16 May 2013, Franz Ferdinand officially announced their fourth album, titled Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, along with cover art, track listing and a release date of 26 August 2013. The band launched the new album at a show at the Electric Brixton. FMV Magazine's Dan Jenko praised the gig, saying that "there's no reason why latest LP Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action can't be the belated soundtrack of the summer".
On 9 March 2015, it was announced that the band had formed a supergroup with Sparks under the name FFS, with plans to release a studio album and tour Europe during that summer. A teaser titled "The Domino Effect" was released on the group's YouTube channel that same day. The John Congleton-produced album, FFS, was officially announced on 1 April 2015. Three official singles were released from the album: "Johnny Delusional", which was released on 13 April, "Call Girl", which was released on 28 May, and "Police Encounters", which was released on 23 October.
=== Line-up change and Always Ascending (2016–2020) ===
In July 2016, the band announced that guitarist Nick McCarthy would not be involved in the recording and touring of their next album, in order to concentrate on his family and other musical interests. The band, however, have stressed that it is possible he may rejoin the band at a later date. On 14 October 2016, the band released "Demagogue", a song protesting and satirising the candidacy of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election of 2016. It was released as part of the 30 Days, 50 Songs programme that featured 50 songs lyrically against Trump and his candidacy.
On 19 May 2017, two days prior to the start of their North American tour, Franz Ferdinand announced their new five-piece line-up, with former Yummy Fur and 1990s member Dino Bardot on guitar and Julian Corrie on keyboards, synth and guitar. On 25 October, the band released the single "Always Ascending" from their fifth studio album, Always Ascending (2018). They revealed the album's release date, 9 February 2018, and announced dates for a world tour. Corrie joined the band for the recording sessions of the album, while Bardot joined after recording was completed.
=== Departure of Thomson, Hits to the Head and The Human Fear (2021–present) ===
On 21 October 2021, the band announced through social media that Paul Thomson had departed the band, with Glasgow-based drummer Audrey Tait joining as his replacement, as well as confirming that studio recordings had been undertaken with Tait. The announcement was accompanied by a statement from Thomson and a photograph of him passing his drumsticks to Tait. Tait's debut performance with the band had taken place several weeks before the announcement, at the Balmain fashion show in Paris on 29 September.
Franz Ferdinand released a new single, "Billy Goodbye", on 2 November 2021. The track is one of two new songs on the greatest hits compilation Hits to the Head, which was released on 11 March 2022.
Franz Ferdinand performed at Night for Ukraine, a fundraising benefit held at the Roundhouse in north London on the evening of March 9, 2022, with the funds raised being donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal, to provide aid to people fleeing Ukraine following the Russian invasion. The event was organised by Fabien Riggall in collaboration with the Ukrainian pop duo Bloom Twins.
On 11 September 2024, Franz Ferdinand announced their sixth studio album, The Human Fear, to be released on 10 January 2025. The lead single, "Audacious", was released following the announcement of the album. The album will be the first full-length album to feature Audrey Tait on drums following the departure of Paul Thomson. The band will tour the UK and Europe in the first half of 2025, beginning on 14 February in Lisbon and concluding in Glasgow on 7 March. On 18 January 2025, Franz Ferdinand performed with guitarist Johnny Marr ex-The Smiths at a show for 3 songs call Build It Up, from sixth album The Human Fear, “Do You Want To,” from Franz’s second album, You Could Have It So Much Better and “Bigmouth Strikes Again,” from The Smiths’ 1986 album, The Queen Is Dead at Aviva Studios in Manchester for the Amazon Music City Sessions.
== Collaborations and covers ==
Franz Ferdinand covered the LCD Soundsystem song "All My Friends" which appeared as a B-side on the single and LCD Soundsystem covered their song Live Alone in return, which appeared on a covers EP alongside Stephin Merritt, ESG and Debbie Harry who all covered songs from Tonight. They have also covered "Sexy Boy" by Air, "It Won't Be Long" by the Beatles, Pulp's "Mis-Shapes", Gwen Stefani's top 5 hit "What You Waiting For?", Blondie's "Call Me", Britney Spears' "Womanizer" and David Bowie's song "Sound and Vision", featuring Girls Aloud on backing vocals, for a compilation disc marking the 40th anniversary of BBC Radio 1, along with other leading artists. Additionally, Franz Ferdinand recorded a cover of the Fire Engines' song "Get Up and Use Me". In return, the Fire Engines recorded a cover of "Jacqueline". The band also took a similar approach with Dutch band De Kift, covering the song "Heisa-Ho" whilst De Kift recorded a cover of "Love and Destroy" with Dutch lyrics. The cover by De Kift is named "Liefde En Puin" which is the title "Love and Destroy" translated into Dutch. The band has had remixes by electronic artists Daft Punk, Hot Chip, Justice, The Avalanches, Microfilm and Erol Alkan.
The band also performed, played and recorded with Jane Birkin, covering the Serge Gainsbourg song "Sorry Angel" for the 2005 album Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited. In addition, Franz re-recorded the track "Brown Onions" for David Shrigley's compilation album Worried Noodles. The band kept instrumentation identical but used lyrics written by Shrigley which include the consistent repetition of the word "No" and occasionally "No brains, no teeth, no legs, no eyes...". Hot Chip, a band who are reported to be a favourite of Franz Ferdinand, also performed their own version of "No" on the same album. The band partnered with Sony in Tokyo, filming commercials for the launch of the A Series Walkman music player on 8 September 2005. A limited edition Franz Ferdinand-themed Walkman A Series player was released by Sony Japan in January 2006, with only one hundred made.
The band 'met' Gorillaz in December 2005 and interviewed each other for a feature in Observer Music Monthly. At the 2009 NME Awards ceremony, they performed a cover of Blondie's "Call Me" with Elly Jackson of La Roux on guest vocals. When the band appeared on Radio 1's Live Lounge on 6 April 2009, to promote "No You Girls", they covered "Womanizer" by Britney Spears. They have also collaborated with Marion Cotillard for the 2010 Lady Dior campaign. The band wrote the lyrics and plays the music for the song "The Eyes of Mars", while the actress is on vocals. Kapranos noted that it was refreshing working with her as she had a lot of fun going and retrying the song time and time again. In 2010, Franz Ferdinand contributed to the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack with their adaption of the song "The Lobster Quadrille". Later that year, Kapranos and McCarthy collaborated on the song "Do It Again" with Edwyn Collins on his album Losing Sleep.
In 2016, Alex Kapranos took part in a documentary about Glasgow music and Chemikal Underground Records called Lost in France. The film was directed by Niall McCann and brought Kapranos (along with members of The Delgados, Mogwai and others) to Mauron, Brittany, to recreate a gig they played when Kapranos was in his earlier band, The Karelia. The film features Kapranos playing live with Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai, and other musicians such as Emma Pollock and RM Hubbert, and Holy Mountain, as well as interviews with Kapranos and his old label-mates. Lost in France premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival to wholly positive reviews and was called "funny, vital and sobering" by Scotland's arts bible The Skinny. In 2022, Franz Ferdinand's single, "This Fire" served as the opening theme song for the Polish-Japanese animated series, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
== Style ==
=== Music and art ===
Stylistically, the band has been labelled as indie rock, post-punk revival, garage rock revival, dance-rock, dance-punk, art rock, art punk and post-Britpop. The band is notable for its use of Russian avant-garde imagery in album and single covers designed by Matthew Cooper. Examples include: "You Could Have It So Much Better", which references a 1924 portrait of Lilya Brik by Alexander Rodchenko; "Take Me Out", which references One-Sixth Part of the World, also by Alexander Rodchenko; "This Fire" which references Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge by El Lissitzky; and "Michael", with single art based on A Proun by Lissitzky. The song "Love and Destroy" was inspired by the scene of disorder made by Margarita, a character of Michael Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita", in the apartment of the literature critic Latunzky.
Also, in "Outsiders", the lyrics "In seventeen years will you still be Camille, Lee Miller, Gala or whatever" are a reference to the lovers of the artists Auguste Rodin, Man Ray and Salvador Dalí.
The band have been credited with helping to increase the popularity of men's fringed hairstyles.
=== Music videos ===
Many of the videos to promote the band's singles take inspiration from Russian avant-garde much like their LP and CD sleeves.
The avant-garde music video for "Take Me Out", directed by Jonas Odell, was inspired by Dadaism (especially Max Ernst's Une Semaine de Bonté), Busby Berkeley choreographies and Russian constructivist design. Alex Kapranos explained the many and varied influences behind the 1930s-style promo for second single "Take Me Out": "It's kind of two dimensional in a three dimensional style if that makes any sense. It's a montage of images; ourselves, pictures and things taken from other places and put together in a strange, abstract way. That's what gives the video that strange, jerky, style".
The lyrics of "Do You Want To" make reference to parties at the "trendy" Glasgow art gallery Transmission, and the video includes a variety of the work of contemporary artist Vanessa Beecroft.
== Members ==
Timeline
== Discography ==
Studio albums
Franz Ferdinand (2004)
You Could Have It So Much Better (2005)
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (2009)
Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (2013)
Always Ascending (2018)
The Human Fear (2025)
== Awards and honours == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_La_Land | La La Land | La La Land is a 2016 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love while pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles. The supporting cast includes John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, Finn Wittrock, and J. K. Simmons.
Having been fond of musicals during his time as a drummer, Chazelle first conceptualized the film alongside Justin Hurwitz while attending Harvard University together. After moving to Los Angeles in 2010, Chazelle penned the script but did not find a studio willing to finance the production without changes to his design. After the success of his film Whiplash (2014), the project was picked up by Summit Entertainment. Miles Teller and Emma Watson were originally in talks to star, but after both dropped out, Gosling and Stone were cast. Filming took place in Los Angeles between August and September 2015, with the film's score composed by Hurwitz, who also wrote the film's songs with lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and the dance choreography by Mandy Moore.
La La Land premiered at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2016, and was released theatrically in the United States on December 9, by Lionsgate. The film emerged as a major commercial success, grossing $447 million worldwide during its initial run, and received widespread acclaim from critics, particularly for Chazelle's direction and screenplay, the performances of Gosling and Stone, the score, musical numbers, cinematography, visual style, costumes and production design. It went on to receive numerous accolades, including winning a record seven awards at the 74th Golden Globe Awards and received eleven nominations at the 70th British Academy Film Awards, winning five, including Best Film. The film also received a record-tying fourteen nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, winning in six categories including Best Director and Best Actress (Stone). Its loss in the Best Picture category (to Moonlight) made it the most-nominated film at the Oscars to lose Best Picture, until Sinners' loss (to One Battle After Another) in 2026. At age 32, Chazelle became the youngest winner of Best Director. It has since been regarded as one of the best films of the 2010s and the 21st century, and as one of the best musical films of all time. As of February 2023, a stage musical adaptation is in the works.
== Plot ==
While stuck in Los Angeles traffic ("Another Day of Sun"), Sebastian "Seb" Wilder has a moment of road rage directed at aspiring actress Amelia "Mia" Dolan. After a hard day at work, Mia's next audition goes awry because the casting director takes a phone call during an emotional scene. That night, her roommates take her to a lavish party in the Hollywood Hills, promising her that it could jump-start her career ("Someone in the Crowd"). After her car is towed, she walks home in disappointment.
During a gig at a restaurant, Seb slips into jazz improvisation ("Mia & Sebastian's Theme") despite the owner's warning to only play traditional Christmas pieces. Mia hears him playing as she passes by. Moved, she enters the restaurant and observes Seb being fired for his disobedience. Mia attempts to compliment him as he storms out, but he brushes by her. Months later, she runs into Seb at a party where he plays in a 1980s pop cover band. Mia requests that Seb play "I Ran" for her. After the gig, they walk to their cars and – despite an obvious chemistry – lament wasting the night on each other ("A Lovely Night").
Seb arrives at Mia's workplace, and she shows him around the Warner Bros. backlot, where she works as a barista, while expressing her passion for acting. He takes her to a jazz club, describing his passion for jazz and his desire to open his own club. Seb invites Mia to a screening of Rebel Without a Cause and she accepts, forgetting a date with her boyfriend. Bored with the latter date, she rushes to the theater and finds Seb as the film begins. When the screening is interrupted by a projector malfunction, Seb and Mia spend the rest of the evening together with a romantic visit to the Griffith Observatory.
After more failed auditions, Mia decides, with Seb's encouragement, to write a one-woman play. Seb begins to perform regularly at a jazz club, and the two of them eventually move in together ("City of Stars"). A former bandmate of Seb invites him to be the keyboardist in a new jazz fusion band, which will give him a steady income. Although dismayed by the band's pop style, Seb signs on after hearing Mia trying to convince her mother that he is working on his career. The band finds success, but Mia knows their music is not the type of music Seb wants to perform ("Start a Fire").
During the band's first tour, Seb and Mia argue: she accuses him of abandoning his dreams, while he claims that she liked him more when he was unsuccessful because it made her feel better about herself. Two weeks later, Seb misses Mia's play because of a photoshoot he had forgotten about. The play fails, very few people attend, and Mia overhears dismissive comments about her performance. Unable to forgive him for missing her play and their previous argument, Mia returns to her hometown of Boulder City, Nevada.
Seb receives a call from a prominent casting director who attended Mia's play, inviting her to audition for an upcoming film. Knowing that this could be her big break, he drives in a hurry to Boulder City and finds her house since he remembered that she lived across the street from the library, where she fell in love with acting. Seb persuades her to attend, and she reluctantly agrees to go.
During the audition the next day, Mia is asked to tell a story. In response, she sings about how her aunt, a one-time stage actress who eventually died from alcoholism, inspired her to chase her dreams ("Audition (The Fools Who Dream)"). Confident the audition was a success, Seb encourages Mia to devote herself to acting. The two then recognize that they will always love each other despite what may come for their relationship.
Five years later, Mia is living a happy life as a successful actress and married to a different man, with whom she has a daughter. That night, the couple stumble upon a jazz bar. Recognizing the logo she had once designed, Mia realizes that Seb has opened his own jazz club. Seb notices Mia in the crowd and begins to play their love theme on the piano. The two imagine what their happy life together would have been ("Epilogue") had their relationship thrived along with their careers, then acknowledge each other with a silent exchange of smiles and go their separate ways.
== Cast ==
== Production ==
=== Pre-production ===
As a drummer, Chazelle has a predilection for musical films. He wrote the screenplay for La La Land in 2010, when the film industry seemed out of reach for him. His idea was "to take the old musical but ground it in real life where things don't always exactly work out," and to salute creative people who move to Los Angeles to chase their dreams. He conceived the film when he was a student at Harvard University with his classmate Justin Hurwitz. The two explored the concept in their senior thesis through a low-budget musical about a Boston jazz musician, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. Chazelle was moved by the tradition of 1920s "city symphony" films, such as Manhatta (1921) and Man with a Movie Camera (1929), that paid tribute to cities. After graduating, both moved to Los Angeles in 2010 and continued writing the script, but made a few modifications, such as altering the location to Los Angeles instead of Boston.
Rather than trying to match L.A. to the charms of Paris or San Francisco, he focused on the qualities that make the city distinctive: the traffic, the sprawl, and the skylines. The style and tone of the film were inspired by Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort, especially the latter, which was more dance and jazz-oriented. The film also makes visual allusions to Hollywood classics such as Broadway Melody of 1940, Singin' in the Rain, The Band Wagon, and An American in Paris. About An American in Paris, Chazelle commented: "That's a movie that we just pillaged. It's an awesome example of how daring some of those old musicals really were." It shares some character development and themes with Chazelle's previous musical work, Whiplash; Chazelle said:
"They're both about the struggle of being an artist and reconciling your dreams with the need to be human. La La Land is just much less angry about it."
He said that both films reflect his own experiences as a filmmaker working his way up the Hollywood ladder. La La Land in particular is inspired by his experience of moving from the East Coast with preconceived notions of what L.A. would be like, "that it was all just strip malls and freeways".
Chazelle was unable to produce the film for years as no studio was willing to finance an original contemporary musical with no familiar songs. It is also a jazz musical, which The Hollywood Reporter called an "extinct genre". He believed that since he and Hurwitz were unknown at that time, it might have made financiers dubious about the project's potential. Gosling's character Sebastian holds a view of the jazz of the past being superior. According to an article by Anthony Carew, Chazelle wrote this character trait as a reflection of "[his] own relationship with the past and with jazz, too". Chazelle found producers through friends who introduced him to Fred Berger and Jordan Horowitz. With the two producers on board, the script went to Focus Features at a budget of around $1 million. The studio demanded alterations: the male lead was asked to be changed from a jazz pianist to a rock musician, the complicated opening number had to be altered, and the story's bittersweet ending needed to be dropped. Chazelle scrapped the project and moved on.
Chazelle later wrote Whiplash, which was an easier concept to sell and a less risky investment. After Whiplash was well received by critics upon its premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in January, Chazelle continued his efforts to bring La La Land to the big screen. A year later, when Whiplash earned five Oscar nominations at the 87th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and grossed nearly $50 million worldwide off a $3.3 million production budget, Chazelle and his project began to attract attention from studios.
Five years after Chazelle wrote the script, Summit Entertainment and Black Label Media, along with producer Marc Platt, agreed to invest in La La Land and distribute it. They had been impressed by the critical and commercial success of Whiplash. Lionsgate's Patrick Wachsberger, who previously had worked on the Step Up franchise, pushed Chazelle to increase the film's budget since he felt high-quality musicals could not be made cheaply.
=== Casting ===
Miles Teller and Emma Watson were originally slated to star in the leading roles. Watson dropped out to honor her commitments to Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast remake (2017), while Teller exited via long contract negotiations. Coincidentally, Gosling turned down the Beast role in Beauty and the Beast in favor of La La Land. Chazelle subsequently decided to make his characters somewhat older, with experience in struggling to make their dreams, rather than younger newcomers just arriving in Los Angeles.
Emma Stone plays Mia, an aspiring actress in Los Angeles. Stone has loved musicals since she saw Les Misérables when she was eight years old. She said "bursting into song has always been a real dream of mine", and her favorite film is the 1931 Charlie Chaplin romantic comedy City Lights. She studied pom dancing as a child, with a year of ballet. She moved to Hollywood with her mother at age fifteen to pursue a career, and struggled constantly to get an audition during her first year. When she did, she often was turned away after singing or saying just one line. Stone drew from her own experiences for her character of Mia, and some were added into the film.
She met Chazelle in 2014 while she was making her Broadway debut in Cabaret. Chazelle and Hurwitz saw her perform on a night when the actress had a cold. She met with Chazelle at Brooklyn Diner in New York City, where the director outlined his vision for the planned film. Stone gained confidence from performing in Cabaret to handle the demands of the film. In preparation for her role, Stone watched some of the musical movies that inspired Chazelle, including The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers collaborations. Stone accepted the offer because Chazelle was so passionate about the project.
Ryan Gosling plays Sebastian, a jazz pianist. Like Stone, Gosling drew from his own experiences as an aspiring artist. One incident was used for Mia. Gosling was performing a crying scene in an audition and the casting director took a phone call during it, talking about her lunch plans while he was emoting. Chazelle met with Gosling when he was about to begin filming for The Big Short. In addition to Gosling and Teller, Michael B. Jordan was also considered for the role of Sebastian.
Chazelle cast Gosling and Stone immediately after Summit bought the film. He stated that the duo "feel like the closest thing that we have right now to an old Hollywood couple" as akin to Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and Myrna Loy and William Powell. The film marked the third collaboration between Gosling and Stone, following Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) and Gangster Squad (2013). Chazelle asked the two about their audition disasters when they were both trying to make it. Both learned to sing and dance for the film's six original tunes.
The rest of the cast – J. K. Simmons, Sonoya Mizuno, Jessica Rothe, Callie Hernandez, Finn Wittrock, Rosemarie DeWitt, John Legend, Jason Fuchs, Meagen Fay – were announced between July and August 2015.
The film was choreographed by Mandy Moore. Rehearsals took place at a production office in Atwater Village, Los Angeles over the span of three to four months, beginning in May 2015. Gosling practiced piano in one room, Stone worked with Moore in another, and costume designer Mary Zophres had her own corner of the complex. Gosling, with no previous experience, had to learn how to play the piano; no hand models were used. Moore emphasized working on emotion rather than technique, which Stone said was key when they filmed the "A Lovely Night" scene (searching for the parked car). To help his cast and crew get their creative mode flowing, Chazelle held screenings on the soundstages every Friday night of classical films that had inspired him for the film, including The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Singin' in the Rain, Top Hat, and Boogie Nights.
=== Filming ===
From the beginning, Chazelle wanted the film's musical numbers to be filmed "head to toe" and performed in a single take, like those of the 1930s works of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. He also wanted the film to emulate the widescreen, CinemaScope look of 1950s musicals such as It's Always Fair Weather. Consequently, the movie was shot on celluloid 4-perf Super 35mm film (not digitally) with Panavision anamorphic lenses in CinemaScope's 2.55:1 aspect ratio, but not in true CinemaScope as that technology is no longer available.
Chazelle wanted Los Angeles to be the primary setting for his film, commenting that "there is something very poetic about the city I think, about a city that is built by people with these unrealistic dreams and people who kind of just put it all on the line for that." Principal photography on the film officially began in the city on August 10, 2015, and filming took place in more than 60 locations both in and near Los Angeles, including the Angels Flight trolley in downtown, houses in the Hollywood Hills, the Colorado Street Bridge, the Rialto Theatre in South Pasadena, the Warner Bros. studio lot, the Grand Central Market, Hermosa Beach's Lighthouse Café, Griffith Observatory, Griffith Park, Chateau Marmont, the Watts Towers, and Long Beach, with many scenes shot in one take. It took 40 days to complete shooting, finishing in mid-September 2015.
The opening pre-credits sequence was the first to be shot, and was filmed on a closed-off portion of two carpool direct connector ramps of the Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange, connecting the I-105 Carpool Lane to the I-110 Express Lanes, leading to Downtown Los Angeles. It was filmed in a span of two days, and required more than 100 dancers. For this particular scene, Chazelle wanted to give a sense of how vast the city is. The scene was originally planned for a stretch of ground-level highway, until Chazelle decided to shoot it in the 105–110 interchange, which arcs 100 feet (30 m) in the air. Production designer David Wasco said, "I thought somebody was going to fall off and get killed." Not every portion of the highway was blocked. Chazelle compared the scene to the yellow brick road leading to the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Chazelle scouted for "old L.A." locations that were in ruins, or were perhaps razed. One such example was the use of the Angels Flight trolley, built in 1901. The funicular had been closed in 2013 after a derailment. Attempts were made to repair and re-open the railway, but to no avail. However, the production team was able to secure permission to use it for a day. Chazelle and his crew then arranged to have it run for shooting (it was re-opened to the public in 2017). Mia works at a coffee shop on the Warner Bros. studio lot; Chazelle considered studio lots to be "monuments" of Hollywood. Production designer Wasco created numerous fake old film posters. Chazelle occasionally created names for them, deciding to use the title of his first feature, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009) for one poster, which reimagines it as a 1930s musical.
The now-iconic six-minute-long "A Lovely Night" scene (searching for the parked car) had to be completed during the brief "magic hour" moment at sunset. It took eight takes and two days to shoot it. When Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone finally nailed it, "everybody just exploded," Stone said. Since Gosling and Stone were not primarily dancers, the two made a number of mistakes, especially during long uninterrupted single-take musical numbers. However, Chazelle was very sympathetic towards them, understanding their lack of experience and not minding their errors. While shooting Sebastian and Mia's first dance together, Stone stumbled over the back of a bench, but picked right up and kept on going with the scene. In 2024, Gosling reflected on the filming of this scene, wishing he could re-film it to correct the positioning of his hand in the famous still frame from the sequence that was used throughout the film's marketing, saying that "It just killed the energy that way ... It was all leading to what? A lazy ... I call it La La Hand."
Chazelle said that the romantic dinner that Sebastian prepared for Mia was "one of the scenes that I think I wrote and rewrote and rewrote more than any other in the script". Gosling and Stone also helped create the dialogue of the scene to get it to be one of the more realistic scenes in a film filled with fantasy and fantastical elements.
Chazelle spent nearly a year editing the film with editor Tom Cross, as the two were primarily concerned with getting the tone right.
=== Soundtrack ===
The songs and score for La La Land were composed and orchestrated by Justin Hurwitz, Chazelle's Harvard University classmate, who also worked on his two prior films. The lyrics were written by Pasek and Paul, except for "Start a Fire", which was written by John Legend, Hurwitz, Marius de Vries and Angelique Cinelu. A soundtrack album was released on December 9, 2016, by Interscope Records, featuring selections from Hurwitz's score and songs performed by the cast.
The film's opening number, "Another Day of Sun", shot as a single tracking shot on an L.A. freeway, received praise for its choreography. The songs "City of Stars" and "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" received numerous awards.
== Release ==
La La Land had its world premiere as the Venice Film Festival's opening night film on August 31, 2016. The film also screened at the Telluride Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, beginning September 12, 2016, the BFI London Film Festival, the Middleburg Film Festival in late October 2016, the Virginia Film Festival, held at the University of Virginia on November 6, 2016, and the AFI Fest on November 15, 2016.
La La Land was originally set for a July 15, 2016, release; however, in March 2016, it was announced the film would be given a limited release starting December 2, 2016, before expanding on December 16, 2016. Chazelle stated that the change was because he felt that the release date was not right for the context of the film, and because he wanted to have a slow rollout beginning with the early fall film festivals. The limited release was later moved back a week to December 9, 2016, with the wide release still being planned for December 16, 2016. Lionsgate opened the film in five locations on December 9, 2016, and expanded it to about 200 theaters on December 16, 2016, before going nationwide on December 25, 2016. The film went fully wide on January 6, 2017, with a release into select IMAX theaters a week later.
La La Land was released in the United Kingdom on January 12, 2017. The film was released in the Netherlands on December 22, 2016, and in Australia on December 26, with the rest of the territories planned for a release from mid-January 2017.
=== Home media ===
Lionsgate released La La Land on Digital HD on April 11, 2017, and Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray and DVD on April 25, 2017.
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
La La Land grossed $151.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $353.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $504.6 million, against a production budget of $30 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $68.25 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film, making it one of the top 20 most profitable releases of 2016. This is Ryan Gosling's second highest-grossing film, surpassed in 2023 by Barbie.
La La Land began its theatrical release with a limited release in five theaters in Los Angeles and New York City on December 9. It made $881,107 in its opening weekend, giving the film a per-theater average of $176,221, the best average of the year. In its second week of limited release, the film expanded to 200 theaters and grossed $4.1 million, finishing seventh at the box-office. It was an increase of 366% from the previous week and good for a per-theater of $20,510. The following week, the film had its wide expansion to 734 theaters, grossing $5.8 million for the weekend (including $4 million on Christmas Day and $9.2 million over the four days), and finishing eighth at the box-office. On January 6, 2017, the weekend of the Golden Globes, the film expanded to 1,515 theaters and grossed $10 million over the weekend, finishing fifth at the box-office. In its sixth week of release, the film grossed $14.5 million (a total of $16.9 million over the four-day weekend for Martin Luther King Jr. Day), finishing second at the box-office behind Hidden Figures. After receiving its 14 Oscar nominations, the film expanded to 3,136 theaters on January 27, 2017 (an increase of 1,271 from the week before) and grossed $12.1 million (up 43% from its previous week's $8.4 million). During the weekend of February 24–26 (the weekend of the Academy Awards) the film grossed $4.6 million, exactly the same amount it grossed the previous weekend. The next week, following its six Oscar wins, the film grossed $3 million.
=== Critical response ===
La La Land received widespread critical acclaim, with high praise directed towards Chazelle's direction and screenplay, cinematography, music, the performances of Gosling and Stone and their chemistry. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 91% based on 470 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "La La Land breathes new life into a bygone genre with thrillingly assured direction, powerful performances, and an irresistible excess of heart." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 94 out of 100, based on 54 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". It was the third- and sixth-highest scoring film released in 2016 on each respective site. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported audiences gave an 81% overall positive score and a 93% "definite recommend".
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave La La Land four stars out of four, describing it as "a hot miracle" and complimenting its musical numbers, particularly the opening scene. He went on to name it his favorite movie of the year. Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune similarly lauded the opening sequence, in addition to highlighting Stone's performance, stating "she's reason enough to see La La Land." Despite being less enthusiastic about Gosling's dancing and the film's middle section, Phillips nevertheless gave the film four out of four stars, declaring it "the year's most seriously pleasurable entertainment". A.O. Scott of The New York Times praised the film, stating that it "succeeds both as a fizzy fantasy and a hard-headed fable, a romantic comedy and a showbiz melodrama, a work of sublime artifice and touching authenticity". Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian awarded the film five out of five stars, describing it as "a sun-drenched musical masterpiece." Tom Charity of Sight & Sound stated, "Chazelle has crafted that rare thing, a genuinely romantic comedy, and as well, a rhapsody in blue, red, yellow and green." Writing for The Boston Globe, Ty Burr summarized the effectiveness of the film to relate to audiences stating: "...the movie traffics in the bittersweet happiness of treasuring things that are vanishing, like the unrealized future imagined in the climactic dance number, or those inky, star-filled dance floors that go on forever in old movies, or Hollywood musicals themselves. Or jazz: Sebastian has an early moment at a nightclub where he passionately sticks up for the music he loves. 'It's dying on the vine,' he says. 'And the world says 'Let it die. It had its time.' Well, not on my watch.' In that scene, he speaks for the director. By the end of La La Land, he's speaking for all of us." Filmmakers Jonathan Demme, Jay Duplass, Paul Feig, Chad Hartigan, Chris Kelly, Daniel Kwan, Rebecca Miller, Reed Morano, Christopher Nolan, James Ponsoldt and Nanfu Wang also praised the film.
La La Land's competition for awards and critical attention with the African-American film Moonlight shortly after the election of Donald Trump sharpened the attention on questions of racial sensitivity and unexamined white privilege in the characters of film. While accolades from audiences and critics grew, the film received backlash for what some considered a disproportional amount of praise. Saturday Night Live lampooned the fervor over the film with a sketch about a man arrested for thinking it was "decent... but also boring." The film was criticized by some for its treatment of race and jazz. Kelly Lawler of USA Today noted that Gosling's character has been referred to as a "white savior" by some critics, for "his quest (and eventual success) to save the traditionally black musical genre from extinction, seemingly the only person who can accomplish such a goal." The sentiment was also expressed by Ruby Lott-Lavigna of Wired, Anna Silman of New York, and Ira Madison III of MTV News. Rex Reed of the New York Observer also took aim at the film's intention to emulate the MGM musical classics, writing that "the old-fashioned screenplay, by the ambitious writer-director Damien Chazelle, reeks of mothballs", and that "the movie sags badly in the middle, like a worn-out mattress that needs new springs". The South China Morning Post remarked that aside from its racial treatment of jazz, much of the public criticism was towards the film being "a little dull", the two leads' singing and dancing being considered unexceptional, and the lack of nuance in Stone's character, with Gosling's occasionally seen as insufferable.
=== Legacy ===
Since its release, La La Land continues to receive acclaim. It is regarded as a modern classic and one of the best films of all time due to its captivating performances, attention to detail, and its assent to previous movie musicals such as Singin' in the Rain. In 2019, CBC Radio included it on its list of "the greatest romantic movies of all time." In 2021, Helena Trauger of The Beacon called it the best film of the 2010s, stating that it is "one of the most creative and well-executed films that every person should attempt to watch at least once." In 2022, Time Out ranked it number 79 on its list of the "100 Best Films of the 21st Century," writing that it "has a signature all of its own, stopping traffic in the first glorious sequence."
MovieWeb ranked the film number 2 on its list of the "Best Movie Musicals of the 21st Century So Far," in 2022 as well. In 2023, it ranked it number 3 on its list of the "15 Greatest Movies About Jazz" and number 1 on its list of the "Best Modern Movies Shot on Film." It also ranked number 2 on Teen Vogue's list of "The 45 Best Dance Movies of All Time." The film ranked number 15 on Collider's list of the "30 Best Musicals of All Time," with Jeremy Urquhart writing, "It works as a modern update/homage to classic Hollywood musicals that were popular in the 1950s without ever feeling derivative or mocking, and Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in the lead roles both give great performances that are up there with the best of their respective careers."
It also ranked number 8 on Parade's list of the "67 Best Movie Musicals of All Time," with Samuel R. Murrian writing that the film is "many things, thusly its own creation: deftly blending a modern showbiz melodrama, a giddy throwback, a striking love story." Screen Rant also ranked it at number 10 on its list "The 35 Best Musicals of All Time" and number 1 on its list of "The 12 Best Movie Musicals of the 21st Century," while IndieWire ranked it at number 12 on its list of "The 60 Best Movie Musicals of All Time." Wilson Chapman, curation editor for IndieWire, wrote that La La Land's story has just the right harmony of romance and melancholy, and that pieces such as "Another Day of Sun" and "A Lovely Night" are catchy and rememberable. He remarked that the Oscar-winning "City of Stars," as well as others of Hurwitz's scores, are "some of the finest written for any movie this century." In 2024, Looper ranked it number 11 on its list of the "51 Best PG-13 Movies of All Time," calling the film "a deeply affecting feature thanks to a pair of great performances from Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Any movie like La La Land that gets toes tapping and tears flowing with such grace is worth remembering."
In 2021, members of Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) voted the film's screenplay 92nd in WGA’s 101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century (so far). In March 2025, The Washington Post ranked the film at number 13 on its list of "The 25 best movie musicals of the 21st century," with Ty Burr writing "The results are even closer to the touchstone of Jacques Demy's beloved 1964 Umbrellas of Cherbourg than the earlier film [Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench]: love lost, found and lost again amid an evocation of a city's hidden soul." In June 2025, actors Simu Liu and Molly Ringwald cited the film as among their favorites of the 21st century. In July 2025, it ranked number 16 on the "Readers' Choice" edition of The New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century."
=== Cultural impact ===
Many elements of the film, including the visual style, use of colors, staging of the musical numbers and costume designs have been referenced numerous times in popular culture since its release. These include the entire opening segment of the 74th Golden Globe Awards, featuring parodies of "Another Day of Sun," "City of Stars" and the planetarium sequence with host Jimmy Fallon, Nicole Kidman, Amy Adams, Sarah Paulson, Courtney B. Vance, Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Rami Malek, and Kit Harington participating, an independently produced short film parody set in New York City titled NY NY Land, a sketch on season 42 of Saturday Night Live where host Aziz Ansari plays a character who is interrogated over calling the film "overrated" because of its Oscar nominations, and a television commercial for the prescription Jardiance. The 2018 single "Love Scenario" by IKon drew heavy inspiration from the film's epilogue sequence. The 2021 Disney animated short film, Us Again, was also said to have been influenced by the film. In the closing of The Simpsons episode "Haw-Haw Land" it is stated that the episode was supposed to be a parody of Moonlight rather than La La Land (itself parodying the mistake at the 89th Academy Awards.)
=== Accolades ===
Emma Stone won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival.
La La Land received 11 nominations at the 70th British Academy Film Awards, more than any other film of 2016. The film won in the categories of Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Role (for Stone), Best Cinematography, and Best Film Music.
At the 74th Golden Globe Awards, La La Land received a leading seven nominations. The film won in all seven categories for which it was nominated, setting a record for the most Golden Globes won by a single film, namely Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Director, Best Actor – Comedy or Musical (for Gosling), Best Actress – Comedy or Musical (for Stone), Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song ("City of Stars") breaking the record One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest set for the most wins.
At the 89th Academy Awards, La La Land received a leading six awards, namely Best Director, Best Actress (for Stone), Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Original Song ("City of Stars"), and Best Production Design. The film received a total of 14 nominations, tying the record for most nominations by a single film with All About Eve (1950) and Titanic (1997). Its other nominations were Best Picture, Best Actor (for Gosling), Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, a second nomination for Best Original Song ("Audition (The Fools Who Dream)"), Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.
==== Best Picture Oscar gaffe ====
During the Oscars ceremony, presenter Faye Dunaway incorrectly announced that La La Land had won Best Picture, reading from the card Warren Beatty opened, which was actually a duplicate of the Best Actress card for Emma Stone. After the cast and crew of La La Land took the stage, it took the show's producers more than two minutes (during which nearly three speeches were made) to fix the mistake. The actual winner was Moonlight.
==== German television prank ====
In March 2017, La La Land was at the center of a prank involving Goldene Kamera, an annual German film and television award. German comedians Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf arranged for a Ryan Gosling impersonator to be awarded the "Best International Film" prize for La La Land. Following the event, a speaker for television broadcaster ZDF asked for the trophy to be given back, stating that La La Land had won the prize and that the trophy would be given to the real Ryan Gosling. The incident, which became known as "GoslingGate", sparked criticism of the event's concept. Media critics argued that the "Best International Film" award had only been created in an effort to get Ryan Gosling on the show, with no regards for the film's quality. The incident played a major role in the cancellation of the Goldene Kamera in 2019. In 2018, Winterscheidt and Heufer-Umlauf were awarded the Grimme Award for their media criticism.
== Stage adaptations ==
=== Broadway musical ===
On February 7, 2023, it was announced that the film would be adapted into a Broadway musical by Platt and Lionsgate. Hurwitz, Pasek & Paul will return to write additional songs for the show. Bartlett Sher will direct from a book by Ayad Akhtar and Matthew Decker.
=== So Long Boulder City ===
A theatrical spin-off, So Long Boulder City, was created in 2017 by comedians Jimmy Fowlie and Jordan Black. The show was a full-length parody of Mia Dolan's one-woman show from the movie, and featured Fowlie in drag as Mia. So Long Boulder City debuted in Los Angeles before enjoying a run at the SubCulture Off-Broadway theater in New York City. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Goblet_of_Fire | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a fantasy novel by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth novel in the Harry Potter series. It follows Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the mystery surrounding the entry of Harry's name into the Triwizard Tournament, in which he is forced to compete.
The book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury and in the United States by Scholastic. In both countries, the release date was 8 July 2000. This was the first time a book in the series was published in both countries at the same time. The novel won a Hugo Award, the only Harry Potter novel to do so, in 2001. The book was adapted into a film, released worldwide on 18 November 2005, and a video game by Electronic Arts.
== Plot ==
During the summer, there is an attack at the Quidditch World Cup. The cloaked assailants resemble Death Eaters, the followers of Voldemort. When the school term begins at Hogwarts, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody is introduced as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Dumbledore announces that students from the foreign wizarding schools Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at Hogwarts to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Students are invited to nominate themselves for the tournament by putting their names into an artefact called the Goblet of Fire. Although Harry does not nominate himself, he is mysteriously selected to compete against the older students Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum.
Harry is interviewed by the Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter, who writes a scathing article portraying him as a disturbed attention-seeker. Using the Hogwarts Floo Network, Harry speaks with his godfather Sirius Black, who warns him about Durmstrang's headmaster Igor Karkaroff, who is a former Death Eater. Sirius believes that Harry's selection for the dangerous tournament is somehow connected to the attack at the World Cup. Hagrid alerts Harry that the First Task involves a dragon. After Moody reminds Harry that he is an expert flyer, Harry uses his broomstick to fly past the dragon and accomplish the task.
As Christmas approaches, Harry asks a girl named Cho Chang to the Yule Ball, but she is already going with Cedric. Harry and Ron end up going to the ball with the twin sisters Parvati and Padma Patil. Ron is sullen as he observes Hermione dancing with Krum. As the Second Task nears, Harry learns that he will need to rescue someone from the lake. The house-elf Dobby gives him Gillyweed, which allows him to breathe underwater long enough to rescue both Ron and Fleur's sister Gabrielle. He is awarded extra points for his bravery and is tied for first place.
In the Third Task, Harry and his competitors must navigate a maze of obstacles to reach the Triwizard Cup. Harry and Cedric reach the Cup at the same time and decide to grab it together. They are immediately transported to a graveyard, where Peter Pettigrew kills Cedric and subdues Harry. Using Harry's blood, he performs a rite that returns Voldemort to bodily form. As Voldemort and Harry duel, their wands magically connect. This distraction allows Harry the chance to escape back to Hogwarts with the Cup and Cedric's body.
Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape discover that Moody is actually the Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr, who has been constantly drinking Polyjuice Potion. When they administer him a truth potion, he reveals that he placed Harry's name in the Goblet, supported him through the Tasks so that he would reach the Triwizard Cup first, and ensured he was transported to the graveyard for the rite by turning the cup into a Portkey. Crouch Jr. is handed over to the Dementors, who render him soulless with the Dementor's Kiss. Recovering in the hospital wing, Harry narrates the events to Cedric's parents and offers them his tournament winnings ; they will not accept the gold, so he gives it to Fred and George Weasley so they can open their joke shop. During a memorial service for Cedric, Dumbledore tells the students of Hogwarts that Voldemort has returned.
== Development ==
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth book in the Harry Potter series. The first, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published by Bloomsbury on 26 June 1997. The second, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published on 2 July 1998. The third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, followed on 8 July 1999. Goblet of Fire is almost twice the size of the first three books (the paperback edition was 636 pages). J. K. Rowling stated that she "knew from the beginning it would be the biggest of the first four." She said there needed to be a "proper run-up" for the conclusion and rushing the "complex plot" could confuse readers. She also stated that "everything is on a bigger scale," which was symbolic, as Harry Potter's horizons widened both literally and metaphorically as he grew up. She also wanted to explore more of the magical world.
Until the official title's announcement on 27 June 2000, the book was called by its working title, "Harry Potter IV". Previously, in April, the publisher had listed it as Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament. However, J. K. Rowling expressed her indecision about the title in an Entertainment Weekly interview.
"I changed my mind twice on what [the title] was. The working title had got out — Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament. Then I changed Doomspell to Triwizard Tournament. Then I was teetering between Goblet of Fire and Triwizard Tournament. In the end, I preferred Goblet of Fire because it's got that kind of cup of destiny feel about it, which is the theme of the book."
Rowling mentioned that she originally wrote a Weasley relative named Mafalda, who, according to Rowling, "was the daughter of the 'second cousin who's a stockbroker' mentioned in Philosopher's Stone. This stockbroker had been very rude to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley in the past, but now he and his (Muggle) wife had inconveniently produced a witch, they came back to the Weasleys asking for their help in introducing her to wizarding society before she starts at Hogwarts". Mafalda was supposed to be a talented nosy Slytherin match for Hermione Granger and was to fill in the Rita Skeeter subplot, but she was eventually removed because "there were obvious limitations to what an eleven-year-old closeted at school could discover." Rowling considered Rita Skeeter to be "much more flexible". Rowling also admitted that the fourth book was the most difficult to write at the time because the Mafalda character also served as a giant plot hole, which she discovered halfway through writing.
== Themes ==
Jeff Jensen, who interviewed Rowling for Entertainment Weekly in 2000, pointed out that bigotry is a big theme in the Harry Potter novels and Goblet of Fire in particular. He mentioned how Voldemort and his followers are prejudiced against Muggles and how, in Goblet of Fire, Hermione forms a group to liberate Hogwarts' house-elves who have "been indentured servants so long they lack desire for anything else." When asked why she explored this theme, Rowling replied,
Because bigotry is probably the thing I detest most. All forms of intolerance, the whole idea of that which is different from me is necessarily evil. I really like to explore the idea that difference is equal and good. But there's another idea that I like to explore, too. Oppressed groups are not, generally speaking, people who stand firmly together – no, sadly, they kind of subdivide among themselves and fight like hell. That's human nature, so that's what you see here. This world of wizards and witches, they're already ostracized, and then within themselves, they've formed a loathsome pecking order.
She also commented that she did not feel this was too "heavy" for children, as it was one of those things that a "huge number of children at that age start to think about."
== Publication and reception ==
=== UK/US release ===
Goblet of Fire was the first book in the Harry Potter series to be released in the United States on the same date as the United Kingdom, on 8 July 2000, strategically on a Saturday so children did not have to worry about school conflicting with buying the book. It had a combined first-printing of over five million copies. It was given a record-breaking print run of 3.9 million. Three million copies of the book were sold over the first weekend in the US alone. FedEx dispatched more than 9,000 trucks and 100 planes to fulfil book deliveries. The pressure in editing caused a mistake which shows Harry's father emerging first from Voldemort's wand; however, as confirmed in Prisoner of Azkaban, James died first, so then Harry's mother ought to have come out first. This was corrected in later editions.
==== Launch publicity ====
To publicise the book, a special train named Hogwarts Express was organised by Bloomsbury, and run from King's Cross to Perth, carrying J.K. Rowling, a consignment of books for her to sign and sell, also representatives of Bloomsbury and the press. The book was launched on 8 July 2000, on platform 1 at King's Cross – which had been given "Platform 9+3⁄4" signs for the occasion – following which the train departed. En route it called at Didcot Railway Centre, Kidderminster, the Severn Valley Railway, Crewe (overnight stop), Manchester, Bradford, York, the National Railway Museum (overnight stop), Newcastle, Edinburgh, arriving at Perth on 11 July.
The locomotive was West Country class steam locomotive no. 34027 Taw Valley, which was specially repainted red for the tour; it later returned to its normal green livery (the repaints were requested and paid for by Bloomsbury). The coaches of the train included a sleeping car. A Diesel locomotive was coupled at the other end, for use when reversals were necessary, such as the first stage of the journey as far as Ferme Park, just south of Hornsey. The tour generated considerably more press interest than the launch of the film Thomas and the Magic Railroad, which premiered in London the same weekend.
=== Critical reception ===
In The New York Times Book Review, author Stephen King stated the Goblet of Fire was "every bit as good as Potters 1 through 3" and praised the humour and subplots, although he commented that "there's also a moderately tiresome amount of adolescent squabbling...it's a teenage thing". Kirkus Reviews called it "another grand tale of magic and mystery...and clicking along so smoothly that it seems shorter than it is". However, they commented that it did tend to lag, especially at the end where two "bad guys" stopped the action to give extended explanations, and that the issues to be resolved in sequels would leave "many readers, particularly American ones, uncomfortable". For The Horn Book Magazine, Martha V. Parravano gave a mixed review, saying "some will find [it] wide-ranging, compellingly written, and absorbing; others, long, rambling, and tortuously fraught with adverbs". A Publishers Weekly review praised the book's "red herrings, the artful clues and tricky surprises that disarm the most attentive audience" and saying it "might be her most thrilling yet." Writing for The New Yorker, Joan Acocella noted that "where the prior volumes moved like lightning, here the pace is slower, the energy more dispersed. At the same time, the tone becomes more grim."
Kristin Lemmerman of CNN said that it is not great literature: 'Her prose has more in common with your typical beach-blanket fare and the beginning contained too much recap to introduce characters to new readers, although Rowling quickly gets back on track, introducing readers to a host of well-drawn new characters.' Writing for Salon.com, Charles Taylor was generally positive about the change of mood and development of characters. Entertainment Weekly's reviewer Kristen Baldwin gave Goblet of Fire the grade of A−, praising the development of the characters as well as the many themes presented. However, she did worry that a shocking climax may be a "nightmare factory" for young readers.
In 2012 it was ranked number 98 on a list of the top 100 children's novels published by School Library Journal.
=== Awards and honours ===
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won several awards, including the 2001 Hugo Award for Best Novel. It won the 2002 Indian Paintbrush Book Award, the third after Philosopher's Stone and Prisoner of Azkaban. The novel also won an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award for one of the best books, who claimed it was "more intense than the first three books". In addition, Entertainment Weekly listed Goblet of Fire in second place on their list of The New Classics: Books – The 100 best reads from 1983 to 2008. The Guardian ranked Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire #97 in its list of 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.
== Adaptations ==
=== Film ===
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was adapted into a film, released worldwide on 18 November 2005, which was directed by Mike Newell and written by Steve Kloves. The film grossed $102.7 million for the opening weekend, and eventually grossed $896 million worldwide. The film was also nominated for Best Art Direction at the 78th Academy Awards.
=== Video game ===
It was also made into a video game for Windows, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, and PlayStation Portable by Electronic Arts. It was released just before the film. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheriff_of_Yorkshire | Sheriff of Yorkshire | The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions are now largely ceremonial.
Sheriff is a title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. A list of the sheriffs from the Norman Conquest onwards can be found below. The Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown in England and Wales, their purpose being to represent the monarch at a local level, historically in the shires.
The office was a powerful position in earlier times, especially in the case of Yorkshire, which covers a very large area. The sheriffs were responsible for the maintenance of law and order and various other roles. Some of their powers in Yorkshire were relinquished in 1547 as the Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire was instated to deal with military duties. It was only in 1908 under Edward VII of the United Kingdom that the Lord Lieutenant became more senior than the Sheriff. Since then the position of Sheriff has become more ceremonial, with many of its previous responsibilities transferred to High Court judges, magistrates, coroners, local authorities and the police.
In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the single Yorkshire shrievalty was abolished, with high sheriffs appointed to each of the new metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties. Today the position is represented at a more local level in the form of four titles; the High Sheriff of the East Riding of Yorkshire, High Sheriff of North Yorkshire, High Sheriff of South Yorkshire and High Sheriff of West Yorkshire.
== Sheriffs ==
=== House of Normandy ===
=== House of Plantagenet ===
=== House of Lancaster ===
=== House of York ===
=== House of Tudor ===
=== House of Stuart ===
=== Commonwealth ===
=== House of Stuart, restoration ===
=== Queen Anne ===
=== House of Hanover ===
=== House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ===
=== House of Windsor === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Vettel | Sebastian Vettel | Sebastian Vettel (German pronunciation: [zeˈbasti̯a(ː)n ˈfɛtl̩] ; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022. Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from 2010 to 2013 with Red Bull, and remains the youngest-ever World Drivers' Champion; he won 53 Grands Prix across 16 seasons.
Born and raised in Heppenheim, Vettel began competitive kart racing aged eight. After a successful karting career—culminating in his victory at the junior European Championship in 2001—Vettel graduated to junior formulae. He started his career in Formula BMW ADAC, dominating the championship in 2004 with 18 wins from 20 races. Vettel then progressed to the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2005, taking several victories and finishing runner-up to Paul di Resta the following season. A test driver for BMW Sauber since 2006, Vettel made his Formula One debut at the 2007 United States Grand Prix. Vettel replaced Scott Speed at Toro Rosso after the European Grand Prix for the remainder of the 2007 season, as part of the Red Bull Junior Team. Retaining his seat for 2008, Vettel achieved his maiden pole position and victory at the Italian Grand Prix to become the then-youngest driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix. Vettel was promoted to parent team Red Bull in 2009, taking several wins as he finished runner-up to Jenson Button in the World Drivers' Championship.
After winning the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2010, Vettel became the youngest-ever Formula One World Drivers' Champion, aged 23. Vettel won his second and third championships in 2011 and 2012, dominating the former and winning the latter amidst a close title battle with Fernando Alonso. Vettel set several records in 2013, winning 13 Grands Prix—including a then-record nine consecutive victories—to claim his fourth consecutive title with Red Bull. After a winless 2014 campaign, Vettel signed for Ferrari, replacing Alonso to partner Kimi Räikkönen; he took several wins in his debut season, finishing third in the standings. Following another winless season in 2016, Vettel emerged as the closest challenger to Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, finishing runner-up in 2017 and 2018 after achieving several victories across both campaigns. Partnered by Charles Leclerc for 2019, Vettel took the final win of his career at the Singapore Grand Prix before leaving Ferrari at the end of the 2020 season. Vettel joined the recently established Aston Martin in 2021, where he scored his final podium finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Vettel retired at the end of the 2022 season, having achieved the fourth-most wins (53), fourth-most pole positions (57), fifth-most fastest laps (38), and fourth-most podium finishes (122) in Formula One. Vettel won the Race of Champions in 2015, further winning the Nations' Cup six consecutive times from 2007 to 2012, representing Germany alongside Michael Schumacher. He is also a prominent environmental and climate activist; since 2023, he has been co-owner of the Germany SailGP Team.
== Early life ==
Vettel was born on 3 July 1987 in Heppenheim, West Germany, to Norbert and Heike Vettel. He has one younger brother, Fabian, a racing driver, and two older sisters: Melanie, a dental technician, and Stefanie, a physiotherapist for children with disabilities. Vettel suggested in an interview that he was "terrible" at school, but he passed his Abitur at Heppenheim's Starkenburg-Gymnasium with a respectable grade. His childhood heroes were "The three Michaels": Michael Schumacher, Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson. He mentioned that he wanted to be a singer like Jackson, but realised that he did not have the voice. Vettel is also a fan of the Beatles, collecting several records, including Abbey Road and his favourite song being "Drive My Car". In an interview on Top Gear, he stated that he is a fan of British comedy such as Little Britain and Monty Python's Life of Brian.
== Junior racing career ==
=== Karting (1995–2002) ===
Vettel began karting at the age of three, and began racing in karts series in 1995 at the age of eight. He was accepted into the Red Bull Junior Team in 1998, and won various titles, such as the Junior Monaco Kart Cup in 2001.
=== Lower formulae (2003–2007) ===
==== 2003–2004: Formula BMW ====
Vettel was promoted to open-wheel cars in 2003, and was given a chance by Derrick Walker to test a Reynard Motorsport Champ Car in a two-day private test at the Homestead–Miami Speedway. A year later, he won the 2004 Formula BMW ADAC championship with 18 victories from 20 races.
==== 2005–2007: Formula Three and Formula Renault ====
Vettel drove for ASL Mücke Motorsport in the 2005 Formula 3 Euro Series. He was placed fifth in the final standings with 63 points and won the Rookie Cup. He tested for the Williams Formula One team later that year as a reward for his Formula BMW success. Vettel then went on to test for the BMW Sauber Formula One team.
Vettel was promoted to test driver for BMW Sauber in 2006, and participated in the 2006 Formula 3 Euro Series, finishing as runner-up. He also competed in the 2006 Formula Renault 3.5 Series, where he finished first and second at Misano in his first two races. In the next round at Spa-Francorchamps, his finger was almost sliced off by flying debris following an accident, and he was expected to be out for several weeks. Nevertheless, he managed to compete in the 2006 Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort the following weekend, where he finished in sixth place.
Vettel competed in the 2007 Formula Renault 3.5 Series, and took his first win at the Nürburgring. He led the championship when he was called up permanently by the BMW Sauber Formula One team.
== Formula One career ==
=== BMW Sauber reserve driver (2006–2007) ===
==== 2006: Test debut ====
Vettel became BMW Sauber's third driver at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, when former incumbent Robert Kubica replaced Jacques Villeneuve as second driver for the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. On his testing debut, Vettel set the fastest time in the second Friday free practice. Vettel became the then-youngest Formula One driver to participate in a Grand Prix weekend at 19 years and 53 days. He also set a record for the shortest time before first career fine, collecting his first fine in nine seconds by exceeding the pitlane speed limit on the way to the track. In his second testing session at the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, he set the fastest time in both Friday practice sessions.
==== 2007: Debut ====
Vettel was confirmed as BMW's test driver for 2007. Following Kubica's crash at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, Vettel was named his replacement at the 2007 United States Grand Prix. He started in seventh position and finished in eighth to become the then-youngest driver to score a point in Formula One.
=== Toro Rosso (2007–2008) ===
==== 2007–2008: Maiden race win and rise to prominence ====
BMW released him in July 2007 to join Red Bull's Scuderia Toro Rosso, replacing Scott Speed from the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix onwards, as Vettel was already under contract to Red Bull Racing. It was also announced that he would drive for Toro Rosso in 2008 alongside Sébastien Bourdais.
In the rain-affected Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji, Vettel worked his way up to third, behind Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber, and seemed to be on course for his and the team's maiden podium finish. However, Vettel crashed into Webber under safety car conditions, forcing both cars to retire. Webber said after the race: "It's kids isn't it. Kids with not enough experience – you do a good job and then they fuck it all up". Vettel was initially punished with a ten-place grid penalty for the following race, but this was lifted after a spectator video on YouTube showed the incident may have been caused by Hamilton's behaviour behind the safety car.
Vettel finished a career-best fourth a week later at the Chinese Grand Prix, having started 17th on the grid while in mixed conditions. He was tipped by Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz as one of the sport's big future stars: "Vettel is one of the young guys with extraordinary potential [...] He is fast, he is intelligent, and he is very interested in the technical side."
After four races of the 2008 season, Vettel was the only driver to have failed to finish a single race, having retired on the first lap in three of them. At the Monaco Grand Prix, Vettel scored his first points of the season with a fifth-place finish, after qualifying 17th. Toro Rosso's technical director Giorgio Ascanelli explained that something changed at the European Grand Prix in Valencia: "Suddenly Vettel understood something about how to drive an F1 car quickly. It made a huge difference – not only to the speed he could unlock but also to his ability to do so consistently."
At the wet Italian Grand Prix, Vettel became the youngest driver in history to win a Formula One Grand Prix, aged 21 years and 74 days. He led for the majority of the Grand Prix and crossed the finish line 12.5 seconds ahead of McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen. It would also be Toro Rosso's only win. Earlier in the weekend, he had already become the youngest pole-sitter. Toro Rosso team boss Gerhard Berger said: "As he proved today, he can win races, but he's going to win World Championships. He's a cool guy". His victory led the German media to dub him "Baby Schumi".
Vettel was named 2008 Rookie of the Year at the Autosport Awards.
=== Red Bull (2009–2014) ===
==== 2009: Championship contender ====
At the start of the 2009 season, Vettel replaced the retired David Coulthard at Red Bull Racing. He began strongly at the Australian Grand Prix, running in second for the majority of the race. However, a clash with Robert Kubica over second place in the latter stages forced both to retire. He went on to take pole position and the race win at Chinese Grand Prix; Red Bull Racing's maiden pole and win.
Further wins followed in Great Britain, Japan and Abu Dhabi. He won the Japanese Grand Prix from pole position, leading every lap. Vettel won the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the first ever day-night race, to finish second in the World Drivers' Championship standings behind Jenson Button. He also scored his third fastest lap of the year, drawing him level with teammate Mark Webber. However, as Vettel had more second fastest laps, he won the 2009 DHL Fastest Lap Award.
==== 2010: Youngest World Champion ====
Vettel took the first pole position of the 2010 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix. He led most of the race but as a result of a spark plug failure, Vettel finished in fourth place. At the Australian Grand Prix, Vettel was appointed as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. He took his first win of the season in Malaysia.
In Monaco, Vettel made it a Red Bull 1–2 with him second and Webber first. Both were equal on points in the standings, with Webber first based on total wins. At the Turkish Grand Prix, Vettel was running second behind Webber when he made a passing move on his teammate. The two collided, putting Vettel out of the race, with neither driver accepting responsibility for the collision.
At the British Grand Prix, both Vettel and Webber's cars were fitted with a new front wing design. Vettel's wing was damaged in the third practice session, and Webber's sole surviving example was removed and given to his teammate. Vettel qualified in first place, but suffered a puncture. He finished seventh while Webber took the victory. In Japan, he qualified on pole ahead of Webber and went on to win with a lights-to-flag victory. Aged 23 years and 98 days, Vettel became the youngest Grand Prix driver to win at the same track on two occasions. At the inaugural Korean Grand Prix, Vettel led the first 45 laps before retiring with engine failure, handing victory to championship rival Fernando Alonso.
With the 1–2 finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Vettel and Webber secured Red Bull Racing's first World Constructors' Championship. Vettel went into the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi with a 15-point deficit to Alonso and a 7-point gap to Webber. He won the Grand Prix from pole to become the youngest World Drivers' Champion in the sport's history, as Alonso only finished in seventh place. Following John Surtees in the 1964 season and James Hunt in 1976, this was the third time in Formula One history that the title winner had not topped the championship table until after the last race.
==== 2011: Dominant second title ====
Vettel started the 2011 season with wins in Australia and Malaysia, before a second-place finish at the Chinese Grand Prix due to poor tyre management, possibly related to his inability to properly communicate with his team, as his radio was broken. In Monaco, Vettel led the race but due to another radio malfunction, the Red Bull pit crew was not prepared when he came in. The pit stop was slow and he was sent out on the wrong tyres, handing the lead to Button. Vettel switched to a one-stop strategy and stuck with one set of soft tyres for 56 laps. He was caught by Alonso and Button as his tyres deteriorated, but neither were able to pass him. The race was red-flagged with few laps remaining, which allowed teams to change their tyres; when the race was restarted under the safety car, Vettel was able to retain the lead and win.
At the European Grand Prix, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) enforced a ban on engine mappings. It was believed by some in the press that this was an attempt by the FIA to thwart Vettel's early domination. Nevertheless, he took pole with the fastest qualifying lap in Valencia Street Circuit's history. Vettel dominated with his first hat-trick of 2011, and won his sixth race out of eight. The FIA implemented another rule change at the British Grand Prix, targeting the blown diffusers. Red Bull believed the changes would cost them about half a second per lap. During the race, Vettel held off Webber for second place, who ignored a radio message from team principal Christian Horner to hold position. It was only the second time in the sport's history that a driver had finished second or higher in each of the first nine races of a season and won at least six of them.
Vettel's run of fourteen successive front-row starts and eleven successive top two finishes ended at his home race, where he qualified third and finished fourth. In Italy, he took his tenth pole position of the year, in which he joined Ayrton Senna as the only driver to have taken ten pole positions in two separate seasons. A podium finish in Japan secured his second successive title with four races remaining, making him the youngest ever double and back-to-back champion. Vettel won the following race in Korea to become the second driver to take at least ten wins in a season after Michael Schumacher. He also helped to secure Red Bull's second successive World Constructors' Championship. Vettel took his eleventh victory of the season in the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, leading every lap from pole position, as well as setting the race's fastest lap to claim his first grand slam. Vettel broke the record for the most pole positions in a season at the season finale in Brazil, after he clinched his 15th pole of the year. He completed the year with 15 poles, 11 victories, and 17 podiums from 19 races; Vettel also earned a record total of 392 points.
==== 2012: Triple World Champion following Alonso title duel ====
Vettel started the 2012 season with a second place at the Australian Grand Prix, before he finished outside the points in Malaysia following a collision with backmarker Narain Karthikeyan. Vettel and Horner criticised Karthikeyan's driving, with Vettel calling him an "idiot", and a "cucumber". Karthikeyan hit back, calling Vettel a "cry baby". Vettel crossed the line in first place at the Bahrain Grand Prix to go top of the championship standings. Three races without a podium place followed, before he retired at the European Grand Prix after an alternator failure, dropping him to fourth in the standings. In Germany, Vettel finished second behind Alonso but received a 20-second time penalty after the race, as he was off the track when he overtook Button; Vettel dropped back to fifth. He started in 10th place but finished second in Belgium to climb up to second place in the championship. Vettel then retired at the Italian Grand Prix due to an alternator failure, which saw the gap to leader Alonso grow to 39 points with seven races remaining. He won next race in Singapore, as he kept the lead until the 2-hour race limit was reached. At the Japanese Grand Prix he took his second career grand slam and coupled with Alonso's retirement, he cut the gap down to just four points. After winning at the Korean Grand Prix, the Indian Grand Prix brought another victory, as Vettel topped all three practice sessions before taking pole position and leading every lap of the race to win.
During qualifying at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Vettel was told to stop the car due to a fuel pump issue; he was forced to start from the pit lane. From last place, Vettel fought his way back to finish in third place. He started the last race in Brazil with a 13-point cushion against Alonso. On the opening lap, Vettel spun after an incident with Bruno Senna. Following changing weather conditions, Vettel climbed up to finish in sixth place to win the championship by three points and to become the youngest ever triple world champion. He also became the third driver to acquire three consecutive championships, after Juan Manuel Fangio and Schumacher.
==== 2013: Record-breaking season earns fourth world title ====
Vettel started the first two races of the 2013 season on pole position, and at the Malaysian Grand Prix, he lapped over 2.5 seconds faster than teammate Webber in qualifying during a wet session. He won the race, though not without controversy. Vettel ignored the team orders and passed Webber for the lead. Webber was furious after the race and said that Vettel "will have protection as usual and that's the way it goes". Team principal Horner, although unhappy with Vettel's actions, pointed out that Webber had defied team orders on several previous occasions. He acknowledged that the already fragile relationship between the two drivers had further broken down as a result of the incident. Vettel claimed that he was not sorry for winning and that if the situation presented itself again, he would have passed Webber despite the order, adding that he felt Webber did not deserve to win the race.
Following wins in Bahrain and Canada, his championship lead was cut at the British Grand Prix as he was denied a likely win due to gearbox failure. Vettel bounced back to win his home race in Germany for the first time. After he finished third in Hungary, Vettel won the last nine races of the season, including grand slams in Singapore and Korea. Vettel set the then-record for most consecutive race wins with nine and he became only the third man after Alberto Ascari and Jim Clark to take consecutive grand slams. He sealed his fourth world title at the Indian Grand Prix; before the race weekend, Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone stated that Vettel was "probably the best [driver] we've ever had". Vettel totalled 13 wins by the end of the season and a then-record 155 points over runner-up Fernando Alonso.
On several occasions during the season, spectators booed Vettel. The booing was widely condemned by fellow drivers, the media and others in the paddock, and Vettel later revealed that it had a negative impact on him.
==== 2014: Winless year and departure from Red Bull ====
For the 2014 season and beyond, drivers picked a unique car number to use for the remainder of their Formula One career; Vettel chose the number five. However, as reigning World Drivers' Champion, he carried number one throughout the season. Webber left the sport and was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo, who was promoted from Toro Rosso.
Vettel struggled with reliability issues throughout winter testing, which forced him to retire at the opening Australian Grand Prix. Reliability problems also forced Vettel to retire at the Monaco and Austrian Grands Prix. Vettel qualified on the front-row for the races in Malaysia, Great Britain and Hungary, and finished on the podium in Malaysia, Canada, Singapore and Japan. After the Russian Grand Prix, he had been outqualified by a teammate over a season for the first time in his Formula One career. In addition to suffering reliability problems, throughout 2014 Vettel struggled to get to grips with the Red Bull RB10, and the Pirelli tyres. He signed off the year by becoming the first defending champion to fail to win a race during a season since Jacques Villeneuve in 1998.
In October, Red Bull had announced that Vettel would be leaving the team at the end of the season to join Scuderia Ferrari, one year before his contract was due to expire. Daniil Kvyat was later selected as his replacement. Vettel replaced Alonso and partnered his friend Kimi Räikkönen. Vettel mentioned he would like to drive for Ferrari at some point in his career and was already rumoured in 2012 to have a non-binding pre-contract, with options, to join them in 2014. He was denied an early release from his Red Bull contract to test the 2014 Ferrari car in Abu Dhabi. In spite of this, Vettel was present at the Ferrari test – although not driving the car – but Red Bull did not enforce any sanctions. Vettel instead made his first appearance in November, completing nearly 100 laps in the 2012 car around the test track of Fiorano.
=== Ferrari (2015–2020) ===
==== 2015: Returning to the top step ====
Vettel made his Ferrari debut by finishing third in the Australian Grand Prix. He followed that up with winning the Malaysian Grand Prix, his first race victory for over a year and the first win for Ferrari for almost two years. After the race, an emotional Vettel paid tribute to Schumacher, saying that his hero's achievements with Ferrari made the first win all the more special.
He won the Hungarian Grand Prix to remain a championship contender after he started from third on the grid. He dedicated his victory to the driver Jules Bianchi, who died the week prior from injuries sustained in 2014. At the halfway point of the season, Vettel was 42 points behind championship leader and Mercedes driver Hamilton. Vettel was in third place in Belgium when his right rear blew at high speed on the penultimate lap, likely ending any title chances given Hamilton's win. After the race, he ranted about the 'unacceptable' and 'unsafe' Pirelli tyres that could have caused him serious injury.
Vettel came home second in the Italian Grand Prix, his first race with Ferrari at the team's home soil. He then took his first pole with the team at the Singapore Grand Prix, Ferrari's first pole for three years. Vettel went on to win the race, and with Hamilton retiring, he closed to within 49 points with seven races remaining. Vettel ended the season in third place, however, with three wins and 13 podiums; he declared the season as a 'miracle'.
==== 2016: Second winless year ====
After a third-place finish at the 2016 Australian Grand Prix, Vettel's participation in Bahrain ended without starting as his car broke down on the formation lap. At the Chinese Grand Prix, Vettel collided with teammate Räikkönen on the first lap, but both were able to continue. He blamed Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat for the collision, labelling him a "madman" and described his overtaking manoeuvre as "suicidal". At the Russian Grand Prix, Vettel retired on the first lap after two consecutive collisions with Kvyat. At the Mexican Grand Prix, Vettel attempted to overtake Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, but after Verstappen ran off the track and rejoined ahead of him, Vettel verbally attacked him and race director Charlie Whiting, for which he later apologised. Vettel then blocked Red Bull's Ricciardo by moving in the braking zone, and was given a ten-second penalty and two points on his licence. Although he achieved seven podium finishes during the season, Vettel did not win any races in 2016.
==== 2017–2018: Title battles versus Hamilton ====
His third season at Ferrari started with victory in Australia, his first in 18 months. The early form continued the following races, winning in Bahrain and Monaco, and finishing second in China, Russia and Spain. In Russia, Vettel took his first pole position in 18 months and with Räikkönen alongside him, Ferrari had their first front row lock out since the 2008 French Grand Prix. Vettel's lead at the top of the standings increased to 25 points after the Monaco Grand Prix, Ferrari's first victory at the circuit since Schumacher won there in 2001.
In Azerbaijan, Vettel collided into the rear of race leader Hamilton under the safety car, accusing Hamilton of brake testing him. Moments later, Vettel pulled alongside and hit his Mercedes as they prepared for a restart, for which he received a ten-second stop-go penalty. The FIA investigated the Vettel-Hamilton incident further, but Vettel received no punishment. Vettel took full responsibility, issuing a public apology and committing to devote personal time over the next 12 months to educational activities across a variety of FIA championships and events.
Vettel's championship lead was cut to only a single point in Great Britain, as he suffered a puncture on the penultimate lap and dropped to seventh place. Vettel started from pole in Hungary and maintained the lead. He overcame steering issues and held on for victory, which gave him a 14-point lead over Hamilton. Mercedes dominated after the summer break and Vettel lost the championship lead at the Italian Grand Prix, which was followed by a first-lap retirement in Singapore after collision with Räikkönen and Verstappen. It was the first time in Formula One history that both Ferraris retired from the first lap of a Grand Prix. His title hopes were dealt another blow in Malaysia, as he started last following a turbo problem in qualifying. He finished in fourth place, but crashed with Williams' Lance Stroll on the cool-down lap; neither would be penalised. More reliability issues befell Ferrari in Japan as Vettel retired due to a spark plug failure. In Mexico, Vettel became the fourth driver in Formula One history to claim 50 pole positions. Verstappen took the lead from Vettel at the start, before Vettel collided with Hamilton, after which Hamilton won his fourth title. For the first time in his career, Vettel failed to win the World Drivers' Championship having led it at some stage during a season.
The 2018 season was dubbed the "Fight For Five" by the media, as for the first time in Formula One history, two quadruple world champions lined up at the start of a season. For the second consecutive year, Vettel began the season with victory in Australia, after he took the lead while pitting under the virtual safety car. It was his 100th podium, while he also became only the third man in Formula One history to have led 3,000 laps. In Bahrain, Vettel maintained the lead from pole through the first round of pit stops and held off Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas despite being on old soft tyres to take a fourth victory at the circuit. At the Chinese Grand Prix, he was hit by Verstappen in the latter stages of the race, which caused both to spin. Vettel limped home in eighth place, with his championship lead reduced to nine points. For the first time since 2013, Vettel took three consecutive pole positions as he qualified in first place in Azerbaijan. It was the 23rd different Grand Prix at which he had taken pole position, equalling Hamilton's then-record.
At the Canadian Grand Prix, Vettel won for the third time in 2018 and for the 50th time in his career, becoming only the fourth man to reach a half-century of wins. The following race in France, Vettel lost the championship lead following a collision with Bottas. He bounced back in Great Britain, after he passed Bottas in the last laps to take victory. Vettel led his home race until he slid off the track and hit the wall in the latter stages as rain started to fall, as he had clipped the sausage curb a few laps before, breaking a part of his front wing, causing understeer and loss of downforce; he won in Belgium, however, in which he passed Hamilton for the race victory. Contact on the opening lap with Hamilton in Italy saw Vettel damage his front wing and drop to the back of the field, but he recovered to cross the finishing line in fourth place. It left Vettel 30 points behind the Mercedes driver with seven races left. His championship hopes were dealt a further blow as Ferrari's upgrades introduced at the Singapore Grand Prix proved to be unsuccessful, making a step backwards on car development; Ferrari suffered a dip of form until the United States Grand Prix, where they reverted to their old package and successfully rediscovered their form. Vettel claimed his first ever podium in Mexico but the World Drivers' Championship went to Hamilton for a second consecutive year. Although Mercedes had been the more consistent and better team, fans and pundits criticised Vettel for making too many mistakes during the season.
==== 2019–2020: Decline and departure from Ferrari ====
After showing impressive pace throughout pre-season testing in Barcelona, Vettel and his new teammate Charles Leclerc headed to Australia with many pundits believing they had the car to beat for the 2019 season. The opening weekend proved to be difficult, however, as Vettel qualified some seven tenths off pole position in third and finished the race in fourth place. Third-place finishes in China and Azerbaijan followed, as Mercedes continued to dominate. Vettel took pole position in Canada; his first pole in 17 races. Midway through the race, a snap of oversteer caused him to run wide onto the grass. Vettel received a five-second time penalty from the stewards, who believed he had returned to the track "in an unsafe manner and forced [Hamilton] off track". Vettel crossed the line in first place but lost his victory as a result of the penalty. After the race, he swapped the number one and two signs in front of Hamilton's Mercedes and the empty spot that was supposed for his own car, as Vettel parked his car at the start of the pit entry. At the German Grand Prix, Vettel was unable to qualify after a turbo issue, which meant he would start in last place. During a race with mixed weather conditions, Vettel climbed up to second place.
In Italy, Vettel spun at the Ascari chicane and when he re-entered the track, he made contact with Racing Point's Stroll. Vettel received a 10-second stop-go penalty and finished in 13th place. At the Singapore Grand Prix, Vettel won on a circuit Ferrari were expected to struggle at. For the first time, Vettel had won five times at the same track. The following race, in Russia, Vettel went from third place on the grid to first place in the first corner. However, radio transmissions suggested that the team wanted to swap their drivers, but with Vettel the quicker driver, he remained in front. Vettel retired soon after with a MGU-K problem.
Vettel took pole position in Japan, but an abrupt start off the line caused him to momentarily stop before getting away, which allowed Bottas to take the lead; Vettel was not penalized for his jump start. After running in third at the Brazilian Grand Prix for the majority of the race, a safety car allowed Red Bull's Alexander Albon and an aggressive Leclerc to overtake him. He tried to pass his teammate immediately but the two Ferraris collided, resulting in another retirement for Vettel. He finished fifth in the World Drivers' Championship, and was outscored by a teammate for only the second time across a season.
Ferrari later announced they would not extend Vettel's contract beyond the 2020 season. Team principal Mattia Binotto explained there was "no specific reason" for the decision, though both parties noted it was an amicable agreement. The team would sign Carlos Sainz Jr. as Vettel's replacement. The season was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic as the first ten races of the original calendar were either rescheduled, postponed or cancelled altogether. Ferrari discovered problems on their car following pre-season testing, forcing them to make a major redesign.
The SF1000 lacked pace as Vettel finished the season's opening race in Austria in 10th place. During the weekend, he was also given a warning for breaching the FIA's COVID-19 protocols after he was seen mixing with members of his former team Red Bull. The following race, at the Styrian Grand Prix, Vettel retired on the opening lap with rear wing damage following a collision with Leclerc. He ended the season in a disappointing 13th place in the Drivers' standings, with a third place in Turkey as his best result. Ferrari only finished sixth in the Constructors' standings, their worst result since 1980, while Vettel's total of 33 points was the lowest in a full campaign in his Formula One career.
=== Aston Martin (2021–2022) ===
==== 2021: Final podium ====
Vettel joined Aston Martin for the 2021 season, replacing Sergio Pérez. In his debut race weekend in Bahrain, he received a grid penalty in qualifying, forcing him to start last. While Vettel started well, he had a collision with Esteban Ocon, giving him a time penalty and ended up finishing in 15th place. He received five penalty points on his superlicence. Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer reported no concerns, owing to this being a very different car from the Ferrari, lack of laps in pre-season testing and a very impressive race start. In the fifth race of the season, Vettel scored his first points for the team with a fifth-place finish in Monaco. At the following race, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he claimed Aston Martin's first, and his final, podium with a second-place finish. Vettel also finished second in Hungary, but was later disqualified, after his car failed to provide the one litre sample of fuel required. He ended the season in 12th place in the Drivers' standings, ahead of teammate Stroll. During the season, Vettel made 132 overtakes—the most of any driver—and won the inaugural Overtake Award.
==== 2022: Retirement ====
Vettel missed the first two races of the 2022 season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia after testing positive for COVID-19; he was substituted by Aston Martin's reserve driver Nico Hülkenberg. In July 2022, Vettel announced his retirement from Formula One at the end of the 2022 season. Vettel would score his last F1 career point at his 300th and final race at Abu Dhabi to end his final F1 season in 12th place in the standings.
== Driver profile ==
=== Comparison to Michael Schumacher ===
Vettel's unexpected win at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix led the media to dub him the "Baby Schumi". He was not just dubbed this for his nationality but also because of his driving style, his concentration and the hands-on role he plays behind the scenes with his team of engineers. Vettel played down the comparison stating he wanted to be the "New Vettel".
Nevertheless, the similarities were marked. Like Schumacher, Vettel grew up in a small town with an everyday background—Schumacher's father is a bricklayer and Vettel's is a carpenter. Both had their first taste of racing at the Kerpen karting track near Cologne, not far from the Nürburgring. Vettel began driving in his garden lapping the garden many times before he could legally take to the roads, and said his passion for cars was nurtured by watching Schumacher compete.
After winning his first championship in 2010, and being hailed as the "Next Schumacher", Vettel stated he did not want to aim for Schumacher's record after learning how hard it was to get one championship under his belt, though he would like to win more. In 2011, Pirelli director Paul Hembery was impressed when Vettel was the only driver to take the time to visit the factory and talk to the tyre manufacturer to gain a better insight. "The only other driver that asks us a lot of questions is Michael Schumacher. It is like seeing the master and the protégé at work."
After Schumacher was severely injured in a skiing accident in late 2013, Vettel was on hand to collect the Millennium-Bambi Award for Schumacher's life achievements on his behalf in 2014. In 2014, Vettel cited Schumacher as one of his inspirations in becoming a Scuderia Ferrari driver: "When I was a kid, Michael Schumacher in the red car was my greatest idol and now it's an incredible honour to finally get the chance to drive a Ferrari."
=== Helmet ===
From his karting days, Vettel worked with helmet designer Jens Munser. At the age of eight, Vettel wanted Sebastian the crab from The Little Mermaid on his helmet. Vettel's original helmet in Formula One, like most Red Bull-backed drivers, was heavily influenced by the energy drink company logo. New to Vettel's helmet at the start of 2008 was the incorporation of the red cross shape of the Kreis Bergstraße coat of arms on the front, just underneath the visor, in honour of the region of his birthplace, Heppenheim.
After switching to Red Bull in 2009, Vettel regularly used a variety of new helmet designs. Some designs were small changes to his original Red Bull design, while others were completely new designs, such as the one he used at the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix: Vettel had a special white-red helmet design, with black kanji and hiragana for "gives you wings". Several of his helmet designs also featured his team members. At the 2012 Italian Grand Prix, Vettel celebrated his 50th helmet design with a 'rusty' matte look and 50 tallies, indicating his 50 helmet designs in Formula One. Vettel started his 2013 campaign with a design in honour of Felix Baumgartner, for his world record Red Bull Stratos space jump in October 2012. By the end of the 2013 season, he had used 76 different helmet designs throughout his career.
For the 2017 Italian Grand Prix he changed the German flag stripe on his helmet to an Italian flag stripe in celebration of Ferrari's home race. Following the death of Niki Lauda, Vettel wore a special helmet based on Lauda's final Ferrari helmet at the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. Vettel carried the German flag stripe design over to his helmet designs during his time at Aston Martin, with his final design for the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix nicknamed "The Final Lap".
=== Car names ===
Inspired by American bomber pilots during World War II, Vettel made it a tradition to name each of his cars in Formula One from 2008 to 2021, stating "it's important to have a close relationship with a car. Like a ship, a car should be named after a girl as it's sexy".
The car Vettel drove during his first full season in 2008—the Toro Rosso STR3—was named Julie, with which he took his maiden victory at the Italian Grand Prix. Upon moving to Red Bull in 2009, he initially named the RB5 Kate, but renamed it to Kate's Dirty Sister following his collision with Robert Kubica at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. The RB6 in 2010 was Vettel's first championship-winning car, at first called Luscious Liz before a chassis change saw its renaming to Randy Mandy from the Turkish Grand Prix onwards. Vettel's further three consecutive championship-winning machines were named Kinky Kylie (2011), Abbey (2012) and Hungry Heidi (2013), the latter of which saw Vettel equal Michael Schumacher's single-season win record from 2004, and win a then-record nine consecutive races. 2014's RB10 was named Suzie, the only car he did not win with at Red Bull.
Vettel continued this tradition with Ferrari, naming the SF15-T Eva in 2015. His subsequent Ferrari challengers were named Margherita (2016), Gina (2017), Loria (2018), Lina (2019) and Lucilla (2020). In 2021, Vettel named his Aston Martin AMR21 after Honey Ryder, the love interest from the James Bond film Dr. No (1962), in a nod to Aston Martin's longstanding relationship with the franchise. Amidst struggles with car performance in 2022, Vettel said he would wait for upgrades to the AMR22 before naming it; no name for the AMR22 was ever publicised, ending Vettel's 14-year tradition.
=== Awards and honours ===
Vettel was named Rookie of the Year at the 2008 Autosport Awards. In 2009, Vettel was awarded the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy, for his achievements in the 2008 season. He was also awarded the 2009 British Racing Drivers' Club Johnny Wakefield Trophy for "setting the fastest race lap of the season on the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit". In 2010, Vettel was voted German Sportspersonality of the Year and won the Autosport International Racing Driver Award, which he also won in the following three years. In January 2012, Vettel was honoured with the Grands Prix de l'Academie des Sports, and in February, he was further honoured with the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt, in recognition of his world titles and his "exemplary character". Vettel was voted Formula One driver of the year in 2009, 2011 and 2013 by the team principals, initiated by the Autosport magazine. He additionally won the DHL Fastest Lap Award in 2009, 2012 and 2013. He was named European Sportsperson of the Year by the International Sports Press Association in 2010, and by the Polish Press Agency in 2012 and 2013. Furthermore, Vettel was named the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year in 2013. He was named Sportsman of the Year at the 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards. In 2015, he received the Confartigianato Motori Award for Driver of the Year. After retiring from Formula One in 2022, Vettel received the Autosport Gregor Grant Award for his "achievement in motorsport".
Red Bull Racing sponsor Infiniti released a Sebastian Vettel edition of the Infiniti FX SUV for 2012. It featured increased engine power, revised bodywork and lower suspension than the standard model.
== Race of Champions ==
Vettel competed in the 2007 Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium, representing the German team alongside Michael Schumacher, winning the Nations' Cup title. He also teamed up with Schumacher from 2008 to 2012, winning the Cup on every occasion.
Vettel returned to the 2015 Race of Champions, representing Germany together with Nico Hülkenberg. He won his first individual Race of Champions title that year, beating Tom Kristensen in the final. Vettel and Hülkenberg finished runner-up in the Nations Cup. In 2017, Vettel was eliminated in the first heat for the individual competition, but went on to win the Nations' Cup for Germany by himself with his seventh victory, after his teammate Pascal Wehrlein was injured earlier in a crash.
In the 2019 event, Vettel teamed up with Mick Schumacher, where they finished runners-up in the Nations' Cup to the Nordic team of Kristensen and Johan Kristoffersson. Vettel was eliminated in the group stages of the individual competition, although he won the ROC Skills Challenge. He reached the individual final in 2022 but was beaten by Sébastien Loeb. He also competed into the 2023 and 2025 editions.
== Other ventures ==
=== Activism ===
Vettel has demonstrated an interest in the environment and other social justice issues. Following the 2021 British Grand Prix, he helped remove litter from the stands, and he also worked with children in Austria to build a hotel for bees. A second bee hotel would be erected at the Suzuka International Racing Course ahead of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix. Furthermore, Vettel has been critical of how F1 races are scheduled, stating that races that are geographically proximate to each other should be held on consecutive weekends to reduce emissions from travelling. He also held an all-women karting event during the weekend of the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and wore the pride flag at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix despite being reprimanded. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Vettel expressed an intent to boycott the September's Russian Grand Prix had the race gone ahead as planned.
In May 2022, Vettel appeared on the BBC One political topical debate programme Question Time to discuss a variety of issues including climate change, energy dependency, and Brexit. The following month, Vettel appeared on the cover of Attitude, voicing support for an LGBTQ driver competing in Formula One. In June 2022, while participating in the Canadian Grand Prix, Vettel denounced Canada's mining of the Alberta oil sands by wearing a T-shirt and helmet patch calling it "Canada's climate crime". Alberta Premier Jason Kenney called it "over-the-top hypocrisy" because Vettel's team, Aston Martin, is sponsored by petroleum company Saudi Aramco, which he said has "one of the worst climate-emissions records in the world". Vettel agreed with the "hypocritical" label but said those personal attacks risk missing what he called the "bigger picture" of the climate crisis.
=== SailGP ===
On 31 May 2023, Vettel announced his involvement with the Germany SailGP Team, as co-owner of the team alongside Thomas Riedel.
== Personal life ==
Vettel lives in Thurgovia, Switzerland, amongst other racing drivers. Vettel has described himself as competitive, private and impatient. He also appeared in advertisements for Head & Shoulders, and provided the voice of character Sebastian Schnell in the German dub of the 2011 film Cars 2, and a voice command assistant in the German and Italian dubs of the 2017 film Cars 3. Vettel is a fan of German football team Eintracht Frankfurt.
Vettel married childhood friend Hanna Prater at a private ceremony in early 2019; they have three children. In 2016, Forbes estimated that his annual income was $41 million. Kimi Räikkönen, his teammate from 2015 to 2018, is a close friend. Besides his native German, Vettel speaks English, French, and Italian. In July 2022, he created his Instagram account, having long eschewed social media. Vettel's first Instagram post was to announce his retirement from Formula One at the end of the 2022 season.
Vettel has spoken of the normality of self-doubt in professional sport and has criticised the stigma around discussing mental health, noting that discussions of mental health should be treated as openly as discussions of physical health.
== Karting record ==
=== Karting career summary ===
== Racing record ==
=== Racing career summary ===
=== Complete Formula BMW ADAC results ===
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
=== Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results ===
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
=== Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results ===
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
=== Complete Formula One results ===
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
=== Formula One records ===
Vettel holds the following Formula One records:
Footnotes |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Yucat%C3%A1n_Open_%E2%80%93_Doubles | 2024 Yucatán Open – Doubles | This was the first edition of the tournament.
Thomas Fancutt and Hunter Reese won the title after defeating Boris and Stefan Kozlov 7–5, 6–3 in the final.
== Seeds ==
== Draw ==
Key
=== Draw === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Shearer | Harry Shearer | Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, musician, radio host, writer, and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member of The Credibility Gap, a radio comedy group. Following the breakup of the group, Shearer co-wrote the film Real Life (1979) with Albert Brooks and worked as a writer on Martin Mull's television series Fernwood 2 Night.
Shearer was a cast member on Saturday Night Live between 1979 and 1980, and 1984 and 1985. Shearer co-created, co-wrote and co-starred in the film This Is Spinal Tap (1984), a hit satirical rockumentary. In 1989, he joined the cast of the animated sitcom The Simpsons, providing voices for characters including Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, Lenny Leonard, Kang, Principal Skinner, Kent Brockman, Otto Mann, Scratchy, and formerly Dr. Hibbert. Shearer has appeared in films including The Truman Show (1998) and A Mighty Wind (2003), and has directed two, Teddy Bears' Picnic (2002) and The Big Uneasy (2010). Since 1983, Shearer has been the host of the public radio comedy/music program Le Show, incorporating satire, music, and sketch comedy. He has written three books.
Shearer has won a Primetime Emmy Award and has received several other Emmy and Grammy Award nominations. He has been married to singer-songwriter Judith Owen since 1993. He became an artist in residence at Loyola University, New Orleans in 2013.
== Early life and career ==
Shearer was born December 23, 1943, in Los Angeles, California, the son of Dora, a bookkeeper, and Mack Shearer, a trained opera singer who ran a gas station. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and Austria respectively. His parents escaped Nazi-occupied Europe and met in Havana, Cuba. As a child, Shearer and his family often listened to radio programs such as Bob and Ray and the weekly show for the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. His father died when he was 12 and he had his Bar Mitzvah the following year. Shearer grew up in the neighborhood of West Adams. Starting when Shearer was four years old, he had a piano teacher whose daughter worked as a child actress. The piano teacher later decided to make a career change and become a children's agent, since she knew people in the business through her daughter's work. The teacher asked Shearer's parents for permission to take him to an audition. Several months later, she called Shearer's parents and told them that she had gotten Shearer an audition for the radio show The Jack Benny Program. Shearer received the role when he was seven years old. He described Jack Benny as "very warm and approachable ... He was a guy who dug the idea of other people on the show getting laughs, which sort of spoiled me for other people in comedy." Shearer has stated that one person who took him "under his wing" and was his mentor during his early days in show business was voice actor Mel Blanc, who voiced many animated characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Barney Rubble; Blanc was a regular on The Jack Benny Show. He also befriended Blanc's son Noel. Shearer made his film debut in the film Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953), in which he had a small part, and appeared in The Robe (also 1953). Throughout his childhood and teenage years, he worked in television, film, and radio.
In 1957, Shearer played the precursor to the Eddie Haskell character in the pilot episode of the television series Leave It to Beaver. After the filming, Shearer's parents said they did not want him to be a regular in a series. Instead they wanted him to just do occasional work so that he could have a normal childhood. Shearer and his parents made the decision not to accept the role in the series if it was picked up by a television network.
In the summer of 1960, Shearer volunteered as a driver for the Democratic National Convention during the 1960 United States presidential election where he was regularly assigned trips to Disneyland.
Shearer graduated from Los Angeles High School and attended UCLA as a political science major in the early 1960s. He decided to quit show business to become a "serious person". However, he says this lasted approximately a month, and he joined the staff of the Daily Bruin, UCLA's school newspaper, during his first year. He was editor of the college humor magazine (Satyr), including the June 1964 parody Preyboy. He also worked as a newscaster at KRLA, a top 40 radio station in Pasadena, during this period. According to Shearer, after graduating, he had "a very serious agenda going on, and it was 'Stay Out of the Draft'." He attended graduate school at Harvard University for one year and worked at the state legislature in Sacramento. From 1967 to 1968, he was a high school teacher, teaching English and social studies. He left teaching following "disagreements with the administration".
From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member of The Credibility Gap, a radio comedy group that included David Lander, Richard Beebe, and Michael McKean. The group consisted of "a bunch of newsmen" at KRLA 1110, "the number two station" in Los Angeles. They wanted to do more than just straight news, so they hired comedians who were talented vocalists. Shearer heard about the group from a friend, so he brought over a tape to the station and nervously gave it to the receptionist. He found out he was hired that same day. The group's radio show was canceled in 1970 by KRLA and in 1971 by KPPC-FM, so they started performing in various clubs and concert venues. While at KRLA, Shearer also interviewed Creedence Clearwater Revival for the Pop Chronicles music documentary.
In 1973, Shearer appeared as Jim Houseafire on How Time Flys, an album by The Firesign Theatre's David Ossman. The Credibility Gap broke up in 1976 when Lander and McKean left to perform in the sitcom Laverne & Shirley. Shearer started working with Albert Brooks, producing one of Brooks' albums and co-writing the film Real Life (1979). Shearer also started writing for Martin Mull's television series Fernwood 2 Night. In the mid-1970s, he started working with Rob Reiner on a pilot for ABC. The show, which starred Christopher Guest, Tom Leopold and McKean, was not picked up.
== Career ==
=== Saturday Night Live ===
==== Initial run under Lorne Michaels ====
In August 1979, Shearer was hired as a writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live, one of the first additions to the show's original 1975 cast. Recommended by Al Franken to Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, the acquisition of Shearer was seen as an unofficial replacement for John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, who were both leaving the show.
Shearer describes his experience on the show as a "living hell" and "not a real pleasant place to work." He did not get along well with the other writers and cast members and states that he was not included with the cast in the opening montage (although he was added to the montage for later episodes of the 1979–80 season) and that Michaels had told the rest of the cast that he was "just a writer".
Michaels left Saturday Night Live at the end of the fifth season, taking the entire cast with him. Shearer told new executive producer Jean Doumanian that he was "not a fan of Lorne's" and offered to stay with the show if he was given the chance to overhaul the program and bring in experienced comedians, like Christopher Guest. However, Doumanian turned him down, so he decided to leave with the rest of the cast.
==== Return in 1984 under Dick Ebersol ====
In 1984, while promoting the film This Is Spinal Tap, Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean performed on Saturday Night Live. All three members were offered the chance to join the show in the 1984–1985 season. Shearer accepted because he was treated well by the producers and he thought the backstage environment had improved but later stated that he "didn't realize that guests are treated better than the regulars." Guest also accepted the offer while McKean rejected it, although he would join the cast in 1994.
Dick Ebersol, who replaced Lorne Michaels as the show's producer, said that Shearer was "a gifted performer but a pain in the butt. He's just so demanding on the preciseness of things and he's very, very hard on the working people. He's just a nightmare-to-deal-with person." In January 1985, Shearer left the show for good, partially because he felt he was not being used enough. Martin Short said Shearer "wanted to be creative and Dick [Ebersol] wanted something else. ... I think he felt his voice wasn't getting represented on the show. When he wouldn't get that chance, it made him very upset."
=== Spinal Tap ===
Shearer co-created, co-wrote and co-starred in Rob Reiner's film This Is Spinal Tap (1984). Shearer, Reiner, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest received a deal to write a first draft of a screenplay for a company called Marble Arch. They decided that the film could not be written and instead filmed a 20-minute demo of what they wanted to do. It was eventually greenlighted by Norman Lear and Jerry Perenchio at Embassy Pictures. The film satirizes the wild personal behavior and musical pretensions of hard rock and heavy metal bands, as well as the hagiographic tendencies of rockumentaries of the time. The three core members of the band Spinal Tap—David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnel—were portrayed by McKean, Shearer and Guest respectively. The three actors play their musical instruments and speak with mock English accents throughout the film. There was no script, although there was a written breakdown of most of the scenes, so it was mostly improvised except for the songs. It was filmed in 25 days.
Shearer said in an interview that "The animating impulse was to do rock 'n' roll right. The four of us had been around rock 'n' roll and we were just amazed by how relentlessly the movies got it wrong. Because we were funny people it was going to be a funny film, but we wanted to get it right." When they tried to sell it to various Hollywood studios, they were told that the film would not work. The group kept saying, "No, this is a story that's pretty familiar to people. We're not introducing them to anything they don't really know," so Shearer thought it would at least have some resonance with the public. The film was only a modest success upon its initial release but found greater success, and developed a cult following, after its video release. In 2000, the film was ranked 29th on the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 comedy movies in American cinema and it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Shearer, Guest and McKean have since worked on several projects as their Spinal Tap characters. They released three albums: This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Break Like the Wind (1992) and Back from the Dead (2009). In 1992, Spinal Tap appeared in an episode of The Simpsons called "The Otto Show". The band has played several concerts, including at Live Earth in London on July 7, 2007. In anticipation of the show, Rob Reiner directed a short film entitled Spinal Tap. In 2009, the band released Back from the Dead to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the release of the film. The album features re-recorded versions of songs featured in This Is Spinal Tap and its soundtrack, and five new songs. The band performed a one-date "world tour" at London's Wembley Arena on June 30, 2009. The Folksmen, a mock band featured in the film A Mighty Wind that is also made up of characters played by Shearer, McKean and Guest, was the opening act for the show.
=== The Simpsons ===
Shearer is known for his work as a voice actor on The Simpsons. Matt Groening, the creator of the show, was a fan of Shearer's work, while Shearer was a fan of a column Groening used to write. When approached by Groening to be in the series, Shearer was initially reluctant because he thought the recording sessions would be too much trouble. He felt that voice acting was "not a lot of fun" as, traditionally, voice actors record their parts separately. He was told that the actors would record their lines together, and after three phone calls for executive producer James L. Brooks, Shearer was convinced to join the cast of The Simpsons. Shearer's first impression of The Simpsons was that it was funny. He thought it was a "pretty cool" way to work but found it peculiar that his fellow cast members were adamant about not being known to the public as the people behind the voices.
Shearer provides voices for Principal Skinner, Kent Brockman, Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, formerly Dr. Hibbert until 2021, Lenny Leonard, Otto Mann, Rainier Wolfcastle, Scratchy, Kang, Dr. Marvin Monroe, and Judge Snyder, among others. He has described all of his regular characters' voices as "easy to slip into. ... I wouldn't do them if they weren't easy." Shearer modeled Mr. Burns's voice on the two actors Lionel Barrymore and Ronald Reagan. Shearer says that Burns is the most difficult character for him to voice because it is rough on his vocal cords and he often needs to drink tea and honey to soothe his voice. He describes Burns as his favorite character, saying he "like[s] Mr. Burns because he is pure evil. A lot of evil people make the mistake of diluting it. Never adulterate your evil." Shearer is also the voice of Burns' assistant Smithers, and is able to perform dialogue between the two characters in one take. In the episode "Bart's Inner Child", Shearer said "wow" in the voice of Otto, which was then used when Otto was seen jumping on a trampoline. Ned Flanders had been meant to be just a neighbor that Homer Simpson was jealous of, but because Shearer used "such a sweet voice" for him, Flanders was broadened to become a Christian and a sweet guy that someone would prefer to live next to over Homer. Dr. Marvin Monroe's voice was based on psychiatrist David Viscott. Monroe has been largely retired since the seventh season barring a few cameo appearances because voicing the character strained Shearer's throat.
In 2004, Shearer criticized what he perceived as the show's declining quality: "I rate the last three seasons as among the worst, so season four looks very good to me now." Shearer has also been vocal about "The Principal and the Pauper" (season nine, episode two, 1997), one of the most controversial episodes of The Simpsons. Many fans and critics reacted negatively to the revelation that Principal Seymour Skinner, a recurring character since the first season, was an impostor. The episode has been criticized by both Shearer and Groening. In a 2001 interview, Shearer recalled that after reading the script, he told the writers, "That's so wrong. You're taking something that an audience has built eight years or nine years of investment in and just tossed it in the trash can for no good reason, for a story we've done before with other characters. It's so arbitrary and gratuitous, and it's disrespectful to the audience." In a December 2006 interview, Shearer added, "Now, [the writers] refuse to talk about it. They realize it was a horrible mistake. They never mention it. It's like they're punishing [the audience] for paying attention."
Due to scheduling and availability conflicts, Shearer decided not to participate in The Simpsons Ride, which opened in 2008, so none of his characters have vocal parts and many do not appear in the ride at all. In a 2010 interview on The Howard Stern Show, Shearer alluded that the reason he was not part of the ride was because he would not be getting paid for it. Similarly, Shearer was unable to appear in the Family Guy crossover episode "The Simpsons Guy" due to further scheduling conflicts. Therefore, his characters are again mute. When asked about how he felt about the crossover, Shearer replied, "Matter and anti-matter."
Until 1998, Shearer was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices. The dispute, however, was resolved and Shearer received $125,000 per episode until 2004, when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode. The dispute was resolved a month later, and Shearer's pay rose to $250,000 per episode. After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors received $400,000 per episode. Three years later, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were cut, Shearer and the other cast members accepted a 30% pay cut, down to just over $300,000 per episode. On May 14, 2015, Shearer announced he was leaving the show. After the other voice actors signed a contract for the same pay, Shearer refused, stating it was not enough. Al Jean made a statement from the producers saying "the show must go on," but did not elaborate on what might happen to the characters Shearer voiced. On July 7, 2015, Shearer agreed to continue with the show, on the same terms as the other voice actors.
=== Le Show and radio work ===
Since 1983, Shearer has been the host of the public radio comedy/music program Le Show. The program is a sequence of themed satirical news commentary segments, interspersed with music and sketch comedy, that takes aim at the "mega morons of the mighty media". It is carried on many National Public Radio and other public and community radio stations throughout the United States. Since the merger of the Sirius and XM satellite radio services the program became unavailable on the service of the merged company, SiriusXM. The show has also been made available as a podcast on iTunes and by WWNO. On the weekly program Shearer alternates between DJing, reading and commenting on the news of the day after the manner of Mort Sahl, and performing original (mostly political) comedy sketches and songs. In 2008, Shearer released a music CD called Songs of the Bushmen, consisting of his satirical numbers about former President George W. Bush on Le Show. Shearer says he criticizes both Republicans and Democrats equally, and also says that "the iron law of doing comedy about politics is you make fun of whoever is running the place" and that "everyone else is just running around talking. They are the ones who are actually doing something, changing people's lives for better or for worse. Other people the media calls 'satirists' don't work that way."
Since encountering satellite news feeds when he worked on Saturday Night Live, Shearer has been fascinated with the contents of the video that does not air. Shearer refers to these clips as found objects. "I thought, wow, there is just an unending supply of this material, and it's wonderful and fascinating and funny and sometimes haunting – but it's always good," said Shearer. He collects this material and uses it on Le Show and on his website. In 2008, he assembled video clips of newsmakers from this collection into an art installation titled "The Silent Echo Chamber" which was exhibited at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The exhibit was also displayed in 2009 at Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) in Valencia, Spain and in 2010 at the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center.
In 2006 Shearer appeared with Brian Hayes in four episodes of the BBC Radio 4 sitcom Not Today, Thank You, playing Nostrils, a man so ugly he cannot stand to be in his own presence. He was originally scheduled to appear in all six episodes but had to withdraw from recording two due to a problem with his work permit. On June 19, 2008, it was announced that Shearer would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the radio category.
=== Further career ===
Shearer's first feature film as director, Teddy Bears' Picnic, which he also wrote, was released in 2002. The plot is based on Bohemian Grove, which hosts a three-week encampment of some of the most powerful men in the world. The film was not well received by critics. It garnered a 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with all 19 reviews being determined as negative and received a rating of 32 out of 100 (signifying "generally negative reviews") on Metacritic from 10 reviews. In 2003, he co-wrote J. Edgar! The Musical with Tom Leopold, which spoofed J. Edgar Hoover's relationship with Clyde Tolson. It premiered at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado and starred Kelsey Grammer and John Goodman.
Shearer, Guest and McKean starred in the folk music mockumentary A Mighty Wind (2003), portraying a band called The Folksmen. The film was written by Guest and Eugene Levy, and directed by Guest. Shearer had a major role in the Guest-directed parody of Oscar politicking For Your Consideration released in 2006. He played Victor Allan Miller, a veteran actor who is convinced that he is going to be nominated for an Academy Award. He also appeared as a news anchor in Godzilla (1998) with fellow The Simpsons cast members Hank Azaria and Nancy Cartwright. His other film appearances include The Right Stuff (1983), The Fisher King (1991), The Truman Show (1998), Small Soldiers (also 1998), and EDtv (1999). He also directed and appeared in the television program Portrait of a White Marriage (1988), a sequel to The History of White People in America.
Shearer has also worked as a columnist for the Los Angeles Times Magazine, but decided that it "became such a waste of time to bother with it." His columns have also been published in Slate and Newsweek. Since May 2005 he has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post. Shearer has written three books. Man Bites Town, published in 1993, is a collection of columns that he wrote for The Los Angeles Times between 1989 and 1992. Published in 1999, It's the Stupidity, Stupid analyzed the hatred some people had for then-President Bill Clinton. Shearer believes that Clinton became disliked because he had an affair with "the least powerful, least credentialed woman cleared into his official compound." His most recent book is Not Enough Indians, his first novel. Published in 2006, it is a comic novel about Native Americans and gambling. Without the "pleasures of collaboration" and "spontaneity and improvisation which characterize his other projects", Not Enough Indians was a "struggle" for Shearer to write. He said that "the only fun thing about it was having written it. It was lonely, I had no deal for it and it took six years to do. It was a profoundly disturbing act of self-discipline."
Shearer has released five solo comedy albums: It Must Have Been Something I Said (1994), Dropping Anchors (2006), Songs Pointed and Pointless (2007), Songs of the Bushmen (2008) and Greed and Fear (2010). His most recent CD, Greed and Fear is mainly about Wall Street economic issues, rather than politics like his previous albums. Shearer decided to make the album when he"started getting amused by the language of the economic meltdown – when 'toxic assets' suddenly became 'troubled assets,' going from something poisoning the system to just a bunch of delinquent youth with dirty faces that needed not removal from the system but just ... understanding." In May 2006, Shearer received an honorary doctorate from Goucher College.
=== The Big Uneasy ===
Shearer is the director of The Big Uneasy (2010), a documentary film about the impacts of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans. Narrated by actor John Goodman, the film describes levee failures and catastrophic flooding in the New Orleans metropolitan area, and includes extended interviews with former LSU professor Ivor Van Heerden, Robert Bea, an engineering professor at the University of California at Berkeley, and Maria Garzino, an engineer and contract specialist for the Los Angeles district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The film is critical of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its management of flood protection projects in Southern Louisiana. Shearer draws on numerous technical experts to maintain that Hurricane Katrina's "... tragic floods creating widespread damage were caused by manmade errors in engineering and judgment." On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 6.85/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Big Uneasy offers an admittedly uneven – yet still worthy and well-intentioned – look at a horrific disaster's aftermath."
== Personal life ==
Shearer married folk singer Penelope Nichols in 1974. They divorced in 1977. He has been married to Welsh singer-songwriter Judith Owen since 1993. In 2005, the couple launched their own record label called Courgette Records. Shearer primarily resides in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, but has homes in Santa Monica, California and Notting Hill, London. He first went to New Orleans in 1988 and has attended every New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival since.
Shearer often speaks and writes about the failure of the Federal levee system which flooded New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, blasting the coverage of it in the mainstream media and criticizing the role of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Prior to the DVD release of his film The Big Uneasy, Shearer would hold screenings of the film at different venues and take questions from audience members.
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
=== Video games ===
=== Web ===
=== Music video ===
== Discography == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_FIFA_World_Cup | 1994 FIFA World Cup | The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988. Despite soccer's relative lack of popularity in the host nation, the tournament was the most financially successful in World Cup history. It broke tournament records with overall attendance of 3,587,538 and an average of 68,991 per game, figures that stand unsurpassed as of 2022, despite the expansion of the competition from 24 to 32 teams starting with the 1998 World Cup.
Brazil was crowned the winner after defeating Italy 3–2 in a penalty shootout at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, near Los Angeles, after the game had ended 0–0 after extra time. It was the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties. The victory made Brazil the first nation to win four World Cup titles. There were three new entrants in the tournament: Greece, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia; Russia also appeared as a separate nation for the first time, following the breakup of the Soviet Union, and for the first time since 1938, a unified Germany took part in the tournament. It was also the defending champion, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Bulgaria. It was the first World Cup in which three points were awarded for a victory instead of two and also the first with the back-pass rule. This was done to encourage a more attacking style of soccer as a response to the criticism of the defensive tactics and low-scoring matches of the 1990 World Cup. This resulted in an average of 2.71 goals per match, compared to 2.21 in 1990.
== Background and preparations ==
=== Bidding process ===
Three nations bid to host the event: United States, Brazil, and Morocco. The vote was held in Zurich on July 4, 1988 (Independence Day in the United States), and only took one round with the United States bid receiving a little over half of the votes by the FIFA Executive Committee members. FIFA hoped that by staging the world's most prestigious tournament there, it would lead to a growth of interest in the sport.
An inspection committee also found that the proposed Brazilian stadiums were deficient, while the Moroccan bid relied on the construction of nine new stadiums. Conversely, all the proposed stadiums in the United States were already built and fully functioning; U.S. Soccer spent $500 million preparing and organizing the tournament, far less than the billions other countries previously had spent and subsequently would spend on preparing for this tournament. The U.S. bid was seen as the favorite and was prepared in response to losing the right to be the replacement host for the 1986 tournament following Colombia's withdrawal.
One condition FIFA imposed was the creation of a professional soccer league – Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 and began operating in 1996. There was some initial controversy about awarding the World Cup to a country where soccer was not a nationally popular sport, and at the time, in 1988, the U.S. no longer had a professional league; the North American Soccer League, established in 1967, had folded in 1984 after attendance faded. The success of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, particularly the soccer tournament that drew 1.4 million spectators throughout the event, also contributed to FIFA's decision.
The United States had previously bid to host the 1986 FIFA World Cup, after Colombia withdrew as the host nation in November 1982 because of economic concerns. Despite a presentation led by former North American Soccer League players Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer, as well as former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the executive committee selected Mexico. There were proposals by FIFA to introduce larger goals and breaks after every quarter instead of just at halftime in order to appease U.S. television advertisers. These proposals were met with resistance, and ultimately rejected.
== Venues ==
The games were played in nine cities across the contiguous United States. All stadiums had a capacity of at least 53,000 and were occupied by professional or college American football teams.
Other host city candidates included Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Tampa, as well as smaller communities such as Annapolis, Maryland; Columbus, Ohio; Corvallis, Oregon; and New Haven, Connecticut. Some sites, including Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami and Candlestick Park in San Francisco, were rejected because of conflicts with Major League Baseball. Stanford Stadium, 30 miles (48 km) southeast of San Francisco, and the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, were picked (the Miami Orange Bowl, another Miami venue, required major renovations to meet tournament standards).
The Rose Bowl hosted the most matches with eight, four of them in the knockout stage, including the final. Giants Stadium hosted seven games including a semifinal; Foxborough Stadium, Stanford Stadium, and the Cotton Bowl hosted six games each, and Soldier Field, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, and the Citrus Bowl hosted five games each. Pontiac Silverdome, the first indoor stadium used in a World Cup, hosted four group-stage games, the fewest of any venue; it was also the only one of the nine used that did not host knockout-round games.
Aside from the oceanic coolness of Boston (Foxborough), the Mediterranean climate of San Francisco (Stanford), and occasionally the coolness of Chicago, as they had been in Mexico in 1970 and 1986 most matches were played in hot and/or humid conditions, thanks to nearly all of the games being scheduled to be played during the day. This enabled European television broadcasters to air World Cup matches during late afternoon and evening hours. For example, matches that started at 12:30 PM EDT in New York would air at 6:30 PM in Paris, France. Although playing in the mostly dry heat and smoggy conditions of Los Angeles (Pasadena) and the mixture of heat and humidity of Washington and New Jersey sometimes proved to be difficult, the cities with the most consistently oppressive conditions were Orlando and Dallas in the South, because of the combination of heat and extreme humidity. The Floridian tropical climate of Orlando meant all games there were played in temperatures of 95 °F (35 °C) or above with dew points above 70 or more (the temperature there during the group stage game between Mexico and Ireland was 105 °F (41 °C)) due to the mid-day start times. Dallas was not much different: in the humid heat of a Texas summer, temperatures exceeded 100 °F (38 °C) during mid-day, when games there were staged in the open-type Cotton Bowl meant that conditions were just as oppressive there as they were in Orlando. Detroit also proved to be difficult: the Pontiac Silverdome did not have a working cooling system and because it was an air-supported stadium, the air could not escape through circulation, so temperatures inside the stadium would climb past 90 °F (32 °C) with 40% humidity. United States midfielder Thomas Dooley described the Silverdome as "the worst place I have ever played at".
== Participating teams ==
=== Qualification ===
Three teams—one African, one Asian, and one European—made their debuts at the 1994 tournament. Nigeria qualified from the African zone alongside Cameroon and Morocco as CAF was granted three spots as a result of the strong performances by African teams in 1986 and 1990. In the Asian zone, Saudi Arabia qualified for the first time by topping the final round group ahead of South Korea as both edged out Japan, which was close to making its own World Cup debut, but was denied by Iraq in what became known as the "Agony of Doha". In the European zone, Greece made its first World Cup appearance after topping a group from which Russia also qualified, competing independently for the first time after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The defending champion, West Germany, was united with its East German counterpart, representing the unified Germany for the first time since the 1938 World Cup. Norway qualified for the first time since 1938, Bolivia for the first time since 1950 (and the last time as of 2022), and Switzerland for the first time since 1966. Norway's 56-year gap between appearances in the final tournament equaled Egypt's record in the previous tournament as the longest. This record was later broken when Wales qualified for the 2022 tournament after a 64-year absence. Mexico had its first successful qualification campaign since 1978.
The qualification campaigns of both Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were affected by political events. The nation of Czechoslovakia dissolved in 1993, completing its qualifying group under the name "Representation of Czechs and Slovaks" (RCS), but failed to qualify for the finals, having been edged out by Romania and Belgium in Group 4. Yugoslavia (which was supposed to play in Group 5) was suspended from international competition in 1992 as part of United Nations sanctions against the country as a result of the Yugoslav Wars. The sanctions were not lifted until 1994, by which time it was no longer possible for the team to qualify. Chile's suspension from the 1990 FIFA World Cup, following the forced interruption of its qualification game against Brazil, extended to the 1994 qualifiers as well.
==== List of qualified teams ====
The following 24 teams, shown with their pre-tournament FIFA World Ranking (in parentheses) from June 1994, qualified for the final tournamentː
== Squads ==
Teams were selected following usual FIFA rules with 22 players. Greece, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and Spain were the only countries that had all their players coming from domestic teams, while the Republic of Ireland and Nigeria had no players from domestic teams. Saudi Arabia was the only team with no players from European teams.
== Referees ==
== Draw ==
=== Seeding and drawing ===
The FIFA Organizing Committee upheld the tradition to seed the host (United States) and defending champion (Germany), along with the other four teams ranked in the top five based on their results obtained in the last three FIFA World Cups. The newly introduced FIFA World Ranking was not used as part of the calculated ranking for the seeding in this World Cup, as FIFA considered it to be too new. Despite that it was not used in any way, for comparison purposes the teams' pre-tournament FIFA World ranking position from June 1994 are shown in parentheses, followed by the official and used ranking (OR) position determined by the results obtained in the last three world cups.
The six top-seeded teams, were allocated in pot 1 and would be drawn into the first position of the six groups playing in the group stage. The remaining 18 teams were allocated into three pots based on geographical sections, with the: six qualified teams from Africa and Americas in pot 2, the top-6 ranked European teams in pot 3, while pot 4 comprised the 7th-10th best qualified European teams along with the two qualified Asian teams.
The principle of the draw was that each of the six drawn groups would have one team drawn respectively from pot 1, 2, 3 and 4; while respecting the following geographical limitations:
At least two European teams from UEFA in all groups, with one group having three European teams.
United States and Mexico could not be drawn in the same group, because only one CONCACAF team per group.
Brazil and Argentina could not be drawn with another South American team, because only one CONMEBOL team per group.
As all qualified Asian teams from AFC were in pot 4, and all qualified African teams from CAF in pot 2, this automatically ensured only allowing maximum one Asian team and maximum one African team per group, as part of the normal draw procedure - without needing to observe special restricting sub-rules for them.
The draw took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center and was televised live on December 19, 1993, on ESPN in the United States & Eurosport in all Europe with English language commentary on the latter channel by Scottish sportscaster Archie Macpherson. The draw presenters were Dick Clark and Faye Dunaway.
Ahead of the draw, the FIFA Organizing Committee had decided to allocate the top-seeded first group position A1 for the United States as the host, C1 for defending champion Germany, and E1 for the Italian team, which had requested to play most of its group matches at Giants Stadium in New York–New Jersey. The three other top-seeded teams would be located at the first position of either group B/D/F, with the decision largely depending on the identity of the other drawn group members for the seeded teams. Therefore, this last decision would only be made by a secret vote made by the FIFA Organizing Committee a few minutes after all teams had been drawn for all groups, and the decision would only be announced as the last step of the televised draw event. To make this procedure possible, the six drawn groups would during the draw be given the colors green, orange, white, black, pink and blue; and the closing remarks at the event would then reveal the group letters represented by the colors. The six groups from A to F would play their group matches in the following nine cities:
Group A and B played in Detroit, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Group C and D played in Chicago, Dallas, and Boston.
Group E and F played in New York–New Jersey, Washington DC, and Orlando.
Procedure for the draw:
Pot 1 was used to draw the six top-seeded teams into the first position of the six groups designated by the colors green, orange, white, black, pink and blue. Group letters behind each color would only be decided by a following secret FIFA Organizing Committee vote and only be revealed after the draw had been completed, although the committee had already predetermined ahead of the draw that (1) the United States should play in group A, (2) Germany should play in group C, and (3) Italy should play in group E.
Pot 2 was used to draw one team to each of the six colored groups, with the draw conducted in the color order from left to right (green, orange, white, black, pink, blue); while this order however at the same time had to respect the following restricted geographical rules:
Rule 1: First two drawn non South American teams shall irrespectively of the color order, first be drawn into the two groups led by a South American team, in order to avoid the possibility for these groups later to be drawn by a second South American team.
Rule 2: First drawn South American team or one of the last two African teams shall irrespectively of the color order, first be drawn into the group led by the CONCACAF team, the United States, in order to avoid the possibility for this group later to be drawn by the second CONCACAF team Mexico.
Rule 3: One of the two South American teams or one of the last two African teams shall irrespectively of the color order, first be drawn into the first available open group being led by a European team, in order to avoid the meeting of two South American teams in the same group.
Rule 4: Mexico can not be drawn together with the United States as they are both CONCACAF teams, so Mexico will be grouped with the first still open available group being led by a European or South American team, as per the color order.
Pot 3 was used to draw one European team to each of the six colored groups, with the draw conducted in the color order from left to right (green, orange, white, black, pink, blue).
Pot 4 was used to draw one European/Asian team to each of six colored groups, with the draw conducted in the color order from left to right (green, orange, white, black, pink, blue). However, in order to respect the geographical rule that five of the groups shall have two European teams - and the rule that three European teams is only allowed in one group, the color order will be skipped subject to these allocation rules:
Rule 1: All drawn Asian (AFC) teams would not be drawn into any of the three groups led by a top-seeded CONCACAF/CONMEBOL team (United States/Brazil/Argentina), but would instead only be allowed to join a group being led by a top-seeded European team.
Rule 2: All drawn European (UEFA) teams, shall first be drawn into the three groups led by a top-seeded CONCACAF/CONMEBOL team (United States/Brazil/Argentina), until the point of time when only European team(s) remain to be drawn from the last pot 4.
The exact group position number for the teams (2, 3 or 4) in each colored group, were also drawn immediately from six special group bowls, after each respective team had been drawn from pot 2, 3 and 4.
Group letters behind each color (green, orange, white, black, pink and blue) would finally be decided by a final secret FIFA Organizing Committee vote, being announced as the last part of the televised event.
The draw was officiated by FIFA general-secretary Joseph Blatter. Teams were drawn by former and at the time football players such as Eusébio, Tony Meola, Bobby Charlton, Roger Milla, Michel Platini, and Marco van Basten; actor Beau Bridges; Women's World Cup champion Michelle Akers; model Carol Alt; artist Peter Max; racecar driver Mario Andretti; and Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics Mary Lou Retton. Numbers for placement in the group were drawn by German legend Franz Beckenbauer, heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield, and comedian and actor Robin Williams.
=== Results of the draw ===
In each group, the teams played three games, one against each of the other teams. After completion of the group stage, the best two teams in each group, as well as the four best-ranked third-place teams, advanced to the round of 16 in the knockout stage. This format was identical to the tournament structure used in 1986 and 1990 except that a win now earned three points instead of two, to encourage more attacking play.
== Summary ==
The format of the competition stayed the same as in the 1990 World Cup: 24 teams qualified, divided into six groups of four. Sixteen teams would qualify for the knockout phase: the six group winners, the six group runners-up, and the four third-placed teams with the best records. This was the last time this format was used, due to the expansion of the finals tournament in 1998 to 32 teams. FIFA introduced three rule changes for this tournament to encourage attacking play: three points awarded for a win in a group stage match instead of two, a relaxed offside rule and a ban on picking up back-passes to goalkeepers. The number of goals increased to 2.73 per game from the record-low of 2.21 in 1990.
The tournament saw the end of Diego Maradona's World Cup career, having played in the 1982, 1986, and 1990 World Cups, and leading Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title and the final of the 1990 World Cup. Maradona was expelled from the tournament by FIFA after he failed a drug test that uncovered ephedrine, a weight-loss drug, in his blood. Colombia, despite high expectations due to their style and impressive qualifying campaign, failed to advance from the round robin. The team was dogged by influence from betting syndicates and drug cartels, with coach Francisco Maturana receiving death threats over squad selection. After scoring an own goal for the United States and effectively eliminating Colombia from the competition, defender Andrés Escobar was shot to death on his return to Colombia outside a bar in a Medellín suburb 10 days later, possibly in retaliation for his mistake.
Bulgaria was one of the biggest surprises of the tournament. The Bulgarians had never won a game in five previous World Cup appearances, but, led by Hristo Stoichkov, who would eventually share the tournament lead in scoring, they presented a formidable challenge for the title. The team won two of their three group games to qualify for the second round, where they advanced after a 3–1 penalty shootout win over Mexico. They then faced reigning world champions Germany in the quarterfinals, where goals from Stoichkov and Letchkov gave them a 2–1 victory. Bulgaria went on to finish in fourth place after losing to Italy in the semifinals and Sweden in the match for third place.
The host nation United States, after a 23rd-place finish in the 1990 tournament, advanced to the second round as one of the best third-place teams. They were eliminated in the Round of 16 in a 1–0 defeat to Brazil on Independence Day.
Brazil's win over the hosts helped take them to the final against Italy. Brazil's path was relatively smooth as they never trailed over 270 minutes of the knockout stage, defeating the Netherlands in the quarterfinals and Sweden in the semis after the aforementioned win over the hosts. The Italians meanwhile had made hard work of reaching the final. During the group stage, Italy struggled and narrowly advanced to the next round, despite losing 1–0 to the Republic of Ireland. Italian playmaker Roberto Baggio, who as the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon D'Or holder, was expected to be one of the stars of the tournament, had not yet scored a goal. During the Round of 16 games against Nigeria, Italy was trailing 1–0 in the dying minutes when Baggio scored the tying goal, forcing the game into extra time. He scored again with a penalty kick to send Italy through. Baggio carried the Italians from there, scoring the game-winning goal in the quarterfinal against Spain, and both goals in Italy's semifinal victory over Bulgaria.
The match for third place was set between Bulgaria and Sweden, the team which scored more goals than any other in this World Cup with 15 over seven matches. These teams had also previously met in the qualifying group. Sweden won, 4–0. Swedish forward Tomas Brolin was named to the All-star team.
The final game at the Rose Bowl was tense but devoid of scoring chances. It was the second time in 24 years that the two nations had met in a final. After 120 goalless minutes, the World Cup was decided for the first time by a penalty shootout. After four rounds, Brazil led 3–2, and Baggio, playing injured, had to score to keep Italy's hopes alive. He missed by shooting it over the crossbar, and the Brazilians were crowned champions for the fourth time. After the game ended, Vice President Al Gore hosted the awarding ceremony by handing Brazilian captain Dunga the prestigious trophy; the Brazil national team dedicated the title to the deceased Formula One motor racing champion and countryman Ayrton Senna, who had died two and a half months prior.
The tournament's Golden Boot went jointly to Bulgaria's Stoichkov and Oleg Salenko of Russia, the latter becoming the first player to score five goals in a game, coming in a 6–1 victory against Cameroon. Both players scored six goals in the tournament. Brazilian striker Romário, with five goals, won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.
Despite previous controversy, the U.S. staged a hugely successful tournament, with an average attendance of nearly 70,000, surpassing the 1966 FIFA World Cup average attendance of 51,000, thanks to the large seating capacities of the stadiums in the United States in comparison to the generally smaller venues of Europe and Latin America. To this day, the total attendance for the final tournament of nearly 3.6 million remains the highest in World Cup history, despite the expansion of the competition from 24 to 32 teams at the 1998 World Cup in France.
=== Opening ceremony ===
The opening ceremony of the World Cup was held on June 17 at Chicago's Soldier Field. The ceremony was emceed by Oprah Winfrey, who introduced Diana Ross: she gave a musical performance. Ross was also intended to score a penalty at the beginning of her performance, with the goal then splitting in two as part of a pre-orchestrated stunt. Instead, she kicked the ball wide to the left, missing the goal, but the goalposts collapsed anyway in accordance with the stunt plans. In addition, Daryl Hall and Jon Secada also gave musical performances. It was officially opened by then-President Bill Clinton.
== Group stage ==
Times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4) (East Rutherford, Foxborough, Orlando, Pontiac and Washington), Central Daylight Time (UTC−5) (Chicago and Dallas), and Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−7) (Pasadena and Stanford).
In the following tables:
Pld = total games played
W = total games won
D = total games drawn (tied)
L = total games lost
GF = total goals scored (goals for)
GA = total goals conceded (goals against)
GD = goal difference (GF−GA)
Pts = total points accumulated
=== Group A ===
The Group A game between the United States and Switzerland was the first to take place indoors, played under the roof at the Pontiac Silverdome.
Following the tournament, Colombian defender Andrés Escobar was shot dead on his return to Colombia, possibly in retaliation, after his own goal had contributed to his country's elimination.
Victories against Colombia and the United States (in front of a crowd of 93,869) were enough to see Romania through as group winners, despite a 4–1 hammering by Switzerland in between. The magnitude of that victory allowed Switzerland to move ahead of the United States on goal difference, although the hosts qualified for the second round as one of the best third-placed teams.
Switzerland's 4–1 victory over Romania came nearly 40 years to the date of Switzerland's last World Cup victory, also a 4–1 victory, on that occasion over Italy. The United States' 2–1 victory over Colombia was its first World Cup victory since their 1–0 upset over England in the 1950 World Cup.
=== Group B ===
Group B produced two of the four semifinalists of this World Cup — Brazil and Sweden — and was also one of the two groups in which only two, rather than three, sides progressed to the second round. The match between the two eliminated teams, Cameroon and Russia, broke two World Cup records. Oleg Salenko of Russia became the first – and remains the only – man to score five goals in a single World Cup game as Russia won 6–1. The goals also ensured that Salenko finished the tournament joint-top scorer with six goals, having previously bagged one against Sweden. Cameroon left a mark too as Roger Milla, at the age of 42, became the oldest World Cup goalscorer of all time, as he grabbed his side's consolation goal in the game. The result was not enough to take Russia through following losses to Brazil and Sweden. Brazil beat Cameroon, and then confirmed the top spot with a draw to Sweden.
The Swedes also progressed, finishing in second place with five points. Sweden's 3–1 victory over Russia was the nation's first World Cup victory since July 3, 1974. Russia failed to progress to the second round for the second time (accounting for the Soviet Union's results four years before), while Cameroon failed to repeat their surprise performance from the previous tournament.
=== Group C ===
As was the case with Group B, Group C would only send two teams into the Round of 16 as Spain and defending champions Germany progressed to round two. Coming from two goals down with four minutes left to snatch a 2–2 draw against Spain, the South Koreans very nearly eclipsed that feat against Germany when they came from 3–0 down to lose narrowly 3–2. In spite of these comebacks, South Korea was held to a 0–0 draw against Bolivia in their other group game when a win would have seen them through. Spain's late implosion against the South Koreans effectively decided that it would be Germany who won the group and not them.
Germany, who defeated Bolivia 1–0 in the tournament's opening game, finished with seven points. Spain had to settle for second place despite leading in all three games.
Despite Bolivia finishing last in the group, Erwin Sanchez made team history after scoring the nation's first World Cup goal in a 3–1 loss to Spain. Prior to 1994, Bolivia had never scored in either of their previous appearances at the 1930 and 1950 World Cups.
=== Group D ===
Tournament favorites Argentina led by Diego Maradona collected a maximum of six points from their opening two games after dominating Greece 4–0 in Foxboro with a Gabriel Batistuta hattrick before winning a close match against a formidable Nigeria with a 2–1 victory on the same field four days later; despite this Argentina finished third in the group. Nigeria had been very impressive on their World Cup debut, and despite the narrow loss to Argentina, had emerged as group winners following victories against Bulgaria and Greece, the latter in which Nigeria doubled its lead late on a goal from Daniel Amokachi – a goal that would allow Nigeria to top its group. Maradona only played with Argentina during their first two games, both in Foxborough (playing Greece and Nigeria and scoring his last ever World Cup goal against the former); he was thrown out of the tournament after testing positive for ephedrine.
Having qualified for the tournament through a last-gasp goal against France, Bulgaria surprised many people, as the nation had never even won a game at the World Cup finals prior to this tournament. Despite losing its opening game 3–0 to Nigeria, Bulgaria came back in style with a 4–0 win over neighbor Greece (who had suffered exactly the same fate five days earlier against Argentina), and a 2–0 win against Argentina saw them advance. Argentina had actually been winning the group going into injury time, while Bulgaria played the last 25 minutes with 10 men; however, a 91st-minute header from Nasko Sirakov meant that Argentina dropped two places and finished third. Nigeria won the group on goal difference. Bulgaria's victory over Argentina earned them second place.
=== Group E ===
Group E remains the only group in World Cup history in which all four teams finished with the same points. All four teams even had the same goal difference. It began at Giants Stadium where Ray Houghton's chip ensured a shock Irish victory over the then-three-time champions Italy by 1–0, as well as gaining a measure of revenge for the previous World Cup, in which Italy both hosted and eliminated Ireland at the quarterfinal stage. The next day in Washington, Norway played its first World Cup game since 1938 and Kjetil Rekdal's goal five minutes from time proved decisive in an equally tense encounter as Norway beat Mexico.
In the second round of group play, Luis García's double had Mexico 2–0 up and in control of the game before a disagreement on the touchline resulted in fines for both Republic of Ireland's manager, Jack Charlton, and their striker John Aldridge. Aldridge was able to regain concentration in time to score six minutes from the end of the game to make it 2–1. Despite their loss, Aldridge's goal proved crucial to Ireland in the final group standings.
During the previous day at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, Italy's World Cup hopes seemed to be diminishing fast as goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca was sent off with the game still at 0–0. Yet despite this, Italy was still able to salvage an important 1–0 victory. Norway would ultimately pay a price for their inability to take advantage of Pagliuca's dismissal. With the four teams level on points, the final two group games would each have to finish as draws for things to stay that way. Republic of Ireland made it through after a dreary 0–0 draw with Norway; while Massaro and Bernal traded strikes as Italy and Mexico played to a 1–1 draw.
Those results meant that Mexico won the group on goals scored, with three in the group. With Ireland and Italy also progressing having finished with identical records, the Irish team qualified as second place as a result of their victory against the Italians. Norway's shortcomings in attack ultimately let them down, and they exited the tournament with only one goal.
=== Group F ===
Just as happened to Argentina in Group D, Belgium endured the same fate in Group F. Despite winning both of its first two matches 1–0 against Morocco and neighbors Netherlands, Belgium finished third as, in an upset, it lost to tournament newcomers Saudi Arabia 1–0 in the third game. During that game, Saudi player Saaed Al-Owairan ran from his own half through a maze of Belgian players to score the game's only goal.
Saudi Arabia advanced through to the Round of 16 as well, having also defeated Morocco 2–1. The Netherlands endured a somewhat nervier experience. The opening 2–1 victory against Saudi Arabia was followed by the 1–0 loss against Belgium before another 2–1 victory against Morocco, with Bryan Roy scoring the winner a mere 12 minutes from time, saw the Dutch win the group having scored more goals than Belgium and beaten Saudi Arabia. Morocco, despite losing all three of their group games, did not leave without a fight, as each of their losses were by just a single goal, 1–0 to Belgium, 2–1 to Saudi Arabia, and 2–1 to the Netherlands.
=== Ranking of third-placed teams ===
== Knockout stage ==
=== Bracket ===
=== Round of 16 ===
=== Quarterfinals ===
=== Semifinals ===
=== Match for third place ===
=== Final ===
== Statistics ==
=== Goalscorers ===
Hristo Stoichkov and Oleg Salenko received the Golden Boot for scoring six goals. In total, 141 goals were scored by 81 players, with only one of them credited as an own goal.
6 goals
Hristo Stoichkov
Oleg Salenko
5 goals
Romário
Roberto Baggio
Jürgen Klinsmann
Kennet Andersson
4 goals
Gabriel Batistuta
Florin Răducioiu
Martin Dahlin
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goals
Andrés Escobar (against the United States)
=== Awards ===
=== All-star team ===
The All-star team is a squad consisting of the eleven most impressive players at the 1994 World Cup, as selected by FIFA's Technical Study Group.
=== Final standings ===
After the tournament, FIFA published a ranking of all teams that competed in the 1994 World Cup finals based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition.
=== Disciplinary statistics ===
Total number of yellow cards: 235
Average yellow cards per game: 4.52
Total number of red cards: 15
Average red cards per match: 0.29
First yellow card of the tournament: Jürgen Kohler – Germany against Bolivia
First red card of the tournament: Marco Etcheverry – Bolivia against Germany
Fastest yellow card from kick off: 1 minute – Sergei Gorlukovich – Russia against Sweden
Fastest yellow card after coming on as substitute: 2 minutes – Daniel Borimirov – Bulgaria against Greece (introduced in the 82nd minute)
Latest yellow card in a game without extra time: 90 minutes – José Luis Caminero – Spain against Bolivia, Yuri Nikiforov – Russia against Cameroon, Mohamed Al-Deayea – Saudi Arabia against Morocco
Latest yellow card in a game with extra time: 108 minutes – Basarab Panduru – Romania against Sweden
Fastest dismissal from kick off: 21 minutes – Gianluca Pagliuca – Italy against Norway
Fastest dismissal of a substitute: 3 minutes – Ion Vlădoiu – Romania against Switzerland (introduced in the 80th minute)
Latest dismissal in a game without extra time: 89 minutes – Gustavo Quinteros – Bolivia against Germany
Latest dismissal in a game with extra time: 101 minutes – Stefan Schwarz – Sweden against Romania
Least time difference between two yellow cards given to the same player: 21 minutes – Fernando Clavijo – United States against Brazil (booked in the 64th minute and again in the 85th minute)
Most yellow cards (team): 23 – Bulgaria
Most red cards (team): 2 – Bolivia, Bulgaria, Italy, Sweden
Fewest yellow cards (team): 5 – Cameroon
Most yellow cards (player): 4 – Zlatko Yankov
Most red cards (player): 1 – Fernando Clavijo, Luis Cristaldo, Marco Etcheverry, Luis García, Sergei Gorlukovich, Emil Kremenliev, Leonardo, Miguel Ángel Nadal, Gianluca Pagliuca, Stefan Schwarz, Rigobert Song, Jonas Thern, Tsanko Tsvetanov, Ion Vlădoiu, Gianfranco Zola
Most yellow cards (match): 10 – Mexico vs Bulgaria
Most red cards (match): 2 – Mexico vs Bulgaria
Fewest yellow cards (match): 1 – Netherlands vs Republic of Ireland
Most cards in one match: 10 yellow cards and 2 red cards – Mexico vs Bulgaria
== Marketing ==
=== Sponsorship ===
The sponsors of the 1994 FIFA World Cup are divided into two categories: FIFA World Cup Sponsors and USA Supporters.
== Symbols ==
=== Mascot ===
The official mascot of this World Cup was "Striker, the World Cup Pup", a dog wearing a red, white and blue soccer uniform with a ball. Striker was designed by the Warner Bros. animation team. A dog was picked as the mascot because dogs are a popular domestic pet in the United States.
=== Match ball ===
The official match ball was "Questra", manufactured by Adidas. Following the convention of the addition of decorations to the established Adidas Tango style since the Azteca and the Etrusco Unico, this one featured space-themed decorations, not only due to its name, but that 1994 marked the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission in which the first Moon landing took place, which is considered to be one of the most important moments in the history of the host country and the world.
=== Music ===
The official song was "Gloryland".
== Aftermath and legacy ==
Although USA '94 marked the seventh time FIFA hosted the World Cup in the Americas (after being held in Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and twice by Mexico in 1970 and 1986), the United States became the first host in the Americas outside of the Latin American spectrum, and the first in the Anglosphere outside of England.
The game between the United States and Switzerland at the Pontiac Silverdome on June 18 was the first to be played indoors in World Cup history: grass was grown by Michigan State University and was the first time since 1965 (the failed attempt at the Astrodome) that natural turf was used in an indoor stadium in the United States. To date, only Sapporo Dome in 2002 and Arena AufSchalke in 2006 have subsequently hosted indoor games in World Cup history.
For the first time, the FIFA Anthem, composed by Franz Lambert, was played during the players' entrance onto the field.
The finals were the first time FIFA decided to experiment with the style of jerseys worn by officials, forgoing the traditional black. Officials could choose between burgundy, yellow, or silver shirts depending on what was necessary to avoid a clash of colors between the two competing teams. This custom has since been followed, but black shirts were added as an option later.
The finals were also the first time that players had their shirt numbers printed on the center front (or on the right or left breast, in Morocco's and Russia's case, respectively) of the shirt, as well as their names printed on the back of their jerseys in a World Cup, just as other American sports did, to make their identification easier for sportscasters. This custom followed from Euro 92 and has continued ever since (although numbers printed on the center front had been experimented with during the 1991 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Portugal).
The finals were the first to award 3 points for a win in the group stage to motivate teams to play an attacking style.
In disciplinary matters, for the first time yellow cards accumulated in the group stage were wiped clean after its completion, and players started with a clean slate at the start of the knockout stage. Previously, players were suspended for one game if they accumulated two yellow cards throughout the tournament. Now, players were suspended for one game after accumulating two yellow cards in the group stage or two yellow cards in the knockout stage. This was in response to the situation in 1990, where players such as Claudio Caniggia and Paul Gascoigne were suspended for the later games.
The 1994 World Cup expanded television coverage of sports in the United States and worldwide through the sponsored scoreboard and game clock constantly shown on screen throughout the game. Being fully privately funded, television sports coverage in the United States had long relied upon commercial breaks, a feature suitable for sports such as baseball, basketball, ice hockey, and American football (which all have breaks in the action), but long considered incompatible with soccer, due to the long stretches of uninterrupted play. Led by Fox Sports, which debuted its NFL coverage about a month following the completion of the World Cup, virtually every television network included their version of the scoreboard clock by the decade's end.
This was the last World Cup in which games other than the last two in each group were played simultaneously. However, this only happened once in this tournament: Saudi Arabia vs. Morocco and Belgium vs. Netherlands in Group F. From France '98 onwards, each game in the first two rounds of group play and the whole knockout stage have been played separately to maximize television audiences.
This was the last World Cup featuring 24 nations, and the up to the 2022 tournament, the last in which third-placed teams progressed to the round of 16. From 1998 to 2022, 32 nations competed, with only the top two in each group progressing. With 48 nations competing starting in 2026 onwards, the best eight third-placed teams across 12 groups advance to a round of 32.
=== Statistical records ===
The 1994 World Cup final was the first (and to date only) goalless final in World Cup history. It was also the first to be decided by a penalty shootout, followed by the 2006 and 2022 finals.
Oleg Salenko of Russia became the first player to score five goals in a single World Cup finals game in his country's group stage win over Cameroon. Cameroon's Roger Milla also scored a goal in the same game, becoming the oldest player to score a goal in a World Cup. At 42, he was also the oldest player to appear in a World Cup, a record held until 2014, when Faryd Mondragón (43 years, 3 days) of Colombia broke the record in their game against Japan at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In turn, goalkeeper Essam El Hadary (45 years, 161 days) of Egypt would surpass Mondragón against Saudi Arabia, in the Volgograd Arena, Volgograd, Russia, on June 25, 2018. However, Milla remains the oldest outfield player to perform in the World Cup.
Gianluca Pagliuca of Italy became the first goalkeeper to be sent off in a World Cup game, dismissed for handling outside his area against Norway.
Brazil's eleven goals in their seven games was a record for the lowest average goals scored per game for any World Cup-winning side, but this record was broken by Spain's eight goals in 2010. The three goals Brazil conceded in those seven games were, at the time, also the lowest average goals conceded per game, although this was subsequently surpassed by France in 1998, Italy in 2006, and Spain in 2010. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_(tennis)# | Grand Slam (tennis)# | The Grand Slam in tennis is the achievement of winning all four major championships in one discipline in a calendar year. In doubles, a Grand Slam may be achieved as a team or as an individual with different partners. Winning all four major championships consecutively but not within the same calendar year is referred to as a "non-calendar-year Grand Slam", while winning the four majors at any point during the course of a career is known as a "Career Grand Slam".
The term Grand Slam is also attributed to the Grand Slam tournaments, referred to as Majors, and they are the world's four most important annual professional tennis tournaments. They offer the most ranking points, prize money, public and media attention, the greatest strength and size of the field and, in recent years, the longest matches for men (best of five sets, best of three for the women).
The tournaments are overseen by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), rather than the separate men's and women's tour organizing bodies, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women's Tennis Association (WTA), but both the ATP and WTA award ranking points based on players' performances in them.
The Grand Slam tournaments are the Australian Open in January, the French Open in late May to early June, Wimbledon in late June to early July, and the US Open in late August to early September, with each played over two weeks. The Australian and the US tournaments are played on hard courts, the French on clay court, and Wimbledon on grass court. Wimbledon is the oldest tournament, founded in 1877, followed by the US in 1881, the French in 1891 (major in 1925), and the Australian in 1905, but it was not until 1923 that all four were designated as "Official Championships".
== History ==
With the growing popularity of tennis, and with the hopes of unifying the sport's rules internationally, the British and French tennis associations started discussions at their Davis Cup tie, and in October 1912 organized a meeting in Paris, joined by the Australasian, Austrian, Belgian, Spanish, and Swiss associations. They subsequently formed the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF), holding their first meeting in 1913, joined by the Danish, German, Dutch, Russian, South African, and Swedish organizations. Voting rights were divided based on the perceived importance of the individual countries, with Great Britain's Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) receiving the maximum six votes. Three tournaments were established, being designated as "World Championships":
World Grass Court Championships, played on grass courts.
World Hard Court Championships, played on clay courts.
World Covered Court Championships, played on an indoor wood surface.
The LTA was given the perpetual right to organize the World Grass Court Championships, to be held at Wimbledon, and France received permission to stage the World Hard Court Championships until 1916. Anthony Wilding of New Zealand won all three of these World Championships in 1913.
The United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) expressed disagreement over the power distribution within the ILTF and the designation of "World Championship" status to the British and French tournaments, and thus initially refused to join the Federation, choosing instead to be bystanders to their meetings. By the 1920s, with the World Covered Court Championships failing to attract top players and the growing success of American and Australian tennis, the ILTF worked to convince the USNLTA to join them, meeting their demand to drop the designation of "World Championships" from all three tournaments in March 1923, which led to the demise of both the World Covered Court Championships and the World Hard Court Championships. A new category of "Official Championships" was created for the national championships of Britain, France, Australia, and the US. By the 1930s, these four tournaments had become well defined as the most prestigious in the sport.
In 1933, Jack Crawford won the Australian, French, and Wimbledon Championships, leaving him just needing to win the last major event of the year, the U.S. Championships, to become the reigning champion of all four major tournaments, a feat described as "a grand slam" by sports columnist Alan J. Gould of The Reading Eagle, and later that year by John Kieran of The New York Times, who stated that if Crawford won at Forest Hills it "would be something like scoring a grand slam on the courts, doubled and vulnerable." The term 'Grand Slam' originates from the card game contract bridge, where it is used for winning all possible tricks. In golf it was used for the first time to describe a total of four wins, specifically Bobby Jones' achievement of winning the four major golf tournaments of the era, which he accomplished in 1930. "Grand Slam" or "Slam" has since also become used to refer to the tournaments individually. The first player to win all four majors in a calendar year and thus complete a Grand Slam was Don Budge in 1938.
At the time, only amateur players were allowed to participate in the Grand Slam and other ILTF-sanctioned tournaments. Amateur standing, regulated by the ILTF alongside its associated national federations, forbade players from receiving prize money, earning pay by teaching tennis, being contracted by promoters and playing paid exhibition matches, though expense payments were allowed along with certain monies from sporting goods companies or other benefactors. Amateurs who "defected" to become professional were banned from competing in amateur tournaments and dropped from their national associations. The first major professional tour was established in 1926 by promoter C. C. Pyle with a troupe of American and French players, most notably Suzanne Lenglen, playing exhibition matches to paying audiences.
Over the next decades many other head-to-head tours were run and professional tournaments established, with three, the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships, French Pro Championship and Wembley Championships, standing out, and considered to have been the professional majors. By the 1950s, largely due to efforts of player/promoter Jack Kramer, this lucrative parallel circuit was luring in most of the star amateurs on the men's side, much to the ire of the ILTF and organizers of the Grand Slam tournaments. It was an open secret that the top players who remained as amateurs were receiving undeclared under-the-table payments from tournament promoters, an arrangement tolerated by their national tennis associations to dissuade them from joining the pro ranks and secure their availability for the majors and Davis Cup. This system was derisively referred to as 'shamateurism' that was seen as undermining the integrity of the sport. Ramanathan Krishnan and Roy Emerson, for example declined large contract offers from the professional promoters, with the latter stating that he was better paid in the amateur circuit.
Tensions over this status quo, which had been building for decades, finally came to a head in 1967. The first tournament open to professional tennis players played on Centre Court at Wimbledon, the Wimbledon Pro, was staged by the All England Lawn Tennis Club in August, offering a prize fund of US$45,000. The tournament was deemed very successful, with packed crowds and the play seen as being of higher quality than the amateur-only Wimbledon final held two weeks earlier. This success in combination with large signings of top players to two new professional tours—World Championship Tennis and the National Tennis League—convinced the LTA on the need for open tennis. After a British proposal for this at the annual ILTF meeting was voted down, the LTA revolted, and in its own annual meeting in December it voted overwhelmingly to admit players of all statuses to the 1968 Wimbledon Championships and other future tournaments in Britain, "come hell or high water". The eventual backing of the USNLTA that came after a February 1968 vote forced the ILTF to yield and allow each nation to determine its own legislation regarding amateur and professional players, which it voted for in a special meeting in March 1968. This marked the start of the Open Era of tennis, with its first tournament, the 1968 British Hard Court Championships, beginning three weeks later on 22 April in Bournemouth, England, while the first open Grand Slam tournament, the 1968 French Open, was held in May.
Even after the advent of the Open Era, players including John McEnroe and Chris Evert have pointed out that skipping the Australian Open was the norm because of the travelling distance involved and the inconvenient dates close to Christmas and New Year. There were also the contracted professional players who had to skip some major events like the French Open in the 1970s because they were committed to the more profitable pro circuits. In one case, Australian players including Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Roy Emerson who had contracts with George MacCall's National Tennis League were prevented from participating in the 1970 Australian Open because the financial guarantees were deemed insufficient.
Although it has been possible to complete a Grand Slam in most years and most disciplines since 1925, it was not possible from 1940 to 1945 because of interruptions at Wimbledon, the Australian and French Championships due to World War II, the years from 1970 to 1985 when there was no Australian tournament in mixed doubles, 1986 when there was no Australian Open, and 2020 when Wimbledon was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
== Tournaments ==
The individual Grand Slam tournaments consist of the four majors: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. These four individual tournaments are sometimes shortened to Grand Slams, or even just slams.
=== Australian Open ===
The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, played annually in late January and early February. The inaugural edition took place in November 1905 on the grass courts of the Warehouseman's Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia. It was held as the Australasian Championships until 1927 and thereafter as the Australian Championships until the onset of the Open Era in 1969, passing through various venues in Australia and New Zealand before settling at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne between 1972 and 1987. Since 1988, it has been played on the hard courts of the Melbourne Park sports complex, which currently uses GreenSet as its court manufacturer.
Managed by Tennis Australia, formerly the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia (LTAA), the tournament struggled until the mid-1980s to attract the top international players due to its distance from Europe and America and proximity to the Christmas and holiday season, but it has since grown to become one of the biggest sporting events in the Southern Hemisphere and the highest attended Grand Slam tournament, with more than 1,020,000 people attending the 2024 edition.
Nicknamed the "Happy Slam" and billed as "the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific", it has become known for its modernity and innovation, being the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play and install retractable roofs on its main courts, the first to schedule night-time men's singles finals, and the first to substitute electronic line calling for line judges, using an expanded version of the Hawk-Eye technology known as "Hawk-Eye Live".
The tournament was designated a major championship by the International Lawn Tennis Federation in 1923. Today its draw hosts 256 singles players, 128 doubles teams, and 32 mixed doubles teams, with the total prize money for the 2025 tournament being A$96,500,000.
=== French Open ===
The French Open, also known as Roland Garros, is the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, played annually in late May and early June. A French championships closed event (restricted to members of French clubs) was first held in 1891 on the sand courts of the Societé de Sport de Île de Puteaux, in Puteaux, Île-de-France, and changed venues over the years. In 1925 the French championships became a Grand Slam event for the first time. It was open to all amateurs and since 1928 has been held on clay courts at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France. The venue is named "Roland Garros" after the pioneering French aviator.
Organized by the Fédération française de tennis (FFT), formerly known as the Fédération Française de Lawn Tennis until 1976, the French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament played on a red clay surface. It is generally considered to be the most physically demanding tennis tournament in the world.
The World Hard Court Championships was considered the premier clay championship in France from 1912–1923 (apart from one year held in Belgium) as it admitted international competitors, and it is therefore often seen as the true precursor to the French Open before 1925. The French championships was first held as an International Lawn Tennis Federation–sanctioned major championship in 1925.
Today, it has draws that host 256 singles players, 128 doubles teams and 32 mixed doubles teams, with the total prize money for the 2025 tournament being €56,352,000. The 2018 edition saw a record attendance of 480,575 spectators.
=== Wimbledon ===
The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known as Wimbledon, is the third Grand Slam tournament of the year, played annually in late June and early July. It was first held in 1877 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, at the time located off Nursery Road in Wimbledon, London, England. The tournament has always been contested at this club, which moved to its present site off Church Road in 1922 in order to increase its attendance capacity.
Wimbledon is organized by a committee of management consisting of 19 members, with 12 being club members and the remaining seven nominated by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). As the world's oldest tennis event, it is widely regarded as the most prestigious tennis tournament, and it is known for its commitment to longstanding traditions and guidelines. It is one of few tournaments and the only Grand Slam event that is still played on grass courts, tennis's original surface, and where "lawn tennis" originated in the 1800s. Players are required to wear all-white attire during matches, and they are referred to as "Gentlemen" and "Ladies". There is also a tradition where the players are asked to bow or curtsy towards the Royal Box upon entering or leaving Centre Court when either the Prince of Wales or the monarch are present.
The tournament was given the title "World Grass Court Championships" by the International Lawn Tennis Federation between 1912 and 1923, and was designated a major championship following the abolition of the three ILTF World Championships. Since 1937, the BBC has broadcast the tournament on television in the United Kingdom, with the finals shown live and in full on television in the country each year. The BBC's broadcast of the 1967 edition was among the first colour television broadcasts in the UK.
Today, the event has draws that host 256 singles players, 128 doubles teams and 32 mixed doubles teams, with the total prize money for the 2025 tournament being £53,500,000, and 500,397 people attending the 2019 edition. The tournament has some of the longest running sponsorships in sports history, having been associated with Slazenger since 1902, and with the Robinsons fruit drink brand since 1935.
=== US Open ===
The US Open is the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the year, played annually in late August and early September. It was first held in August 1881 on grass courts at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The tournament changed venues in its early years, with each discipline continuing to be held separately at various venues until 1923, when the tournament settled at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City. In 1978, it moved to the hardcourts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, where it has been contested ever since.
Organized by the United States Tennis Association (USTA), previously known as the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) until 1920, and as United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) until 1975, it is the only Grand Slam tournament to have been played every year since its inception. In 1997, Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis stadium in the world with a capacity of 23,771 spectators, was opened. It is named after Arthur Ashe, the winner of the 1968 tournament—the first in which professionals were allowed to compete.
Over the years, the tournament has pioneered changes that other tournaments later adopted, including the introduction of a tiebreak system to decide the outcome of sets tied at 6–6 in 1970, being the first Grand Slam tournament to award equal prize money to the men's and women's events in 1975, the installation of floodlights in 1975 in order to allow matches to be played at night, and the introduction of instant replay reviews of line calls using the Hawk-Eye computer system in 2006.
The ILTF officially designated it as a major tournament in 1923. Today, the event has draws that host 256 singles players, 128 doubles teams and 32 mixed doubles teams, with the total prize money for the 2020 tournament being US$53,400,000, and a US television viewership of 700,000. From 2004–2023, the tournament was preceded by the US Open Series, composed of North American hardcourt professional tournaments that lead up to and culminate with the US Open itself. The season was organized by the USTA as a way to focus more attention on American tennis tournaments by getting more of them on domestic television.
== Grand Slam ==
A Grand Slam (sometimes called a Calendar-year Grand Slam, Calendar Grand Slam, or Calendar Slam) is the achievement of winning the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open in the same year. Margaret Court is the only player to complete a Grand Slam in two disciplines, singles and mixed doubles (twice), while wheelchair players Diede de Groot and Dylan Alcott have completed one in both the singles and doubles disciplines of their respective classes.
The following is a list of players that achieved it.
== Current champions ==
=== Former champions ===
==== Per discipline ====
==== Singles finals ====
Men
Women
== Related concepts ==
=== Non-calendar-year Grand Slam ===
In 1982, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) began offering a $1 million bonus to any singles player to win the four majors consecutively regardless the tournaments order of winning them while the Men's International Professional Tennis Council, which was the governing body of men's professional tennis at the time, stated that 'Grand Slam' need not necessarily be won in the same year. This revision by the Council and reportedly the ITF was approved by the representatives of the four Grand Slam tournaments at Wimbledon. Neil Amdur and Allison Danzig of the New York Times both criticised the changed definition of the term Grand Slam, whereas in 1985 Hal Bock of Associated Press backed the change.
Despite newspaper reports claiming that ITF President Philippe Chatrier had said "the four big events no longer have to be won in the same calendar year for a player to be recognized as Grand Slam champion", ITF General Secretary David Gray in a 1983 letter claimed that it was never the intention of ITF to alter anything regarding the definition of the classic Grand Slam:
There seems to be some confusion. The ITF's only initiative in this matter has been the organisation of the offer of a bonus of $1 million to any player who holds all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously ... Despite all that we have read on this matter, it has never been my Committee of Management's intention to alter the basis of the classic Grand Slam i.e., the capture of all four titles in a year.
When Martina Navratilova won the 1984 French Open and became the reigning champion of all four women's singles discipline, she was the first player to receive the bonus prize in recognition of her achievement. Some media outlets said that she had won a Grand Slam. Curry Kirkpatrick of Sports Illustrated wrote "Whether the Slam was Grand or Bland or a commercial sham tainted with an asterisk the size of a tennis ball, Martina Navratilova finally did it."
When Rafael Nadal was on the verge of completing a non-calendar-year Grand Slam at the 2011 Australian Open, one writer observed, "Most traditionalists insist that the 'Grand Slam' should refer only to winning all four titles in a calendar year, although the constitution of the International Tennis Federation, the sports governing body, spells out that 'players who hold all four of these titles at the same time achieve the Grand Slam'." In 2012 the ambiguity was resolved, with the ITF's current constitution stating "The Grand Slam titles are the championships of Australia, France, the United States of America and Wimbledon. Players who hold all four of these titles in one calendar year achieve the 'Grand Slam'."
Combining the Grand Slam and the non-calendar-year Grand Slam, only eight singles players on 11 occasions achieved the feat of being the reigning champion of all four majors, three men (Don Budge, Rod Laver, Novak Djokovic) and five women (Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams).
The following list is for those players who achieved a non-calendar-year Grand Slam by holding the four major titles at the same time but not in the calendar year. Players who completed a Grand Slam within the same streak as a non-calendar-year Grand Slam are not included here.
=== Career Grand Slam ===
The career achievement of winning all four major championships in one discipline is termed a "Career Grand Slam", or "Career Slam". In singles, nine men (Fred Perry, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz) and ten women (Maureen Connolly, Doris Hart, Shirley Fry Irvin, Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova) have completed a Career Grand Slam. Four men (Emerson, Laver, Djokovic, and Nadal) and five women (Court, Evert, Navratilova, Graf, Williams) have achieved the feat more than once over the course of their careers.
Only six players have completed a Career Grand Slam in both singles and doubles: one man (Roy Emerson) and five women (Margaret Court, Doris Hart, Shirley Fry Irvin, Martina Navratilova, and Serena Williams).
=== Boxed Set ===
A "Boxed Set" refers to winning one of every possible major title in the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles disciplines throughout a player's career. Only three players have completed a Boxed Set, all women: Doris Hart, Margaret Court, and Martina Navratilova. Court's second Boxed Set, completed in 1969, spans the Amateur and Open Eras, but she later completed a set entirely within the Open Era in 1973.
The event at which the Boxed Set was completed indicated in bold.
S Singles
D Doubles
X Mixed doubles
=== Golden Slam ===
The term "Golden Slam" (also known as "Golden Grand Slam", "Calendar-year Golden Slam" or "Calendar Golden Slam") refers to the achievement of winning all four majors and the Olympic or Paralympic gold medal in a calendar year. The achievement was first established in 1988, when Steffi Graf won all the aforementioned titles in singles. She is currently the only singles able-bodied player to achieve it, while Diede de Groot and Dylan Alcott also accomplished the feat, in wheelchair singles and wheelchair quad singles respectively.
Non-calendar-year Golden Slam: refers to the achievement of winning all four majors and the Olympic or Paralympic gold medal consecutively across two calendar years. It has been used since 2013, when Bob and Mike Bryan won the aforementioned titles consecutively in doubles between 2012 and 2013. Their achievement was also dubbed the "Golden Bryan Slam".
Career Golden Slam: refers to the achievement of winning all four majors and the Olympic or Paralympic gold medal during their career. In singles three men (Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) and two women (Steffi Graf and Serena Williams) have completed the Career Golden Slam. Williams is currently the only able-bodied player to have achieved a Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.
=== Other concepts ===
Super Slam: Combination of the Golden Slam and year-end championship title (ATP Finals for the men's tour, WTA Finals for the women's tour, and the Wheelchair Tennis Masters for the wheelchair tennis tour) in a calendar year, also known as "Calendar-year Super Slam" Diede de Groot is currently the only player to do so, in women's wheelchair singles in 2021.
Non-calendar-year Super Slam: refers to the achievement of winning all four majors, the Olympic or Paralympic gold medal, and the year-end championship consecutively across two calendar years. Steffi Graf is currently the only one to achieve it, with her Golden Slam in 1988 following her victory at the year-end championship in 1987.
Career Super Slam: refers to the achievement of winning all four majors, the Olympic or Paralympic gold medal, and the year-end championship throughout a career. In singles two men (Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic) and two women (Steffi Graf and Serena Williams) have completed the Career Super Slam.
Three-Quarter Slam: refers to the achievement of winning three of the four majors in a calendar year, missing out on the Grand Slam by only one title.
Surface Slam: refers to the achievement of winning a major title on each of three different surfaces (currently clay, grass and hard courts) in a calendar year. It's been possible since 1978, when the US Open changed its playing surface from clay to hard courts. From 1978 to 1987, the Australian Open and Wimbledon were played on grass, the French Open on clay and the US Open on hard, but since 1988 the Australian Open has also been played on hard courts.
Career Surface Slam: refers to the achievement of winning a major title on each of three surfaces (currently clay, grass and hard courts) throughout a career. Only a handful of players were able to achieve it multiple times, with Steffi Graf being the singles player that achieved it the most, winning on each surface at least 6 times.
Channel Slam: refers to the achievement of winning both the French Open and Wimbledon in a calendar year. The name makes reference to the English Channel, the body of water separating France from the United Kingdom, the host countries of the French Open and Wimbledon. These tournaments are held clay and grass courts, respectively, surfaces very different from each other, usually being held a few weeks from each other, meaning that players who have deep runs in the French Open have little time to adapt to the different surface conditions found at Wimbledon.
=== Pro Slam ===
Before the start of the Open Era in 1968, only amateur players were allowed to compete in the four Grand Slam tournaments. Many male top players "went pro" in order to win prize money legally, competing on a professional world tour comprising completely separate events. From 1927 to 1967, the three tournaments considered by many to have been the "majors" of the professional tour were:
U.S. Pro Tennis Championships,
French Pro Championship,
Wembley Championships.
A player who won all three in a calendar year was considered retrospectively to have achieved a "Professional Grand Slam", or "Pro Slam". In the pre-open era the terms did not exist. The feat was accomplished by Ken Rosewall in 1963 and Rod Laver in 1967, while Ellsworth Vines, Hans Nüsslein and Don Budge have won the three major trophies during their careers. The professional majors did not have a women's draw except for the Cleveland tournament in 1953, 1955, 1956, 1959. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Atlantic_Owls_men%27s_basketball | Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball | The Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team represents Florida Atlantic University and competes in the American Conference of NCAA Division I college basketball. Their home games are played on the Abessinio Court in the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena on the school's Boca Raton, Florida campus. The Owls have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times: in 2002, 2023, and 2024. The Owls joined Conference USA (C-USA) in 2013 as part of the early-2010s NCAA conference realignment. After the 2022–23 season, FAU left C-USA for the American Conference. After not winning a single NCAA Tournament game coming into 2023, the Owls qualified for their first Final Four in program history by defeating the Kansas State Wildcats 79–76.
== Overview and history ==
Florida Atlantic University basketball began play in the 1988–89 season. The Owls competed as an NCAA Division II independent until the 1993–94 season, when they moved up to Division I and the Atlantic Sun Conference, now known as the ASUN Conference. After spending 11 seasons in the Atlantic Sun, the Owls moved to the Sun Belt Conference, with the rest of Florida Atlantic University's intercollegiate sports teams. The Owls moved to C-USA in July 2013, and then moved to The American in July 2023.
=== Beginning: FAU gets basketball (1988–1993) ===
Florida Atlantic University played its first-ever intercollegiate basketball contest on November 18, 1988, against fellow local NCAA Division II school, Palm Beach Atlantic University. The Owls won the game 111–62. Even though the newly formed college squad hung 111 points in their first game, they would finish the inaugural season 9–19, which included a 12-game losing streak in the middle of the year. Head coach, Lonnie Williams, was known to be a "program-builder", but after one year, left FAU after its first season to become head coach at the University of California, Davis. Williams would only last one year at UC Davis, posting an 11–16 record.
Replacing Williams was Penn State assistant coach, Tim Loomis. Loomis started his coaching career with a 21–7 record, and followed that up with back-to-back 15–13 seasons. The three consecutive winning seasons is a feat that no other Owls coach has ever matched, until Dusty May did it in his first three seasons. Along with the winning seasons, Loomis was able to schedule games against neighbor and powerhouse, University of Miami Hurricanes. Though Miami would beat the Owls soundly in the appearances, the ability to schedule games against them was seen as the Owls basketball program's growth. Loomis would lose the core of that inaugural team after the Owls' fourth season, and the Owls would suffer devastating 3–24 (1992–93) and 3–25 (1993–94) seasons the latter being their first official year as Division One. The members of these teams were true pioneers and super fundraisers for the athletic department as they hit the road to play teams like Florida State, Georgetown, and Iowa State while taking large paydays and suffering losses to higher ranked (#10 Georgetown) opponents. In fact, Loomis' team beat NC State on the road in 1993–94 to become the first Atlantic Sun team to ever beat an ACC team at the time.
=== Move to Division I (1993–2005) ===
The 1993–94 season would mark the beginning of the Owls competition in the NCAA Division I. The Owls joined the Atlantic Sun Conference later, mostly due to the fact that the Owls baseball team was exceeding expectations so early in its development. In 1994–95, the team improved to 9–19 while in Loomis' last year. The team repeated that win total in 1995–96 under new coach Kevin Billerman but showed improvement by taking South Florida, Saint Louis, and Southern Illinois to close road losses determined by the last possession, while winning two conference games to end the season. Former Duke Blue Devil captain and leader, Kevin Billerman, was hired to further lead the Owls into Division I; his second season produced the most wins of any Division One FAU men's basketball coach up to that point. Due to NCAA's rule, the Owls were not eligible for the NCAA tournament for four years, with their first season of tournament eligibility coming in 1993–94. In Billerman's four seasons, the Owls had two 20+ loss seasons (his last two) and only one winning season (his second).
For the 1999–2000 season, FAU hired decorated UNLV All-American forward/center and NBA first-round draft pick Sidney Green. In his first season, Green's Owls went 2–28, with a 25-game losing streak in the middle of the season. In each of his first and second seasons, the Owls would win their opening round game in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament, but would lose in the second round.
==== 2001–02 season: A-Sun champions ====
During the 2001–02 season, Green would lead the Owls to his only winning season, as FAU finished 19–12 and 13–7 in the Atlantic Sun. In the first-round of the 2002 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament, FAU would again win their opening game, this time defeating Jacksonville University. The Owls would break their second-round losing tradition, beating Jacksonville State University. In the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, the Owls faced Georgia State University and won 76–75, clinching their first conference championship and a bid to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
In the 2002 NCAA tournament, the Owls were seeded as a 15-seed, and placed in the South Region, and were paired with 2-seed Alabama. Though the Owls hung tight throughout the game, heavily favored Alabama held on to win 86–78.
=== Coaching carousel (2005–2018) ===
Green was fired after the 2004–05 season and the Owls landed former NCAA Coach of the Year and Tar Heel Matt Doherty. Doherty led the Owls to a 15–13 record and then left abruptly to become the head coach at Southern Methodist University.
With the rapid success of the football program, created from scratch just in 2001, the Florida Atlantic sports programs again moved up in level of competition. This time, the Owls would move to the Sun Belt Conference, and basketball played its first season of competition in the Sun Belt in the 2006–07 season. To replace Doherty, assistant coach and former Kansas Jayhawk star, Rex Walters, was elevated. In his first season, Walters' Owls were 16–15 and 10–8 in the Sun Belt. The 16–15 marked the first time FAU posted back-to-back winning seasons since the 1989–90 and 1990–91 seasons. The 10–8 conference record was only the fourth time the Owls had a winning record in conference play. Walters' sophomore season regressed a bit, as FAU finished 15–18. After the 2007–08 season completed, Rex Walters accepted the head coaching job at the University of San Francisco, and for the third time in four years, the Owls were searching for a new coach.
FAU hired Mike Jarvis as their new coach. Jarvis had been the head coach at Boston University, George Washington University and, most recently, St. John's University. Between the three schools, Jarvis led his teams to nine total NCAA tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight appearance with St. John's in 1999. Jarvis was fired from St. John's on December 19, 2003—the first Big East Conference coach to be fired during the season. It later emerged that school officials had fired Jarvis in part due to a series of embarrassing off-court incidents. Among these, a junior college transfer had been charged with assaulting a female student, and a senior guard had been kicked off the team after being caught smoking marijuana near St. John's campus in Queens. During the 2003–04 season, St. John's center Abe Keita claimed that a member of Jarvis's basketball staff had paid him nearly $300 a month for the past four seasons. As a result, St. John's placed itself on two years' probation, withdrew from postseason consideration for the 2004–05 season, and forfeited 43 wins including the 2002 NCAA Tournament and the 2003 NIT. Jarvis was faulted for not properly monitoring Keita's situation. After his ouster, Jarvis was criticized for ignoring New York City's rich pool of high school players, which particularly rankled fans used to seeing national powerhouses built primarily on New York City talent. At FAU, he looked to become the first coach in NCAA basketball history to win 100 games at four different schools. Following the 2014 season, Jarvis resigned after reports indicated that he was going to be fired. He finished with a 76–112 after six years in Boca Raton.
On April 7, 2014, the school hired Michael Curry, a former NBA player and coach of the Detroit Pistons. Curry's teams never finished with more than 12 wins overall or more than six wins in conference. They never finished higher than 11th in C-USA. Following the hiring of a new athletic director, Brian White, Curry was fired after four seasons at the school and a 39–84 record.
=== Dusty May era and 2023 Final Four run (since 2018) ===
White, brother to then-Florida head coach Mike White, thanked Curry for his years at FAU, but saw no reason the Owls could not compete in C-USA. On March 22, 2018, the school hired Florida assistant coach Dusty May as head coach.
The FAU Owls began to experience much improved results and consistent success under May, as they finished that first season in 2018-19 with an above .500 record at 17-15 and an invite to the 2019 CIT, where they lost to the Charleston Southern Buccaneers in the first round, 68-66. The Owls followed that success with winning records in each of the first 5 seasons with Dusty May at the helm.
The 2022-23 FAU Owls, led by May, had their most successful season in program history, going 31-3 en-route to winning that season’s Conference USA Championship for both the regular season and the conference tournament. During that season, FAU was ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in school history, as they at one point won 20 consecutive games. In March of 2023, the Owls made the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in program history and remarkably, made it to the Final Four in Houston after defeating the Kansas State Wildcats 79-76 in the Elite Eight at Madison Square Garden. The Owls then narrowly lost to the San Diego State Aztecs in that Final Four, 72-71, as San Diego State’s Lamont Butler hit a buzzer-beating jumpshot to help the Aztecs advance to the 2023 NCAA Tournament National Championship Game. The 2022-23 FAU Owls finished the season 35-4, the most wins of any program in Men’s Division I College Basketball that season.
Despite making the Final Four and rumors of players transferring the following season, FAU ran it back with their squad for the 2023-24 season. The team finished 25-9, making their second-straight March Madness appearance. However, FAU lost in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament to the Northwestern Wildcats, 77-65, in overtime at the Barclays Center.
=== John Jakus enters the scene ===
After making it to two straight NCAA Tournament appearances, head coach Dusty May left FAU to take a job with the Michigan Wolverines. It was a five year deal worth $18.75 million in base compensation.
As a result of May's departure, FAU lost their star players to the transfer portal. FAU's leading scorer Johnell Davis transferred to Arkansas. Alijah Martin transferred to Florida. Nick Boyd transferred to San Diego State. Giancarlo Rosado transferred to Charlotte. Vlad Goldin joined May and transferred to Michigan.
In replace of May, FAU hired John Jakus as their new head coach on March 27, 2024.
== Head coaches ==
== Current coaching staff ==
== Postseason ==
=== NCAA tournament results ===
The Owls have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times. Their combined record to date is 4–3.
=== NIT results ===
The Owls have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) twice. Their record is 0–2.
=== CBI results ===
The Owls have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational once. Their combined record is 0–1.
=== CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) results ===
The Owls have appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Their record is 0–1.
== Team records ==
=== All-time record vs. current AAC teams ===
Official record (including any NCAA imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current AAC opponents as of the completion of the 2022–23 season:
Through April 1, 2023.
== Owls in international leagues ==
Aleksandar Zečević (born 1996), Serbian basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union | Soviet Union | The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), also known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until its dissolution in 1991. It was the world's third-most populous country, largest by area, and bordered twelve countries. A diverse multinational state, it was organized as a federal union of national republics, the largest and most populous being the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. In practice, its government and economy were highly centralized. As a one-party state governed by its Communist Party, it was the flagship communist state. Its capital and largest city was Moscow.
The Soviet Union's roots lay in the October Revolution of 1917. The new government, led by Vladimir Lenin, established the Russian SFSR, the world's first constitutionally communist state. Following the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War, the Russian SFSR and its subordinate republics were merged into the Soviet Union in 1922. Following Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin came to power, inaugurating rapid industrialization and forced collectivization that led to significant growth but contributed to a 1930s famine killing millions. Soviet forced labour expanded via the Gulag system. Stalin's government conducted the late 1930s Great Purge via deportations, executions, and show trials. Failing to build an anti-Nazi coalition in Europe, the Soviet Union signed a 1939 non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany. Nonetheless, in 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union in the largest land invasion in history, opening the Eastern Front of World War II. The Red Army played a decisive role in the Allies defeating the Axis powers, while liberating much of Central and Eastern Europe. At around 27 million casualties, the country suffered the most deaths in World War II. In the war's aftermath, the Soviet Union consolidated territories it occupied into satellite states, and undertook rapid economic development, cementing its status as a superpower.
Geopolitical tensions with the United States led to the Cold War. The US-led Western Bloc coalesced into the NATO military alliance in 1949, prompting the Eastern Bloc to form the Warsaw Pact in 1955. With scant direct combat, the blocs fought via ideological and proxy wars. In 1953, following Stalin's death, Nikita Khrushchev led a campaign of de-Stalinization. Resulting ideological tensions with communist China, led by Mao Zedong, culminated in an acrimonious split. In the following fifteen years the Soviet military suppressed uprisings in East Germany, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, while resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis narrowly averted a global conflict. Under the 18-year rule of Leonid Brezhnev, prosperity turned toward stagnation and corruption, while US relations eased. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev sought reform through his policies glasnost and perestroika. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the worst nuclear power disaster in history, contributed to Soviet socio-economic crises. In 1989, most Warsaw Pact countries overthrew their Soviet-backed regimes, ending the Eastern Bloc. Nationalist movements across the Soviet republics declared sovereignty. In 1991, after a successful referendum to establish a renewed federation, a failed coup by hardliners prompted Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus to secede. On 26 December, Gorbachev officially recognized the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Boris Yeltsin, leader of the Russian SFSR, oversaw its reconstitution into the Russian Federation, the Soviet Union's successor state; the fourteen other republics emerged as fully independent states. All except the Baltics joined the Commonwealth of Independent States. The post-Soviet states experienced a humanitarian disaster, and dozens of wars and conflicts.
The Soviet Union was one of the world's two superpowers, with the largest standing military, the second-largest economy, a hegemony in Eastern Europe and Asia, global diplomacy, ideological influence (particularly in the Global South), and scientific and technological accomplishments. It wielded the world's largest arsenals of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. Its space program made extensive achievements in the Space Race, including the first artificial satellite and first human spaceflight. Soviet culture was influenced by the official socialist realism style, and later underground samizdat publications. As a major Allied nation, it became one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. In some post-Soviet states including Russia, nostalgia remains high for the Soviet Union, while others view it negatively. Academics have variously criticized the Soviet system as authoritarian, bureaucratic, and state capitalist, while some have praised its industrialization, scientific capacity, and anti-imperialist influence globally.
== Etymology ==
The word "soviet" is derived from the Russian word sovet (Russian: совет), meaning 'council', 'assembly', 'advice', ultimately deriving from the proto-Slavic verbal stem of *vět-iti ('to inform'), related to Slavic věst ('news') and English wise. The word sovietnik means 'councillor'. Some organizations in Russian history were called council (Russian: совет). In the Russian Empire, the State Council, which functioned from 1810 to 1917, was referred to as a Council of Ministers.
The soviets as workers' councils first appeared during the 1905 Russian Revolution. Although they were quickly suppressed by the Imperial army, after the February Revolution of 1917, workers' and soldiers' soviets emerged throughout the country and shared power with the Russian Provisional Government. The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, demanded that all power be transferred to the soviets, and gained support from the workers and soldiers. After the October Revolution, in which they seized power from the Provisional Government in the name of the soviets, Lenin proclaimed the formation of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic (RSFSR).
During the Georgian Affair of 1922, Lenin called for the Russian SFSR and other national soviet republics to form a greater union which he initially named as the Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia (Russian: Союз Советских Республик Европы и Азии, romanized: Soyuz Sovyetskikh Respublik Evropy i Azii). Joseph Stalin initially resisted Lenin's proposal but ultimately accepted it, and with Lenin's agreement he changed the name to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), although all republics began as socialist soviet and did not change to the other order until 1936. In addition, in the regional languages of several republics, the word council or conciliar in the respective language was only quite late changed to an adaptation of the Russian soviet and never in others, e.g. Ukrainian SSR.
СССР (in the Latin alphabet: SSSR) is the abbreviation of the Russian-language cognate of USSR, as written in Cyrillic letters. The soviets used this abbreviation so frequently that audiences worldwide became familiar with its meaning. After this, the most common Russian initialization is Союз ССР (transliteration: Soyuz SSR) which essentially translates to Union of SSRs in English. In addition, the Russian short form name Советский Союз (transliteration: Sovyetsky Soyuz, which literally means Soviet Union) is also commonly used, but only in its unabbreviated form. Since the start of the Great Patriotic War at the latest, abbreviating the Russian name of the Soviet Union as СС has been taboo, the reason being that СС as a Russian Cyrillic abbreviation is associated with the infamous Schutzstaffel of Nazi Germany, as SS is in English. One apparent exception was the Russian abbreviation of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, КПСС (transliteration: KPSS).
In English-language media, the state was referred to as the Soviet Union or the USSR. The Russian SFSR dominated the Soviet Union to such an extent that, for most of the Soviet Union's existence, it was colloquially, but incorrectly, referred to as Russia.
== History ==
The history of the Soviet Union began with the ideals of the Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amid economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, the Soviet Union became a one-party state under the Communist Party. Its early years under Lenin were marked by the implementation of socialist policies and the New Economic Policy (NEP), which allowed for market-oriented reforms.
The rise of Joseph Stalin in the late 1920s ushered in an era of intense centralization and totalitarianism. Stalin's rule was characterized by the forced collectivization of agriculture, rapid industrialization, and the Great Purge, which eliminated perceived enemies of the state. The Soviet Union, one of the Big Four Allied powers alongside the United States, the United Kingdom, and China, played a crucial role in the Allied victory in World War II. It paid a tremendous human cost with millions of Soviet citizens dying in the conflict.
The Soviet Union emerged as one of the world's two superpowers, leading the Eastern Bloc in opposition to the Western Bloc during the Cold War. This period saw the USSR engage in an arms race, the Space Race, and proxy wars around the globe. The post-Stalin leadership, particularly under Nikita Khrushchev, initiated a de-Stalinization process, leading to a period of liberalization and relative openness known as the Khrushchev Thaw. However, the subsequent era under Leonid Brezhnev, sometimes referred to as the Era of Stagnation, was marked by economic decline, political corruption, and a rigid gerontocracy. Despite efforts to maintain the Soviet Union's superpower status, the economy struggled due to its centralized nature, technological backwardness, and inefficiencies. The vast military expenditures and burdens of maintaining the Eastern Bloc further strained the Soviet economy.
In the 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) aimed to revitalize the Soviet system but instead accelerated its unraveling. Nationalist movements gained momentum across the Soviet republics and the control of the Communist Party weakened. The failed coup attempt in August 1991 against Gorbachev by hardline communists hastened the end of the Soviet Union, which formally dissolved on 26 December 1991, ending nearly seven decades of Soviet rule.
== Geography ==
With an area of 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi), the Soviet Union was the world's largest country, a status that is retained by the Russian Federation. Covering a sixth of Earth's land surface, its size was comparable to that of North America. Two other successor states are also very large — Kazakhstan ranks among the top 10 countries by land area, and Ukraine is the largest country entirely in Europe. The European portion accounted for a quarter of the country's area and was the cultural and economic center. The eastern part in Asia extended to the Pacific Ocean to the east and Afghanistan to the south, and, except some areas in Central Asia, was much less populous. It spanned over 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) east to west across 11 time zones, and over 7,200 kilometres (4,500 mi) north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra, taiga, steppes, desert and mountains.
The USSR, like Russia, had the world's longest border, measuring over 60,000 kilometres (37,000 mi), or 1+1⁄2 circumferences of Earth. Two-thirds of it was a coastline. The country bordered Afghanistan, the People's Republic of China, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Hungary, Iran, Mongolia, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Turkey from 1945 to 1991. The Bering Strait separated the USSR from the United States, while the La Pérouse Strait separated it from Japan.
The country's highest mountain was Communism Peak (now Ismoil Somoni Peak) in Tajikistan, at 7,495 metres (24,590 ft). The USSR also included most of the world's largest lakes; the Caspian Sea (shared with Iran), and Lake Baikal, the world's largest (by volume) and deepest freshwater lake that is also an internal body of water in Russia.
== Government and politics ==
The Soviet communist state system was based on unified state power and democratic centralism. The highest organ of state authority, the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, stood above all other state organs and worked under the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The executive organ of the state (synonymous with government), the Council of Ministers, was an internal organ of the All-Union Supreme Soviet.
=== Communist Party ===
At the top of the Communist Party was the Central Committee, elected at Party Congresses and Conferences. In turn, the Central Committee voted for a Politburo (called the Presidium between 1952 and 1966), Secretariat and the general secretary (First Secretary from 1953 to 1966), the de facto highest office in the Soviet Union. Depending on the degree of power consolidation, it was either the Politburo as a collective body or the General Secretary, who always was one of the Politburo members, that effectively led the party and the country (except for the period of the highly personalized authority of Stalin, exercised directly through his position in the Council of Ministers rather than the Politburo after 1941). They were not controlled by the general party membership, as the key principle of the party organization was democratic centralism, demanding strict subordination to higher bodies, and elections went uncontested, endorsing the candidates proposed from above.
The Communist Party maintained its dominance over the state mainly through its control over the system of appointments. All senior government officials and most deputies of the Supreme Soviet were members of the CPSU. Of the party heads themselves, Stalin (1941–1953) and Khrushchev (1958–1964) were Premiers. Upon the forced retirement of Khrushchev, the party leader was prohibited from this kind of double membership, but the later General Secretaries for at least some part of their tenure occupied the mostly ceremonial position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, the nominal head of state. The institutions at lower levels were overseen and at times supplanted by primary party organizations.
However, in practice the degree of control the party was able to exercise over the state bureaucracy, particularly after the death of Stalin, was far from total, with the bureaucracy pursuing different interests that were at times in conflict with the party, nor was the party itself monolithic from top to bottom, although factions were officially banned.
=== Highest organ of state authority ===
The Supreme Soviet (successor of the Congress of Soviets) was nominally the highest organ of state authority for most of the Soviet history, at first acting as a rubber stamp institution, approving and implementing all decisions made by the party. However, its powers and functions were extended in the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, including the creation of new state commissions and committees. It gained additional powers relating to the approval of the Five-Year Plans and the government budget. The Supreme Soviet elected a Presidium (successor of the Central Executive Committee) to wield its power between plenary sessions, ordinarily held twice a year, and appointed the Supreme Court, the Procurator General and the Council of Ministers (known before 1946 as the Council of People's Commissars), headed by the Chairman (Premier) and managing an enormous bureaucracy responsible for the administration of the economy and society. State and party structures of the constituent republics largely emulated the structure of the central institutions, although the Russian SFSR, unlike the other constituent republics, for most of its history had no republican branch of the CPSU, being ruled directly by the union-wide party until 1990. Local authorities were organized likewise into party committees, local Soviets and executive committees. While the state system was nominally federal, the party was unitary.
The state security police (the KGB and its predecessor agencies) played an important role in Soviet politics. It was instrumental in the Red Terror and Great Purge, but was brought under strict party control after Stalin's death. Under Yuri Andropov, the KGB engaged in the suppression of political dissent and maintained an extensive network of informers, reasserting itself as a political actor to some extent independent of the party-state structure, culminating in the anti-corruption campaign targeting high-ranking party officials in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
=== Unified power and reform ===
The constitution, which was promulgated in 1924, 1936 and 1977, did not limit state power. No separation of powers existed in the Soviet Union, as the state system was based on the unified state power of the highest organ of state authority, that is, the All-Union Supreme Soviet which worked under the party's leadership. The system was governed less by statute than by informal conventions, and no settled mechanism of leadership succession existed. Bitter and at times deadly power struggles took place in the Politburo after the deaths of Lenin and Stalin, as well as after Khrushchev's dismissal, itself due to a decision by both the Politburo and the Central Committee. All leaders of the Communist Party before Gorbachev died in office, except Georgy Malenkov and Khrushchev, who were both dismissed from the party leadership amid internal struggle within the party.
Between 1988 and 1990, facing considerable opposition, Mikhail Gorbachev enacted reforms shifting power away from the highest bodies of the party and making the Supreme Soviet less dependent on them. The Congress of People's Deputies was established, the majority of whose members were directly elected in competitive elections held in March 1989, the first in Soviet history. The Congress now elected the Supreme Soviet, which became a full-time parliament, and much stronger than before. For the first time since the 1920s, it refused to rubber stamp proposals from the party and Council of Ministers. In 1990, Gorbachev introduced and assumed the position of the President of the Soviet Union, concentrated power in his executive office, independent of the party, and subordinated the government, now renamed the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR, to himself.
Tensions grew between the Union-wide authorities under Gorbachev, reformists led in Russia by Boris Yeltsin and controlling the newly elected Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR, and communist hardliners. On 19–21 August 1991, a group of hardliners staged a coup attempt. The coup failed, and the State Council of the Soviet Union became the highest organ of state power 'in the period of transition'. Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary, only remaining President for the final months of the existence of the USSR.
=== Judicial system ===
The judiciary was not independent of the supreme state organ of power, and the Supreme Court as the supreme judicial organ supervised the lower courts (People's Court) and applied the law as established by the constitution or as interpreted by the Supreme Soviet. The Constitutional Oversight Committee reviewed the constitutionality of laws and acts. The Soviet Union used the inquisitorial system of Roman law, where the judge, procurator, and defence attorney collaborate to "establish the truth".
=== Human rights ===
Human rights in the Soviet Union were severely limited. The Soviet Union was a totalitarian state from 1927 until 1953 and a one-party state until 1990. Freedom of speech was suppressed and dissent was punished. Independent political activities were not tolerated, whether these involved participation in free labour unions, private corporations, independent churches or opposition political parties. The freedom of movement within and especially outside the country was limited. The state restricted rights of citizens to private property.
=== Foreign relations ===
During his rule, Stalin always made the final policy decisions. Otherwise, Soviet foreign policy was set by the commission on the Foreign Policy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, or by the party's highest body the Politburo. Operations were handled by the separate Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was known as the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (or Narkomindel), until 1946. The most influential spokesmen were Georgy Chicherin, Maxim Litvinov, Vyacheslav Molotov, Andrey Vyshinsky, and Andrei Gromyko. Intellectuals were based in the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Comintern (1919–1943), or Communist International, was an international communist organization based in the Kremlin that advocated world communism. The Comintern intended to 'struggle by all available means, including armed force, for the overthrow of the international bourgeoisie and the creation of an international Soviet republic as a transition stage to the complete abolition of the state'. It was abolished as a conciliatory measure toward Britain and the United States.
Comecon, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Russian: Совет Экономической Взаимопомощи, Sovet Ekonomicheskoy Vzaimopomoshchi, СЭВ, SEV) was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under Soviet control that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc along with several communist states elsewhere in the world. Moscow was concerned about the Marshall Plan, and Comecon was meant to prevent countries in the Soviets' sphere of influence from moving towards that of the Americans and Southeast Asia. Comecon was the Eastern Bloc's reply to the formation in Western Europe of the Organization for European Economic Co-Operation (OEEC),
The Warsaw Pact was a collective defence alliance formed in 1955 among the USSR and its satellite states in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. The Warsaw Pact was the military complement to the Comecon, the regional economic organization for the socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe. The Warsaw Pact was created in reaction to the integration of West Germany into NATO. Although nominally a "defensive" alliance, the Pact's primary function was to safeguard the Soviet Union's hegemony over its Eastern European satellites, with the Pact's only direct military actions having been the invasions of its own member states to keep them from breaking away.
The Cominform (1947–1956), informally the Communist Information Bureau and officially the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties, was the first official agency of the international Marxist-Leninist movement since the dissolution of the Comintern in 1943. Its role was to coordinate actions between Marxist-Leninist parties under Soviet direction. Stalin used it to order Western European communist parties to abandon their exclusively parliamentarian line and instead concentrate on politically impeding the operations of the Marshall Plan, the U.S. program of rebuilding Europe after the war and developing its economy. It also coordinated international aid to Marxist-Leninist insurgents during the Greek Civil War in 1947–1949. It expelled Yugoslavia in 1948 after Josip Broz Tito insisted on an independent program. Its newspaper, For a Lasting Peace, for a People's Democracy!, promoted Stalin's positions. The Cominform's concentration on Europe meant a deemphasis on world revolution in Soviet foreign policy. By enunciating a uniform ideology, it allowed the constituent parties to focus on personalities rather than issues.
==== Early policies (1919–1939) ====
The Marxist-Leninist leadership of the Soviet Union intensely debated foreign policy issues and changed directions several times. Even after Stalin assumed dictatorial control in the late 1920s, there were debates, and he frequently changed positions.
During the country's early period, it was assumed that Communist revolutions would break out soon in every major industrial country, and it was the Russian responsibility to assist them. The Comintern was the weapon of choice. A few revolutions did break out, but they were quickly suppressed (the longest lasting one was in Hungary)—the Hungarian Soviet Republic—lasted only from 21 March 1919 to 1 August 1919. The Russian Bolsheviks were in no position to give any help.
By 1921, Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin realized that capitalism had stabilized itself in Europe and there would not be any widespread revolutions anytime soon. It became the duty of the Russian Bolsheviks to protect what they had in Russia, and avoid military confrontations that might destroy their bridgehead. Russia was now a pariah state, along with Germany. The two came to terms in 1922 with the Treaty of Rapallo that settled long-standing grievances. At the same time, the two countries secretly set up training programs for the illegal German army and air force operations at hidden camps in the USSR.
Moscow eventually stopped threatening other states, and instead worked to open peaceful relationships in terms of trade, and diplomatic recognition. The United Kingdom dismissed the warnings of Winston Churchill and a few others about a continuing Marxist-Leninist threat, and opened trade relations and de facto diplomatic recognition in 1922. There was hope for a settlement of the pre-war Tsarist debts, but it was repeatedly postponed. Formal recognition came when the new Labour Party came to power in 1924. All the other countries followed suit in opening trade relations. Henry Ford opened large-scale business relations with the Soviets in the late 1920s, hoping that it would lead to long-term peace. Finally, in 1933, the United States officially recognized the USSR, a decision backed by the public opinion and especially by US business interests that expected an opening of a new profitable market.
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Stalin ordered Marxist-Leninist parties across the world to strongly oppose non-Marxist political parties, labour unions or other organizations on the left, which they labelled social fascists. In the usage of the Soviet Union, and of the Comintern and its affiliated parties in this period, the epithet fascist was used to describe capitalist society in general and virtually any anti-Soviet or anti-Stalinist activity or opinion. Stalin reversed himself in 1934 with the Popular Front program that called on all Marxist parties to join with all anti-Fascist political, labour, and organizational forces that were opposed to fascism, especially of the Nazi variety.
The rapid growth of power in Nazi Germany encouraged both Paris and Moscow to form a military alliance, and the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed in May 1935. A firm believer in collective security, Stalin's foreign minister Maxim Litvinov worked very hard to form a closer relationship with France and Britain.
In 1939, half a year after the Munich Agreement, the USSR attempted to form an anti-Nazi alliance with France and Britain. Adolf Hitler proposed a better deal, which would give the USSR control over much of Eastern Europe through the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. In September, Germany invaded Poland, and the USSR also invaded later that month, resulting in the partition of Poland. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II.
==== World War II (1939–1945) ====
Up until his death in 1953, Joseph Stalin controlled all foreign relations of the Soviet Union during the interwar period. Despite the increasing build-up of Germany's war machine and the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Soviet Union did not cooperate with any other nation, choosing to follow its own path. However, after Operation Barbarossa, the Soviet Union's priorities changed. Despite previous conflict with the United Kingdom, Vyacheslav Molotov dropped his post war border demands.
==== Cold War (1945–1991) ====
The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc, which began following World War II in 1945. The term cold war is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment, the struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, espionage, far-reaching embargoes, rivalry at sports events and technological competitions such as the Space Race.
=== Administrative divisions ===
Constitutionally, the USSR was a federation of constituent Union Republics, which were either unitary states, such as Ukraine or Byelorussia (SSRs), or federations, such as Russia or Transcaucasia (SFSRs), all four being the founding republics who signed the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR in December 1922. In 1924, during the national delimitation in Central Asia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were formed from parts of Russia's Turkestan ASSR and two Soviet dependencies, the Khorezm and Bukharan PSPs. In 1929, Tajikistan was split off from the Uzbekistan SSR. With the constitution of 1936, the Transcaucasian SFSR was dissolved, resulting in its constituent republics of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan being elevated to Union Republics, while Kazakhstan and Kirghizia were split off from the Russian SFSR, resulting in the same status. In August 1940, Moldavia was formed from parts of Ukraine and Soviet-occupied Bessarabia, and Ukrainian SSR. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were also annexed by the Soviet Union and turned into SSRs, which was not recognized by most of the international community and was considered an illegal occupation. After the Soviet invasion of Finland, the Karelo-Finnish SSR was formed on annexed territory as a Union Republic in March 1940 and then incorporated into Russia as the Karelian ASSR in 1956. Between July 1956 and September 1991, there were 15 union republics (see map below).
== Military ==
Under the Military Law of September 1925, the Soviet Armed Forces consisted of the Land Forces, the Red Army Air Force, the Navy, Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) and the Internal Troops. The OGPU later became independent and in 1934 joined the NKVD secret police, and so its internal troops were under the joint leadership of the defense and internal commissariats. After World War II, Strategic Missile Forces (1959), Air Defense Forces (1948) and National Civil Defense Forces (1970) were formed, which ranked first, third, and sixth in the official Soviet system of importance (ground forces were second, Air Force fourth, and Navy fifth).
The army had the greatest political influence. In 1989, there served two million soldiers divided between 150 motorized and 52 tank divisions. Until the early 1960s, the Soviet navy was a rather small military branch, but after the Cuban Missile Crisis, under the leadership of Sergei Gorshkov, it expanded significantly. It became known for its submarine fleet. In 1989, there served 500 000 men. The Soviet Air Force focused on a fleet of strategic bombers and during war situation was to eradicate enemy infrastructure and nuclear capacity. The air force also had a number of fighters and tactical bombers to support the army in the war. Strategic missile forces had more than 1,400 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), deployed between 28 bases and 300 command centers.
After 1945, the Soviet Ground Forces suppressed several uprisings in East Europe and was involved in many other operations abroad. These included the suppression of the uprising in East Germany (1953), Hungarian revolution (1956) and the invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968). The Soviet Union also began the war in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989.
In the Soviet Union, general conscription applied, meaning all able-bodied males aged 18 and older were drafted in the armed forces.
== Economy ==
The Soviet Union adopted a command economy, whereby production and distribution of goods were centralized and directed by the government. For the overwhelming majority of its existence, the USSR did not use GDP or GNP to measure its economy, instead relying on the Material Product System. The first Bolshevik experience with a command economy was the policy of war communism, which involved the nationalization of industry, centralized distribution of output, coercive or forced requisition of agricultural production, and attempts to eliminate money circulation, private enterprises and free trade. The barrier troops were also used to enforce Bolshevik control over food supplies in areas controlled by the Red Army, a role which soon earned them the hatred of the Russian civilian population. After the severe economic collapse, Lenin replaced war communism by the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1921, legalizing free trade and private ownership of small businesses. The economy steadily recovered as a result.
After a long debate among the members of the Politburo about the course of economic development, by 1928–1929, upon gaining control of the country, Stalin abandoned the NEP and pushed for full central planning, starting forced collectivization of agriculture and enacting draconian labour legislation. Resources were mobilized for rapid industrialization, which significantly expanded Soviet capacity in heavy industry and capital goods during the 1930s. The primary motivation for industrialization was preparation for war, mostly due to distrust of the outside capitalist world. As a result, the USSR was transformed from a largely agrarian economy into a great industrial power, leading the way for its emergence as a superpower after World War II. The war caused extensive devastation of the Soviet economy and infrastructure, which required massive reconstruction.
By the early 1940s, the Soviet economy had become relatively self-sufficient; for most of the period until the creation of Comecon, only a tiny share of domestic products was traded internationally. After the creation of the Eastern Bloc, external trade rose rapidly. However, the influence of the world economy on the USSR was limited by fixed domestic prices and a state monopoly on foreign trade. Grain and sophisticated consumer manufactures became major import articles from around the 1960s. During the arms race of the Cold War, the Soviet economy was burdened by military expenditures, heavily lobbied for by a powerful bureaucracy dependent on the arms industry. At the same time, the USSR became the largest arms exporter to the Third World. A portion of Soviet resources during the Cold War were allocated in aid to the Soviet-aligned states. The Soviet Union's military budget in the 1970s was gigantic, forming 40–60% of the entire federal budget and accounting to 15% of the USSR's GDP (13% in the 1980s).
From the 1930s until its dissolution in late 1991, the way the Soviet economy operated remained essentially unchanged. The economy was formally directed by central planning, carried out by Gosplan and organized in five-year plans. However, in practice, the plans were highly aggregated and provisional, subject to ad hoc intervention by superiors. All critical economic decisions were taken by the political leadership. Allocated resources and plan targets were usually denominated in rubles rather than in physical goods. Credit was discouraged, but widespread. The final allocation of output was achieved through relatively decentralized, unplanned contracting. Although in theory prices were legally set from above, in practice they were often negotiated, and informal horizontal links (e.g. between producer factories) were widespread.
A number of basic services were state-funded, such as education and health care. In the manufacturing sector, heavy industry and defence were prioritized over consumer goods. Consumer goods, particularly outside large cities, were often scarce, of poor quality and limited variety. Under the command economy, consumers had almost no influence on production, and the changing demands of a population with growing incomes could not be satisfied by supplies at rigidly fixed prices. A massive unplanned second economy grew up at low levels alongside the planned one, providing some of the goods and services that the planners could not. The legalization of some elements of the decentralized economy was attempted with the reform of 1965.
Although statistics of the Soviet economy are notoriously unreliable and its economic growth difficult to estimate precisely, by most accounts, the economy continued to expand until the mid-1980s. During the 1950s and 1960s, it had comparatively high growth and was catching up to the West. However, after 1970, the growth, while still positive, steadily declined much more quickly and consistently than in other countries, despite a rapid increase in the capital stock (the rate of capital increase was only surpassed by Japan).
Professor of Economic History Bob Allen contends that in the era in which the Soviet economy was publicly owned and planned (1928–1989), the Soviet Union's GDP per capita growth outpaced nearly all other world economies, trailing only Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Data shows that Soviet per capita growth expanded by a factor of 5.2, exceeding the growth rates of Western Europe at 4.0, and the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand at 3.3. Ultimately, the Soviet model of public ownership proved more effective at raising average incomes during this period than the world's primary industrialized capitalist systems. According to Stephen Gowans, this growth trajectory was eventually undermined by the "accumulated toll on the Soviet economy of the West’s efforts to bring it down, the Reagan administration’s intensification of the Cold War, and the Soviet leadership’s inability to find a way out of the predicament these developments occasioned." Scholar Christopher Davidson argued that, during the 1980s, the Reagan administration attempted to weaponize the global energy market against the USSR. At the request of CIA Director William J. Casey, Saudi Arabia flooded the market with oil, dropping the price from $28 to $10 per barrel, and draining Soviet foreign currency reserves. This was later described by a former CIA chief of staff as a "body blow to the Soviets. It was the equivalent of stepping on their oxygen tube."
Overall, the growth rate of per capita income in the Soviet Union between 1960 and 1989 was slightly above the world average (based on 102 countries). According to Stanley Fischer and William Easterly, growth could have been faster. By their calculation, per capita income in 1989 should have been twice higher than it was, considering the amount of investment, education and population. The authors attribute this poor performance to the low productivity of capital. Steven Rosefielde states that the standard of living declined due to Stalin's despotism. While there was a brief improvement after his death, it lapsed into stagnation.
In 1987, Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to reform and revitalize the economy with his program of perestroika. His policies relaxed state control over enterprises but did not replace it by market incentives, resulting in a sharp decline in output. The economy, already suffering from reduced petroleum export revenues, started to collapse. Prices were still fixed, and the property was still largely state-owned until after the country's dissolution. For most of the period after World War II until its collapse, Soviet GDP (PPP) was the second-largest in the world, and third during the second half of the 1980s, although on a per-capita basis, it was behind that of First World countries. Compared to countries with similar per-capita GDP in 1928, the Soviet Union experienced significant growth.
In 1990, the country had a Human Development Index of 0.920, placing it in the 'high' category of human development. It was the third-highest in the Eastern Bloc, behind Czechoslovakia and East Germany, and the 25th in the world of 130 countries.
=== Energy ===
The need for fuel declined in the Soviet Union from the 1970s to the 1980s, both per ruble of gross social product and per ruble of industrial product. The decline was very rapid between 1965 and 1970, then slowed between 1970 and 1975. From 1975 to 1980, the decline continued at an even slower rate, with fuel requirements per ruble of gross social product decreasing by only 2.6%. David Wilson, a historian, believed that the gas industry would account for 40% of Soviet fuel production by the end of the century. His theory did not come to fruition because of the USSR's collapse. According to Wilson, the Soviet Union was, in theory, well-positioned to avoid an energy crisis and could have sustained economic growth rates of 2–2.5% during the 1990s, supported by its energy resources. However, the energy sector faced many difficulties, among them the country's high military expenditure and hostile relations with the First World.
In 1991, the Soviet Union had a pipeline network of 82,000 kilometres (51,000 mi) for crude oil and another 206,500 kilometres (128,300 mi) for natural gas. Petroleum and petroleum-based products, natural gas, metals, wood, agricultural products, and a variety of manufactured goods, primarily machinery, arms and military equipment, were exported. In the 1970s and 1980s, the USSR heavily relied on fossil fuel exports to earn hard currency. At its peak in 1988, it was the largest producer and second-largest exporter of crude oil, surpassed only by Saudi Arabia.
=== Science and technology ===
The Soviet Union placed great emphasis on science and technology. Lenin believed the USSR would never overtake the developed world if it remained as technologically backward as it was upon its founding. Soviet authorities proved their commitment to Lenin's belief by developing massive networks and research and development organizations. In the early 1960s, 40% of chemistry PhDs in the Soviet Union were attained by women, compared with only 5% in the United States. By 1989, Soviet scientists were among the world's best-trained specialists in several areas, such as energy physics, selected areas of medicine, mathematics, welding, space technology, and military technologies. However, due to rigid state planning and bureaucracy, the Soviets remained far behind the First World in chemistry, biology, and computer science. Under Stalin, the Soviet government persecuted geneticists in favour of Lysenkoism, a pseudoscience rejected by the scientific community in the Soviet Union and abroad but supported by Stalin's inner circles. Implemented in the USSR and China, it resulted in reduced crop yields and is widely believed to have contributed to the Great Chinese Famine. In the 1980s, the Soviet Union had more scientists and engineers relative to the world's population than any other major country, owing to strong levels of state support. Some of its most remarkable technological achievements, such as launching the world's first space satellite, were achieved through military research.
Under the Reagan administration, Project Socrates determined that the Soviet Union addressed the acquisition of science and technology in a manner radically different to the United States. The US prioritized indigenous research and development in both the public and private sectors. In contrast, the USSR placed greater emphasis on acquiring foreign technology, which it did through both covert and overt means. However, centralized state planning kept Soviet technological development greatly inflexible. This was exploited by the US to undermine the strength of the Soviet Union and thus foster its reform.
=== Space program ===
At the end of the 1950s, the USSR constructed the first satellite—Sputnik 1, which marked the beginning of the Space Race—a competition to achieve superior spaceflight capability with the United States. This was followed by other successful satellites, most notably Sputnik 5, where test dogs were sent to space. On 12 April 1961, the USSR launched Vostok 1, which carried Yuri Gagarin, making him the first human to ever be launched into space and complete a space journey. The first plans for space shuttles and orbital stations were drawn up in Soviet design offices, but personal disputes between designers and management prevented their development.
In terms of the Luna program, the USSR only had automated spacecraft launches with no crewed spacecraft. The N1—a Super heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to match the American Saturn V for a Soviet crewed moon landing—failed all four of its test launches, and the 'Moon' part of Space Race was won by the Americans. The Soviet public's reaction to the American moon-landing was mixed. The Soviet government limited the release of information about it, which affected the reaction. A portion of the populace did not give it attention, and another portion was angered.
In the 1970s, specific proposals for the design of a space shuttle emerged, but shortcomings, especially in the electronics industry (rapid overheating of electronics), postponed it till the end of the 1980s. The first shuttle, the Buran, flew in 1988, but without a human crew. Another, Ptichka, endured prolonged construction and was canceled in 1991. For their launch into space, there is today an unused superpower rocket, Energia, which is the most powerful in the world.
In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union built the Mir orbital station. It was built on the construction of Salyut stations and its only role was civilian-grade research tasks. Mir was the only orbital station in operation from 1986 to 1998. Gradually, other modules were added to it, including American modules. However, the station deteriorated rapidly after a fire on board and was deorbited in 2001, burning up in the Earth's atmosphere.
=== Transport ===
Transport was a vital component of the country's economy. The economic centralization of the late 1920s and 1930s led to the development of infrastructure on a massive scale, most notably the establishment of Aeroflot, an aviation enterprise. The country had a wide variety of modes of transport by land, water and air. However, due to inadequate maintenance, much of the road, water and Soviet civil aviation transport were outdated and technologically backward compared to the First World.
Soviet rail transport was the largest and most intensively used in the world; it was also better developed than most of its Western counterparts. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, Soviet economists were calling for the construction of more roads to alleviate some of the burdens from the railways and to improve the Soviet government budget. The street network and automotive industry remained underdeveloped, and dirt roads were common outside major cities. Soviet maintenance projects proved unable to take care of even the few roads the country had. By the early-to-mid-1980s, the Soviet authorities tried to solve the road problem by ordering the construction of new ones. Meanwhile, the automobile industry was growing at a faster rate than road construction. The underdeveloped road network led to a growing demand for public transport.
Despite improvements, several aspects of the transport sector were still riddled with problems due to outdated infrastructure, lack of investment, corruption and bad decision-making. Soviet authorities were unable to meet the growing demand for transport infrastructure and services.
The Soviet merchant navy was one of the largest in the world.
== Demographics ==
Excess deaths throughout World War I and the Russian Civil War (including the famine of 1921–1922 that was triggered by Lenin's war communism policies) amounted to a combined total of 18 million, some 10 million in the 1930s, and more than 20 million in 1941–1945. The postwar Soviet population was 45 to 50 million smaller than it would have been if pre-war demographic growth had continued. According to Catherine Merridale, '... reasonable estimate would place the total number of excess deaths for the whole period somewhere around 60 million.'
The birth rate of the USSR decreased from 44.0 per thousand in 1926 to 18.0 in 1974, mainly due to increasing urbanization and the rising average age of marriages. The mortality rate demonstrated a gradual decrease as well—from 23.7 per thousand in 1926 to 8.7 in 1974. In general, the birth rates of the southern republics in Transcaucasia and Central Asia were considerably higher than those in the northern parts of the Soviet Union, and in some cases even increased in the post–World War II period, a phenomenon partly attributed to slower rates of urbanization and traditionally earlier marriages in the southern republics. Soviet Europe moved towards sub-replacement fertility, while Soviet Central Asia continued to exhibit population growth well above replacement-level fertility.
The late 1960s and the 1970s witnessed a reversal of the declining trajectory of the rate of mortality in the USSR, and was especially notable among men of working age, but was also prevalent in Russia and other predominantly Slavic areas of the country. An analysis of the official data from the late 1980s showed that after worsening in the late-1970s and the early 1980s, adult mortality began to improve again. The infant mortality rate increased from 24.7 in 1970 to 27.9 in 1974. Some researchers regarded the rise as mostly real, a consequence of worsening health conditions and services. The rises in both adult and infant mortality were not explained or defended by Soviet officials, and the Soviet government stopped publishing all mortality statistics for ten years. Soviet demographers and health specialists remained silent about the mortality increases until the late-1980s, when the publication of mortality data resumed, and researchers could delve into the real causes.
=== Urbanism ===
The Soviet Union imposed heavy controls on city growth, preventing some cities from reaching their full potential while promoting others.
For the entirety of the Soviet Union's existence, the most populous cities were Moscow and Leningrad (both in Russian SFSR), with the third far place taken by Kiev (Ukrainian SSR). At the USSR's inception, the fourth and fifth most populous cities were Kharkov (Ukrainian SSR) and Baku (Azerbaijan SSR), but, by the end of the century, Tashkent (Uzbek SSR), which had assumed the position of capital of Soviet Central Asia, had risen to fourth place. Minsk (Byelorussian SSR) saw rapid growth during the 20th century, rising from the 32nd most populous in the union to the 7th.
=== Women and fertility ===
Under Lenin, the state made explicit commitments to promote the equality of men and women. Many early Russian feminists and ordinary Russian working women actively participated in the Revolution, and many more were affected by the events of that period and the new policies. Beginning in October 1918, Lenin's government liberalized divorce and abortion laws, decriminalized homosexuality (re-criminalized in 1932), permitted cohabitation, and ushered in a host of reforms. However, without birth control, the new system produced many broken marriages, as well as countless out-of-wedlock children. The epidemic of divorces and extramarital affairs created social hardships when Soviet leaders wanted people to concentrate their efforts on growing the economy. Giving women control over their fertility also led to a precipitous decline in the birth rate, perceived as a threat to their country's military power. By 1936, Stalin reversed most of the liberal laws, ushering in a pronatalist era that lasted for decades.
By 1917, Russia became the first great power to grant women the right to vote. After heavy casualties in World Wars I and II, women outnumbered men in Russia by a 4:3 ratio; this contributed to the larger role women played in Russian society compared to other great powers at the time.
=== LGBTQ rights ===
The Soviet Union repressed homosexuality. Even during the period when homosexuality was officially legal after the abolition of the Tsarist penal code criminalising it, Soviet courts attempted to repress non-traditional forms of sexuality, which were widely viewed by Russian revolutionaries as a form of capitalist decadence despite more liberal views on homosexuality from Soviet academic sexologists. After Stalin's consolidation of power, homosexuality became officially recriminalised in 1934. The increased homophobia during this time interval was driven by the economic demands of the First Five-Year Plan, as well as the NKVD's view of homosexuals as "socially harmful elements", although even during this heightened period of repression, a clandestine homosexual subculture was able to persist. Homosexuality remained a criminal offence throughout the remainder of the Soviet Union's existence.
=== Education ===
Anatoly Lunacharsky became the first People's Commissar for Education of Soviet Russia. In the beginning, the Soviet authorities placed great emphasis on the elimination of illiteracy. All left-handed children were forced to write with their right hand in the Soviet school system. Literate people were automatically hired as teachers. For a short period, quality was sacrificed for quantity. By 1940, Stalin could announce that illiteracy had been eliminated. Throughout the 1930s, social mobility rose sharply, which has been attributed to reforms in education. In the aftermath of World War II, the country's educational system expanded dramatically, which had a tremendous effect. In the 1960s, nearly all children had access to education, the only exception being those living in remote areas. Nikita Khrushchev tried to make education more accessible, making it clear to children that education was closely linked to the needs of society. Education also became important in giving rise to the New Man. Citizens directly entering the workforce had the constitutional right to a job and to free vocational training.
The education system was highly centralized and universally accessible to all citizens, with affirmative action for applicants from nations associated with cultural backwardness. However, as part of a general antisemitic policy, an unofficial Jewish quota was applied in the leading institutions of higher education by subjecting Jewish applicants to harsher entrance examinations. The Brezhnev era also introduced a rule that required all university applicants to present a reference from the local Komsomol party secretary. According to statistics from 1986, the number of higher education students per the population of 10,000 was 181 for the USSR, compared to 517 for the US.
=== Nationalities and ethnic groups ===
The Soviet Union was an ethnically diverse country, with more than 100 distinct ethnic groups. The total population of the country was estimated at 293 million in 1991. According to a 1990 estimate, the majority of the population were Russians (50.78%), followed by Ukrainians (15.45%) and Uzbeks (5.84%). Overall, in 1989 the ethnic demography of the country showed that 69.8% was East Slavic, 17.5% was Turkic, 1.6% were Armenians, 1.6% were Balts, 1.5% were Uralic, 1.5% were Tajik, 1.4% were Georgian, 1.2% were Moldovan and 4.1% were of other various ethnic groups.
All citizens of the USSR had their own ethnic affiliation. The ethnicity of a person was chosen at the age of sixteen by the child's parents. If the parents did not agree, the child was automatically assigned the ethnicity of the father. Partly due to Soviet policies, some of the smaller minority ethnic groups were considered part of larger ones, such as the Mingrelians of Georgia, who were classified with the linguistically related Georgians. Some ethnic groups voluntarily assimilated, while others were brought in by force. Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians, who were all East Slavic and Orthodox, shared close cultural, ethnic, and religious ties, while other groups did not. With multiple nationalities living in the same territory, ethnic antagonisms developed over the years.
Members of various ethnicities participated in legislative bodies. Organs of power like the Politburo, the Secretariat of the Central Committee etc., were formally ethnically neutral, but in reality, ethnic Russians were overrepresented, although there were also non-Russian leaders in the Soviet leadership, such as Joseph Stalin, Grigory Zinoviev, Nikolai Podgorny or Andrei Gromyko. During the Soviet era, a significant number of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians migrated to other Soviet republics, and many of them settled there. According to the last census in 1989, the Russian 'diaspora' in the Soviet republics had reached 25 million.
=== Health ===
In 1917, before the revolution, health conditions were significantly behind those of developed countries. As Lenin later noted, "Either the lice will defeat socialism, or socialism will defeat the lice". The Soviet health care system was conceived by the People's Commissariat for Health in 1918. Under the Semashko model, health care was to be controlled by the state and would be provided to its citizens free of charge, a revolutionary concept at the time. Article 42 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution gave all citizens the right to health protection and free access to any health institutions in the USSR. Before Leonid Brezhnev became general secretary, the Soviet healthcare system was held in high esteem by many foreign specialists. This changed, however, from Brezhnev's accession and Mikhail Gorbachev's tenure as leader, during which the health care system was heavily criticized for many basic faults, such as the quality of service and the unevenness in its provision. Minister of Health Yevgeniy Chazov, during the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, while highlighting such successes as having the most doctors and hospitals in the world, recognized the system's areas for improvement and felt that billions of rubles were squandered.
After the revolution, life expectancy for all age groups went up. These improvements continued into the 1960s when statistics indicated that the life expectancy briefly surpassed that of the United States; life expectancy started to decline in the 1970s, possibly because of alcohol abuse. At the same time, infant mortality began to rise. After 1974, the government stopped publishing statistics on the matter. This trend can be partly explained by the number of pregnancies rising drastically in the Asian part of the country where infant mortality was the highest while declining markedly in the more developed European part of the Soviet Union.
==== Dentistry ====
Soviet dental technology and dental health were considered extremely bad; in 1991, the average 35-year-old had 12 to 14 cavities, fillings or missing teeth. Toothpaste was often not available, and toothbrushes did not conform to standards of modern dentistry.
=== Language ===
Under Lenin, the government gave small language groups their own writing systems. The development of these writing systems was highly successful, even though some flaws were detected. During the later days of the USSR, countries with the same multilingual situation implemented similar policies. A serious problem when creating these writing systems was that the languages differed dialectally greatly from each other. When a language had been given a writing system and appeared in a notable publication, it would attain 'official language' status. There were many minority languages which never received their own writing system; therefore, their speakers were forced to have a second language. There are examples where the government retreated from this policy, most notably under Stalin where education was discontinued in languages that were not widespread. These languages were then assimilated into another language, mostly Russian. During World War II, some minority languages were banned, and their speakers accused of collaborating with the enemy.
As the most widely spoken of the Soviet Union's many languages, Russian de facto functioned as an official language, as the 'language of interethnic communication' (Russian: язык межнационального общения), but only assumed the de jure status as the official national language in 1990.
=== Religion ===
Christianity and Islam had the highest number of adherents among the religious citizens. Eastern Christianity predominated among Christians, with Russia's traditional Russian Orthodox Church being the largest Christian denomination. About 90% of the Soviet Union's Muslims were Sunnis, with Shias being concentrated in the Azerbaijan SSR. Smaller groups included Roman Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, and a variety of Protestant denominations (especially Baptists and Lutherans).
Religious influence had been strong in the Russian Empire. The Russian Orthodox Church enjoyed a privileged status as the church of the monarchy and took part in carrying out official state functions. The immediate period following the establishment of the Soviet state included a struggle against the Orthodox Church, which the revolutionaries considered an ally of the former ruling classes.
In Soviet law, the 'freedom to hold religious services' was constitutionally guaranteed, although the ruling Communist Party regarded religion as incompatible with the Marxist spirit of scientific materialism. In practice, the Soviet system subscribed to a narrow interpretation of this right, and in fact used a range of official measures to discourage religion and curb the activities of religious groups.
The 1918 Council of People's Commissars decree establishing the Russian SFSR as a secular state also decreed that 'the teaching of religion in all [places] where subjects of general instruction are taught, is forbidden. Citizens may teach and may be taught religion privately.' Among further restrictions, those adopted in 1929 included express prohibitions on a range of church activities, including meetings for organized Bible study. Both Christian and non-Christian establishments were shut down by the thousands in the 1920s and 1930s. By 1940, as many as 90% of the churches, synagogues, and mosques that had been operating in 1917 were closed; the majority of them were demolished or re-purposed for state needs with little concern for their historic and cultural value.
More than 85,000 Orthodox priests were shot in 1937 alone. Only a twelfth of the Russian Orthodox Church's priests were left functioning in their parishes by 1941. In the period between 1927 and 1940, the number of Orthodox Churches in Russia fell from 29,584 to less than 500 (1.7%).
The Soviet Union was officially a secular state, but a 'government-sponsored program of forced conversion to atheism' was conducted under the doctrine of state atheism. The government targeted religions based on state interests, and while most organized religions were never outlawed, religious property was confiscated, believers were harassed, and religion was ridiculed while atheism was propagated in schools. In 1925, the government founded the League of Militant Atheists to intensify the propaganda campaign. Accordingly, although personal expressions of religious faith were not explicitly banned, a strong sense of social stigma was imposed on them by the formal structures and mass media, and it was generally considered unacceptable for members of certain professions (teachers, state bureaucrats, soldiers) to be openly religious. While persecution accelerated following Stalin's rise to power, a revival of Orthodoxy was fostered by the government during World War II and the Soviet authorities sought to control the Russian Orthodox Church rather than liquidate it. During the first five years of Soviet power, the Bolsheviks executed 28 Russian Orthodox bishops and over 1,200 Russian Orthodox priests. Many others were imprisoned or exiled. Believers were harassed and persecuted. Most seminaries were closed, and the publication of most religious material was prohibited. By 1941, only 500 churches remained open out of about 54,000 in existence before World War I.
Convinced that religious anti-Sovietism had become a thing of the past, and with the looming threat of war, the Stalin administration began shifting to a more moderate religion policy in the late 1930s. Soviet religious establishments overwhelmingly rallied to support the war effort during World War II. Amid other accommodations to religious faith after the German invasion, churches were reopened. Radio Moscow began broadcasting a religious hour, and a historic meeting between Stalin and Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Sergius of Moscow was held in 1943. Stalin had the support of the majority of the religious people in the USSR even through the late 1980s. The general tendency of this period was an increase in religious activity among believers of all faiths.
Under Nikita Khrushchev, the state leadership clashed with the churches in 1958–1964, a period when atheism was emphasized in the educational curriculum, and numerous state publications promoted atheistic views. During this period, the number of churches fell from 20,000 to 10,000 from 1959 to 1965, and the number of synagogues dropped from 500 to 97. The number of working mosques also declined, falling from 1,500 to 500 within a decade.
Religious institutions remained monitored by the Soviet government, but churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques were all given more leeway in the Brezhnev era. Official relations between the Orthodox Church and the government again warmed to the point that the Brezhnev government twice honored Orthodox Patriarch Alexy I with the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. A poll conducted by Soviet authorities in 1982 recorded 20% of the Soviet population as 'active religious believers.'
== Culture ==
The culture of the Soviet Union evolved through several stages during its existence. During the first decade following the revolution, there was relative freedom and artists experimented with several different styles to find a distinctive Soviet style of art. Lenin wanted art to be accessible to the Russian people. On the other hand, hundreds of intellectuals, writers, and artists were exiled or executed, and their work banned, such as Nikolay Gumilyov who was shot for alleged conspiracy against the Bolsheviks, and Yevgeny Zamyatin.
The government encouraged a variety of trends. In art and literature, numerous schools, some traditional and others radically experimental, proliferated. Communist writers Maxim Gorky and Vladimir Mayakovsky were active during this time. As a means of influencing a largely illiterate society, films received encouragement from the state, and much of director Sergei Eisenstein's best work dates from this period.
During Stalin's rule, the Soviet culture was characterized by the rise and domination of the government-imposed style of socialist realism, with all other trends being severely repressed, with rare exceptions, such as Mikhail Bulgakov's works. Many writers were imprisoned and killed.
Following the Khrushchev Thaw, censorship was diminished. During this time, a distinctive period of Soviet culture developed, characterized by conformist public life and an intense focus on personal life. Greater experimentation in art forms was again permissible, resulting in the production of more sophisticated and subtly critical work. The government loosened its emphasis on socialist realism; thus, for instance, many protagonists of the novels of author Yury Trifonov concerned themselves with problems of daily life rather than with building socialism. Underground dissident literature, known as samizdat, developed during this late period. In architecture, the Khrushchev era mostly focused on functional design as opposed to the highly decorated style of Stalin's epoch. In music, in response to the increasing popularity of forms of popular music like jazz in the West, many jazz orchestras were permitted throughout the USSR, notably the Melodiya Ensemble, named after the principle record label in the USSR.
In the second half of the 1980s, Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and glasnost significantly expanded freedom of expression throughout the country in the media and the press.
== Sport ==
In summer of 1923 in Moscow was established the Proletarian Sports Society "Dynamo" as a sports organization of Soviet secret police Cheka.
On 13 July 1925 the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) adopted a statement "About the party's tasks in sphere of physical culture". In the statement was determined the role of physical culture in Soviet society and the party's tasks in political leadership of physical culture movement in the country.
The Soviet Olympic Committee formed on 21 April 1951, and the IOC recognized the new body in its 45th session. In the same year, when the Soviet representative Konstantin Andrianov became an IOC member, the USSR officially joined the Olympic Movement. The 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki thus became first Olympic Games for Soviet athletes. The Soviet Union was the biggest rival to the United States at the Summer Olympics, winning six of its nine appearances at the games and also topping the medal tally at the Winter Olympics six times. The Soviet Union's Olympics success has been attributed to its large investment in sports to demonstrate its superpower image and political influence on a global stage.
The Soviet Union national ice hockey team won nearly every world championship and Olympic tournament between 1954 and 1991 and never failed to medal in any International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournament in which they competed.
The Soviet Olympic team was notorious for skirting the edge of amateur rules. All Soviet athletes held some nominal jobs, but were in fact state-sponsored and trained full-time. According to many experts, that gave the Soviet Union a huge advantage over the United States and other Western countries, whose athletes were students or real amateurs. Indeed, the Soviet Union monopolized the top place in the medal standings after 1968, and, until its collapse, placed second only once, in the 1984 Winter games, after another Eastern bloc nation, the GDR. Amateur rules were relaxed only in the late 1980s and were almost completely abolished in the 1990s, after the fall of the USSR.
According to British journalist Andrew Jennings, a KGB colonel stated that the agency's officers had posed as anti-doping authorities from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to undermine doping tests and that Soviet athletes were "rescued with [these] tremendous efforts". Documents obtained in 2016 revealed the Soviet Union's plans for a statewide doping system in track and field in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Dated prior to the country's decision to boycott the Games, the document detailed the existing steroids operations of the program, along with suggestions for further enhancements.
In the late 1980s, the government was persuaded to fund construction of a racing yacht specifically to take part in the 1989–1990 Whitbread Round the World Race with a Soviet crew. The 25 metre sloop Fazisi was built in 1989 to the design of Vladislav Murnikov in Poti, Georgia. She came a creditable 11th in a field of 23 boats, but the project was not repeated.
== Environment ==
Neighbouring countries were aware of the high levels of pollution in the Soviet Union but after the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was discovered that its environmental problems were greater than what the Soviet authorities admitted. The Soviet Union was the world's second largest producer of harmful emissions. In 1988, total emissions in the Soviet Union were about 79% of those in the United States. But since the Soviet GNP was only 54% of that of the United States, this means that the Soviet Union generated 1.5 times more pollution than the United States per unit of GNP.
The Chernobyl disaster in the Ukrainian SSR in 1986 was the first major accident at a civilian nuclear power plant. Unparalleled in the world, it resulted in a large number of radioactive isotopes being released into the atmosphere. Radioactive doses were scattered relatively far. Although long-term effects of the accident were unknown, 4,000 new cases of thyroid cancer which resulted from the accident's contamination were reported at the time of the accident, but this led to a relatively low number of deaths (WHO data, 2005). The disaster contributed to the socio-economic crises that resulted in the collapse of the Soviet Union.Another major radioactive accident was the Kyshtym disaster.
The Kola Peninsula was one of the places with major problems. Around the industrial cities of Monchegorsk and Norilsk, where nickel, for example, is mined, all forests have been destroyed by contamination, while the northern and other parts of Russia have been affected by emissions. During the 1990s, people in the West were also interested in the radioactive hazards of nuclear facilities, decommissioned nuclear submarines, and the processing of nuclear waste or spent nuclear fuel. It was also known in the early 1990s that the USSR had transported radioactive material to the Barents Sea and Kara Sea, which was later confirmed by the Russian parliament. The crash of the K-141 Kursk submarine in 2000 in the west further raised concerns. In the past, there were accidents involving submarines K-19, K-8, a K-129, K-27, K-219 and K-278 Komsomolets.
== Legacy ==
The legacy of the USSR remains a controversial topic. The socio-economic nature of communist states such as the USSR, especially under Stalin, has also been much debated, varyingly being labelled a form of bureaucratic collectivism, state capitalism, state socialism, or a totally unique mode of production. The USSR implemented a broad range of policies over a long period of time, with a large amount of conflicting policies being implemented by different leaders. Some have a positive view of it whilst others are critical towards the country, calling it a repressive oligarchy. The opinions on the USSR are complex and have changed over time, with different generations having different views on the matter as well as on Soviet policies corresponding to separate time periods during its history.
Western academicians published various analyses of the post-Soviet states' development, claiming that the dissolution was followed by a severe drop in economic and social conditions in these countries, including a rapid increase in poverty, crime, corruption, unemployment, homelessness, rates of disease, infant mortality and domestic violence, as well as demographic losses, income inequality and the rise of an oligarchical class, along with decreases in calorie intake, life expectancy, adult literacy, and income. Between 1988–1989 and 1993–1995, the Gini ratio (a measure of inequality) increased by an average of 9 percentage points for all former Soviet republics. According to Western analysis, the economic shocks that accompanied wholesale privatization were associated with sharp increases in mortality, Russia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia saw a tripling of unemployment and a 42% increase in male death rates between 1991 and 1994, and in the following decades, only five or six of the post-communist states are on a path to joining the wealthy capitalist West while most are falling behind, some to such an extent that it will take over fifty years to catch up to where they were before the fall of the Soviet Bloc. As of 2011, the experience of the former Soviet republics was mixed, with some having recovered in terms of gross domestic product and others not. There are large wealth disparities, and many post-soviet economies are described as oligarchic.
Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, annual polling by the Levada Center has shown that over 50% of Russia's population regretted this event, with the only exception to this being in 2012 when support for the Soviet Union dipped below 50 percent. A 2018 poll showed that 66% of Russians regretted the fall of the Soviet Union, setting a 15-year record, and the majority of these regretting opinions came from people older than 55. In 2020, polls conducted by the Levada Center found that 75% of Russians agreed that the Soviet era was the greatest era in their country's history.
According to the New Russia Barometer (NRB) polls by the Centre for the Study of Public Policy, 50% of Russian respondents reported a positive impression of the Soviet Union in 1991. This increased to about 75% of NRB respondents in 2000, dropping slightly to 71% in 2009. Throughout the 2000s, an average of 32% of NRB respondents supported the restoration of the Soviet Union.
In a 2021 poll, a record 70% of Russians indicated they had a mostly/very favourable view of Joseph Stalin. In Armenia, 12% of respondents said the USSR collapse did good, while 66% said it did harm. In Kyrgyzstan, 16% of respondents said the collapse of the USSR did good, while 61% said it did harm. In a 2018 Rating Sociological Group poll, 47% of Ukrainian respondents had a positive opinion of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, who ruled the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, while viewing Lenin, Stalin, and Gorbachev very negatively. A 2021 poll conducted by the Levada Center found that 49% of Russians prefer the USSR's political system, while 18% prefer the current political system and 16% would prefer a Western democracy. A further 62% of people polled preferred the Soviet system of central planning, while 24% prefer a market-based system. According to the Levada Center's polls, the primary reasons cited for Soviet nostalgia are the advantages of the shared economic union between the Soviet republics, including perceived financial stability. This was referenced by up to 53% of respondents in 2016. At least 43% also lamented the loss of the Soviet Union's global political superpower status. About 31% cited the loss of social trust and capital. The remainder of the respondents cited a mix of reasons ranging from practical travel difficulties to a sense of national displacement.
The 1941–1945 period of World War II is still known in Russia as the 'Great Patriotic War'. The war became a topic of great importance in cinema, literature, history lessons at school, the mass media, and the arts. As a result of the massive losses suffered by the military and civilians during the conflict, Victory Day celebrated on 9 May is still one of the most important and emotional dates in Russia. Catherine Wanner asserts that Victory Day commemorations are a vehicle for Soviet nostalgia, as they "kept alive a mythology of Soviet grandeur, of solidarity among the Sovietskii narod, and of a sense of self as citizen of a superpower state".
Russian Victory Day parades are organized annually in most cities, with the central military parade taking place in Moscow (just as during the Soviet times). Additionally, the recently introduced Immortal Regiment on 9 May sees millions of Russians carry the portraits of their relatives who fought in the war. Russia also retains other Soviet holidays, such as the Defender of the Fatherland Day (23 February), International Women's Day (8 March), and International Workers' Day.
=== In the former Soviet republics ===
In some post-Soviet republics, there is a more negative view of the USSR, although there is no unanimity on the matter. In large part due to the Holodomor, ethnic Ukrainians have a negative view of the Soviet Union. Russian-speaking Ukrainians of Ukraine's southern and eastern regions have a more positive view of the USSR. In some countries with internal conflict, there is also nostalgia for the USSR, especially for refugees of the post-Soviet conflicts who have been forced to flee their homes and have been displaced. The many Russian enclaves in the former USSR republics such as Transnistria have in a general a positive remembrance of it.
=== For China ===
As its counterpart as a powerful communist state, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has continually placed an emphasis on understanding the Soviet Union and its collapse as lessons for itself. In 2011, the CCP completed a study focusing on four reasons for the Soviet collapse. First, Gorbachev's rapid pursuit of democracy which undermined the centrality of the Communist Party. Second, rapid privatization of state-owned enterprises. Third, the end of the ideological monopoly of the Communist Party, leading to historical nihilism and attacks on socialism. Fourth, the West's promotion of a peaceful evolution, cultivating a pro-West "fifth column" in Soviet society.
A 2023 Center for Strategic and International Studies report argued modern Chinese scholarship's attributes the Soviet collapse primarily to its concept of historical nihilism, equated to the penetration of Western ideas into society. In December 1989, then-leader Jiang Zemin first attributed both the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the Tiananmen Square protests to historical nihilism. A second current in Chinese writing are from Sovietologists who argue the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's institutions and policies was more responsible for collapse than its ideology. Despite Xi Jinping's focus on the historical nihilism current, he stated in 2021 "the Soviet Communist Party separated itself from the people and became a privileged bureaucratic group". The report also noted that between 1960 and 1980, China's state propaganda chose to publish "gray-cover books" (Chinese: 灰皮书, romanized: huī pí shū), a large range of socialist and anti-socialist foreign literature criticizing the Soviet system. These included Leon Trotsky's The Revolution Betrayed and Stalin, works of Eduard Bernstein and Karl Kautsky, Milovan Djilas' The New Class, and Friedrich Hayek's The Road to Serfdom. The report suggested these publications influenced interest in the Soviet failures among Chinese leaders Xi, Jiang, and Deng Xiaoping.
=== For the political left ===
==== Criticism ====
The left's view of the USSR is complex. While some leftists regard the USSR as an example of state capitalism or that it was an oligarchical state, other leftists admire Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Revolution. Council communists generally view the USSR as failing to create class consciousness, turning into a corrupt state in which the elite controlled society.
Trotskyists believe that the ascendancy of the Stalinist bureaucracy ensured a degenerated or deformed workers' state, where the capitalist elite have been replaced by an unaccountable bureaucratic elite and there is no true democracy or workers' control of industry. In particular, American Trotskyist David North noted that the generation of bureaucrats that rose to power under Stalin's tutelage presided over the stagnation and breakdown of the Soviet Union.
Many anti-Stalinist leftists such as anarchists are extremely critical of Soviet authoritarianism and repression. Much of the criticism it receives is centered around massacres in the Soviet Union, the centralized hierarchy present in the USSR and mass political repression as well as violence towards government critics and political dissidents such as other leftists. Critics also point towards its failure to implement any substantial worker cooperatives or implementing worker liberation, as well as corruption and the Soviet authoritarian nature.
Anarchists are also critical of the country, labeling the Soviet system as red fascism. Factors contributing to the anarchist animosity towards the USSR included the Soviet destruction of the Makhnovist movement after an initial alliance, the suppression of the anarchist Kronstadt rebellion, and the defeat of the rival anarchist factions by the Soviet-supported Communist faction during the Spanish Civil War.
Maoists also have a mixed opinion on the USSR, viewing it negatively during the Sino-Soviet Split and denouncing it as revisionist and reverted to capitalism. The Chinese government in 1963 articulated its criticism of the USSR's system and promoted China's ideological line as an alternative.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) released a press statement titled "We welcome the end of a party which embodied the historical evil of great power chauvinism and hegemonism".
Noam Chomsky called the collapse of the Soviet Union "a small victory for socialism, not only because of the fall of one of the most anti-socialist states in the world, where working people had fewer rights than in the West, but also because it freed the term 'socialism' from the burden of being associated in the propaganda systems of East and West with Soviet tyranny—for the East, in order to benefit from the aura of authentic socialism, for the West, in order to demonize the concept." Some scholars on the left have posited that the end of the Soviet Union and communism as a global force allowed neoliberal capitalism to become a global system, which has resulted in rising economic inequality.
==== Praise ====
A 1986 study published in the American Journal of Public Health claimed that, citing World Bank data, the Soviet model provided a better quality of life and human development than market economies at the same level of economic development in most cases.
In her 2012 book The Communist Horizon, Jodi Dean argued that there is a double standard among all sides of the political spectrum, including conservatives, liberals, and social democrats, in how communism and capitalism are perceived nearly two decades after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Dean stated that the worst excesses of capitalism are often minimized, while communism is often equated only with the Soviet Union, and experiments in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia are often ignored, with an emphasis placed on the Stalin era and its violent excesses including gulags, purges, droughts and famines, and almost no consideration for the industrialization and modernization of the Soviet economy, the successes of Soviet science (such as the Soviet space program), or the rise in the standard of living for the once predominantly agrarian society. The dissolution of the Soviet Union is therefore seen as the proof that communism cannot work, allowing for all left-wing criticism of the excesses of neoliberal capitalism to be silenced, for the alternatives would supposedly inevitably result in economic inefficiency and violent authoritarianism.
Michael Parenti's 1997 book Blackshirts and Reds takes the controversial position of defending the Soviet Union and other communist countries from reflexive condemnation, arguing that they featured a number of advantages over capitalist countries, e.g., by ensuring less economic inequality. He later argues that the Soviet Union's "well-publicized deficiencies and injustices" were exacerbated by the Russian Civil War, the Nazi-led multinational invasion, and by non-military modes of capitalist intervention against the Eastern Bloc. Moreover, he claims that "pure socialists" and "left anticommunists" had failed to specify a viable alternative to the "siege socialism" implemented in the Soviet model. Parenti argued the Soviet Union played a crucial role in "tempering the worst impulses of Western capitalism and imperialism" that in the post-Cold War era is "no longer restrained by a competing system" and is now "rolling back the many gains that working people in the West have won over the years". By offering a rare defense of 20th century Communism, Blackshirts and Reds has elicited strong reactions from anarchist and Communist publications.
=== For the political right ===
Both liberals and neoconservatives in the United States celebrated the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Ideas such as Francis Fukuyama's end of history and Charles Krauthammer's unipolar moment gained prominence to describe the victory of Western liberal democracy. At the same time, both sides of the political spectrum in the US criticized the George H. W. Bush administration for its comparative cautiousness and political support of Gorbachev over more pro-democracy and nationalist forces in the Soviet Union. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortal_Game | Immortal Game | The Immortal Game was a chess game played in 1851 between Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky during the London 1851 chess tournament, an event in which both players participated. It was itself a casual game, however, not played as part of the tournament. Anderssen won the game by sacrificing all of his major pieces while developing a mating attack with his remaining minor pieces. Despite losing the game, Kieseritzky was impressed with Anderssen's performance. Kieseritzky published the game shortly afterwards in La Régence, a French chess journal which he helped to edit. Ernst Falkbeer published an analysis of the game in 1855, describing it for the first time with its sobriquet "immortal".
The Immortal Game is among the most famous chess games ever played. As a miniature game, it is frequently reproduced in chess literature to teach simple themes of gameplay. Although Kieseritzsky himself indicated that the game ended before checkmate, the Immortal Game is frequently reproduced with a brief continuation involving a queen sacrifice—a further loss of material—leading to checkmate. This continuation is commonly presented as part of the complete game, as if the final moves were actually played as part of the real historical game. Some authors also permute certain moves, deviating from Kieseritzky's report, although such permutations typically transpose to distinct lines of play that eventually return to the moves and positions reported by Kieseritzky.
Although both players made moves that are regarded as unsound by modern players, the game is appreciated as an example of the Romantic school of chess, a style of play that prized bold attacks and sacrifices over deep strategy. The game—especially its mating continuation—is also appreciated for its aesthetic value, as a plausible example of how a player with a significant material deficit but having an advantageous position can give mate. The continuation's mating position is a model mate, a strong form of pure mate (i.e. all of the attacker's remaining pieces contribute to the checkmate, while the mated king is prevented from moving to any other square for exactly one reason per square). In 1996, Bill Hartston called the game an achievement "perhaps unparalleled in chess literature".
== Overview ==
Anderssen was one of the strongest players of his time, and many consider him to have been the world's strongest player after his victory in the London 1851 chess tournament. Kieseritzky lived in France much of his life, where he gave chess lessons and played games for five francs an hour at the Café de la Régence in Paris. His strength was shown most favourably when giving substantial odds to weak players; against masters, he was less convincing.
The Immortal Game was an informal one, played during a break in a formal tournament in London; the exact venue is uncertain. Kieseritzky was very impressed with Anderssen's performance; after the game was over, Kieseritzky telegraphed the moves of the game to his Parisian chess club. The French chess magazine La Régence published the game in July 1851. The Austrian Ernst Falkbeer nicknamed it "The Immortal Game" in 1855.
This game is acclaimed as an exemplar of the 19th-century Romantic style of chess, where rapid development and attack were considered the most effective way to win, many gambits and countergambits were offered (and not accepting them would be considered slightly ungentlemanly), and material was often held in contempt. These games, with their rapid attacks and counterattacks, are often entertaining to review, even if some of the moves are no longer considered optimal.
In this game, Anderssen won despite sacrificing a bishop (on move 11), both rooks (starting on move 18), and the queen (on move 22) to produce checkmate against Kieseritzky, who lost only three pawns. Anderssen later demonstrated the same kind of approach in the Evergreen Game.
Some published versions of the game have errors, as described in the annotations below.
== Publication ==
Shortly after the game was played, Kieseritzky is believed to have telegraphed a report of the game to La Régence, a French chess journal which he helped to edit. The game was reported in an 1851 issue of the journal, with the piece attributed to Kieseritzky himself. La Régence used an "obscure" and prototypical form of algebraic notation to record chess games. Pawns were denoted using lowercase letters indicating their starting files (a–h), while pieces were denoted using uppercase letters (A-H) based on the file the piece started on (so rooks are A or H, knights are B or G, bishops are C or F, the queen is D, and the king is E). Squares were described beginning with their rank, then file, e.g. the square "e4" was instead described as "45".
The game has been republished many times, often with inconsistencies about the order of moves.
== Annotated game ==
White: Adolf Anderssen Black: Lionel Kieseritzky Opening: King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, Bryan Countergambit (ECO C33)
1. e4 e5 2. f4
This is the King's Gambit: Anderssen offers his pawn in exchange for faster development. This was one of the most popular openings of the 19th century and is still occasionally seen, though defensive techniques have improved since Anderssen's time.
2... exf4 3. Bc4
The Bishop's Gambit; this line allows 3...Qh4+, depriving White of the right to castle, and is less popular than 3.Nf3. This check, however, also exposes Black's queen to attack with a gain of tempo on the eventual Ng1–f3.
3... Qh4+ 4. Kf1 b5?! (diagram)
This is the Bryan Countergambit, deeply analysed by Kieseritzky, and which sometimes bears his name. It is not considered a sound move by most players today.
5. Bxb5 Nf6 6. Nf3
This is a common developing move, but in addition the knight attacks Black's queen, forcing Black to move it instead of developing his other pieces.
6... Qh6 7. d3
With this move, White solidifies control of the critical centre of the board. German grandmaster Robert Hübner recommends 7.Nc3 instead.
7... Nh5
This move threatens ...Ng3+, and protects the pawn on f4, but also sidelines the knight to a poor position at the edge of the board, where knights are the least powerful, and does not develop a new piece.
8. Nh4 Qg5
Better was 8...g6, according to Kieseritzky.
9. Nf5 c6
This simultaneously unpins the queen pawn and attacks the bishop. Modern chess engines suggest 9...g6 would be better, to deal with a very troublesome knight.
10. g4? Nf6 11. Rg1! (diagram)
This is an advantageous passive piece sacrifice. If Black accepts, his queen will be boxed in, giving White a lead in development.
11... cxb5?
Hübner believes this was Black's critical mistake; this gains material but lacks in development, at a point where White's strong development is able to quickly mount an offensive. Hübner recommends 11...h5 instead.
12. h4!
White's knight at f5 protects the pawn, which attacks Black's queen.
12... Qg6 13. h5 Qg5 14. Qf3
White now has two threats:
Bxf4, trapping Black's queen (the queen having no safe place to go);
e5, attacking Black's knight at f6 while simultaneously exposing an attack by White's queen on the unprotected black rook on a8.
14... Ng8
This deals with the threats, but undevelops Black even further—now the only black piece not on its starting square is the queen, which is about to be put on the run, while White has control over a great deal of the board.
15. Bxf4 Qf6 16. Nc3 Bc5
An ordinary developing move by Black, which also attacks the rook at g1.
17. Nd5
White responds to the attack with a counterattack. This move threatens the black queen and also Nc7+, forking the king and rook. Richard Réti recommends 17.d4 followed by 18.Nd5, with advantage to White, although if 17.d4 Bf8 then 18.Be5 would be a stronger move.
17... Qxb2 (diagram)
Black gains a pawn, and threatens to gain the rook on a1 with check.
18. Bd6!
With this move White offers to sacrifice both of his rooks. Hübner comments that, from this position, there are actually many ways to win, and he believes there are at least three better moves than 18.Bd6: 18.d4, 18.Be3, or 18.Re1, which lead to strong positions or checkmate without needing to sacrifice so much material. The Chessmaster computer program annotation says "the main point [of 18. Bd6] is to divert the black queen from the a1–h8 diagonal. Now Black cannot play 18...Bxd6? 19.Nxd6+ Kd8 20.Nxf7+ Ke8 21.Nd6+ Kd8 22.Qf8#." Garry Kasparov comments that the world of chess would have lost one of its "crown jewels" if the game had continued in such an unspectacular fashion. 18. Bd6! is surprising, because White is willing to give up so much material.
18... Bxg1?
Wilhelm Steinitz suggested in 1879 that a better move would be 18...Qxa1+; likely moves to follow are 19.Ke2 Qb2 20.Kd2 Bxg1. The continuation played is still winning for White, however, despite having many complications. The variation continues 21.e5! Ba6 22.Bb4! Qxe5 (22...Be3+ 23.Qxe3 +/−; 22...Nh6 23.Nd6+ Kf8 24.g5 +−) 23.Nd6+ Qxd6 24.Bxd6 +/−.
19. e5!
This sacrifices yet another white rook. More importantly, this move blocks the queen from participating in the defense of the king, and threatens mate in two: 20.Nxg7+ Kd8 21.Bc7#.
19... Qxa1+ 20. Ke2
At this point, Black's attack has run out of steam; Black has a queen and bishop on White's back rank, but cannot effectively mount an immediate attack on White, while White can storm forward. According to Kieseritzky, he resigned at this point. Hübner notes that an article by Friedrich Amelung in the journal Baltische Schachblaetter, 1893, reported that Kiesertizky probably played 20...Na6, but Anderssen then announced the mating moves. The Oxford Companion to Chess also says that Black resigned at this point, citing an 1851 publication. In any case, it is suspected that the last few moves were not actually played on the board in the original game.
20... Na6
The black knight covers c7 as White was threatening 21.Nxg7+ Kd8 22.Bc7#. Another attempt to defend is 20...Ba6, allowing the black king to flee via c8 and b7, although White has enough with the continuation 21.Nc7+ Kd8 and 22.Nxa6, where if now 22...Qxa2 (to defend f7 against Bc7+, Nd6+ and Qxf7#) White can play 23.Bc7+ Ke8 24.Nb4, winning; or, if 22...Bb6 (stopping Bc7+), 23.Qxa8 Qc3 24.Qxb8+ Qc8 25.Qxc8+ Kxc8 26.Bf8 h6 27.Nd6+ Kd8 28.Nxf7+ Ke8 29.Nxh8 Kxf8, with a winning endgame for White.
21. Nxg7+ Kd8 22. Qf6+! (diagram)
This queen sacrifice forces Black to give up his defense of e7.
22... Nxf6 23. Be7# 1–0
At the end, Black is ahead in material by a considerable margin: a queen, two rooks, and a bishop. But the material does not help Black. White has been able to use his remaining pieces—two knights and a bishop—to force mate.
== In popular culture ==
In Maya Deren's 1944 short film At Land.
In Poul Anderson's 1954 short story of the same name, computer chess programs reproduce the Immortal Game's moves.
In the 1982 film Blade Runner, Sebastian checkmates Tyrell. The game is recognized as The Immortal Game.
The game is referenced in Season 2 Episode 5 of British spy thriller series Slow Horses, based on the Slough House series of novels by Mick Herron.
In the 2014 video game Dragon Age: Inquisition this game is played sans voir by Iron Bull and Solas during in-game banter.
In Lily King's 2020 novel Writers & Lovers. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molde | Molde | Molde (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈmɔ̂ɫdə] ) is a town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord.
Molde has a maritime, temperate climate, with cool-to-warm summers, and relatively mild winters. It is nicknamed The Town of Roses.
The settlement emerged as a shipping port for lumber to the Netherlands in the late 1500s. Formal trading rights were granted at some point before 1604, and the town was incorporated through a royal charter in 1742. Bolsøy Municipality, which later merged with Molde town, was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law).
The town continued to grow throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, becoming a centre for the Norwegian textile and garment industry, as well as the administrative centre for the region, and was a major tourist destination until World War I. After World War II, Molde experienced accelerated growth, merging with Bolsøy Municipality and parts of Veøy Municipality and Nord-Aukra Municipality on 1 January 1964, making the municipality much larger than the urban area of the town of Molde. On 1 January 2020, the municipality was expanded again through the incorporation of the neighboring Midsund Municipality and Nesset Municipality, making the area of the municipality quite large in comparison to the town.
The town has a population of 22,410 (2024) and a population density of 2,364 inhabitants per square kilometre (6,120/sq mi).
== History ==
The city's current location dates from the late Medieval times but is preceded by an earlier Medieval township on Veøya, an island to the south of present-day Molde. The settlement at Veøya probably dates from the Migration Period, but is first mentioned in the sagas by Snorri Sturluson as the location of the Battle of Sekken in 1162, where king Håkon the Broad-shouldered was killed fighting the aristocrat Erling Skakke, during the Norwegian civil wars.
However, settlement in the area can be traced much further back in time—evidence given by two rock slabs carved with petroglyphs found at Bjørset, west of the city center.
At the eve of the 15th century, the influence of Veøya waned, and the island was eventually deserted.
Originating from the two farms Reknes and Molde (later Moldegård), a minor port called Moldefjæra (Molde Landing) emerged around 1600, based on trade with timber and herring.
The town gained formal trading rights before 1604 under the supervision of Trondheim. After the Treaty of Copenhagen in 1660, Molde became the administrative center of Romsdal amt, and was incorporated as a city through a royal charter in 1742. Molde continued to grow throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, becoming a center for the Norwegian textile and garment industry. Tourism later became a major industry, and Molde saw notabilities such as the German emperor Wilhelm II of Germany and the Prince of Wales as regular summer visitors. Molde consisted of luxurious hotels surrounding an idyllic township with quaint, wooden houses, lush gardens, and parks, esplanades, and pavilions, earning it the nickname the Town of Roses. This was interrupted when one-third of the city was destroyed in a fire on 21 January 1916. However, Molde recovered and continued to grow in the economically difficult interbellum period.
A second fire, or series of fires, struck from the German air-raids in April and May 1940, which destroyed about two-thirds of the town. Molde was in effect the capital of Norway for a week after King Haakon, Crown Prince Olav, and members of the government and parliament arrived at Molde on April 23, after a dramatic flight from Oslo. They were put up at Glomstua, then at the western outskirts of the town, and experienced the bombing raids personally. The Norwegian gold reserve was also conveyed to Molde, and was hidden in a clothing factory.
However, German intelligence was well aware of this, and on April 25 the Luftwaffe initiated a series of air-raids. For a week the air-raid siren on the chimney of the dairy building announced the repeated attacks. April 29 turned out to be the worst day in the history of Molde, as the city was transformed into a sea of flames by incendiary bombs. Until then the church had escaped undamaged, but in the final sortie a firebomb became stuck high up in the tower, and the wooden church was obliterated by fire.
After World War II, Molde experienced tremendous growth. As the modernization of the Norwegian society accelerated in the post-reconstruction years, Molde became a center for not only administrative and public services, but also academic resources and industrial output. After the consolidation of the town itself and its adjacent communities in 1964, Molde became a modern city, encompassing most branches of employment, from farming and fisheries to industrial production, banking, higher education, tourism, commerce, health care, and civil administration.
=== Municipality ===
The town of Molde was established as an urban municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). It was surrounded by the rural Bolsøy Municipality. On 1 July 1915, a part of Bolsøy Municipality (population: 183) was transferred into the city of Molde. On 1 January 1952, another part of Bolsøy Municipality (population: 1,913) was transferred into the city of Molde.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Molde (town) (population: 8,289) merged with the Sekken, Veøya, and Nesjestranda parts of Veøy Municipality (population: 756), all of Bolsøy Municipality (population: 7,996), and the Mordal area of Nord-Aukra Municipality (population: 77) to form a new, larger Molde Municipality.
On 1 January 2020, the neighbouring Midsund Municipality and Nesset Municipality merged with Molde to form a much larger Molde Municipality.
== Name ==
The municipality (originally the town and parish) is named after the old Molde farmstead (Old Norse: Moldar) since this was where the town was built. The name's origin is somewhat uncertain. It could be the plural form is mold which means "fertile soil" or "earth". The other possibility is that it comes from the word moldr which means "skull" or "mold" (referring to the rounded peaks in Moldemarka). Pronunciation varies between the standard Molde and the rural Molle (pronounced with thick "l"). A person from Molde will refer to themself as a Moldenser.
== Geography ==
Molde Municipality includes part of the Romsdal peninsula as well as many islands including the islands of Otrøya and Midøya. To the southeast, Molde Municipality stretches about 75 kilometres (47 mi) inland. The town of Molde consists of a 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long and 1 to 2 kilometres (0.62 to 1.24 mi) wide strip of urban land running east–west along the north shore of the Moldefjord, an arm of the Romsdalsfjord, on the Romsdal peninsula. The city is sheltered by Bolsøya and the Molde archipelago, a chain of low-lying islands and islets, to the south, and the wood-clad hills of Moldemarka to the north. The city centre is located just west of the river Moldeelva, which runs into the city from the north, originating in the Moldevatnet lake, through the valley Moldedalen. Despite the river being minor and seasonal, it supported several sawmills in the 16th and 17th centuries. This gave rise to the original town itself through a combination of a good harbour, proximity to the sea routes, vast timber resources, and a river capable of supporting mills. In 1909, the river housed the first hydro electric power plant capable of providing sufficient electricity for the city, and the upper reaches of the river still provide drinking water for most of the city.
The highest point in the municipality is the 1,964.92-metre (6,446.6 ft) tall mountain Kleneggen. Its panoramic view of some 222 partly snow-clad peaks, usually referred to as the Molde panorama, is one of Molde's main attractions, and has drawn tourists to the city since the 19th century. Molde is nicknamed the Town of Roses, a name which originated during Molde's era as a tourist destination of international fame in the late 19th century.
Neighbouring municipalities are Aukra, Gjemnes, and Hustadvika (to the north); Ålesund (to the southwest); Vestnes and Rauma (to the south); and Tingvoll and Sunndal (to the east).
=== Points of interest ===
Some points of interest in and near Molde Municipality:
Salmon, sea trout and sea char are found in the rivers throughout the area, especially the Rauma, Driva, and Eira, already legendary among the British gentry in the mid-19th century. Trout is abundant in most lakes. Cod, pollock, saithe, mackerel and other species of saltwater fish are commonly caught in the Romsdalsfjord, both from land and from boat. Skiing is a common activity among the inhabitants of Molde in the winter, on groomed tracks, in resorts or by own trail. There are several rock climbing, ice climbing, bouldering, glacier and basejumping areas in the immediate vicinity of Molde.
The Atlantic road was voted the Norwegian Construction of the Century in 2005. It is built on bridges and landfills across small islands and skerries, and spans from the small communities of Vikan and Vevang to Averøya, an island with several historic landmarks, such as the Bremsnes cave with Mesolithic findings from the Fosna culture, the mediaeval Kvernes stave church, and Langøysund, now a remote fishing community, but once a bustling port along the main coastal route. Langøysund was the site of the compromise between King Magnus I and the farmers along the coast in 1040. The compromise is regarded as Norway's Magna Carta, and is commemorated though the Pilespisser (English: Arrowheads) monument.
Trollkirka (lit. 'Troll Church') is a marble grotto leading up to an underground waterfall. The grotto is situated 30 minutes outside Molde, followed by a 1-hour hike up a steep trail. Trollveggen is Europe's tallest vertical, overhanging mountain face, with several very difficult climbing routes. Trollstigen is the most visited tourist road in Norway. The road twists and turns its way up an almost vertical mountainside through 11 hairpin bends to an altitude of 858 m (2,814.96 ft). Mardalsfossen is the highest waterfall in Northern Europe and the fourth highest waterfall in the world, cascading 297 metres down into the valley. The total height of the waterfall is 655 m (2,148.95 ft).
Bud is a fishing village on the very tip of the Romsdal peninsula. It gained importance during the Middle Ages as a trading post, and hosted the last free Privy Council of Norway in 1533, a desperate attempt to save the country's independence and stave off the Protestant Reformation, led by Olav Engelbrektsson, archbishop of Nidaros (today Trondheim). The massive Ergan coastal defences, a restored German coastal fort from World War II, and a part of the Atlantic Wall, is situated in Bud. The fishing communities of Ona, Bjørnsund and Håholmen are located on remote islands off the coast, only accessible by boat or ferry.
=== Moldemarka ===
Moldemarka, the hilly woodland area north of the city, is public land. The area has an extensive network of paths, walking trails and skiing tracks. Forest roads enter the area from several directions. Bulletin boards and maps provide information regarding local plants and wildlife, as well as signposts along the trails. Marked trails lead to a number of peaks, sites and fishing lakes and rivers. A national fishing licence is required to fish in the lakes and streams.
Varden, 407 metres (1,335 ft) above sea level is a viewpoint directly above Molde, with a good view of the city, the fjord with the Molde archipelago and the Molde panorama.
=== Climate ===
Molde has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb) also known as marine west coast climate. Molde holds the national high for the month of October, with 25.6 °C or 78.1 °F recorded on 11 October 2005. Due to its geographic location, Molde experiences frequent snowfalls in winter, but this snow is usually wet as the winters tend to be mild. The record high 32.2 °C or 90.0 °F was recorded 13 July 2025. The record low −17 °C or 1 °F was recorded in both January and February 2010.
A natural phenomenon occurring in Molde and the adjacent district, are frequent winter days with temperatures above 10 °C (50 °F), sometimes even above 14 °C (57 °F). This is due to the foehn wind from south and south-east. The sheltered location of the city, facing south with hills to the north, mountains to the east and mountainous islands to the west, contributes to Molde's climate and rich plant life, especially among species naturally growing on far lower latitudes, like chestnut, oak, tilia (lime or linden), beech, yew, and others.
== Government ==
Molde Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Møre og Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.
== Culture ==
Three of the four great Norwegian authors are connected to Molde. Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson spent his childhood years at Nesset Municipality outside Molde, and attended school in the city. Henrik Ibsen frequently spent his vacations at the mansion Moldegård visiting the family Møller; and Alexander Kielland resided in the city as the governor of Romsdals amt. Ibsen's play Rosmersholm is generally thought to be inspired by life at the mansion Moldegård, and The Lady from the Sea is also believed to be set in the city of Molde, although never actually mentioned. Other authors from or with ties to Molde include Edvard Hoem, Jo Nesbø, Knut Ødegård, and Nini Roll Anker, a friend of Sigrid Undset.
The Romsdal Museum, one of Norway's largest folk museums, was established in 1912. Buildings originating from all over the region have been moved here to form a typical cluster of farm buildings including "open hearth" houses, sheds, outhouses, smokehouses and a small chapel. The "town street" with Mali's Café shows typical Molde town houses from the pre-World War I period. The Museum of the Fisheries is an open-air museum located on the island of Hjertøya, 10 minutes from the centre of Molde. A small fishing village with authentic buildings, boats and fishing equipment, the museum shows local coastal culture from 1850 onwards.
The local newspaper is Romsdals Budstikke.
=== Churches ===
The Church of Norway has ten parishes (sokn) within Molde Municipality. It is part of the Molde domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.
=== Festivals ===
The Moldejazz jazz festival is held in Molde every July. Moldejazz is one of the largest and oldest jazz festivals in Europe, and one of the most important. An estimated 40,000 tickets are sold for the more than a hundred events during the festival. Between 80,000 and 100,000 visitors visit the city during the one-week-long festival.
Every August, Molde Municipality hosts to the Bjørnson Festival, an international literature festival (Prior to 2020, it was hosted by both Molde and Nesset Municipality – Nesset has since become part of Molde). Established by the poet Knut Ødegård in connection with the 250-year anniversary of Molde, the festival is named in honour of the Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832–1910). It is the oldest and the most internationally acclaimed literature festival in Norway.
In addition to the two major events, a number of minor festivals are held annually. Byfest, the city's celebration of incorporation, is an arrangement by local artists, coinciding with the anniversary of the royal charter of 29 June 1742.
== Education ==
Molde University College offers a wide range of academic opportunities, from nursing and health-related studies, to economics and administrative courses. The school is Norway's leading college in logistics, and well established as a centre for research and academic programmes in information technology, with degrees up to and including PhD.
== Transportation ==
Hurtigruta calls on Molde every day, on its journey between Bergen and Kirkenes. The nearest railway station is Åndalsnes, the terminus for the Rauma Line.
The local airport is Molde Airport which has several daily flights to Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim, as well as weekly flights to other domestic and international destinations.
The European route E39 and Norwegian County Road 64 both pass through the municipality. The city of Molde is connected to Fræna Municipality (to the north) by the Tussen Tunnel. The city is connected to the Røvika and Nesjestranda part of the municipality by the Fannefjord Tunnel and Bolsøy Bridge, significantly shortening the drive by avoiding driving all the way around the Fannefjorden. The proposed Langfjord Tunnel would connect Molde Municipality to Rauma Municipality via a tunnel under the Langfjorden.
== Sports ==
Molde hosts a variety of sports teams, most notably the football team, Molde FK, which plays in the Eliteserien, the top division in the Norwegian football league system. Their home matches are played at Aker stadion, inaugurated in 1998, which holds a record attendance of 13,308. The team is five-time league champions (2011, 2012, 2014, 2019 and 2022), five-time Norwegian Cup winners (1994, 2005, 2013, 2014 and 2021–22), and has made numerous appearances in European tournaments, including the UEFA Champions League. The club was founded in 1911, during Molde's period of great British and Continental influx, and was first named "International", since it predominantly played teams made up from crews of foreign vessels visiting the city.
In addition to a number of international players, the city has also produced several ski jumpers, cross-country skiers and alpine skiers of international merit.
Other sports include the accomplished team handball clubs (Molde Elite, SK Træff, SK Rival), athletics teams (IL Molde-Olymp), skiing clubs, basketball and volleyball teams.
== International relations ==
=== Twin towns – sister cities ===
Molde has three sister cities. They are:
Borås, Sweden
Mikkeli, Finland
Vejle, Denmark
== Gallery ==
== Notable people ==
=== Public service and business ===
Nicholas Lawson (1790–1851) Vice governor of Galápagos for Ecuador, born on Sekken
Ole Anton Qvam (1834–1904) lawyer, politician and Prime Minister of Norway 1902/03
Dorothea Christensen (1847–1908) a domestic science proponent and politician
Jacob Tanner, (1865–1964) Norwegian American Lutheran educator and religious author
Johan Scharffenberg (1869–1965) a psychiatrist, politician, speaker and writer
Olav Kavli (1872–1958) a businessman who founded the Kavli company
Jens Arup Seip (1905–1992) medieval historian and interpreter of 1800s political history
Eystein Fjærli (1917–1987) lieutenant colonel, defence strategist, author and politician
Arne Solli (1938–2017) Norwegian Army general & Chief of Defence of Norway
Kjell Magne Bondevik (born 1947) politician, Prime Minister of Norway, 2001–2005
Bjørn T. Grydeland (born 1949) President of EFTASA & EU Ambassador
Torgeir Dahl (born 1953) politician and Mayor of Molde since 2011
Kjell Inge Røkke (born 1958) a Norwegian billionaire
=== The Arts ===
Karen Splid Møller (1800–1880) a Norwegian handwritten cookbook writer
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832–1910) writer of noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, won the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature, brought up in Nesset
Maurycy Gottlieb (1856–1879) a Polish realist painter of the Romantic period, lived in Molde
Hanna Hoffmann (1858–1917), Danish sculptor and silversmith
Rasmus Rasmussen (1862–1932) a Norwegian actor, folk singer and theatre director
Nini Roll Anker (1873–1942) novelist and playwright about women within different social classes
Kurt Schwitters, (1887–1948) German artist using dadaism, constructivism and surrealism, had a hut on Hjertøya pre-WWII
Terje Fjærn (1942–2016) musician, orchestra leader and musical conductor
Knut Ødegård (born 1945) poet, also lives in Reykjavík, Iceland
Terje Venaas (born 1947) a Norwegian jazz musician (upright bass)
Edvard Hoem (born 1949) a Norwegian novelist, dramatist, lyricist and psalmist
Jo Nesbø (born 1960) a Norwegian writer, musician and economist; grew up in Molde
Arne Nøst (born 1962) a Norwegian graphic artist and theatre director
John Arne Sæterøy (born 1965) pen name Jason, cartoonist of silent animal characters
Ann-Helen Moen (born 1969) a Norwegian lyric soprano
Paal Nilssen-Love (born 1974) a Norwegian drummer and composer in jazz and free improvisation
Ane Brun (born 1976) a Norwegian songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist of Sami origin
Ola Kvernberg (born 1981) a jazz violinist
Daniel Herskedal (born 1982) a Norwegian jazz tuba player
Hayden Powell (born 1983) a jazz trumpeter and composer, grew up in Molde
Mari Kvien Brunvoll (born 1984) a Norwegian folk and jazz singer
Linnéa Myhre (born 1990) a Norwegian author and blogger
Tuva Halse (born 1999) a Norwegian violinist, keyboard player, vocalist and composer
=== Sport ===
Otto Berg (1906–1991) a long jumper, competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Arne Legernes (born 1931) a retired Norwegian footballer with 41 caps for Norway
Einar Halle (born 1943) a Norwegian former UEFA football referee and referee observer
Harry Hestad (born 1944) a former footballer and coach with 412 club caps and 31 for Norway
Jan Fuglset (born 1945) a former footballer with over 288 club caps and 20 for Norway
Ingolf Mork (1947–2012) ski jumper, winner of Four Hills Tournament 1971/72
Arild Monsen (born 1962) cross-country skier, World Champion 1985
Kjetil Rekdal (born 1968) a football manager and a former player with 484 club caps and 83 for Norway
Trond Strande (born 1970) a former footballer with 275 caps with Molde FK
Petter Rudi (born 1973) a retired footballer with 350 club caps and 46 for Norway
Mette Solli (born 1974) a Norwegian kickboxer, World Champion 2001, 2004, 2007
Andrine Flemmen (born 1974) a retired giant slalom alpine skier, won three World Cup races
Kurt Asle Arvesen (born 1975) a Norwegian former professional road bicycle racer
Daniel Berg Hestad (born 1975) a football manager and a former player with 557 club caps
John Arne Riise (born 1980) a former footballer with 546 club caps and 110 for Norway
Christian Gauseth (born 1984) a Norwegian footballer with over 320 club caps
Johan Remen Evensen (born 1985) ski jumper, former world record-holder in ski flying
Magnus Wolff Eikrem (born 1990) footballer with over 220 club caps and 17 for Norway
Ragnhild Mowinckel (born 1992) alpine skier, twice silver medallist at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Ada Hegerberg (born 1995) a footballer with over 220 club caps and 80 for Norway |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Lewandowski | Robert Lewandowski | Robert Lewandowski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈrɔbɛrt lɛvanˈdɔfskʲi] ; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Barcelona and captains the Poland national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time, he is one of only five players to have scored 100 goals with three different clubs, ranks third for the all-time top goalscorers in the UEFA Champions League (only behind Messi and Ronaldo) with 107 goals, and ranks third for the all-time European men's top goal scorers in international football (88). He has scored over 700 senior career goals for club and country.
Beginning his career in the third and second tiers of Polish football with Znicz Pruszków, Lewandowski moved to top-flight Lech Poznań, helping the team win the 2009–10 Ekstraklasa. In 2010, he transferred to Borussia Dortmund, where he won two consecutive Bundesliga titles and the league's top goalscorer award. In 2013, he also featured with Dortmund in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final. Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Lewandowski joined Dortmund's domestic rivals, Bayern Munich, on a free transfer. In Munich, he won the Bundesliga title in all of his eight seasons at the club and was integral in their Champions League win in 2019–20 as part of a treble. Lewandowski was widely expected to win the 2020 Ballon d'Or, but it was not awarded due to the impact of COVID-19. In 2022, he moved to Barcelona, where he has since won two La Liga titles, the Copa del Rey, and the Pichichi Trophy; his Pichichi Trophy win made him the joint-record holder for most top scorer awards in Europe's top five leagues with eight.
A full international for Poland since 2008, Lewandowski has earned 163 caps, and was a member of their team at the UEFA European Championship in 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024, and the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022. Having captained the national team since 2014, he briefly retired in 2025, before returning and being reinstated as captain later the same year. With 88 international goals, Lewandowski is the all-time top scorer for Poland. Lewandowski has been named the Polish Footballer of the Year a record thirteen times and the Polish Sports Personality of the Year three times.
Lewandowski won the Best FIFA Men's Player Award in 2020 and 2021. Further awards include the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award in 2020, the IFFHS World's Best Player in 2020 and 2021, the European Golden Shoe for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons, and the Gerd Müller Trophy in 2021 and 2022. He was runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 2021. He is one of the most successful players in Bundesliga and Bayern history, being named the VDV Bundesliga Player of the Season a record five times and winning the Bundesliga Top Scorer Award in a joint-record seven seasons, among other records.
== Club career ==
=== Early career ===
Lewandowski was born in Warsaw and grew up in Leszno, Warsaw West County. He took his first steps in football as an unregistered player for the local club, Partyzant Leszno. In 1997, he joined MKS Varsovia Warsaw, where as a teen he played for seven years. The following year he moved to fourth tier side Delta Warsaw, where he finally managed to play in the first team, scoring four goals at the end of the season.
In 2006–07, Lewandowski was the Polish third division's top goalscorer with 15 goals, helping Znicz Pruszków win the promotion. The next season, he was the top scorer in the Polish second highest division with 21 goals.
=== Lech Poznań ===
In June 2008, Lech Poznań signed Lewandowski from Znicz for 1.5 million PLN. (398,670 Dollars, or 350,055 Euros) Earlier that month, Lewandowski's agent Cezary Kucharski offered him to his former team Sporting Gijón, which had been promoted to the La Liga, Spain's first division, after ten years in the Segunda División. However, Gijón rejected him.
He debuted for Lech on 17 July 2008 as a substitute in the first qualifying first leg match of the UEFA Cup versus Khazar Lankaran from Azerbaijan, in which he scored the only goal of the evening in the 75th minute at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium. During his Ekstraklasa debut in the first game of the season, in a match against GKS Bełchatów, he scored a heel flick goal just four minutes after coming into the game late second half. In his first season in the Polish top division, he was second in the goal-scoring charts. Lewandowski finished the season with 18 goals in 42 matches. He also scored in a 1–1 away draw against Wisła Kraków in the 2009 Polish Super Cup on 27 July, and converted his attempt in the won penalty shoot-out. The next season, he became the top scorer with 18 goals and helped his team win the 2009–10 championship.
English coach, Sam Allardyce, said that Lewandowski was about to join Premier League club Blackburn Rovers in 2010, but the volcanic ash clouds caused by the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull which suspended all flights in and out of the UK, in addition to other financial worries, prevented the potential transfer. Moreover, Lewandowski was also about to join Italian club Genoa, before president Enrico Preziosi decided to cancel the transfer.
=== Borussia Dortmund ===
==== 2010–2012: League and cup double ====
Following press speculation that Lewandowski might move to one of a number of clubs, he joined Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund in June 2010, signing a four-year contract with the German club for a fee reported to be worth around €4.5 million. On 19 September, he scored his first goal in the Bundesliga to make it 3–0 in the Revierderby against Schalke 04; the game ended 3–1.
In the 2011–12 Bundesliga campaign, Lewandowski profited from an injury to Lucas Barrios and he was elevated to an ever-present position in the starting XI until the winter break. The striker responded by finding the net two times in Dortmund's 3–0 DFB-Pokal first round victory over Sandhausen. Lewandowski opened his league account in a 2–0 win over Nürnberg on 20 August 2011 by providing the finishing touch from a Mario Götze cross. On 1 October, Lewandowski netted a hat-trick and provided an assist in the club's 4–0 victory over Augsburg, following a disappointing 0–3 loss to Marseille in the UEFA Champions League group stage. He later scored his first Champions League goal in a 1–3 away defeat to Olympiacos on 19 October. Dortmund climbed into second place in the Bundesliga with a comfortable 5–0 victory over Köln on 22 October, with Lewandowski finding the net either side of half-time. Dortmund travelled to Freiburg on 17 December and Lewandowski struck twice and provided an assist for Kevin Großkreutz, as Dortmund eased to a 4–1 triumph, scoring his first hat-trick in Bundesliga. Due to his strong performances, he was named Footballer of the Year in Poland.
Following the winter break, on 22 January 2012, Dortmund thrashed Hamburg 5–1 to move level on points with leaders Bayern Munich; Lewandowski netted twice and added an assist for Jakub Błaszczykowski in the rout. He scored in a 1–0 home win over Bayern Munich on 11 April. The result gave Dortmund a six-point cushion over their title rivals with only four games left to play. On 21 April, Lewandowski provided the assist for Shinji Kagawa's 59th-minute goal as Dortmund won 2–0 over Borussia Mönchengladbach to seal their second straight title. In the final Bundesliga game of the campaign, Lewandowski scored two first-half goals as Dortmund beat Freiburg 4–0 and celebrated lifting the title.
Lewandowski finished the year as the third top goal scorer with 22 goals, none from the penalty spot, and six assists.
On 12 May, in the final game of the season for Dortmund, he scored a hat-trick in the DFB-Pokal Final, a 5–2 win over Bayern Munich, to earn the club its first domestic double. Lewandowski finished as the DFB-Pokal's top goalscorer, with seven goals from six games.
==== 2012–2014: Champions League runner-up and league top goalscorer ====
On 12 August 2012, Lewandowski began the 2012–13 season by scoring in the 1–2 2012 DFL-Supercup defeat to Bayern Munich. He made his first appearance of the 2012–13 Bundesliga campaign in Dortmund's 2–1 victory over Werder Bremen on the opening day of the season.
He netted his first goal in a 3–0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on 15 September 2012, extending Dortmund's run to 31 games unbeaten and moved the club into third in the Bundesliga. Three days later, in the club's first Champions League game of the season, Lewandowski scored an 87th-minute winner to defeat Ajax, 1–0. He set club's new record of the longest scoring streak, having scored in 12 consecutive league games, surpassing Friedhelm Konietzka's record from 1964–65 season. On 9 February 2013, he opened the scoring in a home match against Hamburg, but was sent off in the 31st minute for a foul on Per Ciljan Skjelbred and Dortmund lost 4–1.
According to Borussia Dortmund director Michael Zorc, speaking in February 2013, Lewandowski would not be renewing his contract with the club, and would leave either in the summer of 2013 or after the 2013–14 season. He finished the season with 24 league goals, one goal short of the Bundesliga's top scorer, Bayer Leverkusen's Stefan Kießling.
On 27 February 2013, Lewandowski played in his side's 1–0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the 2012–13 DFB-Pokal quarter final. On 24 April, Lewandowski became the first player to score four goals in a Champions League semi-final as Borussia Dortmund defeated Spanish champions Real Madrid 4–1 in the first leg at Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park. On 25 May, he played in the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final in which Borussia Dortmund were defeated 1–2 by Bayern Munich.
On 27 July 2013, Lewandowski won the 2013 DFL-Supercup with Dortmund, 4–2, against Bayern Munich. He scored his first goal of the season in Dortmund's 4–0 win over Augsburg in the club's opening Bundesliga match on 10 August. On 1 November, he scored his only hat-trick of the season in a 6–1 Bundesliga win against Stuttgart.
On 25 February 2014, Lewandowski scored twice in the Champions League round of 16 first leg against Zenit Saint Petersburg, becoming Dortmund's overall top scorer in European competition, surpassing Stéphane Chapuisat's 16 goals.
He scored his 100th goal for the club on his 182nd appearance, as Dortmund defeated VfL Wolfsburg 2–0 in the semi-finals of the 2013–14 DFB-Pokal on 15 April, and revealed a shirt with the number 100 during celebration.
Lewandowski ended the 2013–14 season as the top goalscorer in the Bundesliga with 20 goals, which earned him the Torjägerkanone. He also scored six goals in the Champions League, as Dortmund reached the quarter-finals. During the second leg of the round of 16 match between Borussia Dortmund and Zenit, Lewandowski received a second yellow card, which resulted in his suspension for the first leg of the quarter-final against Real Madrid.
Lewandowski played his final match for Dortmund in the 2014 DFB-Pokal Final against Bayern Munich on 17 May. Head coach Jürgen Klopp had excused him from some training ahead of the final due to injury concerns; although Lewandowski played all 120 minutes of the final, Dortmund lost, 0–2. He finished the season with 28 goals in 48 matches.
=== Bayern Munich ===
In November 2013, Lewandowski confirmed he would sign a pre-contractual agreement for Borussia Dortmund's rivals Bayern Munich, which officially happened on 4 January 2014, when he signed a five-year contract beginning at the start of the 2014–15 season. Lewandowski was officially presented as a Bayern Munich player on 9 July 2014.
==== 2014–2015: Third Bundesliga title ====
Pre-season started on 9 July 2014 at which time he was presented. He made his pre–season debut against MSV Duisburg on 21 July, scoring a goal in the process. On 6 August, he opened the scoring as Bayern contested the 2014 MLS All-Star Game at the Providence Park in Portland, Oregon, eventually losing 1–2.
He made his competitive debut for his new club in a 0–2 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the 2014 DFL-Supercup on 13 August 2014, and scored his first goal in a 1–1 draw against Schalke 04 in his second league match on 30 August. On 21 October, Lewandowski scored his first Champions League goal for Bayern Munich in a 7–1 away win against Roma. On 1 November, in his first league match against Dortmund, Lewandowski scored in a 2–1 win which put Bayern four points clear at the top of the table while leaving his former club in a relegation play-off place. In his third match of the season against Dortmund on 4 April 2015, Lewandowski scored in the 36th minute in a 1–0 win, after Dortmund's goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller "parried" Thomas Müller's shot.
On 21 February 2015, Lewandowski scored twice in Bayern's 6–0 win away at Paderborn, his second goal of the game was his 10th of the league season. He scored twice in the first half on 21 April as Bayern overturned a deficit from the first leg to defeat Porto 7–4 on aggregate and advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League. Five days later, after VfL Wolfsburg lost to Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bayern won the Bundesliga title. He scored again on 28 April, opening a 1–1 draw in the DFB-Pokal semi-final against Dortmund, but was later involved in a mid-air collision with Mitchell Langerak in the 116th minute of extra time. The game ended in Bayern's elimination via a penalty shoot-out (0–2), and, unusually, none of the four attempts were converted by the Munich side, at their own stadium. Although Lewandowski stayed until the end of the match, he didn't participate in the shootout; and tests later confirmed that he had fractured jaw and nose bone, and had a concussion, ruling him out for approximately one week. On 12 May, playing in a protective mask, he curled in at the 59th minute in his team's 3–2 home victory against eventual winners Barcelona in the Champions League semifinal second leg, albeit they were eliminated by an aggregate score of 3–5. With 17 goals in 31 games, Lewandowski was joint-second highest scorer of the Bundesliga season alongside teammate Arjen Robben, behind Eintracht Frankfurt's Alexander Meier. He finished the season with 25 goals in 49 appearances.
==== 2015–2017: Domestic success, Torjägerkanone, and 100 Bayern goals ====
Lewandowski's second season began with the 2015 DFL-Supercup on 1 August, with Bayern losing in a penalty shootout away to VfL Wolfsburg; he had been substituted in the 72nd minute for Rafinha. Eight days later in the DFB-Pokal first round match, he scored the last goal in a 3–1 win against Oberliga Baden-Württemberg club Nöttingen. On 14 August, in the opening match of the new Bundesliga season, he scored the second goal of a 5–0 win over Hamburg.
On 22 September 2015, Lewandowski set a Bundesliga record by coming on as a substitute with Bayern trailing 0–1 to Wolfsburg and scoring five goals in 8 minutes and 59 seconds, the fastest by any player in Bundesliga history, to take a 5–1 lead. He also set Bundesliga records for the fastest hat-trick (three goals in four minutes), and most goals scored by a substitute (five). Lewandowski's five goals in nine minutes was also the fastest in any major European football league since Opta began keeping records, and it ended Wolfsburg's 14-match unbeaten run. He was awarded four certificates by Guinness World Records for this feat.
Four days later, he scored twice in a 3–0 win at Mainz, the first goal being his 100th Bundesliga goal on his 168th appearance, a league record for a foreign player. He also reached 10 goals in the opening 7 matches with this brace, a feat only achieved before by Gerd Müller. On 29 September, he scored a Champions League hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb, putting him on ten goals in three games in a week. He added two in a 5–1 rout of Dortmund five days later, to total 12 goals in his last four appearances. On 24 October, Lewandowski scored in a 4–0 home win over Köln, a result which made Bayern the first Bundesliga team ever to win all 10 of their opening games of a season. The victory in Cologne was also Bayern's 1,000th win in the Bundesliga. On 11 January 2016, he achieved fourth place at the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or awards.
On 19 March 2016, Lewandowski scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Köln to bring his league total up to 25 goals; a new personal best. He had scored 24 goals for Borussia Dortmund during the 2012–13 season. He also started Bayern's comeback with a 73rd-minute header in the second leg of the round of 16 on 16 March, after trailing 0–2 home to Juventus, which Munich eventually won 4–2 after extra time, and 6–4 on aggregate. His goal against Atlético Madrid on 3 May in the second leg of Bayern's Champions League semifinal exit saw him end the season's competition with nine goals.
On 7 May 2016, Lewandowski scored both goals for Bayern in a 2–1 win at Ingolstadt to confirm the Bavarian club as champions of Germany for the fourth consecutive season. A week later, he scored his 30th goal of the season in Bayern's final league match of the season at home to Hannover 96. This made him the first foreign player to score 30 goals in the Bundesliga, the first player since Dieter Müller in 1976–77, and secured him the Torjägerkanone for the second time in three seasons. He finished the season with 42 goals in 51 matches.
The 2016–17 season started with Bayern winning the 2016 DFL-Supercup on 14 August. Five days later, Bayern defeated Carl Zeiss Jena 5–0 in the DFB-Pokal first round, with the help of Lewandowski's hat-trick during the first half and assist to Arturo Vidal in the 72nd minute. He opened the 2016–17 Bundesliga season with another hat-trick in a 6–0 victory against Werder Bremen. On 13 December, Lewandowski signed a new contract with Bayern, keeping him at the club until 2021.
On 11 March 2017, Lewandowski reached 100 goals for Bayern in his 137th appearance for the club, scoring twice in a 3–0 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. He finished the season with 42 goals in 47 matches.
==== 2017–2019: Consecutive Golden Boots and all-time foreign Bundesliga goalscorer ====
The season began with Bayern Munich winning the 2017 DFL-Supercup against Borussia Dortmund, in which Lewandowski scored the opening goal for the Bavarians by controlling a low cross from Joshua Kimmich to cancel out Christian Pulisic's opener. The match ended 2–2 after extra time. Lewandowski, again, scored the first penalty of the shootout as Bayern eventually won 5–4.
Lewandowski started from where he left in the last season and once again was the top scorer in the early stages of the 2017–18 Bundesliga. On 13 December, in the league fixture against Köln, he scored the only goal of the game, to reach Bundesliga's top ten goalscorers of all time. A couple of months later, on Matchday 22, Lewandowski again found the back of the net against Schalke 04 at the Allianz Arena to equal the record of scoring in 11 successive home games in a single season, a record also held by then Bayern manager Jupp Heynckes. He continued his goal scoring form by netting a hat-trick against Hamburg as the runaway leaders won 6–0, while he also missed a kick from the spot which would have been his fourth goal of the day. This was his first penalty missed for Bayern in the Bundesliga, nevertheless he scored the second spot kick to complete his hat-trick.
On 11 February 2018, he was voted Poland's Footballer of the Year for the seventh time in a row. On 22 February, he fired his long-time agent, Cezary Kucharski. Lewandowski hired renowned dealmaker Pini Zahavi as his new agent; the hiring of Zahavi was rumoured to be the start of Lewandowski trying to seal a summer move to Real Madrid. On 24 February, he played his 250th Bundesliga game against Hertha Berlin. On 19 May, Lewandowski scored Bayern's only goal in a 3–1 defeat in the DFB-Pokal Final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Lewandowski finished the league as the Bundesliga's top goalscorer with 29 goals. This was the third time he won the Torjägerkanone award. He finished the season with 41 goals in 48 matches in all competitions.
On 1 August, after a summer of transfer speculation, Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, confirmed in an interview that Lewandowski would not be allowed to leave Bayern at any price, saying "the top quality we have at Bayern Munich will stay here. With Robert, we clearly want to send a signal to people within and outside the club: Bayern Munich are completely different to other clubs who get weak when certain sums are mentioned" On 12 August, Lewandowski recorded the first ever hat-trick in the DFL-Supercup in a 0–5 away victory against Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2018 edition as Bayern Munich went on to win the title for the record seventh time. He also became the all-time top scorer in the German Supercup history.
On 27 November, Lewandowski became the third-fastest player to score 50 goals (after Lionel Messi and Ruud van Nistelrooy) in the Champions League, when he scored two goals in a 5–1 group stage home win over Benfica. It took Lewandowski just 77 Champions League matches to reach the milestone. He finished as the top scorer in the Champions League group stage with eight goals in six matches. On 9 February 2019, Lewandowski scored in a 3–1 win over Schalke 04 and became the first player to score 100 competitive goals at the Allianz Arena. His goal was also his 119th league goal for Bayern Munich, which saw him draw level with Roland Wohlfarth as the club's third-highest goalscorer of all-time.
He surpassed Wohlfarth the following month after scoring a brace in a 5–1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, with his second goal also seeing him equal Claudio Pizarro's record of 195 league goals for the most Bundesliga goals by a foreign player. In his very next fixture, he broke Pizarro's record by scoring twice in a 6–0 win over Wolfsburg. On 6 April, in the 100th Bundesliga meeting between Bayern Munich and Dortmund, Lewandowski scored twice in a 5–0 win, with his first goal taking him to 200 goals in the league.
Lewandowski ended the league campaign as the Bundesliga's top goalscorer with 22 goals for the fourth time. On 25 May, he scored a brace as Bayern won against Leipzig 3–0 in the 2019 DFB-Pokal Final. With his goals, he became the all-time top scorer in the DFB-Pokal finals with six, surpassing Gerd Müller on five. Lewandowski finished the season with 40 goals in 47 matches in all competitions, reaching the 40-goal landmark for the fourth consecutive season, also winning his second domestic double with Bayern.
==== 2019–2020: Treble, Best FIFA Men's Player, and UEFA Men's Player of the Year ====
On 12 August, Lewandowski scored his first goal of the season when Bayern defeated Energie Cottbus 3–1 in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. Four days later, he scored two goals in the 2019–20 Bundesliga opener against Hertha BSC. With his goals, Lewandowski set a Bundesliga record for scoring a goal in the season opener for the fifth year in a row. He then scored a hat-trick against Schalke at the Veltins Arena on 24 August, as the Reds won 3–0. On 29 August, Lewandowski extended his contract at Bayern until 2023. Lewandowski scored his 200th goal for Bayern in a 3–0 win against Serbian club Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League on 18 September. Later that month, after scoring his tenth goal of the campaign during a 3–2 win over Paderborn, he became the first player in Bundesliga history to achieve double figures for goals scored after the first six match rounds. Lewandowski then became the first player in Bundesliga history to score in each of the opening nine, ten and eleven matches of a season, surpassing the record of eight set by former Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. On 26 November, Lewandowski scored 4 goals in under 15 minutes as Bayern defeated Red Star Belgrade 6–0 in their reverse fixture and clinched first place in their Champions League group, setting a new record for fastest time to score four goals in a Champions League match. He also became only the second player ever to score four goals in multiple Champions League matches.
On 25 February 2020, Lewandowski equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's record of nine away goals in a season in Europe's top club competition. He did so by scoring a goal in a 3–0 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (he also assisted Serge Gnabry twice in that match). On 10 August, Lewandowski scored a brace and provided two assists in a 4–1 win over Chelsea in the return leg. On 14 August, he assisted and scored in Bayern's 8–2 decimation of Barcelona in the quarter-finals. Lewandowski scored another goal, to be 15 goals in total, in his ninth consecutive Champions League match in Bavarian's semifinal 3–0 win against Lyon. His European scoring streak ended when he failed to score a goal in the Champions League final match against Paris Saint-Germain on 23 August; nevertheless, Bayern defeated PSG 1–0, giving Lewandowski his first Champions League title. He also became the second player ever to win the European treble while being the top scorer in all three competitions, repeating Johan Cruyff's achievement with Ajax from the 1971–72 season. However, Lewandowski was the first to do so as the sole top scorer in all three competitions.
==== 2020–2021: Ballon d'Or Striker of the Year and European Golden Shoe ====
On 18 September, in an 8–0 win over Schalke 04, in which Lewandowski scored a penalty, he provided a rabona assist to Thomas Müller, which was praised as the best of the season. On 24 September, Lewandowski assisted Leon Goretzka's opener in 2–1 victory over 2019–20 UEFA Europa League winners Sevilla in the 2020 UEFA Super Cup in Budapest. 6 days later, he played in Bayern's 3–2 win over Borussia Dortmund in the 2020 DFL-Supercup, to win their fifth trophy of the year. On 4 October, he scored all four goals in a 4–3 win against Hertha BSC. On 24 October, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt, to become the first player in Bundesliga to score ten goals in only five matches. On 16 December, he scored a brace against Wolfsburg to be the third player to pass the 250-goal mark in Bundesliga, after Gerd Müller and Klaus Fischer. After winning the treble with Bayern Munich and his performances in the tournaments, he was named The Best FIFA Men's Player 2020 on 17 December, becoming the first Polish player to win the award. The cancellation of the 2020 Ballon d'Or was met with extensive criticism, as most news and sports organisations believed Lewandowski was the front-runner and should have won the award.
On 17 January 2021, Lewandowski became the first player in Bundesliga history to score 21 goals after just 16 games – a new Hinrunde record, beating Gerd Müller's 20 goals during the 1968–69 season. On 8 February, he scored a brace in a 2–0 win over Al Ahly in the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals. On 11 February, he won the FIFA Club World Cup 2020 with the club after 1–0 win against Mexican top-flight club Tigres in the final, as Bayern became the second club ever (after Barcelona in 2009) to win the sextuple. He was also involved in Benjamin Pavard's winning goal, and was named player of the tournament. On 23 February, Lewandowski opened the score in a 4–1 win against Lazio in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, reaching his 72nd Champions League goal and surpassing Raúl as the third highest goalscorer in the competition's history. On 6 March, he scored his 12th Bundesliga hat-trick in a 4–2 win over his former club Borussia Dortmund, to reach 31 goals in 23 matches. On 13 March, he scored a goal in a 3–1 away win over Werder Bremen, hence he became the joint-second on the all-time Bundesliga scoring list with 268 goals along with Klaus Fischer. On 20 March, he surpassed Fischer, as he scored a perfect hat-trick in the first half of a 4–0 win over VfB Stuttgart.
On 28 March, Lewandoski scored two goals in a 3–0 home win against Andorra in a World Cup qualification match, and also damaged ligaments in his right knee (he was taken off after 63 minutes); he missed both Champions League quarter-final matches against Paris Saint-Germain, in which Bayern Munich lost on away goals rule after a 3–3 draw on aggregate. On 24 April, he returned after almost a month on the sidelines in a 1–2 defeat to Mainz, where he scored in added time. On 8 May, he scored his 14th Bundesliga hat-trick in a 6–0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach. On 22 May, he broke Gerd Müller's record of 40 goals in the 1971–72 season with a 90th-minute goal in Bayern's 5–2 win over Augsburg to reach his 41st goal on the final day of the season. He also managed to win his first European Golden Shoe award. Lewandowski finished the season with 48 goals in 40 matches in all competitions, reaching at least the 40-goal landmark for the sixth time.
==== 2021–2022: Final season with Bayern and second European Golden Shoe ====
Lewandowski kicked off his 2021–22 Bundesliga season with a volley-shot equaliser in a 1–1 opening fixture draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 13 August, making him the first player to score in seven consecutive Bundesliga opening games. He also scored a brace and backheeled to Thomas Müller in a 3–1 away win against Dortmund in the 2021 DFL-Supercup on 17 August. The match was preceded by a moment of silence for Gerd Müller, who died two days earlier. On 28 August, he scored his 15th Bundesliga hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Hertha Berlin, setting a new club and German record for the most consecutive appearances in all competitions with a goal at 16, surpassing the previous record of 15 held by Gerd Müller from 1969 to 1970. In addition, he managed to reach more than 300 goals with Bayern Munich in all competitions. On 18 September, Lewandowski scored in his 13th consecutive Bundesliga home match against VfL Bochum, surpassing the previous league record of 12 held by Gerd Müller (October 1969 to April 1970) and Jupp Heynckes (June 1972 to February 1973). He ended the streak for most consecutive appearances in all competitions with a goal at 19, the new all-time German record.
On 21 November, Lewandowski scored a hat-trick against Benfica in a Champions League group stage match, becoming the fastest player to 80 UCL goals, in 100 appearances, edging past the previous record of Lionel Messi. On 23 November, he opened the score with a bicycle kick in a 2–1 away win against Dynamo Kyiv in a Champions League group stage match, thereby becoming the first player to score in nine consecutive games in two separate seasons of the competition. Midway through the season, Lewandowski finished second in the 2021 Ballon d'Or award, behind Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain and received the Striker of the Year award by the France Football magazine. On 17 December, Lewandowski set the Bundesliga record for most goals in a calendar year with his 43rd goal. He became the second player, after Cristiano Ronaldo, to be the top goalscorer for club and country as a player playing in Europe for three consecutive years.
On 15 January 2022, Lewandowski scored his 16th hat-trick and 300th Bundesliga goal in a 4–0 away win over Köln. On 8 March, Lewandowski scored a hat-trick in a 7–1 win over Red Bull Salzburg in the second leg of Champions League round of 16. Coming inside the first 23 minutes of the match, Lewandowski's hat-trick becomes the earliest ever scored by a player from the start of a Champions League match. Taking just 11 minutes from first goal to last, Lewandowski's three-goal extravaganza against Salzburg also ranks as the quickest hat-trick ever scored in the knockout phases of the Champions League. With these goals he took himself beyond the 40-goal mark in all competitions for the seventh consecutive season. With the hat-trick, he also became the fastest player to 85 UCL goals, again edging past Lionel Messi's previous record. He also joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi as the only three players to have ten or more goals in three or more UCL campaigns, and joined Messi as the only two players who have scored a first half hat trick in a UCL knockout game. However, Lewandowski finished the league with 35 goals as top scorer for the fifth consecutive season and seventh outright, equaling the record of Gerd Müller. He also broke the Bundesliga record for most away goals in a single season with 19 goals. In addition, he won his second European Golden Shoe award for the second consecutive season.
On 30 May 2022, Lewandowski stated his desire to leave Bayern Munich, saying "My story with Bayern has come to an end, I cannot imagine further good cooperation... I hope they will not stop me (from leaving) just because they can. A transfer is the best solution for everyone."
=== Barcelona ===
==== Transfer ====
At Bayern Munich, Lewandowski established himself as one of the best players of his generation. On 16 July 2022, Barcelona confirmed they had reached an agreement with Bayern Munich for Lewandowski's transfer. Three days later, Lewandowski signed a four-year contract for a fee of €45 million, potentially rising to €50 million with add-ons. The contract included a release clause set at €500 million. Lewandowski became the most expensive Polish player in history and Bayern Munich's most expensive sale of all time. Lewandowski was formally unveiled in front of 50,000 fans on 5 August at the Camp Nou, and was handed the number 9 shirt, previously worn by Memphis Depay, and was officially registered on 12 August, amid speculation that the club could not register him as they were over the league's salary cap limit, due to their financial difficulties.
==== 2022–23: La Liga title and Pichichi Trophy ====
On 13 August, he made his competitive debut for the club in 0–0 draw against Rayo Vallecano in the league. On 21 August, he scored his first competitive goals for Blaugrana, netting a brace in a 4–1 victory over Real Sociedad on 21 August, followed by another brace against Real Valladolid in a 4–0 victory on 28 August. On 7 September, in his first game as a Barcelona player in Champions League, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 victory over Viktoria Plzeň, becoming the first player in history to score a Champions League hat-trick for three different clubs. On 11 September, he scored his sixth league goal of the season in his fifth league match for Barcelona, in their 4–0 win over Cádiz, setting the record for most goals in the first five La Liga games of the season in the 21st century, and eventually registered eleven goal contributions including nine goals and two assists in seven matches, after scoring the only goal of an away win over Mallorca on 1 October.
On 12 October, Lewandowski scored a brace in Barcelona's Champions League fixture against Inter Milan, with his last-minute equalizer securing a 3–3 home draw for the Blaugrana at Camp Nou. Despite scoring five goals in the competition, his goals were not able to help Barcelona, as they finished third in the group stage which put them in the Europa League knockout round play-offs for the second consecutive season. On 8 November, Lewandowski was sent off for the second time in his club career for a foul on David García, later receiving a three-game ban, as Barcelona won 2–1 against Osasuna. However, Lewandowski participated in the 1–1 tie against rivals Espanyol on 31 December after his ban was suspended by a court in Madrid, but still ended up serving the disqualification, as Spain's sports court upheld the punishment, missing the league matches against Atlético Madrid, Girona and Getafe.
On 16 January 2023, he scored the second goal in the 2023 Supercopa de España final, as Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 3–1 in El Clásico, winning his first title with the club. On 14 May, he scored two goals as Barcelona defeated Espanyol 4–2, confirming them as La Liga champions. He was the first Barcelona player to score more than 30 goals across all competitions in his debut season since Ronaldo Nazário in 1996–97. By the end of the 2022–23 La Liga season, Lewandowski won his first Pichichi Trophy with 23 goals in 34 matches, becoming the first player in top 5 European leagues to get top scorer award in six consecutive seasons. Lewandowski also tied Lionel Messi for most top scorer awards in top 5 European leagues with eight.
==== 2023–24: La Liga runner-up ====
On 19 September 2023, Lewandowski scored once in Barcelona's 5–0 home win over Antwerp in the first matchday of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League to bring his UEFA competitions tally to 100 goals, becoming only the third player to reach such a milestone after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He also became the oldest player, at 35 years and 29 days, to score for Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League, surpassing Gerard Piqué's previous record. On 23 September, he scored a brace to help Barcelona overturn a two-goal deficit in a 3–2 home victory against Celta Vigo, becoming the best scorer in first 50 matches for the club in 21st century, with 35 goals, surpassing the record previously held by Samuel Eto'o.
On 17 February 2024, Lewandowski secured a win for Barcelona in a 2–1 victory over Celta Vigo by converting a retaken 97th-minute penalty. He became the most successful footballer in terms of the number of goals scored (407) over the past decade in the top five major European football leagues.
On 22 February, he scored his 93rd Champions League goal in a 1–1 draw against Napoli. Then on 12 March, Lewandowski scored the final goal in a 3–1 win in the home leg, knocking out Napoli with a 4–2 aggregate score. On 17 March, he was a key player in Barcelona's 3–0 win over Atlético Madrid having been involved in all three goals. He scored one goal and produced two assists helping his side move to the second spot in the La Liga table. On 29 April, he scored his first La Liga hat-trick to help his team get a 4–2 win against Valencia.
==== 2024–25: Domestic double and 100 Barcelona goals ====
On 17 August 2024, Lewandowski scored two goals in a 2–1 victory against Valencia. It was the first match of the La Liga season for Barcelona and the first game with former Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick in charge as the coach. On 22 September, Lewandowski scored two goals in a 5–1 victory against Villarreal. On 25 September, he scored the winning goal in Barcelona's 1–0 victory over Getafe. This was Lewandowski's 49th goal scored in La Liga beating Jan Urban's record as the top scoring Polish player in La Liga history. On 6 October, he scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 victory over Alavés. On 20 October, Lewandowski scored two goals in a 5–1 victory against Sevilla, in the process, he overtook Gerd Müller's record and became the third highest scorer in the history of the five major European football leagues with 366 goals in total.
On 23 October, Lewandowski scored the second goal in a 4–1 thrashing of his former club Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but did not celebrate out of respect for Bayern. Then on 26 October 2024, Lewandowski scored the first and second goal in Barcelona's 4–0 away demolition of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu. He was subsequently chosen La Liga Player of the Month, his third such achievement. On 23 November, he scored against Celta Vigo in a match, which concluded in a 2–2 draw. By scoring this goal, Lewandowski recorded his 14th consecutive season in which he scored at least 20 goals for club, surpassing Lionel Messi's record. Three days later, Lewandowski made history by netting a brace in Barcelona's 3–0 win over Brest, his first goal in the match being his 100th Champions League goal. He became only the third player to pass the 100-goal mark in the Champions League. On 7 December, he netted a goal in a 2–2 draw against Real Betis. By scoring the goal, Lewandowski reached 16 goals in his first 16 La Liga matches, equalling a record achieved by Messi during the 2018–19 season.
On 9 April 2025, Lewandowski surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo as the player with the most goals past the age of thirty-five in the Champions League, 14. He reached this feat against former club Borussia Dortmund after scoring a brace in a 4–0 victory over the German side. Those goal involvements also led him to his 99th Barcelona goal, and becoming the Man of the Match. He reached his 100th and 101st goals with the club in a 3–0 away win over Athletic Bilbao on the final matchday of the season. This made him join the small group of players to have scored 100 goals with three different clubs, and only the third player from the 21st century to do so after Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
==== 2025–26 ====
On 22 November 2025, the thirteenth matchday of the 2025–26 La Liga, Lewandowski scored the inaugural goal at the partially rebuilt Spotify Camp Nou, having scored against Athletic Bilbao within four minutes in 4–0 victory. In December 2025, he claimed Barcelona had previously asked him to avoid scoring by the end of the 2022–23 title-winning season in order to prevent triggering a bonus payment to his former club Bayern Munich. On 18 March 2026, he scored a brace in a 7–2 victory over Newcastle United during the Champions League round of 16, setting a new record by scoring against 41 different opponents and surpassing the previous mark held by Lionel Messi.
== International career ==
=== 2007–2013: Youth level and early international career ===
Lewandowski began his international career with Poland under-19 in 2007. He would also make three appearances for Poland's U21 team, in friendly matches against England, Belarus and Finland.
His debut for the senior national team came on 10 September 2008, three weeks after his 20th birthday, against San Marino where he came on as a substitute and scored a goal in a 2–0 away win in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification. Only Włodzimierz Lubański scored a goal on his debut for the national team at a younger age than Lewandowski, having been 16 at the time. Lewandowski scored another qualifying goal against the same team on 1 April 2009, in a 10–0 victory.
Playing in Warsaw in the opening match of the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament against Greece, Lewandowski scored the first goal of the competition after an assist from then Dortmund teammate Jakub Błaszczykowski and was named Man of the Match. He played in all three games for Poland in the tournament, as the co-hosts crashed out of the group stage with two points earned.
=== 2013–2017: Assuming captaincy ===
Lewandowski scored two penalties in the 5–0 win against San Marino on 26 March 2013 during the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, his first match as captain. Later on in the campaign, on 6 September, he scored the equaliser against Montenegro in a 1–1 home draw. Poland did not qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
On 7 September 2014, in Poland's first UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier, away against Gibraltar, Lewandowski scored his first international hat-trick, netting four goals in a 7–0 win. On 13 June 2015, he scored another hat-trick in Poland's 4–0 defeat of Georgia, with the three goals scored within the space of four minutes. On 8 October, he scored twice in a 2–2 draw away to Scotland, opening and equalising with the last kick of the game to eliminate the hosts. Three days later he headed the winner in a 2–1 victory against the Republic of Ireland, qualifying Poland for the tournament finals in France. Lewandowski ended the campaign with 13 goals, a joint European Championships qualifying record with David Healy's tally for Northern Ireland in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying.
At UEFA Euro 2016 in France, Lewandowski did not have a shot on target until the last-16 match against Switzerland in Saint-Étienne. Following the 1–1 draw, he scored his team's first attempt in the penalty shootout victory that sent them to the quarter-finals for the first time. In the 100th second of the quarter-final against Portugal at the Stade Vélodrome, he finished Kamil Grosicki's cross to open another 1–1 draw, and again scored in the shootout although the Poles lost. At the time of Poland's exit, Lewandowski had suffered more fouls than any other player in the tournament.
=== 2017–2025: All-time Poland top scorer, short-lived retirement ===
On 5 October 2017, Lewandowski scored a hat-trick in a 6–1 victory against Armenia to take his tally to 50 goals for Poland, surpassing the previous record of 48 goals set by Włodzimierz Lubański to become the all-time top scorer for Poland. On 8 October, Lewandowski scored a goal in a 4–2 victory against Montenegro, taking his tally to 51 goals for Poland. He finished the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with a total of 16 goals, a record for a European World Cup qualification.
Lewandowski was called up to the 23-man Polish squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Lewandowski played every minute in all three matches against Senegal, Colombia, and Japan. He did not score any goals and Poland failed to qualify for the knockout phase.
On 19 June 2021, in Poland's second group stage match of UEFA Euro 2020 against Spain, Lewandowski scored the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw. He became the first Polish player to score in three consecutive European Championships. On 23 June, he scored a brace in a 3–2 defeat against Sweden, but Poland finished last in their group and were knocked out in the group stage.
Lewandowski was selected for the national squad ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. During the first match against Mexico, he missed a penalty. However, in the second match against Saudi Arabia, Lewandowski scored his first FIFA World Cup goal Poland 2–0. He scored his second World Cup goal on a penalty in a 3–1 loss against France in the round of 16.
In June 2024, Lewandowski was named in the final 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany. In Poland's third group stage game, he converted a penalty kick to equalize in a 1–1 draw against France, but Poland exited the tournament after finishing at the bottom of their group.
Lewandowski was not called up for two June 2025 matches against Moldova and Finland, citing exhaustion after the end of the club season. On 8 June, following the decision of head coach Michał Probierz to name Piotr Zieliński new captain of the Poland national team, Lewandowski announced he would not play for the national team as long as Probierz was the manager. Following Lewandowski's remarks and Poland's defeat against Finland in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Probierz resigned.
Following the appointment of Jan Urban as Poland manager on 16 July 2025, reports of Lewandowski's national team return ahead of the September matches against the Netherlands and Finland surfaced. In August 2025, he was selected for the September games and reinstated as Poland's captain.
== Style of play ==
Lewandowski was widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the world in his prime, and is considered by many to be one of the greatest centre-forwards of his generation. An accurate and efficient finisher with his head and both feet, Lewandowski is a prolific goalscorer, which has led him to be dubbed Lewangoalski. A well-rounded forward, he is said to possess almost all the necessary qualities of a traditional number nine: height, strength, balance, pace, intelligent movement and proficiency with both feet. Although he primarily operates as a goal-poacher in the penalty area, due to his positional sense, ability to shoot first time, strength in the air, and powerful shot with either foot, his excellent technical skills, quick feet, proficient dribbling, vision, and physique also enable him to hold up the ball with his back to goal and either bring his teammates into play, or win fouls for his team in useful positions. Despite often functioning as a lone-centre forward or as an out-and-out striker, he has also stood out for his work-rate and defensive contribution off the ball, and is capable of dropping into deeper roles on the pitch, in order to create space for teammates with his movement, or surprise defenders by making late and sudden attacking runs into the area. He became more of a team player as his career progressed, having been criticised by pundits earlier in his career for his perceived selfishness.
Lewandowski is an accurate penalty taker and has repeatedly shown coolness and composure on the spot; he is also capable of scoring from long range, and has been known to take free kicks. In addition to his playing ability, Lewandowski has also been praised for his outstanding work-ethic, fitness, mentality, and discipline, both on the pitch and in training, by pundits, players and managers; his disciplined approach to training and fitness has led to him being nicknamed "The Body".
== Outside football ==
=== Personal life ===
Lewandowski's father gave him the name Robert to make it easier for him when moving abroad as a professional footballer. Lewandowski's father, Krzysztof (died in 2005), was a Polish judo champion, and also played football for Hutnik Warsaw in the second division. His mother, Iwona, is a former volleyball player for AZS Warsaw and later vice-president of Partyzant Leszno. His sister, Milena, also plays volleyball and has represented the U21 national team.
His wife, Anna Lewandowska (née Stachurska), won the bronze medal at the 2009 Karate World Cup. They married on 22 June 2013 in the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Serock. They have two children, born in 2017 and 2020.
Lewandowski is a practising Catholic. He met Pope Francis in October 2014, when Bayern Munich visited Vatican City following a 7–1 win over Roma in the UEFA Champions League.
In October 2017, the day after scoring to help Poland qualify for the 2018 World Cup, Lewandowski finished his Bachelor of Physical Education (BPhEd) with coaching and management at the Academy of Sport Education in Warsaw, concluding a decade of studies.
In addition to his native Polish, Lewandowski also speaks English and German.
Lewandowski is a fan of tennis and paddle tennis. He practiced playing tennis with Ana Ivanovic, the wife of his friend Bastian Schweinsteiger and knows personally Novak Djokovic. He attended his matches in Qatar and United Arab Emirates. In 2022, he personally congratulated Iga Świątek on winning the 2022 Roland Garros. He also plays golf and is interested in motor sports, including Formula One. In 2017 and 2022 as Aston Martin special guest, he attended the Monaco Grand Prix. In 2023, he visited the paddock of Scuderia Ferrari during the Spanish Grand Prix.
=== Philanthropy and business ===
Lewandowski and his wife, Anna, have supported, donated and raised money for various charitable organisations and for children throughout their career, including Children's Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw, for which they've raised more than PLN 150,000 during Anna's birthday party on 25 August 2018. Lewandowski also donated PLN 100,000 for the treatment of Cyprian Gaweł, a three-year-old boy from Hel; and helps raising funds for the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity each year, donating his personal items or private meetings that are sold at online auctions.
In March 2014, he was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In June the same year, he visited a refugee camp in Zaatari, Jordan, and took part in the "Voice of the Children" campaign in which he appealed for support of children affected by humanitarian crises.
In 2018, he and his wife donated PLN 500,000 to Children's Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw.
In March 2020, Lewandowski and his wife, Anna, donated €1 million during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In January 2022, he won a charity auction in which he paid PLN 280,000 for Dawid Tomala's Olympic gold medal. The funds were used to finance the operation of a seriously ill boy. Lewandowski subsequently returned the medal to Tomala.
In February 2022, Lewandowski condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and showed his solidarity with the Ukrainian people by wearing a blue and yellow armband during a Bundesliga match. The armband was later auctioned for PLN 27,000 and the money was used to purchase humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
Beside philanthropy, Lewandowski also invests primarily in startups, e-commerce, and websites, mainly through Protos Venture Capital, a company of which he is a shareholder. He also owns Stor9_, an agency specialising in marketing communications. In 2022, Lewandowski and his wife Anna's net worth was estimated at PLN 625 million (US$140 million), making them claim the 89th place on the "List of 100 Richest Poles" compiled by the Wprost magazine.
=== Sponsorship and media appearances ===
Since 2011 until 2018, he had a sponsorship contract with Gillette and appeared in numerous advertising campaigns of the brand. In 2020, the contract was renewed. In 2013, Lewandowski signed a sponsorship deal with Nike. He also collaborated and appeared in advertisements of Panasonic, T-Mobile Polska, Coca-Cola, Head & Shoulders and 4F.
In 2016, a mobile game Lewandowski: Euro Star 2016 was released on Android and iOS platforms.
In March 2022, Lewandowski cancelled his sponsorship deal with Chinese telecom company Huawei after the company's reported support to Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Lewandowski had signed on as the global ambassador for Huawei, after agreeing to a partnership in November 2015.
Lewandowski featured on the cover of the Polish edition of EA Sports' FIFA 15 video game, alongside Lionel Messi. Lewandowski's "X" goal celebration—arms crossed and index fingers pointing up—has appeared in EA Sports' FIFA series since FIFA 18.
In 2022, Lewandowski was the most popular Pole on social media. His accounts on Instagram, YouTube and Tik Tok were followed by over 62 million people. In 2023, he was the subject of a documentary film entitled Lewandowski − Nieznany (Lewandowski − Unknown), which premiered on 28 March and is available on Amazon Prime.
== Career statistics ==
=== Club ===
As of match played 22 March 2026
=== International ===
As of match played 17 November 2025
== Honours ==
Znicz Pruszków
III liga (Group I): 2006–07
Lech Poznań
Ekstraklasa: 2009–10
Polish Cup: 2008–09
Polish Super Cup: 2009
Borussia Dortmund
Bundesliga: 2010–11, 2011–12
DFB-Pokal: 2011–12
DFL-Supercup: 2013
UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2012–13
Bayern Munich
Bundesliga: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
DFB-Pokal: 2015–16, 2018–19, 2019–20
DFL-Supercup: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021
UEFA Champions League: 2019–20
UEFA Super Cup: 2020
FIFA Club World Cup: 2020
Barcelona
La Liga: 2022–23, 2024–25
Copa del Rey: 2024–25
Supercopa de España: 2023, 2025, 2026
Individual
The Best FIFA Men's Player: 2020, 2021
FIFA FIFPro World 11: 2020, 2021
FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2020
Gerd Müller Trophy (Ballon d'Or Striker of the Year): 2021, 2022
European Golden Shoe: 2020–21, 2021–22
IFFHS World's Best Man Player: 2020, 2021
IFFHS World's Best Top Goal Scorer: 2020, 2021
IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer: 2015, 2021
IFFHS World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer: 2021
IFFHS Men's World Team: 2020, 2021
IFFHS World Team of the Decade: 2011–2020
IFFHS UEFA Team of the Decade: 2011–2020
UEFA Men's Player of the Year: 2019–20
UEFA Champions League Forward of the Season: 2019–20
UEFA Champions League top goalscorer: 2019–20
UEFA Champions League top assist provider: 2019–20
UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2020–21
UEFA Team of the Year: 2019, 2020
UEFA European Championship qualifying Best Player: 2016
Laureus Exceptional Achievement Award: 2022
Golden Foot: 2022
ESM Team of the Year: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2024–25
ESPN Striker of the Year: 2020, 2021–22
AIPS European Sportsman of the Year: 2020
European Sportsperson of the Year: 2020
World Soccer Player of the Year: 2020, 2021
FourFourTwo Player of the Year: 2020, 2021
Tuttosport Golden Player: 2020, 2021
The Guardian Best Footballer in the World: 2020, 2021
Goal Player of the Year: 2019–20
Globe Soccer Best Player of the Year: 2020
Globe Soccer Fans' Player of the Year: 2021
Globe Soccer Maradona Award: 2021
Ekstraklasa Player of the Season: 2009–10
Ekstraklasa Player of the Year: 2009
Ekstraklasa top goalscorer: 2009–10
Ekstraklasa Goal of the Season: 2008–09
II liga top goalscorer: 2007–08
III liga (Group I) top goalscorer: 2006–07
Polish Footballer of the Year: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025
Polish Sports Personality of the Year: 2015, 2020, 2021
Polish Young Player of the Year: 2008
Polish Football Association National Team of the Century: 1919–2019
Bundesliga Player of the Season: 2016–17, 2019–20
Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22
Bundesliga Fantasy Team of the Season: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
Bundesliga Player of the Month: August 2019, October 2020
Bundesliga Goal of the Month: March 2019, August 2019, May 2021
VDV Player of the Season: 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21
VDV Team of the Season: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
German Sports Journalists' Footballer of the Year: 2020, 2021
kicker Torjägerkanone (Bundesliga top goalscorer): 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
kicker Team of the Season: 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
DFB-Pokal top goalscorer: 2011–12, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20
Pichichi Trophy: 2022–23
La Liga Team of the Season: 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
La Liga Player of the Month: October 2022, February 2024, October 2024
Lech Poznań All-time XI: 2022
Znicz Pruszków Best Player of All Time: 2023
Bayern Munich Player of the Season: 2015–16, 2019–20, 2020–21
Orders
Order of Polonia Restituta, Commander's Cross: 2021
Order of the Smile: 2022
Records
Fastest hat-trick in a Bundesliga match: 202 seconds
Fastest four goals in a Bundesliga match: 342 seconds
Fastest five goals in a Bundesliga match: 539 seconds
Most goals scored by a substitute in a Bundesliga match: 5 goals |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schindler%27s_List | Schindler's List | Schindler's List is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the historical novel Schindler's Ark (1982) by Thomas Keneally. The film follows Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who saved more than a thousand mostly Polish–Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during World War II. It stars Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as SS officer Amon Göth, and Ben Kingsley as Schindler's Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern.
Ideas for a film about the Schindlerjuden (Schindler Jews) were proposed as early as 1963. Poldek Pfefferberg, one of the Schindlerjuden, made it his life's mission to tell Schindler's story. Spielberg became interested when executive Sidney Sheinberg sent him a book review of Schindler's Ark. Universal Pictures bought the rights to the novel, but Spielberg, unsure if he was ready to make a film about the Holocaust, tried to pass the project to several directors before deciding to direct it himself. Principal photography took place in Kraków, Poland, over 72 days in 1993. Spielberg shot the film in black and white and approached the film as a documentary. Cinematographer Janusz Kamiński wanted to create a sense of timelessness. John Williams composed the score, and violinist Itzhak Perlman performed the main theme.
Schindler's List premiered on November 30, 1993, in Washington, D.C., and was released on December 15, 1993, in the United States. The film received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for the performances of Neeson and Fiennes, Williams' musical score, Kaminski's cinematography, Zaillian's screenplay, and Spielberg's direction. It was a box office success, earning $322.2 million worldwide on a $22 million budget. Schindler's List earned multiple accolades, including seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture), seven BAFTAs and three Golden Globes. It is often listed as one of the greatest films ever made. The film was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress in 2004 and selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry. In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked Schindler's List 8th on its list of the 100 greatest American films.
== Plot ==
In German-occupied Kraków during World War II, the Nazis forced local Polish Jews into the overcrowded Kraków Ghetto. Oskar Schindler, a German Nazi Party member from Czechoslovakia, arrives in the city, hoping to make his fortune. He bribes Wehrmacht (German armed forces) and SS officials, acquiring a factory to produce enamelware. Schindler hires Itzhak Stern, a Jewish official with contacts among black marketeers and the Jewish business community; Stern handles administration and helps Schindler arrange financing. Stern ensures that as many Jewish workers as possible were deemed essential to the German war effort to prevent them from being taken by the SS to concentration camps or killed. Meanwhile, Schindler maintains friendly relations with the Nazis and enjoys his new wealth and status as an industrialist.
SS-Untersturmführer (second lieutenant) Amon Göth arrives in Kraków to oversee construction of the Płaszów concentration camp. When the camp is ready, he orders the ghetto liquidated: two thousand Jews are transported to Płaszów, and two thousand others are killed in the streets by the SS. Schindler witnesses the massacre and is profoundly affected. He particularly notices a young girl in a red coat who hides from the Nazis and later sees her body on a wagonload of corpses. Schindler is careful to maintain his friendship with Göth and continues to enjoy SS support, mostly through bribery. Göth brutalizes his Jewish maid, Helen Hirsch, and randomly shoots people from the balcony of his villa; the prisoners are in constant fear for their lives. As time passes, Schindler's focus shifts from making money to trying to save as many lives as possible. To better protect his workers, Schindler bribes Göth into allowing him to build a sub-camp at his factory.
As the Germans begin losing the war, Göth is ordered to ship the remaining Jews at Płaszów to Auschwitz concentration camp. Schindler asks Göth for permission to move his workers to a munitions factory he plans to build in Brünnlitz near his hometown of Zwittau. Göth reluctantly agrees but charges a huge bribe. Schindler and Stern prepare a list of people to be transferred to Brünnlitz instead of Auschwitz. The list eventually includes 1,100 names.
As the Jewish workers are transported by train to Brünnlitz, the women and girls are mistakenly redirected to Auschwitz-Birkenau; Schindler bribes Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz, for their release. At the new factory, Schindler forbids the SS guards from entering the production area without permission and encourages the Jews to observe the Sabbath. Over the next seven months, he spends his fortune bribing Nazi officials and buying shell casings from other companies. Due to Schindler's machinations, the factory produces no usable armaments. He runs out of money in 1945, just as Germany surrenders.
As a Nazi Party member and war profiteer, Schindler must flee the advancing Red Army to avoid capture. The SS guards at the factory have been ordered to kill the Jewish workforce, but Schindler persuades them not to do so. Bidding farewell to his workers, he prepares to head west. The workers give him a signed statement attesting to his role in saving Jewish lives and present him with a ring engraved with a Talmudic paraphrase: "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire." Schindler breaks down in tears, feeling he should have done more, and is comforted by the workers before he and his wife leave in their car. When the Schindlerjuden awaken the next morning, a mounted Soviet officer announces they have been liberated but warns them not to go east because "they hate you there." The Jews then walk into the countryside.
An epilogue reveals that Göth was executed via hanging for crimes against humanity; Schindler and his wife were declared Righteous Among the Nations and a tree was planted in his honor in the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations. Many of the surviving Schindlerjuden and the actors portraying them visit Schindler's grave and place stones on its marker (a traditional Jewish sign of respect for the dead), after which Liam Neeson lays two roses.
== Cast ==
== Production ==
=== Development ===
Poldek Pfefferberg, one of the Schindlerjuden, made it his life's mission to tell the story of his savior. Pfefferberg attempted to produce a biographical film of Oskar Schindler with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1963, with Howard Koch writing, but the deal fell through. In 1982, Thomas Keneally published his historical novel Schindler's Ark, which he wrote after a chance meeting with Pfefferberg in Los Angeles in 1980. MCA president Sid Sheinberg sent director Steven Spielberg a New York Times review of the book. Spielberg, astounded by Schindler's story, jokingly asked if it was true. "I was drawn to it because of the paradoxical nature of the character," he said. "What would drive a man like this to suddenly take everything he had earned and put it all in the service of saving these lives?" Spielberg expressed enough interest for Universal Pictures to buy the rights to the novel. At their first meeting in spring 1983, he told Pfefferberg he would start filming in ten years. In the end credits of the film, Pfefferberg is credited as a consultant under the name Leopold Page.
Spielberg was unsure if he was mature enough to make a film about the Holocaust, and the project remained "on [his] guilty conscience." Spielberg tried to pass the project to director Roman Polanski, but he refused Spielberg's offer. Polanski's mother was killed at Auschwitz, and he had lived in and survived the Kraków Ghetto. Polanski eventually directed his own Holocaust drama The Pianist (2002). Spielberg also offered the film to Sydney Pollack and Martin Scorsese, who was attached to direct Schindler's List in 1988. However, Spielberg was unsure of letting Scorsese direct the film, as "I'd given away a chance to do something for my children and family about the Holocaust." Spielberg offered him the chance to direct the 1991 remake of Cape Fear instead. Scorsese would later admit in an interview that while he believed his version of the film might've been good, he had no regrets passing it to Spielberg stating that "it would not have been the hit that it became." Billy Wilder expressed an interest in directing the film as a memorial to his family, most of whom were murdered in the Holocaust. Brian De Palma also refused an offer to direct.
Spielberg finally decided to take on the project when he noticed that Holocaust deniers were being given serious consideration by the media. With the rise of neo-Nazism after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he worried that people were too accepting of intolerance, as they were in the 1930s. Sid Sheinberg greenlit the film on condition that Spielberg made Jurassic Park first. Spielberg later said, "He knew that once I had directed Schindler I wouldn't be able to do Jurassic Park." The picture was assigned a small budget of $22 million, as Holocaust films are not usually profitable. Spielberg forwent a salary for the film, calling it "blood money", and believed it would fail.
In 1983, Keneally was hired to adapt his book, and he turned in a 220-page script. His adaptation focused on Schindler's numerous relationships, and Keneally admitted he did not compress the story enough. Spielberg hired Kurt Luedtke, who had adapted the screenplay of Out of Africa, to write the next draft. Luedtke gave up almost four years later, as he found Schindler's change of heart too unbelievable. During his time as director, Scorsese hired Steven Zaillian to write a script. When he was handed back the project, Spielberg found Zaillian's 115-page draft too short and asked him to extend it to 195 pages. Spielberg wanted more focus on the Jews in the story, and he wanted Schindler's transition to be gradual and ambiguous instead of a sudden breakthrough or epiphany. He also extended the ghetto liquidation sequence, as he "felt very strongly that the sequence had to be almost unwatchable."
=== Casting ===
Liam Neeson auditioned as Schindler early on in the film's development. He was cast in December 1992 after Spielberg saw him perform in Anna Christie on Broadway. Warren Beatty participated in a script reading, but Spielberg was concerned that he could not disguise his accent and that he would bring "movie star baggage." Kevin Costner and Mel Gibson expressed interest in portraying Schindler, but Spielberg preferred to cast the relatively unknown Neeson so that the actor's star quality would not overpower the character. Neeson felt Schindler enjoyed outsmarting the Nazis, who regarded him as somewhat naïve. "They don't quite take him seriously, and he used that to full effect." To help him prepare for the role, Spielberg showed Neeson film clips of Time Warner CEO Steve Ross, who had a charisma that Spielberg compared to Schindler's. He also located a tape of Schindler speaking, which Neeson studied to learn the correct intonations and pitch.
Fiennes was cast as Amon Göth after Spielberg viewed his performances in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia and Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. Spielberg said of Fiennes' audition that "I saw sexual evil. It is all about subtlety: there were moments of kindness that would move across his eyes and then instantly run cold." Fiennes put on 28 pounds (13 kg) to play the role. He watched historic newsreels and talked to Holocaust survivors who knew Göth. In portraying him, Fiennes said "I got close to his pain. Inside him is a fractured, miserable human being. I feel split about him, sorry for him. He's like some dirty, battered doll I was given and that I came to feel peculiarly attached to." Doctors Samuel J. Leistedt and Paul Linkowski of the Université libre de Bruxelles describe Göth's character in the film as a classic psychopath. Fiennes looked so much like Göth in costume that when Holocaust survivor Mila Pfefferberg met him, she trembled with fear.
The character of Itzhak Stern (played by Ben Kingsley) is a composite of the accountant Stern, factory manager Abraham Bankier, and Göth's personal secretary, Mietek Pemper. The character serves as Schindler's alter ego and conscience. Dustin Hoffman was offered the role but he refused it.
Overall, there are 126 parts with dialogue in the film. Thousands of extras were hired during filming. Spielberg cast Israeli and Polish actors specially chosen for their Eastern European appearance. Many of the German actors were reluctant to don the SS uniform, but some of them later thanked Spielberg for the cathartic experience of performing in the film. Halfway through the shoot, Spielberg conceived the epilogue, where 128 survivors pay their respects at Schindler's grave in Jerusalem. The producers scrambled to find the Schindlerjuden and fly them in to film the scene.
=== Filming ===
Principal photography began on March 1, 1993, in Kraków, Poland, with a planned schedule of 75 days. The crew shot at or near the actual locations, though the Płaszów camp had to be reconstructed in a nearby abandoned quarry, as modern high rise apartments were visible from the site of the original camp. Interior shots of the enamelware factory in Kraków were filmed at a similar facility in Olkusz, while exterior shots and the scenes on the factory stairs were filmed at the actual factory. The production received permission from Polish authorities to film on the grounds of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, but objections to filming within the actual death camp were raised by the World Jewish Congress. To avoid filming inside the actual death camp, the film crew constructed a replica of a portion of the camp just outside the entrance of Birkenau.
There were some antisemitic incidents. A woman who encountered Fiennes in his Nazi uniform told him: "The Germans were charming people. They didn't kill anybody who didn't deserve it." Antisemitic symbols were scrawled on billboards near shooting locations, while Kingsley nearly entered a brawl with an elderly German-speaking businessman who insulted the Israeli actor Michael Schneider. Nonetheless, Spielberg said that, at Passover, "all the German actors showed up. They put on yarmulkes and opened up Haggadas, and the Israeli actors moved right next to them and began explaining it to them. And this family of actors sat around and race and culture were just left behind."
I was hit in the face with my personal life. My upbringing. My Jewishness. The stories my grandparents told me about the Shoah. And Jewish life came pouring back into my heart. I cried all the time.
Shooting Schindler's List was deeply emotional for Spielberg, as the subject matter forced him to confront elements of his childhood, such as the antisemitism he faced. He was surprised that he did not cry while visiting Auschwitz; instead, he found himself filled with outrage. He was one of many crew members who could not force themselves to watch during the shooting of the scene where aging Jews are forced to run naked while being selected by Nazi doctors to go to Auschwitz. Spielberg commented that he felt more like a reporter than a film maker — he would set up scenes and then watch events unfold, almost as though he were witnessing them rather than creating a film. Several actresses broke down when filming the shower scene, including one who was born in a concentration camp. Spielberg, his wife Kate Capshaw, and their five children rented a house in suburban Kraków for the duration of filming. He later thanked his wife "for rescuing me ninety-two days in a row ... when things just got too unbearable." Robin Williams called Spielberg to cheer him up, given the profound lack of humor on the set.
Spielberg spent several hours each evening editing Jurassic Park, which was scheduled to premiere in June 1993.
Spielberg occasionally used German and Polish language dialogue to create a sense of realism. He initially considered making the film entirely in those languages, but decided "there's too much safety in reading [subtitles]. It would have been an excuse [for the audience] to take their eyes off the screen and watch something else."
=== Cinematography ===
Influenced by the 1985 documentary film Shoah, Spielberg decided not to plan the film with storyboards, and to shoot it like a documentary. Forty percent of the film was shot with handheld cameras, and the modest budget meant the film was shot quickly over seventy-two days. Spielberg felt that this gave the film "a spontaneity, an edge, and it also serves the subject." He filmed without using Steadicams, elevated shots, or zoom lenses, "everything that for me might be considered a safety net." This matured Spielberg, who felt that in the past he had always been paying tribute to directors such as Cecil B. DeMille or David Lean.
Spielberg decided to use black and white to match the feel of documentary footage of the era. Cinematographer Janusz Kamiński compared the effect to German Expressionism and Italian neorealism. Kamiński said that he wanted to give the impression of timelessness to the film, so the audience would "not have a sense of when it was made." Universal chairman Tom Pollock asked him to shoot the film on a color negative, to allow color VHS copies of the film to later be sold, but Spielberg did not want to accidentally "beautify events." However, scenes with the girl in the red coat were shot in color, and later rotoscoped over by hand to remove all color except for the coat.
== Soundtrack ==
John Williams, who frequently collaborates with Spielberg, composed the score for Schindler's List. The composer was amazed by the film, and felt it would be too challenging. He said to Spielberg, "You need a better composer than I am for this film." Spielberg responded, "I know. But they're all dead!" Itzhak Perlman performs the theme on the violin.
In the scene where the ghetto is being liquidated by the Nazis, the folk song Oyfn Pripetshik (Yiddish: אויפֿן פּריפּעטשיק, 'On the Cooking Stove') is sung by a children's choir. The song was often sung by Spielberg's grandmother, Becky, to her grandchildren. The clarinet solos heard in the film were recorded by Klezmer virtuoso Giora Feidman. Williams won an Academy Award for Best Original Score for Schindler's List, his fifth win. Selections from the score were released on a soundtrack album.
== Themes and symbolism ==
The film explores the theme of good and evil, using as its main protagonist a "good German", a popular characterization in American cinema. While Göth is portrayed as an almost completely dark and evil person, Schindler gradually evolves from Nazi supporter to rescuer and hero. Thus a second theme of redemption is introduced as Schindler, a disreputable schemer on the edges of respectability, becomes a father figure responsible for saving the lives of more than a thousand people.
=== The girl in red ===
While the film is shot primarily in black and white, a red coat is used to distinguish a little girl in the scene depicting the liquidation of the Kraków ghetto. Later in the film, Schindler sees her exhumed dead body, recognizable only by the red coat she is still wearing. Spielberg said the scene was intended to symbolize how members of the highest levels of government in the United States knew the Holocaust was occurring, yet did nothing to stop it. He said: "It was as obvious as a little girl wearing a red coat, walking down the street, and yet nothing was done to bomb the German rail lines. Nothing was being done to slow down;... the annihilation of European Jewry. So that was my message in letting that scene be in color." Andy Patrizio of IGN notes that the point at which Schindler sees the girl's dead body is the point at which he changes, no longer seeing "the ash and soot of burning corpses piling up on his car as just an annoyance." Professor André H. Caron of the Université de Montréal wonders if the red symbolizes "innocence, hope or the red blood of the Jewish people being sacrificed in the horror of the Holocaust."
The girl was portrayed by Oliwia Dąbrowska, three years old at the time of filming. Spielberg asked Dąbrowska not to watch the film until she was eighteen, but she watched it when she was eleven, and says she was "horrified." Upon seeing the film again as an adult, she was proud of the role she played. Roma Ligocka, who says she was known in the Kraków Ghetto for her red coat, feels the character might have been based on her. Ligocka, unlike her fictional counterpart, survived the Holocaust. After the film was released, she wrote and published her own story, The Girl in the Red Coat: A Memoir (2002, in translation). Alternatively, according to her relatives who were interviewed in 2014, the girl may have been inspired by Kraków resident Genya Gitel Chil.
=== Candles ===
The opening scene features a family observing Shabbat. Spielberg said that "to start the film with the candles being lit ... would be a rich bookend, to start the film with a normal Shabbat service before the juggernaut against the Jews begins." When the color fades out in the film's opening moments, it gives way to a world in which smoke comes to symbolize bodies being burnt at Auschwitz. Only at the end, when Schindler allows his workers to hold Shabbat services, do the images of candle fire regain their warmth through color. For Spielberg, they represent "just a glint of color, and a glimmer of hope." Sara Horowitz, director of the Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies at York University, sees the candles as a symbol for the Jews of Europe, killed and then burned in the crematoria. The two scenes bracket the Nazi era, marking its beginning and end. She points out that normally, the woman of the house lights the Sabbath candles. In the film, it is men who perform this ritual, demonstrating not only the subservient role of women, but also the subservient position of Jewish men in relation to Aryan men, especially Göth and Schindler.
=== Other symbolism ===
To Spielberg, the black and white presentation of the film came to represent the Holocaust itself: "The Holocaust was life without light. For me the symbol of life is color. That's why a film about the Holocaust has to be in black-and-white." Robert Gellately notes the film in its entirety can be seen as a metaphor for the Holocaust, with early sporadic violence increasing into a crescendo of death and destruction. He also notes a parallel between the situation of the Jews in the film and the debate in Nazi Germany between making use of the Jews for slave labor or exterminating them outright. Water is seen as giving deliverance by Alan Mintz, Holocaust Studies professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York. He notes its presence in the scene where Schindler arranges for a Holocaust train loaded with victims awaiting transport to be hosed down, and the scene in Auschwitz, where the women are given an actual shower instead of receiving the expected gassing.
== Release ==
Schindler's List opened in theaters on December 15, 1993, in the United States and December 25 in Canada. Its premiere in Germany was on March 1, 1994. Its American network television premiere was on NBC on February 23, 1997. Shown uncut and without commercials, it ranked No. 3 for the week with a 20.9/31 rating/share, the highest Nielsen rating for any film since NBC's broadcast of Jurassic Park in May 1995. The film aired on public television in Israel on Holocaust Memorial Day in 1998.
The film was released in a THX widescreen VHS format on September 9, 1997. The DVD was released on March 9, 2004, in widescreen and full screen editions, on a double-sided disc with the feature film beginning on side A and continuing on side B. Special features include a documentary introduced by Spielberg. Also released for both formats was a limited edition gift set, which included the widescreen version of the film, Keneally's novel, the film's soundtrack on CD, a senitype, and a photo booklet titled Schindler's List: Images of the Steven Spielberg Film, all housed in a plexiglass case. The laserdisc gift set was a limited edition that included the soundtrack, the original novel, and an exclusive photo booklet. As part of its 20th anniversary, the film was released on Blu-ray Disc on March 5, 2013. The film was digitally remastered in 4K, Dolby Vision and Atmos and was reissued into theaters on December 7, 2018, for its 25th anniversary. The film was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on December 18, 2018.
Following the success of the film, Spielberg founded the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, a nonprofit organization with the goal of providing an archive for the filmed testimony of as many survivors of the Holocaust as possible, to save their stories. He continues to finance that work. Spielberg used proceeds from the film to finance several related documentaries, including Anne Frank Remembered (1995), The Lost Children of Berlin (1996), and The Last Days (1998).
== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
Schindler's List received acclaim from both film critics and audiences, with Americans such as talk show host Oprah Winfrey and President Bill Clinton urging others to see it. World leaders in many countries saw the film, and some met personally with Spielberg. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has received an approval rating of 98% based on 137 reviews, with an average rating of 9.20/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Schindler's List blends the abject horror of the Holocaust with Steven Spielberg's signature tender humanism to create the director's dramatic masterpiece." Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 95 out of 100, based on 30 critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale.
Stephen Schiff of The New Yorker called it the best historical drama about the Holocaust, a film that "will take its place in cultural history and remain there." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of four and described it as Spielberg's best, "brilliantly acted, written, directed, and seen." Ebert and Gene Siskel named it the best film of 1993. Terrence Rafferty, also with The New Yorker, admired the film's "narrative boldness, visual audacity, and emotional directness." He noted the performances of Neeson, Fiennes, Kingsley, and Davidtz as warranting special praise, and calls the scene in the shower at Auschwitz "the most terrifying sequence ever filmed." In the 2013 edition of his Movie and Video Guide, Leonard Maltin awarded the picture a four-out-of-four-star rating; he described the film as a "staggering adaptation of Thomas Keneally's best-seller ... with such frenzied pacing that it looks and feels like nothing Hollywood has ever made before ... Spielberg's most intense and personal film to date." James Verniere of the Boston Herald noted the film's restraint and lack of sensationalism, and called it a "major addition to the body of work about the Holocaust." In his review for The New York Review of Books, British critic John Gross said his misgivings that the story would be overly sentimentalized "were altogether misplaced. Spielberg shows a firm moral and emotional grasp of his material. The film is an outstanding achievement." Mintz notes that even the film's harshest critics admire the "visual brilliance" of the fifteen-minute segment depicting the liquidation of the Kraków ghetto. He describes the sequence as "realistic" and "stunning." He points out that the film has done much to increase Holocaust remembrance and awareness as the remaining survivors pass away, severing the last living links with the catastrophe. The film's release in Germany led to widespread discussion about why most Germans did not do more to help.
Criticism of the film also appeared, mostly from academia rather than the popular press. Sara Horowitz points out that much of the Jewish activity seen in the ghetto consists of financial transactions such as lending money, trading on the black market, or hiding wealth, thus perpetuating a stereotypical view of Jewish life. Horowitz notes that while the depiction of women in the film accurately reflects Nazi ideology, the low status of women and the link between violence and sexuality is not explored further. History professor Omer Bartov of Brown University notes that the physically large and strongly drawn characters of Schindler and Göth overshadow the Jewish victims, who are depicted as small, scurrying, and frightened – a mere backdrop to the struggle of good versus evil.
Horowitz points out that the film's dichotomy of absolute good versus absolute evil glosses over the fact that most Holocaust perpetrators were ordinary people; the film does not explore how many Germans rationalized their knowledge of or participation in the Holocaust. Author Jason Epstein commented that the film gives the false impression that if people were smart enough or lucky enough, they could survive the Holocaust. Spielberg responded to criticism that Schindler's breakdown as he says farewell is too maudlin and even out of character by pointing out that the scene is needed to drive home the sense of loss and to allow the viewer an opportunity to mourn alongside the characters on the screen.
Bartov wrote that the "positively repulsive kitsch of the last two scenes seriously undermines much of the film's previous merits." He describes the humanization of Schindler as "banal", and is critical of what he describes as the "Zionist closure" set to the song "Jerusalem of Gold."
=== Assessment by other filmmakers ===
Schindler's List was very well received by many of Spielberg's peers. Filmmaker Billy Wilder wrote to Spielberg saying, "They couldn't have gotten a better man. This movie is absolutely perfection." Polanski, who turned down the chance to direct the film, later commented, "I certainly wouldn't have done as good a job as Spielberg because I couldn't have been as objective as he was." He cited Schindler's List as an influence on his 1994 film Death and the Maiden. Martin Scorsese, who passed the film back to Spielberg and stated his version had different ideas from the final film including a different ending, would later comment, "I admired the film greatly." The success of Schindler's List led filmmaker Stanley Kubrick to abandon his own Holocaust project, Aryan Papers, which would have been about a Jewish boy and his aunt who survive the war by sneaking through Poland while pretending to be Catholic. According to scriptwriter Frederic Raphael, when he suggested to Kubrick that Schindler's List was a good representation of the Holocaust, Kubrick commented, "Think that's about the Holocaust? That was about success, wasn't it? The Holocaust is about 6 million people who get killed. Schindler's List is about 600 who don't."
Filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard accused Spielberg of using the film to make a profit out of a tragedy while Schindler's wife, Emilie Schindler, lived in poverty in Argentina. Keneally disputed claims that she was never paid for her contributions, "not least because I had recently sent Emilie a check myself." He also confirmed with Spielberg's office that payment had been sent from there. Filmmaker Michael Haneke criticized the sequence in which Schindler's women are accidentally sent off to Auschwitz and herded into showers: "There's a scene in that film when we don't know if there's gas or water coming out in the showers in the camp. You can only do something like that with a naive audience like in the United States. It's not an appropriate use of the form. Spielberg meant well – but it was dumb."
Claude Lanzmann, the director of the nine-hour Holocaust documentary Shoah (1985), called Schindler's List a "kitschy melodrama" and a "deformation" of historical truth. "Fiction is a transgression, I am deeply convinced that there is a ban on depiction [of the Holocaust]", he said. Lanzmann also criticized Spielberg for viewing the Holocaust through the eyes of a German, saying "it is the world in reverse." He said: "I sincerely thought that there was a time before Shoah, and a time after Shoah, and that after Shoah certain things could no longer be done. Spielberg did them anyway."
=== Reaction of the Jewish community ===
At a 1994 Village Voice symposium about the film, historian Annette Insdorf described how her mother, a survivor of three concentration camps, felt gratitude that the Holocaust story was finally being told in a major film that would be widely viewed. Hungarian Jewish author Imre Kertész, a Holocaust survivor, feels it is impossible for life in a Nazi concentration camp to be accurately portrayed by anyone who did not experience it first-hand. While commending Spielberg for bringing the story to a wide audience, he found the film's final scene at the graveyard neglected the terrible after-effects of the experience on the survivors and implied that they came through emotionally unscathed. Rabbi Uri D. Herscher found the film an "appealing" and "uplifting" demonstration of humanitarianism. Norbert Friedman noted that, like many Holocaust survivors, he reacted with a feeling of solidarity towards Spielberg of a sort normally reserved for other survivors. Albert L. Lewis, Spielberg's childhood rabbi and teacher, described the film as "Steven's gift to his mother, to his people, and in a sense to himself. Now he is a full human being."
=== Box office ===
The film grossed $96.1 million ($214 million in 2025) in the United States and Canada and over $321.2 million worldwide. In Germany, the film was viewed by over 100,000 people in its first week alone from 48 screens and was eventually shown in 500 theaters (including 80 paid for by municipal authorities), with a total of six million admissions and a gross of $38 million. Its 25th anniversary showings grossed $551,000 in 1,029 theaters.
=== Accolades ===
Spielberg won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film for his work, and shared the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture with co-producers Branko Lustig and Gerald R. Molen. Steven Zaillian won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film also won the National Board of Review for Best Film, along with the National Society of Film Critics for Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Cinematography. Awards from the New York Film Critics Circle were also won for Best Film, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Cinematographer. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association awarded the film for Best Film, Best Cinematography (tied with The Piano), and Best Production Design. The film also won numerous other awards and nominations worldwide.
== Controversies ==
In Malaysia, the film was initially banned. The Film Censorship Board of Malaysia wrote to the film's distributor, saying:
The story reflects the privilege and virtues of a certain race only... The theme of the film is to reveal the brutality and cruelty of the Nazi soldiers to the Jews. It seems the illustration is propaganda with the purpose of asking for sympathy as well as to tarnish the other race.
The Prime Minister of Malaysia at the time, Mahathir Mohamad, said that Malaysians "have the right to ban any movie." He went on to say, "I'm not antisemitic... I'm anti-Zionist expansion (and) the conquest of Arab territories by Zionists."
The film was also banned in Indonesia, where the Committee for World Muslim Solidarity described it as "nothing but Zionist propaganda."
In the Philippines, chief censor Henrietta Mendez ordered cuts of three scenes depicting sexual intercourse and female nudity before the film could be shown in cinemas. Spielberg refused, and pulled the film from screening in Philippine cinemas, which prompted the Senate to demand the abolition of the censorship board. President Fidel V. Ramos himself intervened, ruling that the film could be shown uncut to anyone over the age of 15.
According to Slovak filmmaker Juraj Herz, the scene in which a group of women confuse an actual shower with a gas chamber is taken directly, shot by shot, from his film Zastihla mě noc (The Night Overtakes Me, 1986). Herz wanted to sue, but was unable to fund the case.
The song "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold") is featured in the film's soundtrack and plays near the end of the film. This caused some controversy in Israel, as the song (which was written in 1967 by Naomi Shemer) is widely considered an informal anthem of the Israeli victory in the Six-Day War. In Israeli prints of the film, the song was replaced with "Halikha LeKesariya" ("A Walk to Caesarea") by Hannah Szenes, a World War II resistance fighter.
For the 1997 American television showing, the film was broadcast virtually unedited with the Ford Motor Company serving as the film's sponsor. The telecast was the first to receive a TV-M (now TV-MA) rating under the TV Parental Guidelines that had been established earlier that year. Tom Coburn, then an Oklahoma congressman, said that in airing the film, NBC had brought television "to an all-time low, with full-frontal nudity, violence and profanity", adding that it was an insult to "decent-minded individuals everywhere." Under fire from both Republicans and Democrats, Coburn apologized, saying, "My intentions were good, but I've obviously made an error in judgment in how I've gone about saying what I wanted to say." He clarified his opinion, stating that the film ought to have been aired later at night when there would not be "large numbers of children watching without parental supervision."
Controversy arose in Germany for the film's television premiere on ProSieben. Protests among the Jewish community ensued when the station intended to televise it with two commercial breaks of 3–4 minutes each. Ignatz Bubis, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said: "It is problematic to interrupt such a movie by commercials." Jerzy Kanal, chairman of the Jewish Community of Berlin, added "It is obvious that the film could have a greater impact [on society] when broadcast unimpeded by commercials. The station has to do everything possible to broadcast the film without interruption." As a compromise, the broadcast included one break consisting of a short news update framed with commercials. ProSieben was also obliged to broadcast two accompanying documentaries to the film, showing "The daily lives of the Jews in Hebron and New York" prior to broadcast and "The survivors of the Holocaust" afterwards.
== Legacy ==
Schindler's List featured on a number of "best of" lists, including the TIME magazine's Top Hundred as selected by critics Richard Corliss and Richard Schickel, Time Out magazine's 100 Greatest Films Centenary Poll conducted in 1995, and Leonard Maltin's "100 Must See Movies of the Century." The Vatican included Schindler's List in its list of 45 important films – the latest-released entry to make the list. A Channel 4 poll named Schindler's List the ninth greatest film of all time, and it ranked fourth in their 2005 war films poll. The film was named the best of 1993 by critics such as James Berardinelli, Roger Ebert, and Gene Siskel. Deeming the film "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant", the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2004. In 2006, it was ranked 49th in Writers Guild of America West's list of 101 Greatest Screenplays. The film was shown at the Berlinale Film Festival in February 2023, at which Spielberg received an honorary Golden Bear award.
Due to the increased interest in Kraków created by the film, the city bought Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory in 2007 to create a permanent exhibition about the German occupation of the city from 1939 to 1945. The museum opened in June 2010.
A portion of Schindler's Brünnlitz factory became the Museum of Survivors, opening in May 2025, 80 years after the end of World War II. Daniel Löw-Beer, whose family owned the factory starting in 1854, started the Arks Foundation in 2019 to raise funds for the museum. Other buildings may also be restored. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Wimbledon_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_singles | 2002 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles | Lleyton Hewitt defeated David Nalbandian in the final, 6–1, 6–3, 6–2 to win the gentlemen's singles tennis title at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships. It was his second and last major title, after the 2001 US Open. Hewitt was the first Australian to win the title since Pat Cash in 1987.
Goran Ivanišević was the reigning champion, but withdrew due to a shoulder surgery. He would not return to Wimbledon until 2004.
The tournament was notable for the poor results of the top players. With the exception of Hewitt and world No. 4 Tim Henman, the rest of the top 17 seeds were eliminated before the fourth round. In one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history, seven-time champion Pete Sampras was defeated by № 145-ranked George Bastl in the second round, in what would be Sampras' last appearance at Wimbledon. The 1992 champion Andre Agassi suffered a second-round defeat to unseeded Paradorn Srichaphan. Future eight-time champion Roger Federer was defeated in the first round by qualifier Mario Ančić, his last defeat at Wimbledon until the 2008 final, spanning a record five straight Wimbledon titles between 2003 and 2007.
This marked the last Wimbledon appearance of 1996 champion Richard Krajicek, reaching the quarterfinals before losing to Xavier Malisse.
== Seeds ==
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.
The original #5 seed Tommy Haas withdrew for personal reasons before the tournament draw was made. All original seeds from 6-32 moved up one place, and a new #32 seed was added.
== Qualifying ==
== Draw ==
Key
=== Finals ===
=== Top half ===
==== Section 1 ====
==== Section 2 ====
==== Section 3 ====
==== Section 4 ====
=== Bottom half ===
==== Section 5 ====
==== Section 6 ====
==== Section 7 ====
==== Section 8 ==== |
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Alan_Menken | List of awards and nominations received by Alan Menken | This is a list of awards and nominations received by Alan Menken.
Alan Menken is an American composer known for his work on film, television and theater. Menken has been recognized with several accolades including 8 Academy Awards, 7 Golden Globe Awards, 11 Grammy Awards, a Daytime Emmy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for two BAFTA Awards, five Critics' Choice Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
For his work in film he earned 19 Academy Award nominations winning 8 Oscars for The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Pocahontas (1995). He also earned 16 Golden Globe Award nominations winning 7 awards. He has earned two British Academy Film Award nominations, and five Critics' Choice Movie Award nominations. For his work in theatre he received five Tony Award nominations winning once, and 2 Laurence Olivier Awards winning once. He also received 26 Grammy Awards nominations, winning 11 awards. For his work in television he has earned two Emmy Awards.
== Major awards ==
=== Academy Awards ===
=== BAFTA Awards ===
=== Critics' Choice Awards ===
=== Emmy Awards ===
=== Golden Globe Awards ===
=== Grammy Awards ===
=== Laurence Olivier Awards ===
=== Tony Awards ===
== Miscellaneous awards ==
== Special honors ==
=== Disney Legends Awards ===
=== Hollywood Walk of Fame ===
=== Songwriters Hall of Fame ===
1993 – Distinguished Alumni Award (given by New York University Association)
1998 – Kol Zimrah Award (given by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion)
1998 – Colleen Dewhurst Awards: "in recognition for outstanding contribution to the arts" (given by Northern Westchester Center for the Arts)
2000 – Presidential Medal (given by New York University)
2008 – Inductee: NYU Musical Theatre Hall of Fame
2009 – Lifetime Achievement Award (given during the Musical Awards)
2011 – Maestro Award (given by Billboard/The Hollywood Reporter Film and TV Conference)
2012 – Honors: "for extraordinary life achievement" (given by Encompass New Opera Theatre)
2013 – The Oscar Hammerstein Award (given by York Theatre Company)
2013 – Broadway Junior Honors: "in recognition for his contribution towards the advancement of musical theatre for young people"
2013 – Freddie G. Award for Musical Achievement (given during Junior Theatre Festival) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulona_manni | Mulona manni | Mulona manni is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae first described by William Dewitt Field in 1952. It is found on the Bahamas. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc. | Apple Inc. | Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley, best known for its consumer electronics, software and online services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Company by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, the company was incorporated by Jobs and Wozniak as Apple Computer, Inc. the following year. It was renamed to its current name in 2007 as the company had expanded its focus from computers to consumer electronics. Apple is one of the Big Tech companies.
The company was founded in 1976 to market Wozniak's Apple I personal computer. Its successor, the Apple II, became one of the first successful mass-produced microcomputers. Apple introduced the Lisa in 1983 and the Macintosh in 1984 as some of the first computers to use a graphical user interface and a mouse. By 1985, internal conflicts led to Jobs leaving the company to form NeXT and Wozniak withdrawing to other ventures; John Sculley served as CEO for over a decade. In the 1990s, Apple lost considerable market share in the personal computer industry to the lower-priced Wintel duopoly of Intel-powered PC clones running Microsoft Windows, and neared bankruptcy by 1997. To overhaul its market strategy, Apple acquired NeXT, bringing Jobs back to the company. Under his leadership, Apple returned to profitability by introducing the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad devices; creating the iTunes Store; launching the "Think different" advertising campaign; and opening the Apple Store retail chain. Jobs resigned in 2011 for health reasons, and died two months later; he was succeeded as CEO by Tim Cook.
Apple's product lineup includes portable and home hardware like the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, AirPods, and Apple TV; several in-house operating systems such as iOS, iPadOS, and macOS; and various software and services including Apple Pay and iCloud, as well as multimedia streaming services like Apple Music and Apple TV. Since 2011, Apple has for the most part been the world's largest company by market capitalization, and, as of 2024, is the largest manufacturing company by revenue, the fourth-largest personal computer vendor, the largest vendor of tablet computers, and the largest vendor of mobile phones. Apple became the first publicly traded US company to be valued at over $1 trillion in 2018, and, as of October 2025, is valued at just over $4 trillion.
Apple has received criticism regarding its contractors' labor conditions, its relationship with trade unions, its environmental practices, and its corporate ethics, including anti-competitive tactics, materials sourcing, and its acquisitions of smaller businesses. Nevertheless, the company has a large following and enjoys a high level of customer loyalty. Apple has consistently been ranked as one of the world's most valuable brands since the late 2000s.
== History ==
=== 1976–1980: Founding and incorporation ===
Apple Computer Company was founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne as a partnership. The company's first product was the Apple I, a computer designed and hand-built entirely by Wozniak. To finance its creation, Jobs sold his Volkswagen Bus, and Wozniak sold his HP-65 calculator. Neither received the full selling price, but together they earned $1,300 (equivalent to $7,400 in 2025). Wozniak debuted the first prototype Apple I at the Homebrew Computer Club in July 1976. The Apple I was sold as a motherboard with CPU, RAM, and basic textual-video chips—a base kit concept which was not yet marketed as a complete personal computer. It was priced soon after debut for $666.66 (equivalent to $3,800 in 2025). Wozniak later said he was unaware of the coincidental mark of the beast in the number 666, and that he came up with the price because he liked "repeating digits".
Apple Computer, Inc. was incorporated in Cupertino, California, on January 3, 1977, without Wayne, who had left and sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800 only twelve days after having co-founded it. Multimillionaire Mike Markkula provided essential business expertise and funding of $250,000 (equivalent to $1,328,000 in 2025) to Jobs and Wozniak during the incorporation of Apple. During the first five years of operations, revenue grew exponentially, doubling about every four months. Between September 1977 and September 1980, yearly sales grew from $775,000 to US$118 million, an average annual growth rate of 533%.
The Apple II, also designed by Wozniak, was introduced on April 16, 1977, at the first West Coast Computer Faire. It differed from its major rivals, the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, because of its character cell-based color graphics and open architecture. The Apple I and early Apple II models used ordinary audio cassette tapes as storage devices, which were superseded by the 5+1⁄4-inch floppy disk drive and interface called the Disk II in 1978.
The Apple II was chosen to be the desktop platform for the first killer application of the business world: VisiCalc, a spreadsheet program released in 1979. VisiCalc created a business market for the Apple II and gave home users an additional reason to buy an Apple II: compatibility with the office, but Apple II market share remained behind home computers made by competitors such as Atari, Commodore, and Tandy.
On December 12, 1980, Apple went public with an initial public offering (IPO) on the fully electronic Nasdaq stock market, selling 4.6 million shares at $22 per share ($.10 per share when adjusting for stock splits as of September 3, 2022), generating over $100 million, which was more capital than any IPO since Ford Motor Company in 1956. By the end of the day, around 300 millionaires were created, including Jobs and Wozniak, from a stock price of $29 per share and a market cap of $1.778 billion.
=== 1980–1990: Success with Macintosh ===
In November and December 1979, Steve Jobs and Apple employees, including Jef Raskin, visited Xerox PARC, where they observed the Xerox Alto, featuring a graphical user interface (GUI) and a mouse. Jobs had negotiated with Xerox in advance to gain access to PARC's technology, in exchange for the right to purchase $1 million worth of Apple's pre-IPO shares. This visit influenced Jobs to implement a GUI in Apple's products starting with the Apple Lisa in 1983, though he was forced out from the Lisa project during the early development. Despite being pioneering as a mass-marketed GUI computer, the Lisa suffered from high costs and limited software options, leading to commercial failure.
Following his removal from the Lisa team, Jobs joined the company's Macintosh division in January 1981. The Macintosh had been envisioned by Jef Raskin as a low-cost, portable computer and Wozniak had helped its development until a plane crash in early 1981 forced him to step back from the project. Wozniak's absence allowed Jobs to take over the project and he redefined the Macintosh as a mouse-driven GUI machine similar to the Lisa. Wozniak speculates that Jobs' sense of rivalry towards the Lisa project was the driving force behind this sudden shift in direction. Jobs was also hostile to the Apple II division, which at the time generated most of the company's revenue.
In 1984, Apple launched the Macintosh, the first personal computer without a bundled programming language. Its debut was signified by "1984", a US$1.5-million television advertisement directed by Ridley Scott that aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984. This was hailed as a watershed event for Apple's success and was called a "masterpiece" by CNN and one of the greatest TV advertisements of all time by TV Guide.
The advertisement created great interest in the Macintosh, and sales were initially good, but began to taper off dramatically after the first three months as reviews started coming in. Jobs had required 128 kilobytes of RAM, which limited its speed and software in favor of aspiring for a projected price point of $1,000 (equivalent to $3,100 in 2025). The Macintosh shipped for $2,495 (equivalent to $7,700 in 2025), a price panned by critics due to its slow performance. In early 1985, this sales slump triggered a power struggle between Steve Jobs and CEO John Sculley, who had been hired away from Pepsi two years earlier by Jobs saying, "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or come with me and change the world?" Sculley removed Jobs as the head of the Macintosh division, with unanimous support from the Apple board of directors.
The board of directors instructed Sculley to contain Jobs and his ability to launch expensive forays into untested products. Rather than submit to Sculley's direction, Jobs attempted to oust him from leadership. Jean-Louis Gassée informed Sculley that Jobs had been attempting to organize a boardroom coup, and called an emergency meeting at which Apple's executive staff sided with Sculley, and stripped Jobs of all operational duties. Jobs resigned from Apple in September 1985 and took several Apple employees with him to found NeXT. Wozniak had also quit his active employment at Apple earlier in 1985 to pursue other ventures, expressing his frustration with Apple's treatment of the Apple II division and stating that the company had "been going in the wrong direction for the last five years". Wozniak remained employed by Apple as a representative, receiving a stipend estimated to be $120,000 per year. Jobs and Wozniak remained Apple shareholders following their departures.
After the departures of Jobs and Wozniak in 1985, Sculley launched the Macintosh 512K that year with quadruple the RAM, and introduced the LaserWriter, the first reasonably priced PostScript-based laser printer. PageMaker, an early desktop publishing application taking advantage of the PostScript language, was also released by Aldus Corporation in July 1985. It has been suggested that the combination of Macintosh, LaserWriter, and PageMaker was responsible for the creation of the desktop publishing market.
This dominant position in the desktop publishing market allowed the company to focus on higher price points, the so-called "high-right policy" named for its position on a price–profits chart. Newer models selling at higher price points offered higher profit margin, and appeared to have no effect on total sales as power users snapped up every increase in speed. Although some worried about pricing themselves out of the market, the high-right policy was in full force by the mid-1980s, due to Jean-Louis Gassée's slogan of "fifty-five or die", referring to the 55% profit margins of the Macintosh II.
This policy began to backfire late in the decade as desktop publishing programs appeared on IBM PC compatibles with some of the same functionality of the Macintosh at far lower price points. The company lost its dominant position in the desktop publishing market and estranged many of its original consumer customer base who could no longer afford Apple products. The Christmas season of 1989 was the first in the company's history to have declining sales, which led to a 20% drop in Apple's stock price. During this period, the relationship between Sculley and Gassée deteriorated, leading Sculley to effectively demote Gassée in January 1990 by appointing Michael Spindler as the chief operating officer. Gassée left the company later that year to set up a rival, Be Inc.
=== 1990–1997: Decline and restructuring ===
The company pivoted strategy and, in October 1990, introduced three lower-cost models: the Macintosh Classic, the Macintosh LC, and the Macintosh IIsi, all of which generated significant sales due to pent-up demand. In 1991, Apple introduced the PowerBook, a commercially successful laptop whose clamshell design influenced later notebook computers. The same year, Apple introduced System 7, a major upgrade to the Macintosh operating system, adding color to the interface and introducing new networking capabilities.
The success of the lower-cost Macs and the PowerBook brought increasing revenue. For some time, Apple was doing very well, introducing fresh new products at increasing profits. The magazine MacAddict named the period between 1989 and 1991 as the "first golden age" of the Macintosh.
The success of lower-cost consumer Macs, especially the LC, cannibalized higher-priced machines. To address this, management introduced several new brands, selling largely identical machines at different price points, for different markets: the high-end Quadra series, the mid-range Centris series, and the consumer-marketed Performa series. This led to significant consumer confusion between so many models.
In 1993, the Apple II series was discontinued. It was expensive to produce, and the company decided it was still absorbing sales from lower-cost Macintosh models. After the launch of the LC, Apple encouraged developers to create applications for Macintosh rather than Apple II, and authorized salespersons to redirect consumers from Apple II and toward Macintosh. The Apple IIe was discontinued in 1993.
Apple experimented with several other unsuccessful consumer targeted products during the 1990s, including QuickTake digital cameras, PowerCD portable CD audio players, speakers, the Pippin video game console, the eWorld online service, and Apple Interactive Television Box. Apple made significant investments in the Newton tablet division; the Newton was later criticized for high costs and limited commercial success, and commentators have attributed the decision to start that division in part to market forecasts by CEO John Sculley.
Throughout this period, Microsoft continued to gain market share with Windows by focusing on delivering software to inexpensive personal computers, while Apple was delivering a richly engineered but expensive experience. Apple relied on high profit margins and never developed a clear response; it sued Microsoft for making a GUI similar to the Lisa in Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp. The lawsuit dragged on for years and was finally dismissed. The major product flops and the rapid loss of market share to Windows sullied Apple's reputation, and in 1993 Sculley was replaced as CEO by Michael Spindler.
Under Spindler, Apple, IBM, and Motorola formed the AIM alliance in 1994 to create a new computing platform (the PowerPC Reference Platform or PReP), with IBM and Motorola hardware coupled with Apple software. The AIM alliance hoped that PReP's performance and Apple's software would leave the PC far behind and thus counter the dominance of Windows. That year, Apple introduced the Power Macintosh, the first of many computers with Motorola's PowerPC processor.
In the wake of the alliance, Apple opened up to the idea of allowing Motorola and other companies to build Macintosh clones. Over the next two years, 75 distinct Macintosh clone models were introduced. However, by 1996, Apple executives were worried that the clones were cannibalizing sales of its own high-end computers, where profit margins were highest.
In 1996, Spindler was replaced as CEO by Gil Amelio, who was hired for his reputation as a corporate rehabilitator. Amelio made deep changes, including extensive layoffs and cost-cutting.
This period was also marked by numerous failed attempts to modernize the Macintosh operating system (the classic Mac OS). The original Macintosh operating system (System 1) was not built for multitasking (running several applications at once). The company attempted to correct this by introducing cooperative multitasking in System 5, but still decided it needed a more modern approach. This led to the Pink project in 1988, A/UX that same year, Copland in 1994, and evaluated the purchase of BeOS in 1996. Talks with Be stalled when the CEO, former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassée, demanded $300 million in contrast to Apple's $125-million offer. With Apple only weeks away from bankruptcy, the board preferred NeXTSTEP and purchased NeXT in late 1996 for $400 million, retaining Steve Jobs.
=== 1997–2007: Return to profitability ===
The NeXT acquisition was finalized on February 9, 1997, and the board brought Jobs back to Apple as an advisor. On July 9, 1997, Jobs staged a boardroom coup, which resulted in Amelio's resignation after overseeing a three-year record-low stock price and crippling financial losses. The board named Jobs as interim CEO and he immediately reviewed the product lineup. Jobs canceled 70% of models, ending 3,000 jobs and paring to the core of its computer offerings.
The next month, in August 1997, Steve Jobs convinced Microsoft to make a $150-million investment in Apple and a commitment to continue developing Mac software. This was seen as an "antitrust insurance policy" for Microsoft which had recently settled with the Department of Justice over anti-competitive practices in the United States v. Microsoft Corp. case. Around then, Jobs donated Apple's internal library and archives to Stanford University, to focus more on the present and the future rather than the past. He ended the Mac clone deals and in September 1997, purchased the largest clone maker, Power Computing. On November 10, 1997, the Apple Store website launched, which was tied to a new build-to-order manufacturing model similar to PC manufacturer Dell's success. The moves paid off for Jobs; at the end of his first year as CEO, the company had a $309-million profit.
On May 6, 1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one computer reminiscent of the original Macintosh: the iMac. The iMac sold 800,000 units in its first five months. It abandoned legacy technologies such as the 3+1⁄2-inch diskette, adopted the USB connector early, and came pre-installed with Internet connectivity (the 'i' in iMac) via Ethernet and a dial-up modem. Its striking teardrop shape and translucent materials were designed by Jonathan Ive, who had been hired by Amelio, and who collaborated with Jobs for more than a decade to reshape Apple's product design.
A little more than a year later on July 21, 1999, Apple introduced the iBook consumer laptop. It culminated Jobs's strategy to produce only four products: refined versions of the Power Macintosh G3 desktop and PowerBook G3 laptop for professionals, and the iMac desktop and iBook laptop for consumers. Jobs said the small product line allowed for a greater focus on quality and innovation.
Around then, Apple also completed numerous acquisitions to create a portfolio of digital media production software for both professionals and consumers. Apple acquired Macromedia's Key Grip digital video editing software project, which was launched as Final Cut Pro in April 1999. Key Grip's development also led to Apple's release of the consumer video-editing product iMovie in October 1999. Apple acquired the German company Astarte in April 2000, which had developed the DVD authoring software DVDirector, which Apple repackaged as the professional-oriented DVD Studio Pro, and reused its technology to create iDVD for the consumer market. In 2000, Apple purchased the SoundJam MP audio player software from Casady & Greene. Apple renamed the program iTunes, simplified the user interface and added CD burning.
In 2001, Apple changed course with three announcements. First, on March 24, 2001, Apple announced the release of a new modern operating system, Mac OS X. This was after numerous failed attempts in the early 1990s, and several years of development. Mac OS X is based on NeXTSTEP, OpenStep, and BSD Unix, to combine the stability, reliability, and security of Unix with the ease of use of an overhauled user interface. Second, in May 2001, the first two Apple Store retail locations opened in Virginia and California, offering an improved presentation of the company's products. At the time, many speculated that the stores would fail, but they later expanded to more than 500 locations worldwide. Third, on October 23, 2001, the iPod portable digital audio player debuted. The product was first sold on November 10, 2001, and sold over 100 million units within six years.
In 2003, the iTunes Store was introduced with music downloads for 99¢ a song and iPod integration. It quickly became the market leader in online music services, with over 5 billion downloads by June 19, 2008. Two years later, the iTunes Store was the world's largest music retailer.
In 2002, Apple purchased Nothing Real for its advanced digital compositing application Shake, and Emagic for the music productivity application Logic. The purchase of Emagic made Apple the first computer manufacturer to own a music software company. The acquisition was followed by the development of Apple's consumer-level GarageBand application. The release of iPhoto that year completed the iLife suite.
At the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address on June 6, 2005, Jobs announced that Apple would move away from PowerPC processors, and the Mac would transition to Intel processors in 2006. On January 10, 2006, the new MacBook Pro and iMac became the first Apple computers to use Intel's Core Duo CPU. By August 7, 2006, Apple made the transition to Intel chips for the entire Mac product line—over one year sooner than announced. The Power Mac, iBook, and PowerBook brands were retired during the transition; the Mac Pro, MacBook, and MacBook Pro became their respective successors. Apple also introduced Boot Camp in 2006 to help users install Windows XP or Windows Vista on their Intel Macs alongside Mac OS X.
Between early 2003 and 2006, the price of Apple's stock increased more than tenfold, from around $6 per share (split-adjusted) to over $80. When Apple surpassed Dell's market cap in January 2006, Jobs sent an email to Apple employees saying Dell's CEO Michael Dell should eat his words. Nine years prior, Dell had said that if he ran Apple he would "shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders".
=== 2007–2011: Success with mobile devices ===
During his keynote speech at the Macworld Expo on January 9, 2007, Jobs announced the renaming of Apple Computer, Inc. to Apple Inc., because the company had broadened its focus from computers to consumer electronics. This event also saw the announcement of the iPhone and the Apple TV. The company sold 270,000 first-generation iPhones during the first 30 hours of sales, and some industry commentators described the device as "a game changer for the industry".
In an article posted on Apple's website on February 6, 2007, Jobs wrote that Apple would be willing to sell music on the iTunes Store without digital rights management, thereby allowing tracks to be played on third-party players if record labels would agree to drop the technology. On April 2, 2007, Apple and EMI jointly announced the removal of DRM technology from EMI's catalog in the iTunes Store, effective in May 2007. Other record labels eventually followed suit and Apple published a press release in January 2009 to announce that all songs on the iTunes Store are available without their FairPlay DRM.
In July 2008, Apple launched the App Store to sell third-party applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Within a month, the store sold 60 million applications and registered an average daily revenue of $1 million, with Jobs speculating in August 2008 that the App Store could become a billion-dollar business for Apple. By October 2008, Apple was the third-largest mobile handset supplier in the world due to the popularity of the iPhone.
On January 14, 2009, Jobs announced in an internal memo that he would be taking a six-month medical leave of absence from Apple until the end of June 2009 and would spend the time focusing on his health. In the email, Jobs stated that "the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well", and explained that the break would allow the company "to focus on delivering extraordinary products". Though Jobs was absent, Apple recorded its best non-holiday quarter (Q1 FY 2009) during the recession, with revenue of $8.16 billion and profit of $1.21 billion.
After years of speculation and multiple rumored "leaks", Apple unveiled a large screen, tablet-like media device known as the iPad on January 27, 2010. The iPad ran the same touch-based operating system as the iPhone, and all iPhone apps were compatible with the iPad. This gave the iPad a large app catalog on launch, though having very little development time before the release. Later that year on April 3, 2010, the iPad was launched in the US. It sold more than 300,000 units on its first day, and 500,000 by the end of the first week. In May 2010, Apple's market cap exceeded that of competitor Microsoft for the first time since 1989.
In June 2010, Apple released the iPhone 4, which introduced video calling using FaceTime, multitasking, and a new design with an exposed stainless steel frame as the phone's antenna system. Later that year, Apple again refreshed the iPod line by introducing a multi-touch iPod Nano, an iPod Touch with FaceTime, and an iPod Shuffle that brought back the clickwheel buttons of earlier generations. It also introduced the smaller, cheaper second-generation Apple TV which allowed the rental of movies and shows.
On January 17, 2011, Jobs announced in an internal Apple memo that he would take another medical leave of absence for an indefinite period to allow him to focus on his health. Chief operating officer Tim Cook assumed Jobs's day-to-day operations at Apple, although Jobs would still remain "involved in major strategic decisions". Apple became the most valuable consumer-facing brand in the world, and has consistently been among the most valuable brands since then. In June 2011, Jobs took the stage and unveiled iCloud, an online storage and syncing service for music, photos, files, and software which replaced MobileMe, Apple's previous attempt at content syncing. This would be the last product launch Jobs would attend before his death.
On August 24, 2011, Jobs resigned his position as CEO of Apple. He was replaced by Cook and Jobs became Apple's chairman. Apple did not have a chairman at the time and instead had two co-lead directors, Andrea Jung and Arthur D. Levinson, who continued with those titles until Levinson replaced Jobs as chairman of the board in November after Jobs's death.
=== 2011–2020: Post-Jobs era, new devices ===
On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs died, marking the end of an era for Apple. The next major product announcement by Apple was on January 19, 2012, when Apple's Phil Schiller introduced iBooks Textbooks for iOS and iBooks Author for Mac OS X in New York City. Jobs stated in the biography Steve Jobs that he wanted to reinvent the textbook industry and education.
From 2011 to 2012, Apple released the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, which featured improved cameras, an intelligent software assistant named Siri, and cloud-synced data with iCloud; the third- and fourth-generation iPads, which featured Retina displays; and the iPad Mini, which featured a 7.9-inch screen in contrast to the iPad's 9.7-inch screen. These launches were successful, with the iPhone 5 (released September 21, 2012) becoming Apple's biggest iPhone launch with over two million pre-orders and sales of three million iPads in three days following the launch of the iPad Mini and fourth-generation iPad (released November 3, 2012). Apple also released a third-generation 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display and new iMac and Mac Mini computers.
On August 20, 2012, Apple's rising stock price increased the company's market capitalization to a then-record $624 billion. This beat the non-inflation-adjusted record for market capitalization previously set by Microsoft in 1999. On August 24, 2012, a US jury ruled that Samsung should pay Apple $1.05 billion (£665m) in damages in an intellectual property lawsuit. Samsung appealed the damages award, which was reduced by $450 million and further granted Samsung's request for a new trial. On November 10, 2012, Apple confirmed a global settlement that dismissed all existing lawsuits between Apple and HTC up to that date, in favor of a ten-year license agreement for current and future patents between the two companies. It is predicted that Apple will make US$280 million per year from this deal with HTC.
In May 2014, Apple confirmed its intent to acquire Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine's audio company Beats Electronics, producer of the "Beats by Dr. Dre" line of headphones and speaker products, and operator of the music streaming service Beats Music, for US$3 billion, and to sell their products through Apple's retail outlets and resellers. Iovine believed that Beats had always "belonged" with Apple, as the company modeled itself after Apple's "unmatched ability to marry culture and technology". The acquisition was the largest purchase in Apple's history.
During a press event on September 9, 2014, Apple introduced a smartwatch called the Apple Watch. Initially, Apple marketed the device as a fashion accessory and a complement to the iPhone, that would allow people to look at their smartphones less. Over time, the company has focused on developing health and fitness-oriented features on the watch, in an effort to compete with dedicated activity trackers. In January 2016, Apple announced that over one billion Apple devices were in active use worldwide.
On June 6, 2016, Fortune released Fortune 500, its list of companies ranked on revenue generation. In the trailing fiscal year of 2015, Apple was listed as the top tech company. It ranked third, overall, with US$233 billion in revenue. This represents a movement upward of two spots from the previous year's list.
In June 2017, Apple announced the HomePod, its smart speaker aimed to compete against Sonos, Google Home, and Amazon Echo. Toward the end of the year, TechCrunch reported that Apple was acquiring Shazam, a company that introduced its products at WWDC and specializing in music, TV, film and advertising recognition. The acquisition was confirmed a few days later, reportedly costing Apple US$400 million, with media reports that the purchase looked like a move to acquire data and tools bolstering the Apple Music streaming service. The purchase was approved by the European Union in September 2018.
Also in June 2017, Apple appointed Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg to head the newly formed worldwide video unit. In November 2017, Apple announced it was branching out into original scripted programming: a drama series starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, and a reboot of the anthology series Amazing Stories with Steven Spielberg. In June 2018, Apple signed the Writers Guild of America's minimum basic agreement and Oprah Winfrey to a multi-year content partnership. Additional partnerships for original series include Sesame Workshop and DHX Media and its subsidiary Peanuts Worldwide, and a partnership with A24 to create original films.
During the Apple Special Event in September 2017, the AirPower wireless charger was announced alongside the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and Watch Series 3. The AirPower was intended to wirelessly charge multiple devices, simultaneously. Though initially set to release in early 2018, the AirPower would be canceled in March 2019, marking the first cancellation of a device under Cook's leadership. On August 19, 2020, Apple's share price briefly topped $467.77, making it the first US company with a market capitalization of US$2 trillion.
=== 2020–2024: Transition from Intel CPUs, legal compliance and settlements ===
During its annual WWDC keynote speech on June 22, 2020, Apple announced it would move away from Intel processors, and the Mac would transition to processors developed in-house. The announcement was expected by industry analysts, and it has been noted that Macs featuring Apple's processors would allow for big increases in performance over current Intel-based models. On November 10, 2020, the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and the Mac Mini became the first Macs powered by an Apple-designed processor, the Apple M1.
In April 2022, it was reported that Samsung Electro-Mechanics would be collaborating with Apple on its M2 chip instead of LG Innotek. Developer logs showed that at least nine Mac models with four different M2 chips were being tested.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple's effort to develop its own chips left it better prepared to deal with the semiconductor shortage that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to increased profitability, with sales of M1-based Mac computers rising sharply in 2020 and 2021. It also inspired other companies like Tesla, Amazon, and Meta Platforms to pursue a similar path.
In April 2022, Apple opened an online store that allowed anyone in the US to view repair manuals and order replacement parts for specific recent iPhones, although the difference in cost between this method and official repair is anticipated to be minimal.
In May 2022, a trademark was filed for RealityOS, an operating system reportedly intended for virtual and augmented reality headsets, first mentioned in 2017. According to Bloomberg, the headset may come out in 2023. Further insider reports state that the device uses iris scanning for payment confirmation and signing into accounts. In June 2023, Apple formally announced its first mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro, which ran its new visionOS operating system. The headset was released in February of the following year.
On June 18, 2022, the Apple Store in Towson, Maryland, became the first to unionize in the US, with the employees voting to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
On July 7, 2022, Apple added Lockdown Mode to macOS 13 and iOS 16, as a response to the earlier Pegasus revelations; the mode increases security protections for high-risk users against targeted zero-day malware.
Apple launched a buy now, pay later service called 'Apple Pay Later' for its Apple Wallet users in March 2023. The program allows its users to apply for loans between $50 and $1,000 to make online or in-app purchases and then repaying them through four installments spread over six weeks without any interest or fees.
In November 2023, Apple agreed to a $25-million settlement in a US Department of Justice case that alleged Apple was discriminating against US citizens in hiring. Apple created jobs that were not listed online and that required a paper submission application, while advertising these jobs to foreign workers as part of recruitment for PERM.
In January 2024, Apple announced compliance with the European Union's competition law, with major changes to the App Store and other services, effective on March 7. This enables iOS users in the 27-nation bloc to use alternative app stores, and alternative payment methods within apps. This adds a menu in Safari for downloading alternative browsers, such as Chrome or Firefox.
In June 2024, Apple introduced Apple Intelligence to incorporate on-device artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
On November 1, 2024, Apple announced its acquisition of Pixelmator, a company known for its image editing applications for iPhone and Mac. Apple had previously showcased Pixelmator's apps during its product launches, including naming Pixelmator Pro its Mac App of the Year in 2018 for its innovative use of machine learning and AI. In the announcement, Pixelmator stated that there would be no significant changes to its existing apps following the acquisition.
On December 31, 2024, a preliminary settlement was filed in the Oakland California federal court that accused Apple of unlawfully recording private conversations, through unintentional Siri activations, and of sharing them with third parties, including advertisers. Apple agreed to a $95-million cash settlement to resolve this lawsuit in which its Siri assistant violated user privacy. While denying any wrongdoing, Apple settled the case, allowing affected users to potentially claim up to $20 per device. Attorneys sought $28.5 million in fees from the settlement fund.
=== 2025–present: Domestic investment, integrating AI capabilities into products and challenges ===
In 2025, Apple undertook its largest investment initiative to date, announcing a commitment to spend over $500 billion in the United States over the following four years. This extensive strategy includes the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Houston to produce servers supporting Apple Intelligence, expansion of research and development in fields like silicon engineering and AI, and the establishment of a new advanced manufacturing academy in Detroit. The company also pledged to double its US Advanced Manufacturing Fund and increase collaboration with American suppliers, aiming to create tens of thousands of jobs related to R&D, AI, and manufacturing technologies.
The software landscape at Apple underwent a transformation in 2025. At its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple introduced the new "Liquid Glass" design language, rolled out unified system design updates across iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe, and other platforms, and significantly expanded the capabilities of "Apple Intelligence", the company's personal AI system. According to Apple, these updates were intended to address previous criticisms of fragmented interfaces and to use on‑device and cloud‑based AI to improve privacy and user experience.
Despite continued growth in its services sector, including a new all-time high for services revenue in the March quarter and the launch of updated models such as the iPhone 16e and M4 MacBook Air, Apple faced significant challenges. The company contended with a 19% decline in stock value year-to-date, ongoing antitrust investigations by the US Department of Justice, and legal disputes involving the App Store. Competition in the AI space escalated, with rivals gaining ground. High-profile departures and political tensions, including calls for Apple to manufacture iPhones domestically or face tariffs, added to the pressure, have been cited by analysts as contributing to a difficult year for CEO Tim Cook.
In December 2025, Cook met with US House members to push back against the App Store Accountability Act which could require that Apple authenticates users' ages and possibly collect sensitive data on children.
On January 12, 2026, Apple announced a partnership with Google Gemini for AI-powered Siri.
In January 2026, Apple acquired Q.ai, an Israeli artificial intelligence startup specializing in imaging and machine learning technologies for audio processing. The financial terms were not disclosed, though media reports estimated the acquisition at nearly US$2 billion; this is Apple's second-largest purchase to date. Following the deal, Q.ai's founders and approximately 100 employees joined Apple.
In February 2026, U.S. lawmakers requested that the United Kingdom government provide a briefing on its now-rescinded order for Apple to build a backdoor into its encrypted devices, expressing concerns about privacy and security implications of such access.
In March 2026, Apple launched the M5 chips in new MacBooks, allowing for bigger base storage.
== Products ==
Since the company's founding and into the early 2000s, Apple primarily sold computers, which are marketed as Macintosh since the mid-1980s. Since then, the company has expanded its product categories to include various portable devices, starting with the now discontinued iPod (2001), and later with the iPhone (2007) and iPad (2010). Apple also sells several other products that it categorizes as "Wearables, Home and Accessories", such as the Apple Watch, Apple TV, AirPods, HomePod, and Apple Vision Pro.
Commentators have described Apple devices as forming a cohesive ecosystem when used together, and have also criticized them for reduced functionality or fewer features when used with competing devices, and for reliance on Apple's proprietary features, software, and services— an approach often described as a "walled garden". As of 2023, there were over 2 billion Apple devices in active use worldwide.
=== Mac ===
Mac, which is short for Macintosh, its official name until 1999, is Apple's line of personal computers that use the company's proprietary macOS operating system. Personal computers were Apple's original business line, but as of the end of 2024 they account for only about eight percent of the company's revenue.
There are six Mac computer families in production:
iMac: Consumer all-in-one desktop computer, introduced in 1998.
Mac Mini: Consumer sub-desktop computer, introduced in 2005.
MacBook Pro: Professional notebook, introduced in 2006.
Mac Pro: Professional workstation, introduced in 2006.
MacBook Air: Consumer ultra-thin notebook, introduced in 2008.
Mac Studio: Professional small form-factor workstation, introduced in 2022.
MacBook Neo: Low-cost ultra-thin notebook, introduced in 2026.
Macs use Apple silicon chips, run the macOS operating system, and include Apple software like the Safari web browser, iMovie for home movie editing, GarageBand for music creation, and the iWork productivity suite. Apple also sells pro apps: Final Cut Pro for video production, Logic Pro for musicians and producers, and Xcode for software developers. Apple also sells a variety of accessories for Macs, including the Studio Display and Studio Display XDR, Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard.
=== iPhone ===
The iPhone is Apple's line of smartphones, which run the iOS operating system. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007. Since then, new iPhone models have been released every year. When it was introduced, its multi-touch screen was described as "revolutionary" and a "game-changer" for the mobile phone industry. The device has been credited with creating the app economy.
iOS is one of the two major smartphone platforms in the world, alongside Android. The iPhone has generated large profits for the company, and is credited with helping to make Apple one of the world's most valuable publicly traded companies. As of the end of 2024, the iPhone accounts for nearly half of the company's revenue.
=== iPad ===
The iPad is Apple's line of tablets, which run iPadOS. The first-generation iPad was announced on January 27, 2010. The iPad is mainly marketed for consuming multimedia, creating art, working on documents, videoconferencing, and playing games. The iPad lineup consists of several base iPad models, and the smaller iPad Mini, upgraded iPad Air, and high-end iPad Pro. Apple has consistently improved the iPad's performance, with the iPad Pro adopting the same M-series chips as the Mac; but the iPad still receives criticism for its limited OS.
As of September 2020, Apple has sold more than 500 million iPads, though sales peaked in 2013. The iPad still remains the most popular tablet computer by sales as of the second quarter of 2020, and accounted for seven percent of the company's revenue as of the end of 2024. Apple sells several iPad accessories, including the Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard, Smart Keyboard Folio, Magic Keyboard, and several adapters.
=== Other products ===
Apple makes several other products that it categorizes as "Wearables, Home and Accessories". These products include the AirPods line of wireless headphones, Apple TV digital media players, Apple Watch smartwatches, Beats headphones, HomePod smart speakers, and the Vision Pro mixed reality headset. As of the end of 2024, this broad line of products comprises about ten percent of the company's revenues.
=== Services ===
Apple offers a broad line of services, including advertising in the App Store and Apple News app, the AppleCare+ extended warranty plan, the iCloud+ cloud-based data storage service, payment services through the Apple Card credit card and the Apple Pay processing platform, digital content services including Apple Books, Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, Apple News+, Apple TV (formerly TV+), and the iTunes Store. Apple also provides Apple One, which is a bundle of these services. As of the end of 2024, services comprise about 26% of the company's revenue. In 2019, Apple announced it would be making a concerted effort to expand its service revenues.
== Marketing ==
=== Branding ===
According to Steve Jobs, the company's name was inspired by his visit to an apple farm while on a fruitarian diet. Apple's first logo, designed by Ron Wayne, depicts Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. It was almost immediately replaced by Rob Janoff's "rainbow Apple", the now-familiar rainbow-colored silhouette of an apple with a bite taken out of it. This logo has been erroneously referred to as a tribute to Alan Turing, with the bite mark a reference to his method of suicide.
On August 27, 1999, Apple officially dropped the rainbow scheme and began to use monochromatic logos nearly identical in shape to the previous rainbow incarnation. An Aqua-themed version of the monochrome logo was used from 1997 until 2003, and a glass-themed version was used from 2007 until 2013.
Apple evangelists were actively engaged by the company at one time, but this was after the phenomenon had already been firmly established. Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki has called the brand fanaticism "something that was stumbled upon", while Jonathan Ive claimed in 2014 that "people have an incredibly personal relationship" with Apple's products.
Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and in the world from 2008 to 2012. On September 30, 2013, Apple surpassed Coca-Cola to become the world's most valuable brand in the Omnicom Group's "Best Global Brands" report. Boston Consulting Group has ranked Apple as the world's most innovative brand every year as of 2005. As of January 2021, 1.65 billion Apple products were in active use. In February 2023, that number exceeded 2 billion devices. In 2023, the World Intellectual Property Organization's Madrid Yearly Review ranked Apple's number of trademark applications, filled under the Madrid System, as 10th in the world, with 74 trademark applications submitted during 2023.
Apple was ranked the No. 3 company in the world in the 2024 Fortune 500 list.
=== Advertising ===
Apple's first slogan, "Byte into an Apple", was coined in the late 1970s. From 1997 to 2002, the slogan "Think different" was used in advertising campaigns, and is still closely associated with Apple. Apple also has slogans for specific product lines—for example, "iThink, therefore iMac" was used in 1998 to promote the iMac, and "Say hello to iPhone" has been used in iPhone advertisements. "Hello" was also used to introduce the original Macintosh, Newton, iMac ("hello (again)"), and iPod.
From the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984, with the 1984 Super Bowl advertisement to the more modern Get a Mac adverts, Apple has been recognized for its efforts toward effective advertising and marketing for its products. However, claims made by later campaigns were criticized, particularly the 2005 Power Mac ads. Apple's product advertisements gained significant attention as a result of their graphics and song choice. Musicians who benefited from an improved profile as a result of their songs being included on Apple advertisements include Canadian singer Feist with the song "1234" and Yael Naïm with the song "New Soul".
=== Stores ===
The first Apple Stores were originally opened as two locations in May 2001 by then-CEO Steve Jobs, after years of attempting but failing store-within-a-store concepts. Seeing a need for improved retail presentation of the company's products, he began an effort in 1997 to revamp the retail program to get an improved relationship to consumers, and hired Ron Johnson in 2000. Jobs relaunched Apple's online store in 1997, and opened the first two physical stores in 2001. The media initially speculated that Apple would fail, but they exceeded the sales numbers of competing nearby stores, and within three years reached US$1 billion in annual sales, becoming the fastest retailer in history to do so.
Over the years, Apple has expanded the number of retail locations and its geographical coverage, with 499 stores across 22 countries worldwide as of December 2017. Strong product sales have placed Apple among the top-tier retail stores, with sales over $16 billion globally in 2011. Apple Stores underwent a period of significant redesign, beginning in May 2016. This redesign included physical changes to the Apple Stores, such as open spaces and re-branded rooms, and changes in function to facilitate interaction between consumers and professionals.
Many Apple Stores are located inside shopping malls, but Apple has built several stand-alone "flagship" stores in high-profile locations. It has been granted design patents and received architectural awards for its stores' designs and construction, specifically for its use of glass staircases and cubes. The success of Apple Stores have had significant influence over other consumer electronics retailers, who have lost traffic, control and profits due to a perceived higher quality of service and products at Apple Stores. Due to the popularity of the brand, Apple receives a large number of job applications, many of which come from young workers. Although Apple Store employees receive above-average pay, are offered money toward education and health care, and receive product discounts, there are limited or no paths of career advancement.
=== Market power ===
On March 16, 2020, France fined Apple €1.1 billion for colluding with two wholesalers to stifle competition and keep prices high by impeding independent resellers. The arrangement created aligned prices for Apple products such as iPads and personal computers for about half the French retail market. According to the French regulators, the abuses occurred between 2005 and 2017 but were first discovered after a complaint by an independent reseller, eBizcuss, in 2012.
On August 13, 2020, Epic Games, the maker of the popular game Fortnite, sued both Apple and Google after Fortnite was removed from Apple's and Google's app stores. The lawsuits came after Apple and Google blocked the game after it introduced a direct payment system that bypassed the fees that Apple and Google had imposed. In September 2020, Epic Games founded the Coalition for App Fairness together with thirteen other companies, which aims for better conditions for the inclusion of apps in the app stores. Later, in December 2020, Facebook agreed to assist Epic in their legal game against Apple, planning to support the company by providing materials and documents to Epic. Facebook had, however, stated that the company would not participate directly with the lawsuit, although did commit to helping with the discovery of evidence relating to the trial of 2021. In the months prior to their agreement, Facebook had been dealing with feuds against Apple relating to the prices of paid apps and privacy rule changes. Head of ad products for Facebook Dan Levy commented, saying that "this is not really about privacy for them, this is about an attack on personalized ads and the consequences it's going to have on small-business owners," commenting on the full-page ads placed by Facebook in various newspapers in December 2020.
=== Privacy ===
Apple has publicly taken a pro-privacy stance, actively making privacy-conscious features and settings part of its conferences, promotional campaigns, and public image. With its iOS 8 mobile operating system in 2014, the company started encrypting all contents of iOS devices through users' passcodes, making it impossible at the time for the company to provide customer data to law enforcement requests seeking such information. With the popularity rise of cloud storage solutions, Apple began a technique in 2016 to do deep learning scans for facial data in photos on the user's local device and encrypting the content before uploading it to Apple's iCloud storage system. It also introduced "differential privacy", a way to collect crowdsourced data from many users, while keeping individual users anonymous, in a system that Wired described as "trying to learn as much as possible about a group while learning as little as possible about any individual in it". Users are explicitly asked if they want to participate, and can actively opt-in or opt-out.
However, Apple has aided law enforcement in criminal investigations by providing iCloud backups of users' devices, and the company's commitment to privacy has been questioned by its efforts to promote biometric authentication technology in its newer iPhone models, which do not have the same level of constitutional privacy as a passcode in the United States.
With Apple's release of an update to iOS 14, Apple required all developers of iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch applications to directly ask iPhone users permission to track them. The feature, called "App Tracking Transparency", received heavy criticism from Facebook, whose primary business model revolves around the tracking of users' data and sharing such data with advertisers so users can see more relevant ads, a technique commonly known as targeted advertising. After Facebook's measures, including purchasing full-page newspaper advertisements protesting App Tracking Transparency, Apple released the update in early 2021. A study by Verizon subsidiary Flurry Analytics reported only 4% of iOS users in the United States and 12% worldwide have opted into tracking.
Prior to the release of iOS 15, Apple announced new efforts at combating child sexual abuse material on iOS and Mac platforms. Parents of minor iMessage users can now be alerted if their child sends or receives nude photographs. Additionally, on-device hashing would take place on media destined for upload to iCloud, and hashes would be compared to a list of known abusive images provided by law enforcement; if enough matches were found, Apple would be alerted and authorities informed. The new features received praise from law enforcement and victims rights advocates. However, privacy advocates, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, condemned the new features as invasive and highly prone to abuse by authoritarian governments.
Ireland's Data Protection Commission launched a privacy investigation to examine whether Apple complied with the EU's GDPR law following an investigation into how the company processes personal data with targeted ads on its platform.
In December 2019, security researcher Brian Krebs discovered that the iPhone 11 Pro would still show the arrow indicator –signifying location services are being used– at the top of the screen while the main location services toggle is enabled, despite all individual location services being disabled. Krebs was unable to replicate this behavior on older models and when asking Apple for comment, he was told by Apple that "It is expected behavior that the Location Services icon appears in the status bar when Location Services is enabled. The icon appears for system services that do not have a switch in Settings."
Apple later further clarified that this behavior was to ensure compliance with ultra-wideband regulations in specific countries, a technology Apple started implementing in iPhones starting with iPhone 11 Pro, and emphasized that "the management of ultra wideband compliance and its use of location data is done entirely on the device and Apple is not collecting user location data." Will Strafach, an executive at security firm Guardian Firewall, confirmed the lack of evidence that location data was sent off to a remote server. Apple promised to add a new toggle for this feature and in later iOS revisions Apple provided users with the option to tap on the location services indicator in Control Center to see which specific service is using the device's location.
According to published reports by Bloomberg News on March 30, 2022, Apple turned over data such as phone numbers, physical addresses, and IP addresses to hackers posing as law enforcement officials using forged documents. The law enforcement requests sometimes included forged signatures of real or fictional officials. When asked about the allegations, an Apple representative referred the reporter to a section of the company policy for law enforcement guidelines, which stated, "We review every data request for legal sufficiency and use advanced systems and processes to validate law enforcement requests and detect abuse."
== Corporate affairs ==
=== Business trends ===
The key trends for Apple are, as of each financial year ending September 24:
=== Leadership ===
==== Senior management ====
As of March 9, 2026, the management of Apple includes:
Tim Cook (chief executive officer)
Sabih Khan (chief operating officer)
Kevan Parekh (senior vice president and chief financial officer)
Katherine L. Adams (senior vice president - Government Affairs)
Eddy Cue (senior vice president – Services and Health)
Craig Federighi (senior vice president – Software Engineering)
Greg Joswiak (senior vice president – Worldwide Marketing)
Jennifer Newstead (senior vice president and General Counsel)
Deirdre O'Brien (senior vice president – Retail + People)
Johny Srouji (senior vice president – Hardware Technologies)
John Ternus (senior vice president – Hardware Engineering)
==== Board of directors ====
As of January 3, 2025, the board of directors of Apple includes:
Arthur D. Levinson (chairman)
Tim Cook (executive director and CEO)
Wanda Austin
Alex Gorsky
Andrea Jung
Monica Lozano
Ronald Sugar
Susan Wagner
==== Previous CEOs ====
Michael Scott (1977–1981)
Mike Markkula (1981–1983)
John Sculley (1983–1993)
Michael Spindler (1993–1996)
Gil Amelio (1996–1997)
Steve Jobs (1997–2011)
=== Ownership ===
As of December 31, 2025, the largest shareholders of Apple were:
The Vanguard Group (1,430,000,000 shares, 9.72%)
BlackRock (1,150,000,000 shares, 7.86%)
State Street Corporation (604,060,000 shares, 4.11%)
Geode Capital Management (358,030,000 shares, 2.44%)
Fidelity Investments (307,400,000 shares, 2.09%)
Morgan Stanley (230,480,000 shares, 1.57%)
Berkshire Hathaway (227,920,000 shares, 1.55%)
JPMorgan Chase (225,420,000 shares, 1.54%)
T. Rowe Price (203,500,000 shares, 1.39%)
Norges Bank (192,260,000 shares, 1.31%)
=== Corporate culture ===
Apple is one of several highly successful companies founded in the 1970s that bucked the traditional notions of corporate culture. Jobs often walked around the office barefoot even after Apple became a Fortune 500 company. By the time of the "1984" television advertisement, Apple's informal culture had become a key trait that differentiated it from its competitors. According to a 2011 report in Fortune, this has resulted in a corporate culture more akin to a startup rather than a multinational corporation. In a 2017 interview, Wozniak credited watching Star Trek and attending Star Trek conventions in his youth as inspiration for co-founding Apple.
As the company has grown and been led by a series of differently opinionated chief executives, some media have suggested that it has lost some of its original character. Nonetheless, it has maintained a reputation for fostering individuality and excellence that reliably attracts talented workers, particularly after Jobs returned. Numerous Apple employees have stated that projects without Jobs's involvement often took longer than others.
The Apple Fellows program awards employees for extraordinary technical or leadership contributions to personal computing. Recipients include Bill Atkinson, Steve Capps, Rod Holt, Alan Kay, Guy Kawasaki, Al Alcorn, Don Norman, Rich Page, Steve Wozniak, and Phil Schiller.
Jobs intended that employees were to be specialists who are not exposed to functions outside their area of expertise. For instance, Ron Johnson—Senior Vice President of Retail Operations until November 1, 2011—was responsible for site selection, in-store service, and store layout, yet had no control of the inventory in his stores. This was done by Tim Cook, who had a background in supply-chain management. Apple is known for strictly enforcing accountability. Each project has a "directly responsible individual" or "DRI" in Apple jargon. Unlike other major US companies, Apple provides a relatively simple compensation policy for executives that does not include perks enjoyed by other CEOs like country club fees or private use of company aircraft. The company typically grants stock options to executives every other year.
In 2015, Apple had 110,000 full-time employees. This increased to 116,000 full-time employees the next year, a notable hiring decrease, largely due to its first revenue decline. Apple does not specify how many of its employees work in retail, though its 2014 SEC filing put the number at approximately half of its employee base. In September 2017, Apple announced that it had over 123,000 full-time employees.
Apple has a strong culture of corporate secrecy, and has an anti-leak Global Security team that recruits from the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Secret Service. In December 2017, Glassdoor said Apple was the 48th best place to work, having originally entered at rank 19 in 2009, peaking at rank 10 in 2012, and falling down the ranks in subsequent years. In 2023, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman revealed the existence of Apple's Exploratory Design Group (XDG), which was working to add glucose monitoring to the Apple Watch. Gurman compared XDG to Alphabet's X "moonshot factory".
=== Offices ===
Apple's world corporate headquarters are located in Cupertino, in the middle of California's Silicon Valley, at Apple Park, a massive circular groundscraper building with a circumference of one mile (1.6 km). The building opened in April 2017 and houses more than 12,000 employees. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs wanted Apple Park to look less like a business park and more like a nature refuge, and personally appeared before the Cupertino City Council in June 2011 to make the proposal, in his final public appearance before his death.
Apple also operates from the Apple Campus (also known by its address, 1 Infinite Loop), a grouping of six buildings in Cupertino that total 850,000 square feet (79,000 m2) located about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of Apple Park. The Apple Campus was the company's headquarters from its opening in 1993, until the opening of Apple Park in 2017. The buildings, located at 1–6 Infinite Loop, are arranged in a circular pattern around a central green space, in a design that has been compared to that of a university.
In addition to Apple Park and the Apple Campus, Apple occupies an additional thirty office buildings scattered throughout the city of Cupertino, including three buildings as prior headquarters: Stephens Creek Three from 1977 to 1978, Bandley One from 1978 to 1982, and Mariani One from 1982 to 1993. In total, Apple occupies almost 40% of the available office space in the city.
Apple's headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are located in Cork in the south of Ireland, called the Hollyhill campus. The facility, which opened in 1980, houses 5,500 people and was Apple's first location outside of the United States. Apple's international sales and distribution arms operate out of the campus in Cork.
Apple has two campuses near Austin, Texas: a 216,000-square-foot (20,100 m2) campus opened in 2014 houses 500 engineers who work on Apple silicon and a 1.1-million-square-foot (100,000 m2) campus opened in 2021 where 6,000 people work in technical support, supply chain management, online store curation, and Apple Maps data management. The company also has several other locations in Boulder, Colorado; Culver City, California; Herzliya (Israel), London, New York, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Seattle that each employ hundreds of people.
=== Litigation ===
Apple has been a participant in various legal proceedings and claims since it began operation. In particular, Apple is known for and promotes itself as actively and aggressively enforcing its intellectual property interests. Some litigation examples include Apple v. Samsung, Apple v. Microsoft, Motorola Mobility v. Apple Inc., and Apple Corps v. Apple Computer. Apple has also had to defend itself against charges on numerous occasions of violating intellectual property rights. Most have been dismissed in the courts as shell companies known as patent trolls, with no evidence of actual use of patents in question. On December 21, 2016, Nokia announced that in the US and Germany, it has filed a suit against Apple, claiming that the latter's products infringe on Nokia's patents.
Most recently, in November 2017, the United States International Trade Commission announced an investigation into allegations of patent infringement in regards to Apple's remote desktop technology; Aqua Connect, a company that builds remote desktop software, has claimed that Apple infringed on two of its patents.
Epic Games filed lawsuit against Apple in August 2020 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, related to Apple's practices in the iOS App Store.
In January 2022, Ericsson sued Apple over payment of royalty of 5G technology. On June 24, 2024, the European Commission accused Apple of violating the Digital Markets Act by preventing "app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content". In April 2025, Apple was found guilty and fined €500 million ($570 million) for violating the Digital Markets Act.
=== Lobbying ===
In 2025, Apple was one of the donors who funded the White House's East Wing demolition, and planned building of a ballroom.
== Finances ==
As of 2024, Apple was the world's fourth-largest personal computer vendor, the largest vendor of tablet computers, and the largest vendor of mobile phones. It is a Big Tech company.
In its fiscal year ending in September 2011, Apple reported a total of $108 billion in annual revenues—a significant increase from its 2010 revenues of $65 billion—and nearly $82 billion in cash reserves. On March 19, 2012, Apple announced plans for a $2.65-per-share dividend beginning in fourth quarter of 2012, per approval by their board of directors.
The company's worldwide annual revenue in 2013 totaled $170 billion. In May 2013, Apple entered the top ten of the Fortune 500 list of companies for the first time, rising 11 places above its 2012 ranking to take the sixth position. As of 2016, Apple has around US$234 billion of cash and marketable securities, of which 90% is located outside the United States for tax purposes.
Apple amassed 65% of all profits made by the eight largest worldwide smartphone manufacturers in quarter one of 2014, according to a report by Canaccord Genuity. In the first quarter of 2015, the company garnered 92% of all earnings.
On April 30, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple had cash reserves of $250 billion, officially confirmed by Apple as specifically $256.8 billion a few days later.
As of August 3, 2018, Apple was the largest publicly traded corporation in the world by market capitalization. On August 2, 2018, Apple became the first publicly traded US company to reach a $1 trillion market value, and, as of October 2025, is valued at just over $4 trillion. Apple was ranked No. 4 on the 2018 Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by revenue.
In July 2022, Apple reported an 11% decline in Q3 profits compared to 2021. Its revenue in the same period rose 2% year-on-year to $83 billion, though this figure was also lower than in 2021, where the increase was at 36%. The general downturn is reportedly caused by the slowing global economy and supply chain disruptions in China. That year, Apple was one of the largest corporate spenders on research and development worldwide, with R&D expenditure amounting to over $27 billion.
In May 2023, Apple reported a decline in its sales for the first quarter of 2023. Compared to that of 2022, revenue for 2023 fell by 3%. This is Apple's second consecutive quarter of sales decline. This fall is attributed to the slowing economy and consumers putting off purchases of iPads and computers due to increased pricing. However, iPhone sales held up with a year-on-year increase of 1.5%. According to Apple, demands for such devices were strong, particularly in Latin America and South Asia.
=== Taxes ===
Apple has created subsidiaries in low-tax places such as Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the British Virgin Islands to cut the taxes it pays around the world. According to The New York Times, in the 1980s Apple was among the first tech companies to designate overseas salespeople in high-tax countries in a manner that allowed the company to sell on behalf of low-tax subsidiaries on other continents, sidestepping income taxes. In the late 1980s, Apple was a pioneer of an accounting technique known as the "Double Irish with a Dutch sandwich", which reduces taxes by routing profits through Irish subsidiaries and the Netherlands and then to the Caribbean.
British Conservative Party Member of Parliament Charlie Elphicke published research on October 30, 2012, which showed that some multinational companies, including Apple, were making billions of pounds of profit in the UK, but were paying an effective tax rate to the UK Treasury of only 3 percent, well below standard corporate tax rates. He followed this research by calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to force these multinationals, which also included Google and The Coca-Cola Company, to state the effective rate of tax they pay on their UK revenues. Elphicke also said that government contracts should be withheld from multinationals who do not pay their fair share of UK tax.
According to a US Senate report on the company's offshore tax structure concluded in May 2013, Apple has held billions of dollars in profits in Irish subsidiaries to pay little or no taxes to any government by using an unusual global tax structure. The main subsidiary, a holding company that includes Apple's retail stores throughout Europe, has not paid any corporate income tax in the last five years. "Apple has exploited a difference between Irish and U.S. tax residency rules", the report said. On May 21, 2013, Apple CEO Tim Cook defended his company's tax tactics at a Senate hearing.
Apple says that it is the single largest taxpayer in the US, with an effective tax rate of approximately of 26% as of Q2 FY2016. In an interview with the German newspaper FAZ in October 2017, Tim Cook stated that Apple was the biggest taxpayer worldwide.
In 2016, after a two-year investigation, the European Commission claimed that Apple's use of a hybrid Double Irish tax arrangement constituted "illegal state aid" from Ireland, and ordered Apple to pay €13 billion ($14.5 billion) in unpaid taxes, the largest corporate tax fine in history. This was later annulled, after the European General Court ruled that the commission had provided insufficient evidence. In 2018, Apple repatriated $285 billion to the United States, resulting in a $38-billion tax payment spread over the following eight years.
=== Charity ===
Apple is a partner of Product Red, a fundraising campaign for AIDS charity. In November 2014, Apple arranged for all App Store revenue in a two-week period to go to the fundraiser, generating more than US$20 million, and in March 2017, it released an iPhone 7 with a red color finish. As of 2021, Apple has donated over $250 million to Product Red.
Apple contributes financially to fundraisers in times of natural disasters. In November 2012, it donated $2.5 million to the American Red Cross to aid relief efforts after Hurricane Sandy, and in 2017 it donated $5 million to relief efforts for both Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey, and for the 2017 Central Mexico earthquake. The company has used its iTunes platform to encourage donations in the wake of environmental disasters and humanitarian crises, such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2011 Japan earthquake, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in November 2013, and the 2015 European migrant crisis. Apple emphasizes that it does not incur any processing or other fees for iTunes donations, sending 100% of the payments directly to relief efforts, though it also acknowledges that the Red Cross does not receive any personal information on the users donating and that the payments may not be tax deductible.
On April 14, 2016, Apple and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) announced that they have engaged in a partnership to, "help protect life on our planet". Apple released a special page in the iTunes App Store, Apps for Earth. In the arrangement, Apple has committed that through April 24, WWF will receive 100% of the proceeds from the applications participating in the App Store via both the purchases of any paid apps and the In-App Purchases. Apple and WWF's Apps for Earth campaign raised more than $8 million in total proceeds to support WWF's conservation work. WWF announced the results at WWDC 2016 in San Francisco.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple's CEO Cook announced that the company will be donating "millions" of masks to health workers in the United States and Europe. On January 13, 2021, Apple announced a $100-million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative to help combat institutional racism worldwide after the 2020 murder of George Floyd. In June 2023, Apple announced doubling this and then distributed more than $200 million to support organizations focused on education, economic growth, and criminal justice. Half is philanthropic grants and half is centered on equity.
== Environment ==
=== Apple Energy ===
Apple Energy, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple that sells solar energy. As of June 6, 2016, Apple's solar farms in California and Nevada have been declared to provide 217.9 megawatts of solar generation capacity. Apple has received regulatory approval to construct a landfill gas energy plant in North Carolina to use the methane emissions to generate electricity. Apple's North Carolina data center is already powered entirely by renewable sources.
=== Energy and resources ===
In 2010, Climate Counts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to directing consumers toward the greenest companies, gave Apple a score of 52 points out of a possible 100, which puts Apple in their top category "Striding". This was an increase from May 2008, when Climate Counts only gave Apple 11 points out of 100, which placed the company last among electronics companies, at which time Climate Counts also labeled Apple with a "stuck icon", adding that Apple at the time was "a choice to avoid for the climate-conscious consumer".
Following a Greenpeace protest, Apple released a statement on April 17, 2012, committing to ending its use of coal and shifting to 100% renewable clean energy. By 2013, Apple was using 100% renewable energy to power their data centers. Overall, 75% of the company's power came from clean renewable sources.
In May 2015, Greenpeace evaluated the state of the Green Internet and commended Apple on their environmental practices saying, "Apple's commitment to renewable energy has helped set a new bar for the industry, illustrating in very concrete terms that a 100% renewable Internet is within its reach, and providing several models of intervention for other companies that want to build a sustainable Internet."
As of 2016, Apple states that 100% of its US operations run on renewable energy, 100% of Apple's data centers run on renewable energy and 93% of Apple's global operations run on renewable energy. However, the facilities are connected to the local grid which usually contains a mix of fossil and renewable sources, so Apple carbon offsets its electricity use. The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) allows consumers to see the effect a product has on the environment. Each product receives a Gold, Silver, or Bronze rank depending on its efficiency and sustainability. Every Apple tablet, notebook, desktop computer, and display that EPEAT ranks achieves a Gold rating, the highest possible. Although Apple's data centers recycle water 35 times, the increased activity in retail, corporate and data centers also increase the amount of water use to 573 million US gal (2.2 million m3) in 2015.
During an event on March 21, 2016, Apple provided a status update on its environmental initiative to be 100% renewable in all of its worldwide operations. Lisa P. Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives who reports directly to CEO, Tim Cook, announced that as of March 2016, 93% of Apple's worldwide operations are powered with renewable energy. Also featured was the company's efforts to use sustainable paper in their product packaging; 99% of all paper used by Apple in the product packaging comes from post-consumer recycled paper or sustainably managed forests, as the company continues its move to all paper packaging for all of its products.
Apple announced on August 16, 2016, that Lens Technology, one of its major suppliers in China, has committed to power all its glass production for Apple with 100 percent renewable energy by 2018. The commitment is a large step in Apple's efforts to help manufacturers lower their carbon footprint in China. Apple also announced that all 14 of its final assembly sites in China are now compliant with UL's Zero Waste to Landfill validation. The standard, which started in January 2015, certifies that all manufacturing waste is reused, recycled, composted, or converted into energy (when necessary). Since the program began, nearly 140,000 metric tons of waste have been diverted from landfills.
On July 21, 2020, Apple announced its plan to become carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030. In the next 10 years, Apple will try to lower emissions with a series of innovative actions, including: low carbon product design, expanding energy efficiency, renewable energy, process and material innovations, and carbon removal.
In June 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a report about an electronic computer manufacturing facility leased by Apple in 2015 in Santa Clara, California, code named Aria. The EPA report stated that Apple was potentially in violation of federal regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). According to a report from Bloomberg in 2018, the facility is used to develop microLED screens under the code name T159. The inspection found that Apple was potentially mistreating waste as only subject to California regulations and that they had potentially miscalculated the effectiveness of Apple's activated carbon filters, which filter volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air. The EPA inspected the facility in August 2023 due to a tip from a former Apple employee who posted the report on X.
=== Toxins ===
Following further campaigns by Greenpeace, in 2008, Apple became the first electronics manufacturer to eliminate all polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in its complete product line. In June 2007, Apple began replacing the cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlit LCDs in its computers with mercury-free LED-backlit LCD and arsenic-free glass, starting with the upgraded MacBook Pro. Apple offers comprehensive and transparent information about the CO2e, emissions, materials, and electrical usage concerning every product they currently produce or have sold in the past (and which they have enough data needed to produce the report), in their portfolio on their homepage. Allowing consumers to make informed purchasing decisions on the products they offer for sale. In June 2009, Apple's iPhone 3GS was free of PVC, arsenic, and BFRs. Since 2009, all Apple products have mercury-free LED-backlit LCDs, arsenic-free glass, and non-PVC cables. All Apple products have EPEAT Gold status and beat the latest Energy Star guidelines in each product's respective regulatory category.
In November 2011, Apple was featured in Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics, which ranks electronics manufacturers on sustainability, climate and energy policy, and how "green" their products are. The company ranked fourth of fifteen electronics companies (moving up five places from the previous year) with a score of 4.6/10. Greenpeace praised Apple's sustainability, noting that the company exceeded its 70% global recycling goal in 2010. Apple continues to score well on product ratings, with all of their products now being free of PVC plastic and BFRs. However, the guide criticized Apple on the Energy criteria for not seeking external verification of its greenhouse gas emissions data, and for not setting any targets to reduce emissions. In January 2012, Apple requested that its cable maker, Volex, begin producing halogen-free USB and power cables.
=== Green bonds ===
In February 2016, Apple issued a US$1.5-billion green bond (climate bond), the first ever of its kind by a US tech company. The green bond proceeds are dedicated to the financing of environmental projects.
== Supply chain ==
As of 2021, Apple uses hardware components from 43 different countries.
Apple products were made in the United States in Apple-owned factories until the late 1990s; however, as a result of outsourcing initiatives in the 2000s, almost all of its manufacturing is now handled abroad. According to a report by The New York Times, Apple insiders "believe the vast scale of overseas factories, as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers, have so outpaced their American counterparts that 'Made in the U.S.A.' is no longer a viable option for most Apple products". South Korean firms, including Samsung and LG, worked closely with Apple as parts partners for the iMac, iPod, and iPhone before it increased its reliance on Taiwan and China. Taiwanese Apple suppliers such as Foxconn, Wistron, Pegatron, Quanta, and Compal Electronics established a sizable manufacturing presence in China. By the 2020s, orders were shifting to Chinese firms such as to Luxshare, BYD Electronic, Goertek, and Wingtech. By 2021, Apple had more suppliers from China than Taiwan.
Apple has exercised control over its suppliers (and related costs) by purchasing materials on their behalf, buying machinery for their facilities, and training their workforces.
The company's manufacturing, procurement, and logistics enable it to execute massive product launches without having to maintain large, profit-sapping inventories. In 2011, Apple's profit margins were 40 percent, compared with between 10 and 20 percent for most other hardware companies. Cook's catchphrase to describe his focus on the company's operational arm is: "Nobody wants to buy sour milk."
In May 2017, the company announced a $1-billion funding project for "advanced manufacturing" in the United States, and subsequently invested $200 million in Corning Inc., a manufacturer of toughened Gorilla Glass technology used in Apple's iPhones. The following December, Apple's chief operating officer, Jeff Williams, told CNBC that the "$1 billion" amount was "absolutely not" the final limit on its spending.
During the Mac's early history, Apple generally refused to adopt prevailing industry standards for hardware, instead creating their own. This trend was largely reversed in the late 1990s, beginning with Apple's adoption of the PCI bus in the 7500/8500/9500 Power Macs. Apple has since joined the industry standards groups to influence the future direction of technology standards such as USB, AGP, HyperTransport, Wi-Fi, NVMe, PCIe and others in its products. FireWire is an Apple-originated standard that was widely adopted across the industry after it was standardized as IEEE 1394 and is a legally mandated port in all cable TV boxes in the United States.
Apple has gradually expanded its efforts in getting its products into the Indian market. In July 2012, during a conference call with investors, CEO Tim Cook said that he "[loves] India", but that Apple saw larger opportunities outside the region. India's requirement that 30% of products sold be manufactured in the country was described as "really adds cost to getting product to market". In May 2016, Apple opened an iOS app development center in Bangalore and a maps development office for 4,000 staff in Hyderabad. In March, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple would begin manufacturing iPhone models in India "over the next two months", and in May, the Journal wrote that an Apple manufacturer had begun production of the iPhone SE in the country, while Apple told CNBC that the manufacturing was for a "small number" of units. In April 2019, Apple initiated manufacturing of the iPhone 7 at its Bengaluru facility, keeping in mind demand from local customers even as they seek more incentives from the government of India. At the beginning of 2020, Tim Cook announced that Apple schedules the opening of its first physical outlet in India for 2021, while an online store is to be launched by the end of the year. The opening of the Apple Store was postponed, and finally took place in April 2023, while the online store was launched in September 2020.
=== Worker organizations ===
Apple directly employs 147,000 workers including 25,000 corporate employees in Apple Park and across Silicon Valley. The vast majority of its employees work at the over 500 retail Apple Stores globally. Apple relies on a larger, outsourced workforce for manufacturing, particularly in China where Apple directly employs 10,000 workers across its retail and corporate divisions. In addition, one further million workers are contracted by Apple's suppliers to assemble Apple products, including Foxconn and Pegatron. Zhengzhou Technology Park alone employs 350,000 Chinese workers in Zhengzhou to exclusively work on the iPhone.
Apple workers around the globe have been involved in organizing since the 1990s. Apple unions are made up of retail, corporate, and outsourced workers. Apple employees have joined trade unions or formed works councils in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2021, Apple Together, a solidarity union, sought to bring together the company's global worker organizations. The majority of industrial labor disputes (including union recognition) involving Apple occur indirectly through its suppliers and contractors, notably Foxconn plants in China and, to a lesser extent, in Brazil and India.
=== Democratic Republic of the Congo ===
In 2019, Apple was named as a defendant in a forced labour and child slavery lawsuit by Congolese families of children injured and killed in cobalt mines owned by Glencore and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, which supply battery materials to Apple and other companies.
In April 2024, lawyers representing the Democratic Republic of the Congo notified Apple of evidence that Apple may be sourcing minerals from conflict areas of eastern Congo. Apple policies and documentation describe mitigation efforts against conflict minerals; however, the lawyers identify discrepancies in supplier reporting as well as a Global Witness report describing a lack of "meaningful mitigation" on Apple's part. In December 2024, DRC filed a lawsuit against Apple's European subsidiaries, accusing them of using conflict minerals. In response, Apple said it "strongly disputes" these allegations and insisted it is "deeply committed to responsible sourcing" of the minerals it uses. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boredom_in_Brno | Boredom in Brno | Boredom in Brno (Czech: Nuda v Brně) is a Czech comedy film directed by Vladimír Morávek, based on the story "Standa's Debut" by Pavel Bedura. It was released in 2003, and won five Czech Lion awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Morávek), Best Script (Morávek and Jan Budař), Best Male Actor in a Leading Role (Budař) and Best Editing (Jiří Brožek).
== Cast ==
Kateřina Holánová as Olga Simáková
Jan Budař as Stanislav Pichlík
Miroslav Donutil as Miroslav Norbacher
Martin Pechlát as Jaroslav Pichlík
Jaroslava Pokorná as Miriam Simáková
Pavla Tomicová as PhDr. Vlasta Kulková - Jará
Ivana Hloužková as Marie Norbacherová
Marek Daniel as Richard Klech
Ivana Uhlířová as Jaroslava Pleváková
Pavel Liška as Jan Bedura
Filip Rajmont as Pavel Velicka
Simona Peková as Jitka Spácilová
Zuzana Valchárová-Poulová as Zorka V.
Nadezda Chroboková as Simona P.
Martina Nováková-Hamadáková as Martina N.
== Plot ==
The film follows several couples over one night in Brno. The focus is on a 20-something couple with unspecified learning difficulties, Olinka (Kateřina Holánová) and Standa (Jan Budař), who are preparing to have sex for the first time. Standa has been receiving advice from his brother Jarda (Martin Pechlát), while Olinka has been given tips and guidance by her friends, the women who live in her apartment block. Standa and Jarda travel to Brno from Brundal for the occasion.
Meanwhile, in a nearby pub, depressed actor Mirek (Miroslav Donutil) is with psychologist Vlasta (Pavla Tomicová), complaining about his life, and the two presently return to Vlasta's flat together where they have sex, and Vlasta counsels Mirek about the state of his marriage. In the same pub are Jaroslava (Ivana Uhlířová), a young woman who habitually attracts unpleasant men, and her current partner Richard (Marek Daniel), a pretentious and self-absorbed man who is tempted by sexual experimentation and submission. This couple return to Richard's flat in the same apartment block where Richard persuades an unwilling Jaroslava to spank him, alongside other requests. Also in the pub are life-long friends Honza (Pavel Liška) and Pavel (Filip Rajmont). While Honza rambles drunkenly about his desire for various women, Pavel has an undeclared love for Honza.
At the house, Olinka is horrified to see her controlling mother return unexpectedly to the flat. Panicking, she administers rohypnol into her mother's coffee, and locks her unconscious in a storage cupboard. Standa arrives and they visit Olinka's friends so Standa can be vetted for their approval. Back down in Olinka's flat, Standa and Olinka share an awkward meal, and then proceed to the bedroom and are extremely nervous, but eventually Olinka manages to initiate sex. Despite Jarda's training, Standa is unable to put on the condom, so they do not use one. Meanwhile Jarda arrives at Olinka's friends' party upstairs to drink with them.
Meanwhile, Mirek leaves Vlasta's house to go home, but on the way has a drunken argument with his wife on the phone, and ends up walking home to Líšeň in a drunken depression. Honza and Pavel also head home to Pavel's house, and Pavel is perturbed when Honza kisses his cheek while he sleeps. After having sex, Olinka excitedly tells her friends what happened, but at the same time her mother wakes up and sees Standa dancing in his underwear through the keyhole. When Olinka returns to the flat, the two women argue, and Standa flees the flat in panic.
Pavel and Honza leave Pavel's place very early to deliver rohlík to Líšeň, but on the way Pavel takes his eyes off the road and hits Mirek, killing him. Comforting Pavel, Honza confides that his love is returned. Meanwhile, Olinka releases her mother from the pantry, but then locks her in again when Standa returns to her. A voice over confirms that Olinka is pregnant. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canvasback | Canvasback | The canvasback (Aythya valisineria) is a species of diving duck, the largest found in North America.
== Taxonomy ==
Scottish-American naturalist Alexander Wilson described the canvasback in 1814. The genus name is derived from Greek aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors, including Hesychius and Aristotle.
The species name valisineria comes from the wild celery Vallisneria americana, whose winter buds and rhizomes are the canvasback's preferred food during the nonbreeding period. The celery genus is itself named for seventeenth century Italian botanist Antonio Vallisneri.
The duck's common name is based on early European inhabitants of North America's assertion that its back was a canvas-like color. In other languages it is just a white-backed duck; for example in French, morillon à dos blanc, or Spanish, pato lomo blanco. In Mexico it is called pato coacoxtle.
== Description ==
It ranges from 48–56 cm (19–22 in) in length and weighs 862–1,588 g (1.900–3.501 lb), with a wingspan of 79–89 cm (31–35 in). It is the largest species in the genus Aythya, and the largest diving duck in North America. Canvasbacks are similar in size to a mallard but with a heavier and more compact build. 191 males wintering in western New York averaged 1,252 g (2.760 lb) and 54 females there averaged 1,154 g (2.544 lb). The canvasback has a distinctive wedge-shaped head and long graceful neck. The adult male (drake) has a black bill, a chestnut red head and neck, a black breast, a grayish back, black rump, and a blackish brown tail. The drake's sides, back, and belly are white with fine vermiculation resembling the weave of a canvas, which gave rise to the bird's common name. The bill is blackish and the legs and feet are bluish-gray. The iris is bright red in the spring, but duller in the winter. The adult female (hen) also has a black bill, a light brown head and neck, grading into a darker brown chest and foreback. The sides, flanks, and back are grayish brown. The bill is blackish and the legs and feet are bluish-gray. Its sloping profile distinguishes it from other ducks.
== Breeding ==
The breeding habitat of the canvasback is in North American prairie potholes. The bulky nest is built from vegetation in a marsh and lined with down. Loss of nesting habitat has caused populations to decline. The canvasback usually takes a new mate each year, pairing in late winter on ocean bays. It prefers to nest over water on permanent prairie marshes surrounded by emergent vegetation, such as cattails and bulrushes, which provide protective cover. Other important breeding areas are the subarctic river deltas in Saskatchewan and the interior of Alaska.
It has a clutch size of approximately 5–11 eggs, which are greenish drab. The chicks are covered in down at hatching and able to leave the nest soon after. The canvasback sometimes lays its eggs in other canvasback nests and redheads often parasitize canvasback nests.
== Migration ==
The canvasback migrates through the Mississippi Flyway to wintering grounds in the mid-Atlantic United States and the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV), or the Pacific Flyway to wintering grounds along the coast of California. Historically, the Chesapeake Bay wintered the majority of canvasbacks, but with the recent loss of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the bay, their range has shifted south towards the LMAV. Brackish estuarine bays and marshes with abundant submergent vegetation and invertebrates are ideal wintering habitat for canvasbacks. A small number of birds are also known to have crossed the Atlantic, with several sightings being recorded in the United Kingdom. In December 1996, a canvasback was observed in a quarry in Kent, which was followed by an additional sighting in Norfolk in January 1997. At least five more sightings have since been confirmed in England.
== Diet ==
The canvasback feeds mainly by diving, sometimes dabbling, mostly eating seeds, buds, leaves, tubers, roots, snails, and insect larvae. Besides its namesake, wild celery, the canvasback shows a preference for the tubers of sago pondweed, which can make up 100% of its diet at times. The canvasback has large webbed feet adapted for diving and its bill helps it dig tubers from the substrate. In the late 1930s, studies showed that four-fifths of the food eaten by canvasbacks was plant material.
In the early 1950s it was estimated that there were 225,000 canvasbacks wintering in the Chesapeake Bay; this represented one-half of the entire North American population. By 1985, there were only 50,000 ducks wintering there, or one-tenth of the population. Canvasbacks were extensively hunted around the start of the 20th century, but federal hunting regulations now restrict their harvest, so hunting is ruled out as a cause for the decline. Scientists have now concluded that the decline in duck populations was due to the decline in sub-aquatic vegetation acreage. Today the population has stabilized and is even increasing slightly, although it is nowhere near previous levels. Studies have now shown that by the 1970s four-fifths of the ducks' diet was made up of Baltic Clams, which are very common in the Chesapeake Bay: the ducks have been able to adapt to the decline in sub-aquatic vegetation by changing their diet. Redheads, which also feed on the tubers of sub-aquatic vegetation, have not been able to adapt, and their population remains low.
== Cuisine ==
Canvasback ducks were a particularly prestigious game dish in mid-19th-century America. They were rarely found on everyday menus, and often featured at banquets. They were generally sourced from Maryland and Chesapeake Bay, and their flavor was attributed to their diet of wild celery. By the end of the century, though, they had become "scarce, expensive, or unobtainable".
Edith Wharton refers to canvasback with blackcurrant sauce as an especially luxurious dinner served in New York City in the 1870s. Canvasback duck was a canonical element, along with Terrapin à la Maryland, of the elegant "Maryland Feast" menu, an "elite standard... that lasted for decades".
== Conservation ==
Populations have fluctuated widely. Low levels in the 1980s put the canvasback on lists of special concern, but numbers increased greatly in the 1990s. The canvasback is particularly vulnerable to drought and wetland drainage on the prairies of North America.
Many species of ducks, including the canvasback, are highly migratory, but are effectively conserved by protecting the places where they nest, even though they may be hunted away from their breeding grounds. Protecting key feeding and breeding grounds is key for conserving many types of migratory birds. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby_(film) | Greyfriars Bobby (film) | Greyfriars Bobby is a 1961 American drama film starring Donald Crisp and Laurence Naismith, with a screenplay by Robert Westerby based upon the 1912 children's book Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson which was based, in turn, upon the 19th century Edinburgh story involving a Skye Terrier that came to be known as Greyfriars Bobby, visiting his owner's grave for 14 years. The story revolves about two Scottish men who compete for the affection of Bobby. It was the second film based upon Atkinson's novel, the first being Challenge to Lassie in which Crisp also starred. The film was directed by Don Chaffey and shot at Shepperton Studios and on location in Scotland. The film has been released to DVD and Disney+.
== Plot ==
A little Skye Terrier named Bobby is the pet of a Scottish farmer and his wife but the dog has a friendship with an old kindly shepherd hired on the farm called Auld Jock. When money grows scarce on the farm, Auld Jock is fired. He travels to Edinburgh, and Bobby follows him. Auld Jock dies in poverty in an inn and is buried in Greyfriar's Kirkyard. Bobby returns to Auld Jock's grave every night to sleep.
Against the wishes of his wife, the graveyard caretaker James Brown tries to shoo Bobby away, but Bobby always finds his way back to the grave. Bobby endears himself to all, especially the neighborhood children. Brown and a restaurant owner, Mr. Traill, compete for the affections of the dog. Brown alleges Traill should pay Bobby's license fee, which he refuses on principle, not being Bobby's master.
Mr. Traill is summoned to the court for a hearing, where he pleads not guilty. Mr. Brown is also present in the court, but he tells Mr. Traill he is sick, and can't get out of bed. Mr. Traill is told to come back the next day, with Bobby as well.
Bobby's fate rests with the Lord Provost of Edinburgh and, without a license and someone to take responsibility for Bobby, he may be destroyed. The children of Edinburgh contribute their pennies for Bobby's license. Bobby is declared a Freeman of the City and adopted by the populace of Edinburgh. The final scene shows Bobby settling down for the night on Jock's grave.
== Cast ==
Donald Crisp as James Brown
Laurence Naismith as Mr. Traill
Alex Mackenzie as Auld Jock
Duncan Macrae as Sgt. Davie Maclean
Andrew Cruickshank as Lord Provost
Gordon Jackson as Farmer
Rosalie Crutchley as Farmer's Wife
Freda Jackson as Old Woman Caretaker
Moultrie Kelsall as Magistrate
Joyce Carey as First Lady
Vincent Winter as Tammy
Jameson Clark as Constable
Jack Lambert as Doctor
Bruce Seton as Prosecutor
Joan Juliet Buck as Ailie
Hamish Wilson as Hamish
Kay Walsh as Mrs. Brown
== Reception ==
Kinematograph Weekly said it was a "moneymaker" at the British box office in 1961.
Variety commented: "Greyfriars Bobby sets out to melt the heart and does it skillfully. Central character is a little Skye terrier, and this engaging little animal is quite irresistible...Patiently and brilliantly trained, Bobby wraps up the stellar honors for himself and the humans, knowing they don't stand a chance, wisely are content to play chorus. Nevertheless, there are some very effective pieces of thesping, largely by Scottish actors. Laurence Naismith gives a strong, likeable performance as the kindly eating-house owner who takes Bobby under his wing."
In a 2018 review, they praised the performances of Crisp and Naismith.
== Comic book adaptation ==
Dell Four Color #1189 (November 1961) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Series_champions#World_Series_results | List of World Series champions#World Series results | The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) and concludes the MLB postseason. First played in 1903, the World Series championship is a best-of-seven playoff and is a contest between the champions of baseball's National League (NL) and American League (AL). Often referred to as the "Fall Classic", the modern World Series has been played every year since 1903 with two exceptions: in 1904, when the NL champion New York Giants declined to play the AL champion Boston Americans; and in 1994, when the series was canceled due to the players' strike. The best-of-seven style has been the format of all World Series except in 1903, 1919, 1920, 1921, when the winner was determined through a best-of-nine playoff. Although the large majority of contests have been played entirely during the month of October, a small number of Series have also had games played during September and November. The Series-winning team is awarded the Commissioner's Trophy. Players, coaches and others associated with the team are generally given World Series rings to commemorate their victory; however, they have received other items such as pocket watches and medallions in the past.
A total of 121 World Series have been contested through 2025, with the AL champion winning 68 and the NL champion winning 53. The New York Yankees of the AL have played in 41 World Series, winning 27 – the most championship appearances and most victories by any MLB team. The Dodgers and the Yankees are tied for the most losses with 14 each. The St. Louis Cardinals have won 11 championships, the most among NL clubs and second-most all-time behind the Yankees. The Dodgers have represented the NL the most in the World Series with 23 appearances. The Seattle Mariners are the only MLB franchise that has never appeared in a World Series; the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, and Colorado Rockies have all played in the Series but have never won it, with the Padres and the Rays appearing twice. The Los Angeles Angels and Washington Nationals are the only teams who have won their only World Series appearance, and the Miami Marlins are the only team with multiple World Series appearances and no losses with two. The Toronto Blue Jays are the only franchise from outside the United States to appear in and win a World Series, winning in 1992 and 1993. The Houston Astros are the only franchise to have represented both the NL (2005) and the AL (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022), winning the Series in 2017 and 2022. The 1919 and 2017 World Series were both marred with cheating scandals: the Black Sox Scandal and the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal. The most recent World Series champions are the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The last team to repeat as champions were the Dodgers in 2025. Two World Series matchups (in 1982 and 2005) have no current possibility of a rematch due to one of the contending teams switching to the opposing league – the Milwaukee Brewers moved to the NL in 1998, and the Houston Astros moved to the AL in 2013.
== Results ==
Numbers in parentheses in the table are World Series appearances as of the date of that World Series, and are used as follows:
Winning team and Losing team columns indicate the number of times that team has appeared in a World Series as well as each respective team's World Series record to date.
Legend
V The 1903, 1919, 1920, and 1921 World Series were in a best-of-nine format (carried by the first team to win five games).
T The 1907, 1912, and 1922 World Series each included one tied game.
A The Brewers were in the American League from 1969 to 1997, after which they moved to the National League.
N The Astros were in the National League from 1962 to 2012, after which they moved to the American League.
W Indicates a team that made the playoffs as a wild card team (rather than by winning a division).
Source for this Table
== Records by franchise ==
In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of wins, then by number of appearances, and finally by year of first appearance. In the "Season(s)" column, bold years indicate winning appearances.
== Frequent matchups ==
The following are the 20 matchups of teams that have occurred two or more times in the World Series. All teams that have participated in these were "Classic Eight" members of either the American or National League; no expansion team (created in 1961 or later) has faced the same opponent more than once in a World Series. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Miami_Dolphins_season | 1997 Miami Dolphins season | The 1997 season was the Miami Dolphins' 32nd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 28th overall, their eighth under general manager Eddie Jones and their second under head coach Jimmy Johnson.
The Dolphins improved upon their previous season's output of 8–8, winning nine games. Seven of the team's sixteen games were decided by a field goal or less. This was also the season where the Dolphins released a new logo and new uniforms with a darker aqua and dark navy drop shadow in numbers. The uniforms and logo lasted until the 2012 season. During Week 3, the Dolphins were defeated by the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers for the first time in franchise history. This could be argued as the most cursed of all Dolphins seasons because it offered a turnaround where the New England Patriots defeated the Dolphins 3 times in the 1997 season, sweeping them. This was the first of five consecutive playoff appearances for the Dolphins. This season saw the Patriots return three Marino interceptions for touchdowns in New England (two of them in the 2nd quarter of the week 13 matchup, and one in the Wild Card matchup where the Patriots defeated Miami 17–3). The Wild Card loss came less than a week after the Dolphins lost to the Patriots 14–12 on Monday Night Football in Miami for the AFC East division title. Until 2021, this was the last time the Dolphins swept the New York Jets in back-to-back seasons.
== Offseason ==
=== NFL draft ===
== Staff ==
== Roster ==
== Schedule ==
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
== Playoffs ==
== Game summaries ==
=== Week 1: vs Indianapolis Colts ===
== Standings == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_dart_frog | Poison dart frog | The poison dart frog (also known as the dart-poison frog, the poison frog or formerly known as the poison arrow frog) is the common name of a group of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae which are native to tropical Central and South America. These species are diurnal and often have brightly colored bodies. This bright coloration is correlated with the toxicity of the species, making them aposematic. Some species of the family Dendrobatidae exhibit extremely bright coloration along with high toxicity — a feature derived from their diet of ants, mites and termites— while species which eat a much larger variety of prey have cryptic coloration with minimal to no amount of observed toxicity. Many species of this family are threatened due to human infrastructure encroaching on their habitats.
These amphibians are often called "dart frogs" due to the aboriginal South Americans' use of their toxic secretions to poison the tips of blowdarts. However, out of over 170 species, only four have been documented as being used for this purpose (curare plants are more commonly used for aboriginal South American darts) all of which come from the genus Phyllobates, which is characterized by the relatively large size and high levels of toxicity of its members.
== Characteristics ==
Most species of poison dart frogs are small, sometimes less than 1.5 cm (0.59 in) in adult length, although a few grow up to 6 cm (2.4 in) in length. They weigh 28 g (0.99 oz) on average. Most poison dart frogs are brightly colored, displaying aposematic patterns to warn potential predators. Their bright coloration is associated with their toxicity and levels of alkaloids. For example, frogs of the genus Dendrobates have high levels of alkaloids, whereas Colostethus species are cryptically colored and are not toxic.
Poison dart frogs are an example of an aposematic organism. Their bright coloration advertises unpalatability to potential predators. Aposematism is currently thought to have originated at least four times within the poison dart family according to phylogenetic trees, and dendrobatid frogs have since undergone dramatic divergences – both interspecific and intraspecific – in their aposematic coloration. This is surprising given the frequency-dependent nature of this type of defense mechanism.
Adult frogs lay their eggs in moist places, including on leaves, in plants, among exposed roots, and elsewhere. Once the eggs hatch, the adult piggybacks the tadpoles, one at a time, to suitable water: either a pool, or the water gathered in the throat of bromeliads or other plants. The tadpoles remain there until they metamorphose, in some species fed by unfertilized eggs laid at regular intervals by the mother.
== Habitat ==
Poison dart frogs are endemic to humid, tropical environments of Central and South America. These frogs are generally found in tropical rainforests, including in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guiana, Peru, Panama, Guyana, Nicaragua, and Hawaii (introduced).
Natural habitats include moist, lowland forests (subtropical and tropical), high-altitude shrubland (subtropical and tropical), moist montanes and rivers (subtropical and tropical), freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, lakes and swamps. Other species can be found in seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, plantations, moist savanna and heavily degraded former forest. Premontane forests and rocky areas have also been known to hold frogs. Dendrobatids tend to live on or close to the ground, but also in trees as much as 10 m (33 ft) from the ground.
== Taxonomy ==
Dart frogs are the focus of major phylogenetic studies, and undergo taxonomic changes frequently. The family Dendrobatidae currently contains 16 genera, with about 200 species.
=== Color morphs ===
Some poison dart frogs species include a number of conspecific color morphs that emerged as recently as 6,000 years ago. Therefore, species such as Dendrobates tinctorius, Oophaga pumilio, and Oophaga granulifera can include color pattern morphs that can be interbred (colors are under polygenic control, while the actual patterns are probably controlled by a single locus). Differing coloration has historically misidentified single species as separate, and there is still controversy among taxonomists over classification.
Variation in predation regimens may have influenced the evolution of polymorphism in Oophaga granulifera, while sexual selection appears to have contributed to differentiation among the Bocas del Toro populations of Oophaga pumilio.
== Toxicity and medicine ==
The chemical defense mechanisms of the Dendrobates family are the result of exogenous means. Essentially, this means that their ability to defend has come through the consumption of a particular diet – in this case, toxic arthropods – from which they absorb and reuse the consumed toxins. The secretion of these chemicals is released by the granular glands of the frog. The chemicals secreted by the Dendrobatid family of frogs are alkaloids that differ in chemical structure and toxicity.
Many poison dart frogs secrete lipophilic alkaloid toxins such as allopumiliotoxin 267A, batrachotoxin, epibatidine, histrionicotoxin, and pumiliotoxin 251D through their skin. Alkaloids in the skin glands of poison dart frogs serve as a chemical defense against predation, and they are therefore able to be active alongside potential predators during the day. About 28 structural classes of alkaloids are known in poison dart frogs. The most toxic of poison dart frog species is Phyllobates terribilis. It is believed that dart frogs do not synthesize their poisons, but sequester the chemicals from arthropod prey items, such as ants, centipedes and mites – the diet-toxicity hypothesis. Because of this, captive-bred animals do not possess significant levels of toxins as they are reared on diets that do not contain the alkaloids sequestered by wild populations. Nonetheless, the captive-bred frogs retain the ability to accumulate alkaloids when they are once again provided an alkaloidal diet. Despite the toxins used by some poison dart frogs, some predators have developed the ability to withstand them. One is the snake Erythrolamprus epinephalus, which has developed immunity to the poison.
Chemicals extracted from the skin of Epipedobates tricolor may have medicinal value. Scientists use this poison to make a painkiller. One such chemical is a painkiller 200 times as potent as morphine, called epibatidine; however, the therapeutic dose is very close to the fatal dose. A derivative, ABT-594, developed by Abbott Laboratories, was named as Tebanicline and got as far as Phase II trials in humans, but was dropped from further development due to dangerous gastrointestinal side effects. Secretions from dendrobatids are also showing promise as muscle relaxants, heart stimulants and appetite suppressants. The most poisonous of these frogs, the golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis), has enough toxin on average to kill ten to twenty men or about twenty thousand mice. Most other dendrobatids, while colorful and toxic enough to discourage predation, pose far less risk to humans or other large animals.
=== Conspicuousness ===
Conspicuous coloration in these frogs is further associated with diet specialization, body mass, aerobic capacity, and chemical defense. Conspicuousness and toxicity may be inversely related, as polymorphic poison dart frogs that are less conspicuous are more toxic than the brightest and most conspicuous species. Energetic costs of producing toxins and bright color pigments lead to potential trade-offs between toxicity and bright coloration, and prey with strong secondary defenses have less to gain from costly signaling. Therefore, prey populations that are more toxic are predicted to manifest less bright signals, opposing the classical view that increased conspicuousness always evolves with increased toxicity.
=== Aposematism ===
Skin toxicity evolved alongside bright coloration, perhaps preceding it. Toxicity may have relied on a shift in diet to alkaloid-rich arthropods, which likely occurred at least four times among the dendrobatids. Either aposematism and aerobic capacity preceded greater resource gathering, making it easier for frogs to go out and gather the ants and mites required for diet specialization, contrary to classical aposematic theory, which assumes that toxicity from diet arises before signaling. Alternatively, diet specialization preceded higher aerobic capacity, and aposematism evolved to allow dendrobatids to gather resources without predation. Prey mobility could also explain the initial development of aposematic signaling. If prey have characteristics that make them more exposed to predators, such as when some dendrobatids shifted from nocturnal to diurnal behavior, then they have more reason to develop aposematism. After the switch, the frogs had greater ecological opportunities, causing dietary specialization to arise. Thus, aposematism is not merely a signaling system, but a way for organisms to gain greater access to resources and increase their reproductive success.
=== Other factors ===
Dietary conservatism (long-term neophobia) in predators could facilitate the evolution of warning coloration, if predators avoid novel morphs for a long enough period of time. Another possibility is genetic drift, the so-called gradual-change hypothesis, which could strengthen weak pre-existing aposematism.
Sexual selection may have played a role in the diversification of skin color and pattern in poison frogs. With female preferences in play, male coloration could evolve rapidly. Sexual selection is influenced by many things. The parental investment may shed some light on the evolution of coloration in relation to female choice. In Oophaga pumilio, the female provides care for the offspring for several weeks whereas the males provides care for a few days, implying a strong female preference. Sexual selection increases phenotypic variation drastically. In populations of O. pumilio that participated in sexual selection, the phenotypic polymorphism was evident. The lack of sexual dimorphism in some dendrobatid populations however suggests that sexual selection is not a valid explanation.
Functional trade-offs are seen in poison frog defense mechanisms relating to toxin resistance. Poison dart frogs containing epibatidine have undergone a 3 amino acid mutation on receptors of the body, allowing the frog to be resistant to its own poison. Epibatidine-producing frogs have evolved poison resistance of body receptors independently three times. This target-site insensitivity to the potent toxin epibatidine on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors provides a toxin resistance while reducing the affinity of acetylcholine binding.
== Diet ==
The diet of Dendrobatidae is what gives them the alkaloids/toxins that are found in their skin. The diet that is responsible for these characteristics consists primarily of small and leaf-litter arthropods found in its general habitat, typically ants. Their diet, however, is typically separated into two distinct categories. The first is the primary portion of Dendrobatidae's diet which include prey that are slow-moving, large in number, and small in size. This typically consists of ants, while also including mites, small beetles, and minor litter-dwelling taxa. The second category of prey are much rarer finds and are much larger in body size, and they tend to have high palatability and mobility. These typically consist of the orthopteroids, lepidopteran larvae, and spiders. The natural diet of an individual dendrobatid depends on its species and prey abundance in its location, amongst other factors.
== Behavior ==
=== Aggressive behavior and territoriality ===
Both male and female Dendrobatidae are territorial and display aggressive behavior, both as tadpoles and adults. Dendrobatidae are especially aggressive in defending regions that serve as male calling sites. Males wrestle with intruders of their territory in order to defend their calling sites as well as their vegetation. While vocalization and various behavioral displays serve as a way of exhibiting one's strength or fitness, territorial disputes and fights often escalate to physical combat and aggression. Physical violence and aggression are particularly common at times of calling. If it an intruder is detected making calls in the territory of a Dendrobatidae frog, the resident frog attempts to eliminate the competition to claim the territory and the females in it for himself. The resident frog initially makes its presence known by the means of vocalization and various behavioral displays as a way to exert dominance, but if this does not scare away the intruder, then the resident frog moves towards the intruder and strikes them. These encounters immediately escalate into a full on fight where both strike each other and grasp each other's limbs. Similarly, the females also often get into fights and display aggressive behaviors in disputes over territory or a mating conflict. It has also been observed that females who are going after the same male, after hearing their call, chase each other down and wrestle to fight for the male. After a female courts with a male, they are also very likely to exhibit aggressive behavior towards any females that approach that male. Both the males and females bout their own respective sexes for each other in a fairly similar fashion.
=== Reproduction ===
Many species of poison dart frogs are dedicated parents. Many poison dart frogs in the genera Oophaga and Ranitomeya carry their newly hatched tadpoles into the canopy; the tadpoles stick to the mucus on the backs of their parents. Once in the upper reaches of the rainforest trees, the parents deposit their young in the pools of water that accumulate in epiphytic plants, such as bromeliads. The tadpoles feed on invertebrates in their nursery, and their mother will even supplement their diet by depositing eggs into the water. Other poison frogs lay their eggs on the forest floor, hidden beneath the leaf litter. Poison frogs fertilize their eggs externally; the female lays a cluster of eggs and a male fertilizes them afterward, in the same manner as most fish. Poison frogs can often be observed clutching each other, similar to the manner most frogs copulate. However, these demonstrations are actually territorial wrestling matches. Both males and females frequently engage in disputes over territory. A male will fight for the most prominent roosts from which to broadcast his mating call; females fight over desirable nests, and even invade the nests of other females to devour competitor's eggs.
The operational sex ratio in the poison dart frog family is mostly female biased. This leads to a few characteristic behaviors and traits found in organisms with an uneven sex ratio. In general, females have a choice of mate. In turn, males show brighter coloration, are territorial, and are aggressive toward other males. Females select mates based on coloration (mainly dorsal), calling perch location, and territory.
==== Mating behavior ====
Observations of the Dendrobatidae family suggest that males of the species typically make their mating call in morning between the times of 6:30 am to 11:30 am. The males are usually on average one meter above the ground on limbs, trunks, and stems, or logs of trees so that their call travels further and so they can be seen by potential mates. The calls are signaled towards the stream where females are located. After the call is received, the female makes its way to the male and fertilization occurs. This observed fertilization is not accomplished through amplexus. Upon meeting, courtship is generally initiated by the female. The female strokes, climbs, and jumps on the male in tactile courtship and are by far the more active sex. The duration of courtship in poison frogs is long and females may occasionally reject males, even after an entire day of active pursuit. In the majority of cases, the males choose the oviposition site and lead the females there. In some Dendrobatidae species, such as strawberry poison frog, visual cues under high light intensity are also used to identify individuals from the same population. Different species use different cues to identify individuals from their same population during mating and courtship.
==== Post-mating behavior ====
Typically in many species the larger portion of parental investment falls on the shoulders of the female sex, whereas the male sex has a much smaller portion. However, it has been studied that in the family of Dendrobatidae, many of the species exhibit sex role reversal in which the females are competing for a limited number of males and the males are the choosers and their parental investment is much larger than the females. This theory also says that the female will typically produce eggs at an exceedingly fast rate that the males cannot possibly take full care of them which then leads to some of the males becoming unreceptive. Dendrobatidae also exhibit the parental quality hypothesis. This is where the females mating with the males try to ensure that their male mates with as few individuals as possible so that their number of offspring is limited, and thus each individual offspring receives a larger portion of care, attention, and resources. However, this creates an interesting dynamic of balance as there is a limited number of males available, and with many females competing for a limited number of males for courtship this makes it difficult to limit the number of individuals a male mates with. Whereas in many species, the competition is flipped in that the competition is prominent among the males, among the Dendrobatidae it is the opposite as the females seem to have a great deal of competition among themselves for males. Females will even take the drastic measures and resort to the destroying of other female's eggs in order to make sure that the male they mated with is receptive and that it scares the male from mating with other females.
==== Behavior as tadpoles ====
The poison dart frog is known for its aggressive and predatory behavior. As tadpoles, the individuals of the genus Dendrobates exhibit some unique cannibalistic tendencies, along with many other forms of predatory behavior. Dendrobates tadpoles that either consumed three or more conspecific tadpoles and/or relatively large larvae of the mosquito Trichoprosopon digitatum common in their environment led them to having a much higher growth rate and typically lived much longer lives. Reasons for this behavior could be that predation and aggression was selected for and favored for a few reasons. One reason is to eliminate predators, and the second reason is that it serves as a source of food in habitats that were low in resources. This predation could have evolved over time and led to cannibalism as another form of predatory behavior that had benefitted individuals survival fitness. However, one observation has been noted in the general characteristic of Dendrobates tadpoles including D. arboreus, D. granuliferus, D. lehmanni, D. occultator, D. pumilio, D. speciosus, and many other Dendrobates species is that they have reduced mouth parts as young tadpoles which limits their consumption typically to unfertilized eggs only.
== Captive care ==
All species of poison dart frogs are Neotropical in origin. Wild-caught specimens can maintain toxicity for some time (which they obtain through a form of bioaccumulation), so appropriate care should be taken when handling them. While scientific study on the lifespan of poison dart frogs is scant, retagging frequencies indicate it can range from one to three years in the wild. However, these frogs typically live for much longer in captivity, having been reported to live as long as 25 years. These claims also seem to be questionable, since many of the larger species take a year or more to mature, and Phyllobates species can take more than two years.
In captivity, most species thrive where the humidity is kept constant at 80 to 100% and where the temperature is around 72 °F (22 °C) to 80 °F (27 °C) during the day and no lower than 60 °F (16 °C) to 65 °F (18 °C) at night. Some species tolerate lower temperatures better than others.
== Conservation status ==
Many species of poison dart frogs have recently experienced habitat loss, chytrid diseases, and collection for the pet trade. Some are listed as threatened or endangered as a result. Zoos have tried to counteract this disease by treating captive frogs with an antifungal agent that is used to cure athlete's foot in humans.
== Threats ==
=== Parasites ===
Poison dart frogs suffer from parasites ranging from helminths to protozoans.
=== Diseases ===
Poison dart frogs suffer from chytridiomycosis, which is a deadly disease that is caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). This infection has been found in frogs from Colostethus and Dendrobates. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Heath | Edward Heath | Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath also served for 51 years as a Member of Parliament from 1950 to 2001. Outside politics, Heath was a yachtsman, a musician, and an author.
Born in Broadstairs, Kent, Heath was the son of a chambermaid and carpenter. He attended Chatham House Grammar School in Ramsgate, Kent, and became a leader within student politics while studying at Balliol College at the University of Oxford. During World War II, Heath served as an officer in the Royal Artillery. He worked briefly in the Civil Service, but resigned in order to stand for Parliament, and was elected for Bexley at the 1950 election. He was promoted to become Chief Whip by Anthony Eden in 1955, and in 1959 was appointed to the Cabinet by Harold Macmillan as Minister of Labour. He later held the role of Lord Privy Seal and in 1963, was made President of the Board of Trade by Alec Douglas-Home. After the Conservatives were defeated at the 1964 election, Heath was elected as Leader of the Conservative Party in 1965, becoming Leader of the Opposition. Although he led the Conservatives to a landslide defeat at the 1966 election, he remained in the leadership, and at the 1970 election led his party to an unexpected victory.
During his time as prime minister, Heath oversaw the decimalisation of British coinage in 1971, and in 1972 he led the reformation of local government, significantly reducing the number of local authorities and creating several new metropolitan counties, much of which remains to this day. A strong supporter of British membership of the European Economic Community (EEC), Heath's "finest hour" came in 1973, when he led the United Kingdom into membership of what would later become the European Union. However, his premiership also coincided with the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, with his approval of internment without trial and subsequent suspension of the Stormont Parliament seeing the imposition of direct British rule. Unofficial talks with Provisional Irish Republican Army delegates were unsuccessful, as was the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973, which led the MPs of the Ulster Unionist Party to withdraw from the Conservative whip. Heath also tried to reform British trade unionism with the Industrial Relations Act, and hoped to deregulate the economy and make a transfer from direct to indirect taxation, such as with the introduction of value-added tax in 1973. However, a miners' strike at the start of 1974 severely damaged the Government, causing the implementation of the Three-Day Week to conserve energy. Attempting to resolve the situation, Heath called an election for February 1974, attempting to obtain a mandate to face down the miners' wage demands, but this instead resulted in a hung parliament, with the Conservatives losing their majority. Despite gaining fewer votes, the Labour Party won four more seats, and Heath resigned as Prime Minister on 4 March after talks with the Liberal Party to form a coalition government were unsuccessful.
After losing a second successive election in October 1974, Heath's leadership was challenged by Margaret Thatcher and, on 4 February, she narrowly outpolled him in the first round. Heath chose to resign the leadership rather than contest the second round, returning to the backbenches, where he would remain until 2001. In 1975, he played a major role in the referendum on British membership of the EEC, campaigning for the eventually successful "remain" vote. Heath would later become an embittered critic of Thatcher during her time as prime minister, speaking and writing against the policies of Thatcherism. Following the 1992 election, he became Father of the House, until his retirement from the Commons in 2001. He died in 2005, aged 89. Heath has been described by the BBC as "the first working-class meritocrat" to become Conservative leader in "the party's modern history" and "a One Nation Tory in the Disraeli tradition who rejected the laissez-faire capitalism that Thatcher would enthusiastically endorse."
== Early life ==
Edward Richard George Heath was born at 54 Albion Road, Broadstairs, Kent, on 9 July 1916, the son of William George Heath (1888–1976), a carpenter who built airframes for Vickers during the First World War, and was subsequently employed as a builder and Edith Anne Heath (née Pantony; 1888–1951), a lady's maid. His father was later a successful small businessman after taking over a building and decorating firm. Heath's paternal grandfather had run a small dairy business, and when that failed worked as a porter at Broadstairs Station on the Southern Railway. Edward was four years old when his younger brother, John, was born; there was no question that Edward was the "favoured brother". Heath was known as "Teddy" as a young man. He was educated at Chatham House Grammar School in Ramsgate, and in 1935 with the aid of a county scholarship he went up to study at Balliol College, Oxford.
In later years, Heath's peculiar accent, with its "strangulated" vowel sounds, combined with his non-Standard pronunciation of "l" as "w" and "out" as "eout", was satirised by Monty Python in the audio sketch "Teach Yourself Heath" (released on a 7" flexi-disc single included with initial copies of their 1972 LP Monty Python's Previous Record). Heath's biographer John Campbell speculates that his speech, unlike that of his father and younger brother, who both spoke with Kent accents, must have undergone "drastic alteration on encountering Oxford", although retaining elements of Kent speech.
== Oxford ==
A talented musician, Heath won the college's organ scholarship in his first term (he had previously tried for the organ scholarships at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and Keble College, Oxford) which enabled him to stay at the university for a fourth year; he eventually graduated with a Second Class Honours BA in Philosophy, politics and economics in 1939.
While at university Heath became active in Conservative Party politics. On the key political issue of the day, foreign policy, he opposed the Conservative-dominated government of the day ever more openly. His first Paper Speech (i.e. a major speech listed on the Order Paper along with the visiting guest speakers) at the Oxford Union, in 1936, was in opposition to the appeasement of Germany by returning her colonies, confiscated during the First World War.
In June 1937 Heath was elected President of the Oxford University Conservative Association as a pro-Spanish Republic candidate, in opposition to the pro-Franco John Stokes (himself later a Conservative MP). In 1937–38 Heath was chairman of the national Federation of University Conservative Associations, and in the same year (his third at university) he was Secretary and then Librarian of the Oxford Union. At the end of the year he was defeated for the Presidency of the Oxford Union by another Balliol candidate, Alan Wood, on the issue of whether the Chamberlain government should give way to a left-wing Popular Front. On that occasion, Heath supported the government.
In his final year Heath was the president of Balliol College's Junior Common Room, an office held in subsequent years by his near-contemporaries Denis Healey, who would become a lifelong friend and political rival and Roy Jenkins, and as such was invited to support the Master of Balliol Alexander Lindsay, who stood as an anti-appeasement 'Independent Progressive' candidate against the official Conservative candidate, Quintin Hogg, in the 1938 Oxford by-election.
Heath, who had himself applied to be the Conservative candidate for the by-election, accused the government in an October Union Debate of "turning all four cheeks" to Adolf Hitler, and was elected as President of the Oxford Union in November 1938, sponsored by Balliol, after winning the Presidential Debate that "This House has No Confidence in the National Government as presently constituted". He was thus President in Hilary term 1939; the visiting Leo Amery described him in his diaries as "a pleasant youth".
As an undergraduate, Heath travelled widely in Europe. His opposition to appeasement was nourished by his witnessing first-hand a Nuremberg rally in 1937, where he met leading Nazis Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels, and Heinrich Himmler at an SS cocktail party. He later described Himmler as "the most evil man I have ever met". He was in Germany for two months to learn German but did not keep up any fluency in the language in later life. In 1938 he visited Barcelona, then under attack from Spanish Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War. On one occasion a car in which he was travelling came under machine-gun fire, while on another a bomb hit his hotel whilst he was observing an air raid from outside. In the summer of 1939, accompanied by his Jewish friend Madron Seligman, he travelled to Danzig and Poland. They made the return journey by hitchhiking and rail across Germany through mobilising troops, returning to Britain just before the declaration of war.
== Second World War ==
Heath spent late 1939 and early 1940 on a debating tour of the United States before being called up. On 22 March 1941, he received an emergency commission as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery. During the war he initially served with heavy anti-aircraft guns around Liverpool (which suffered heavy German bombing raids in May 1941) and by early 1942 was regimental adjutant, with the substantive rank of captain.
Heath participated as an adjutant in the Normandy landings, where he met Maurice Schumann, French Foreign Minister under Pompidou. As a temporary major commanding a battery of his own, he provided artillery support during the Allied campaigns in France and Germany in 1944–45, for which he received a mention in despatches on 8 November 1945.
Heath later remarked that "[it's] one thing to be in the war, and you see the enemy on the other side and so you bombard them, and then later on when you pass over their ground, you see dead bodies lying around". In September 1945 he commanded a firing squad that executed a Polish soldier convicted of rape and murder. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, Military Division (MBE) on 24 January 1946. He was demobilised in August 1946 and promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant-colonel on 1 May 1947.
Heath joined the Honourable Artillery Company as a lieutenant-colonel on 1 September 1951, in which he remained active throughout the 1950s, rising to commanding officer of the Second Battalion; a portrait of him in full dress uniform still hangs in the Queens Room of the HAC's Armoury House. In April 1971, as prime minister, he wore his lieutenant-colonel's insignia to inspect troops.
== Post-war, 1945–1950 ==
Before the war, Heath had won a scholarship to Gray's Inn and had begun making preparations for a career at the Bar, but after the war he was placed in joint top position in the civil service examinations. He then became a civil servant in the Ministry of Civil Aviation (he was disappointed not to be posted to the Treasury, but declined an offer to join the Foreign Office, fearing that foreign postings might prevent him from entering politics).
Heath joined a team under Alison Munro tasked with drawing up a scheme for British airports using some of the many Second World War RAF bases, and was specifically charged with planning the home counties. Years later she attributed his evident enthusiasm for Maplin Airport to this work. Then much to the surprise of civil service colleagues, he sought adoption as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Bexley and resigned in November 1947.
After working as news editor of the Church Times from February 1948 to September 1949, Heath worked as a management trainee at the merchant bankers Brown, Shipley & Co. until his election as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bexley in the February 1950 general election. In the election he defeated an old contemporary from the Oxford Union, Ashley Bramall, by a margin of 133 votes.
== Early political career (1950–1965) ==
=== Member of Parliament ===
Heath made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 26 June 1950, in which he appealed to the Labour government to participate in the Schuman Plan. As MP for Bexley, he gave enthusiastic speeches in support of the young candidate for neighbouring Dartford, Margaret Roberts, later Margaret Thatcher.
He was appointed as an opposition whip by Winston Churchill in February 1951. He remained in the whip's office after the Conservatives won the 1951 general election, rising rapidly to Joint Deputy Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip and, in December 1955, Government Chief Whip under Anthony Eden. Journalist Geoffrey Wheatcroft has observed that "Of all government jobs, this requires firmness and fairness allied to tact and patience and Heath's ascent seems baffling in hindsight".
=== In office ===
Due to the convention that whips did not speak in Parliament, Heath managed to keep out of the controversy over the Suez Crisis. On the announcement of Eden's resignation, Heath submitted a report on the opinions of the Conservative MPs regarding Eden's possible successors. This report favoured Harold Macmillan and helped to secure Macmillan the premiership in January 1957. Macmillan later appointed Heath Minister of Labour, a Cabinet Minister—as Chief Whip Heath had attended Cabinet, but had not been formally a member—after winning the October 1959 election.
In 1960 Macmillan appointed Heath Lord Privy Seal with responsibility for the negotiations to secure the UK's first attempt to join the European Communities (or Common Market, as it was then more widely known). After extensive negotiations, involving detailed agreements about the UK's agricultural trade with Commonwealth countries such as New Zealand, British entry was vetoed by the French President, Charles de Gaulle, at a press conference in January 1963 – much to the disappointment of Heath, who was a firm supporter of European common market membership for the United Kingdom. He oversaw a successful application when serving as prime minister a decade later.
Following this setback, a major humiliation for Macmillan's foreign policy, Heath was not a contender for the party leadership on Macmillan's retirement in October 1963. Under prime minister Alec Douglas-Home he was President of the Board of Trade and Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development, and oversaw the abolition of retail price maintenance, as well as the move of the August Bank Holiday to extend the holiday season and reduce congestion.
== Leader of the Opposition (1965–1970) ==
=== Party leadership ===
After the Conservative Party lost the general election of 1964, the defeated Home changed the party leadership rules to allow for a ballot by MPs and then, in July 1965, he resigned. Heath—who was Shadow Chancellor at the time, and had recently won favourable publicity for leading the fight against Labour's Finance Bill—unexpectedly won the party's leadership contest, gaining 150 votes to Reginald Maudling's 133 and Enoch Powell's 15. Heath became the Conservatives' youngest leader and retained office following the party's defeat in the general election of 1966.
In April 1968 Enoch Powell made his controversial "Rivers of Blood" speech, which criticised immigration to the United Kingdom. Soon afterwards Heath telephoned Margaret Thatcher to inform her that he was going to sack Powell from the Shadow cabinet; she recalled that she "really thought that it was better to let things cool down for the present rather than heighten the crisis". The next day Heath sacked Powell. Several Conservatives on the right protested against Powell's sacking. According to Heath, he never spoke to Powell again.
=== 1970 election ===
With another general election approaching in 1970 a Conservative policy document emerged from the Selsdon Park Hotel that offered free-market–oriented policies as solutions to the country's unemployment and inflation problems. Heath stated that the Selsdon weekend only reaffirmed policies that had actually been evolving since he became leader of the Conservative Party. The Labour prime minister, Harold Wilson, thought the document a vote-loser and dubbed it the product of Selsdon Man – after the supposedly prehistoric Piltdown Man – to portray it as reactionary. Heath's Conservative Party won the general election of 1970 with 330 seats to Labour's 287. The new cabinet included the future prime minister Margaret Thatcher (Education and Science), William Whitelaw (Leader of the House of Commons) and the former prime minister Alec Douglas-Home (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs).
== Premiership (1970–1974) ==
=== Welfare state ===
During Heath's first year in office, higher charges were introduced for benefits of the welfare state such as school meals, spectacles, dentistry, and prescriptions. Entitlement to State Sickness Benefit was also changed so that it would only be paid after the first three days of sickness. In 1971 a series of measures was introduced designed to limit the availability of supplementary benefit. In particular, as noted by one study, "tax rebates and strike pay were treated as resources, subject to a £4 disregard." The Social Security Act of 1971 increased the financial penalty for leaving work or refusing a job without good cause, and also withdrew benefit for the first three days of unemployment and industrial injury. The same Act imposed a 40% reduction for voluntary unemployment. The 1971 Social Security Act also made provision for supplementary benefit to be automatically reduced for claimants disqualified for unemployment benefits and also (as noted by one study) “of all those claimants whose unemployment benefits are suspended while insurance officers investigate the circumstances of their leaving their jobs or being sacked.” In 1972, a procedure was introduced under which claimants from outside an area who had moved to that area in search of work had one week to find a job before being cut off. From April 1972 a man returning from work after being on strike had to pay back any supplementary benefit received to tide him over during the first 15 days at work before he got his pay. In February 1973, the rules about help in urgent cases were made more stringent. Also in regards to strikers, the Social Security Act of 1971 reduced the disregards (the normal sums, the principal strike payments and the tax refunds) that were disregarded in calculating the entitlement of a family to benefit. Also, from 3 April 1972 onwards, as noted by one MP
any payment for supplementary benefit made in the fortnight following a return to work is recoverable, normally by means of a deduction from pay by the employer. Further, supplementary benefit will not normally be paid in the first fortnight of a dispute when employees have their first week's wages and a week's "wages in hand" available to them. Nor is benefit paid to meet commitments incurred before a strike began, such as hire-purchase instalments, rent arrears or outstanding gas or electricity bills.”
Noting the impact of the 1971 Social Security Act, one MP argued that
The Social Security Act, 1971, causes a great deal of misery and hardship within my area. It affects people who have been disqualified from benefit because they have left their job for no good reason, and other unfortunate people who have been charged with industrial misconduct. Industrial misconduct is hard to define but the unfortunate people who are charged with it find it extremely difficult to survive on the payments they receive under Section 1(2) of the Act. They now receive 40 per cent. less than do the people who are on supplementary benefit. Under the previous legislation there was a discount of 75p, but perhaps that amount was not considered by this Government to be a sufficient deterrent to people leaving their jobs. The application of a 40 per cent. reduction in the allowance given to these persons who have been refused unemployment benefit causes a great deal of hardship and misery.
Unemployment benefit refunds for ‘waiting days’ were also ended, as noted by one study:
Until 1971, benefit for the ‘waiting days’ was refunded if unemployment continued beyond twelve days. Single days can be combined if they fall within a period of thirteen weeks. For the supplementary earnings-related Benefit scheme, the waiting day period is twelve days. Before the Social Security Act 1971, unemployment benefit was refunded for any ‘waiting days’ if unemployment lasted for more than twelve days, but this is no longer available; the only possibility is to apply for emergency Supplementary Benefits during this period.
As a result of the squeeze in the education budget, the provision of free school milk was ended for 8- to 11-year-olds (it had already been ended for older children by Harold Wilson); the tabloid press christened Margaret Thatcher, the then Education Secretary as "Margaret Thatcher: Milk Snatcher".
Despite these measures, the Heath government encouraged a significant increase in welfare spending, and Thatcher blocked Macleod's other posthumous education policy: the abolition of the Open University, which had recently been founded by the preceding Labour government. In addition, despite the end of cheap milk provision, 700,000 school children remained entitled to free milk. The Legal Advice and Assistance Act 1972 provided for better facilities for advice and assistance at an early stage in a dispute. The Social Needs (Grants) Act 9NI) 1970 "made provision for the authorisation of the payment of grants towards expenditure incurred due to special social need in urban areas." From 1971 onwards, in regards to supplementary benefit, the requirements of a striker (his normal requirements) were disregarded in full. In January 1973, the Criminal Justice Act 1972 came into effect in England and Wales. It extended the court's power "to order an offender to pay compensation for personal injury, loss, or damage." In June 1973 a new lower rate of attendance allowance was introduced for those aged 16 to 64, while lower rates "for the aged under 15 and those over 65 were introduced on 1 October and 3 December respectively." Another change allowed for small claims of less than £75 to be dealt with in a less formal manner within the County Court system. Rules of evidence and requirements of legal representation were relaxed to make it viable to claim such small sums under the County Court Act 1959 as amended by the Administration of Justice Act (E&W) 1973. The Land Compensation Act of 1973 “increased compensation for persons displaced by public development projects.”
Provision was made under the National Insurance (Old Persons' and Widows' Pensions and Attendances Allowances) Act 1970 for pensions to be paid to old people who had been excluded from the pre-1948 pension schemes and were accordingly excluded from the comprehensive scheme that was introduced in 1948. About 100,000 people were affected by this change, half of whom were receiving Supplementary Benefit under the social security scheme. The Act also made improvements to the Widow's Pension scheme by introducing a scale that started at 30 shillings a week for women widowed at the age of 40 and rose to the full rate of £5 at the age of 50.
Considerable support was provided for nursery school building, and a long-term capital investment programme in school building was launched. A Family Fund was set up to assist families with children who had congenital conditions, while new benefits were introduced benefiting hundreds of thousands of disabled persons whose disabilities had been caused neither by war nor by industrial injury. An Attendance Allowance was introduced for those needing care at home, together with Invalidity Benefit for the long-term sick, while a higher Child Allowance was made available where invalidity allowance was paid. Widow's Benefits were introduced for those aged between forty and fifty years of age, improved subsidies for slum clearance were made available, while Rent Allowances were introduced for private tenants. In April 1971, the right to education was given to all children with Down's syndrome for the first time. The National Insurance (Married Women) Amendment Regulations 1971 extended the provisions of the National Insurance (Married Women) Regulations 1948. The Pneumoconiosis, Byssinosis and Miscellaneous Diseases Benefit (Amendment) Scheme of 1971 made various improvements to the previous Pneumoconiosis, Byssinosis and Miscellaneous Diseases Benefit scheme introduced in 1966. The Workmen’s Compensation (Supplementation) Amendment Scheme 1971 increased the weekly rate of lesser incapacity allowance that was payable under certain circumstances. Provision was also made (in regards to interest on compensation for injurious affection where no land is taken) for interest to payable on injurious affection, for the injurious affection claim, on farm loss payments, and on disturbance payments.
The school leaving age was raised to 16, while Family Income Supplement was introduced to boost the incomes of low-income earners. Families who received this benefit were exempted from NHS charges while the children in such families were eligible for free school meals. According to one study, the number of working families living below the Supplementary Benefit level fell from 63,000 in 1970 to 50,000 in 1972; a fall that was largely attributable to the introduction of the Family Income Supplement. Non-contributory pensions were also introduced for all persons aged eighty and above, while the Social Security Act 1973 was passed which introduced benefit indexation in the United Kingdom for the first time by index-linking benefits to prices to maintain their real value. An amendment to the Social Security Act of 1973 required the secretary of state to publicize benefits for the disabled. The National Insurance Act of 1971 introduced a special addition with no means test for all pensioners over 80, while in 1972 a £10 Christmas bonus was introduced. Annual upratings for all pensioners was also introduced. The Conservatives had previously promised in 1970 to review pensions every two years, but instead instituted an annual review. From October 1973 onwards a higher ' long – term rate ' of supplementary benefit "was paid to those who had received supplementary benefit for a continuous period." A decision was also made (from October 1973 onwards) to uprate long-term benefits by a larger amount than short-term benefits. That same year, a basic short-term rates were introduced for everyone else; the short-term sick and unemployed in the main. From 1972 onwards, "while there is no statutory commitment to this effect, the same cash increases have been made in the leading supplementary benefit scale rates as in their national insurance counterparts." In 1973, a statutory commitment to uprate national insurance benefits in line with prices was introduced. In December 1973, the four-week rule was suspended; a procedure introduced in July 1968 under which supplementary allowances were withdrawn from claimants regarded as fit for work if employment was available in the locality.
The Industrial Relations Act of 1971 gave employees "the right, depending on a minimum qualifying period, to appeal to an industrial tribunal, where compensation for unfair dismissal could be awarded based on length of service," and in 1972 preservation of accrued pension benefits after 5 or more years' service was introduced. The Legal Advice and Assistance Act 1972 set up a Green Form scheme under which advice of up to two hours, free of charge to the poorest or at reduced rates to those of modest means, became available. The Housing Finance Act 1972 "introduced a national formula for rent increases in the public sector and a mandatory system of local rent and rate rebates that survived subsequent legislation." The Supplementary Benefit (Determination of Requirements) Regulations 1972 increased the rent addition for non-householders and removed the present age qualification. The Students' Dependents' Allowances Regulations 1973 enabled the Secretary of State "to pay allowances to students attending first degree university etc. courses and courses for the training of teachers." A social security amendment of 1973 provided for allowing the Supplementary Benefits Commission "to make payments to cover funeral expenses without having regard to the powers of local authorities, so that the commission will not be inhibited by the fact that local authorities have certain powers concerning the disposal of bodies." Subsequently, the Commission "revised its policy on payments towards funeral expenses . Claimants are no longer advised to ask the Local Authority to make funeral arrangements, and the Commission will consider paying towards the costs of a private funeral under its powers to meet exceptional needs."
The Redundant Mineworkers and Concessionary Coal (Payments Schemes) Order 1973 provided for three new types of benefits, including "lump sums based on length of service for men redundant between age 35 and 55, and for men over 55 who due to lack of service in the industry do not qualify for basic benefit; a new benefit equivalent to the current rate of unemployment benefit to be paid to men when they have exhausted their 156 weeks of basic benefit until they reach age 65; and concessionary coal benefits for men made redundant between age 55 and 60, and certain men redundant over age 60. (Most men redundant over age 60 already receive concessionary coal under existing arrangements.) In addition, "The amount of benefit which a beneficiary may retain if he obtains other employment has also been increased." The Employment and Training Act 1973 included various provisions. For instance, as specified in the text of the Act, "The Secretary of State may— pay to any person appointed in pursuance of the preceding paragraph such subsistence and travelling allowances and such compensation for loss of remunerative time as the Secretary of State may determine with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service." In addition, "An industrial training board may— pay maintenance and travelling allowances to persons attending courses provided or approved by the board; make grants or loans to persons providing courses or other facilities approved by the board, to persons who make studies for the purpose of providing such courses or facilities and to persons who maintain arrangements to provide such courses or facilities which are not for the time being in use; pay fees to persons providing further education in respect of persons who receive it in association with their training in courses provided or approved by the board; make payments to persons in connection with arrangements under which they or employees of theirs make use of courses or other facilities provided or approved by the board."
The Redundant Mineworkers (Payments Scheme) Order 1972 was intended to be available for 3 years "to any miner who is made redundant after he has reached 55 to help him to adjust to the new situation and to the difficulties which confront him." It included a number of provisions for miners and their dependents including the addition of cost of living increments, a basic scheme benefit, an increase from £3 to £6 a week to the benefit "which can be kept if a redundant mineworker finds a new job and enters new employment, because if he did he would probably incur income tax, perhaps National Insurance contributions, travelling expenses and other expenses which might well have exceeded the £3 which he would have been able to draw if he had continued to draw that from the redundant mineworkers payment scheme." The rent allowance which is payable to a redundant mineworker was made transferable to a new house if he were to move his home, the rules regarding the offsetting of State and other coal industry benefits against the total of the mineworkers' redundancy payment benefit were eased, and the scheme was changed "so that in the event of a second redundancy—if a miner is made redundant a second time—his earnings are computed on the wages paid in the year immediately before the second redundancy as opposed to his previous level of earnings." Also, "these last three concessions will apply to men who are in the existing scheme, not only to miners who might be made redundant in future, but to all those who are part of the existing scheme at the present time." The scheme also provided that the general increases in benefits, such as the special hardship allowance and workmen's compensation supplementation would not be offset as at present, and also provided for increases in benefits paid to men on workmen's compensation as a result of becoming total or major incapacity cases, award of special hardship allowance in respect of an accident or disease sustained after redundancies. In addition, "any general increase in unemployment benefit between 6th April, 1972, and 6th April, 1973, will be offset against the benefit of men made redundant after 6th April, 1973." Also, "the maximum amount of benefit that can be kept by those who get a job is increased from £3 to £6" weekly, and "the table of basic benefit appropriate to the various ranges of pre-redundancy earnings set out in Appendix 4 has been recalculated so that the basic benefit, plus the 1971 rate of unemployment benefit for a man and one adult dependant, equals, after tax and on average over the three years, 90 per cent. of previous take-home pay." Other provisions included service in the coal industry "before nationalisation can now count towards the 10 qualifying years" and that women "who are not paying the full National Insurance stamp will be able to get some benefit despite not being eligible for unemployment benefit." In addition, "days of absence from home which disqualify a person from unemployment benefit, and also from 72 scheme benefit, will be counted as days rather than one day in a week resulting in a whole week's disqualification as at present." Also, "a man made redundant within the terms of the scheme and reemployed in the coal industry for more than a year and then made redundant a second time can choose on which of the two pre-redundancy earnings he wishes his benefit to be calculated." In addition, "the requirement that in order to continue getting the rent allowance a person must continue to live in the same house in which he was living when he was made redundant, and that this house must continue to be owned by the board, is removed." Also, "the relevant tax year on which pre-redundancy earnings are based will now be the previous tax year for everybody, instead of being two years ago for those made redundant during April." Also, as noted by one MP, "Following the introduction of the first redundant mineworkers payments scheme in 1968, which provided benefits for men aged 55 or over on redundancy who otherwise satisfied the requirements of the scheme, there was pressure to enhance the terms available to enable such men to receive concessionary coal as though they had reached normal retirement age. The Government responded to this pressure in the Coal Industry Act 1973, amending the power to make schemes benefiting redundant mineworkers in the 1967 Act." Also in 1973, the first concessionary coal payments scheme was introduced by order, which provided for reimbursement to the National Coal Board "of the full cost of concessionary coal to men aged 55 to 59 who qualified for benefits under the redundant mineworkers payments scheme from 14 December 1969, and half the cost of providing concessionary coal to such men age 60 to 65."
A number of new superannuation provisions were introduced for various categories of workers. For those in the NHS, this included years and days used in benefit calculations instead of years and half years, the introduction of practitioner dynamising introduced i.e. 1.4% pensions, best of the last 3 years Total Superannuable Remuneration introduced instead of average of last 3 years, 3 x lump sum introduced for post 24 March 1972 service (married men), the introduction of a half rate widow's pension (was previously 1/3), a new rate of Child Allowance, a reduction in the qualifying period for pensions from 10 years to 5 years, the abolition of the qualifying period for Death Gratuities (DG), the introduction of double incapacity build up for service between 5 years and 9 years 364 days (or to age 65 if less), the introduction of 3 months initial widows pension, the introduction of widows limited pension (for 3, 4.5 or 6 months) for those widows who do not have title to continuing widows pensions, the introduction of a Limited Child Allowance, the introduction of automatic payment of benefits at age 70, the introduction of Added Years purchase, "Pensions Increase Supplement may apply" from January 1973 to October 1975, the extension of service to take account of untaken annual leave introduced for ancillary staff, and "Part time service may be superannuable provided half or more of the w/t basic is worked." The Pensions (Increase) Act of 1971 provided for regular increases in public service pensions by statutory instrument. The Act was later amended in 1972 and 1974 "to lower the minimum qualifying age for pensions increase from 60 to 55 and to provide for all pensions paid to widows of scheme members to be increased."
The Superannuation Act of 1972 provided for new arrangements for premature retirement on grounds of limited efficiency, granted civil servants rights to their pensions and established the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, the Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contribution Scheme (CSAVCS), the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS) and the Civil Service Injury Benefits Scheme (CSIBS). The Local Government (Retirement of Chief Officers) Regulations 1973 provided "for persons identified as chief officers and deputy chief officers of local authorities, and certain other persons affected by local government reorganisation, to elect for early retirement on enhanced pension terms and thereby forgo any right to claim compensation which might otherwise have been exercised under section 259 of the Local Government Act 1972." Section 27 of the Water Act 1973 empowered water authorities to establish and administer pension schemes and funds. The Social Security Act of 1973 made further provisions "for occupational pensions, established the Occupational Pensions Board and the contributory reserve pension scheme under a Reserve Pension Board for not recognised pensionable employment." The Legal Aid Act 1974 raised the upper disposable income limit for eligibility for civil legal aid.
=== Scottish nationalism ===
Scottish nationalism grew as a political force, while the decimalisation of British coinage, begun under the previous Labour government, was completed eight months after Heath came to power. The Central Policy Review Staff was established by Heath in February 1971, while the Local Government Act 1972 changed the boundaries of the counties of England and Wales and created Metropolitan Counties around the major cities (e.g. Merseyside around Liverpool): this caused significant public anger. Heath did not divide England into regions, choosing instead to await the report of the Crowther Commission on the constitution; the 10 Government Office Regions were eventually set up by the Major government in 1994.
=== Economic policy ===
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Iain Macleod, died and was replaced on 20 July 1970 by Anthony Barber. Heath's planned economic policy changes (including a significant shift from direct to indirect taxation) remained largely unimplemented: the Selsdon policy document was more or less abandoned as unemployment increased considerably by 1972. By January that year, the number of unemployed reached a million, the highest level for more than two decades. Opposed to unemployment on moral grounds, Heath encouraged a famous "U-Turn" in economic policy that precipitated what became known as the "Barber Boom". This was a two-range process involving the budgets of 1972 and 1973, the former of which pumped £2.5 billion into the economy in increased pensions and benefits and tax reductions. By early 1974, as a result of this Keynesian economic strategy, unemployment had fallen to under 550,000. The economic boom did not last, and the Heath government implemented various cuts that led to the abandonment of policy goals such as a planned expansion of nursery education.
=== Trade unions ===
Much of the government's attention, as well as the media and public opinion, focused on deteriorating labour relations, as the government sought to weaken the economic power of the trade unions, which had grown steadily since 1945. The Industrial Relations Act 1971 set up a special court under the judge Lord Donaldson. Its imprisonment of striking dockworkers was a public relations disaster and became an object lesson for the Thatcher government of the 1980s. Thatcher relied instead on confiscating the assets of unions that courts found to have violated anti-strike laws.
The trade unions responded with a full-scale counterattack on a government hobbled by inflation and high unemployment. Especially damaging to the government's credibility were the two miners' strikes of 1972 and 1974, the latter of which resulted in much of the country's industry working a Three-Day Week in an attempt to conserve energy. The National Union of Mineworkers won its case but the energy shortages and the resulting breakdown of domestic consensus contributed to the eventual downfall of his government.
=== Unemployment ===
There was a steep rise in unemployment for the first two years of the Heath ministry, but it was then reversed. Labour in 1964 had inherited an unemployment count of around 400,000 but saw unemployment peak at 631,000 in early 1967. At election time in June 1970, the unemployment numbers were still high at 582,000. Heath and the Conservatives were pledged to "full employment" but within a year it became clear that they were losing that battle, as the official unemployment count crept towards 1,000,000 and some newspapers suggested that it was even higher. In January 1972 it was officially confirmed that unemployment had risen above 1,000,000 – a level not seen for more than 30 years. Various other reports around this time suggested that unemployment was higher still, with The Times newspaper claiming that "nearly 3,000,000" people were jobless by March of that year.
=== Foreign policy ===
Upon entering office in June 1970, Heath immediately set about trying to reverse Wilson's policy of ending Britain's military presence East of Suez. Heath took the United Kingdom into Europe on 1 January 1973, following passage in Parliament of the European Communities Act 1972 in October.
He publicly supported the massive U.S. bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong in December 1972.
According to John McEvoy and Mark Curtis of Declassified UK, his government quickly recognised the military regime of Augusto Pinochet in Chile and maintained good relations with it, despite the illegal nature of the Pinochet regime's coup d'état.
In October 1973 he placed a British arms embargo on all combatants in the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War, which mostly affected the Israelis by preventing them obtaining spares for their Centurion tanks. Heath refused to allow US intelligence gathering from British bases in Cyprus, resulting in a temporary halt in the US signals intelligence tap.
He favoured links with the People's Republic of China, visiting Mao Zedong in Beijing in 1974 and 1975 and remaining an honoured guest in China on frequent visits thereafter and forming a close relationship with Mao's successor Deng Xiaoping. Heath realised that to become closer to Europe he needed to be further from the United States, so he downplayed the Special Relationship that had long knitted the two nations together. The two nations differed on such major crises as Britain's EC membership, the Nixon economic "shocks" of 1971, the Bangladesh Liberation War, détente with Soviet Union, Kissinger's Year of Europe and the Middle East crisis of 1973.
=== Northern Ireland ===
Heath served as Prime Minister during an especially violent period of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Events such as the Falls Curfew, Operation Motorman and Bloody Sunday led to the near-collapse in relations between the Irish Catholic community and British security forces. In 1971, Heath sent MI6 officer Frank Steele to hold talks with the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and find common ground to begin official negotiations. In July 1972, Heath permitted the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, William Whitelaw, to hold unofficial talks in London with an IRA delegation led by Seán Mac Stíofáin. In the aftermath of these unsuccessful talks, Heath pushed for a peaceful settlement with Northern Irish political parties exclusively committed to nonviolence.
The 1973 Sunningdale Agreement, which proposed a power-sharing deal, was strongly repudiated by many Unionists, including the Ulster Unionist Party, which withdrew its MPs at Westminster from the Conservative whip. The proposal was finally brought down by the Unionist Ulster Workers' Council strike in 1974, by which time Heath was no longer in office.
Heath was targeted by the IRA for introducing internment without trial in Northern Ireland. In December 1974, an IRA active service unit threw a bomb onto the first-floor balcony of his home in Wilton Street, Belgravia where it exploded. Heath had been conducting a Christmas carol concert at Broadstairs and arrived home 10 minutes after the bomb exploded. No one was injured in the attack, but a landscape painted by Winston Churchill – given to Heath as a present – was damaged. In January 2003, Heath gave evidence to the Saville Inquiry and stated that he had never sanctioned unlawful lethal force in Northern Ireland.
== Fall from power ==
=== 1974 general elections ===
Heath tried to bolster his government by calling a general election for 28 February 1974, using the election slogan "Who governs Britain?". The result of the election was inconclusive with no party gaining an overall majority in the House of Commons; the Conservatives had the most votes but Labour had slightly more seats. Heath began negotiations with Jeremy Thorpe, leader of the Liberal Party, but when these failed, he resigned as prime minister on 4 March 1974, and was replaced by Wilson's minority Labour government, eventually confirmed, though with a tiny majority, in a second election in October. To date, Heath is the last British Prime Minister to have both assumed and lost their term of office by means of a general election.
=== Rise of Thatcher ===
Heath came to be seen as a liability by many Conservative MPs, party activists and newspaper editors. His personality was considered cold and aloof, annoying even to his friends. Alan Watkins observed in 1991 that his "brusqueness, his gaucherie, his lack of small or indeed any talk, his sheer bad manners" were among the factors costing him the support of Conservative backbenchers in the subsequent Conservative leadership election.
He resolved to remain Conservative leader, even after losing the October 1974 general election, and at first it appeared that by calling on the loyalty of his front-bench colleagues he might prevail. In the weeks following the second election defeat, Heath came under tremendous pressure to concede a review of the rules and agreed to establish a commission to propose changes and to seek re-election. There was no clear challenger after Enoch Powell had left the party and Keith Joseph had ruled himself out after controversial statements implying that the working classes should be encouraged to use more birth control. Joseph's close friend and ally Margaret Thatcher, who believed that an adherent to the philosophy of the Centre for Policy Studies should stand, joined the leadership contest in his place alongside the outsider Hugh Fraser. Aided by Airey Neave's campaigning among backbench MPs — whose earlier approach to William Whitelaw had been rebuffed, out of loyalty to Heath — she emerged as the only serious challenger.
The new rules permitted new candidates to enter the ballot in a second round of voting should the first be inconclusive, so Thatcher's challenge was considered by some to be that of a stalking horse. Neave deliberately understated Thatcher's support to attract wavering votes from MPs who were keen to see Heath replaced even though they did not necessarily want Thatcher to replace him.
On 4 February 1975, Thatcher defeated Heath in the first ballot by 130 votes to 119, with Fraser coming in a distant third with 16 votes. This was not a big enough margin to give Thatcher the 15% majority necessary to win on the first ballot, but having finished in second place Heath immediately resigned and did not contest the next ballot. His favoured candidate, William Whitelaw, lost to Thatcher in the second vote one week later (Thatcher 146, Whitelaw 79, Howe 19, Prior 19, Peyton 11). The vote polarised along right-left lines, with in addition the region, experience and education of the MP having their effects. Heath and Whitelaw were stronger on the left, among Oxbridge and public school graduates, and in MPs from Northern England or Scotland.
Thatcher had promised Heath a seat in the Shadow Cabinet and planned to offer him whatever post he wanted. His advisors agreed he should wait at least six months, so he declined. He never relented and his refusal was called "the incredible sulk". Thatcher visited Heath at his home shortly after her election as leader and had to stay for coffee with his PPS Timothy Kitson so the waiting press would not realise how brief the visit had been. Heath claimed that he had simply declined her request for advice about how to handle the press, whilst Thatcher claimed that she offered him any Shadow Cabinet position he wanted and asked him to lead the Conservative campaign in the imminent EEC referendum, only to be rudely rebuffed.
== Later career (1975–2001) ==
For many years, Heath persisted in criticism of the party's new ideological direction. At the time of his defeat, he was still popular with rank-and-file Conservative members and was warmly applauded at the 1975 Conservative Party Conference. He played a leading role in the 1975 referendum campaign in which the UK voted to remain part of the EEC, and he remained active on the international stage, serving on the Brandt Commission investigation into developmental issues, particularly on North–South projects (Brandt Report).
His relations with Thatcher remained poor, and in 1979–80, he turned down her offers of the positions of Ambassador to the United States and Secretary General of NATO. He continued as a central figure on the left of the party and, at the 1981 Conservative Party conference, openly criticised the government's economic policy of monetarism, which had seen inflation rise from 13% in 1979 to 18% in 1980 then fall to 4% by 1983, but had seen unemployment double from around 1.5 million to a postwar high of 3.3 million during that time.
In 1990, he flew to Baghdad to attempt to negotiate the release of aircraft passengers on British Airways Flight 149 and other British nationals taken hostage when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Following the events of Black Wednesday in 1992, he stated in the House of Commons that government should build a fund of reserves to counter currency speculators.
In 1987, he was nominated in the election for the Chancellorship of the University of Oxford but lost to Roy Jenkins as a result of splitting the Conservative vote with Lord Blake.
Heath continued to serve as a backbench MP for the London constituency of Old Bexley and Sidcup and was, from 1992, the longest-serving MP ("Father of the House") and the oldest British MP. As Father of the House, he oversaw the election of two Speakers of the Commons, Betty Boothroyd and Michael Martin. Heath was created a Knight Companion of the Garter on 23 April 1992. He retired from Parliament at the 2001 general election. Heath and Tony Benn were the last two serving MPs to have been elected during the reign of George VI, with Heath serving continuously since 1950.
Heath maintained business links with several companies including a Saudi think tank, two investment funds and a Chinese freight operator, mainly as an adviser on China or a member of the governing board. According to Chris Patten, the last Governor of Hong Kong, his commercial interests in China could have been one of the reasons why he denounced the democratic reforms introduced in the run-up to the handover of Hong Kong.
Parliament broke with precedent by commissioning a bust of Heath while he was still alive. Commentators have noted how the statue of Margaret Thatcher appears to overshadow Heath's bust. The 1993 bronze work, by Martin Jennings, was moved to the Members' Lobby in 2002. On 29 April 2002, in his eighty-sixth year, he made a public appearance at Downing Street alongside the then–prime minister Tony Blair and the three other surviving former prime ministers at the time (James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher and John Major), as well as relatives of deceased prime ministers, for a dinner which was part of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II. This was to be one of his last public appearances, as the following year saw a decline in his health.
== Personal life ==
=== Private residence ===
In the 1960s, Heath had lived in Albany, off Piccadilly; at the unexpected end of his premiership, the French couple living there refused his demand that they move out so that he could have his flat back ("So much for European Unity!" Heath later wrote in his memoirs). For four months, Heath took the flat of Conservative MP Timothy Kitson; Kitson declined his offer to pay rent but later recalled an occasion when his own watch broke, and Heath in response invited him to take one of a large collection that he had been given on his travels. In July 1974, the Duke of Westminster, a major London landowner and ardent Europhile, allowed Heath to rent a property in Wilton Street, Belgravia, for an annual rent of £1,250 (£11,342 at 2023 prices), a tenth of the market value. The house had three storeys and a basement flat for Heath's housekeeper, and he continued to use it as his London home until old age prevented him from climbing the stairs.
In February 1985, Heath acquired a Wiltshire home, Arundells, in the Cathedral close at Salisbury, where he resided until his death twenty years later. In January 2006, it was announced that Heath had placed his house and contents, valued at £5 million in his will, in a charitable foundation, the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation, to conserve the house as a museum to his career. The house is open to the public for guided tours from March to October; displayed therein is a large collection of personal effects as well as Heath's personal library, photo collections, and paintings by Winston Churchill.
In his will, Heath, who had no descendants, left only two legacies: £20,000 to his brother's widow, and £2,500 to his housekeeper.
=== Yachting ===
Heath was a keen yachtsman. He bought his first yacht Morning Cloud in 1969 and won the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race that year. He captained Britain's winning team for the Admiral's Cup in 1971 – while prime minister – and also captained the team in the 1979 Fastnet Race. He was a member of the Broadstairs Sailing Club, where he learnt to sail on a Snipe and a Fireball before moving on to success in larger boats.
=== Classical music ===
Heath maintained an interest in classical music as a pianist, organist and orchestral conductor, famously installing a Steinway grand in 10 Downing Street – bought with his £450 Charlemagne Prize money, awarded for his unsuccessful efforts to bring Britain into the EEC in 1963, and chosen on the advice of his friend, the pianist Moura Lympany – and conducting Christmas carol concerts in Broadstairs every year from his teens until old age.
Heath conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, notably at a gala concert at the Royal Festival Hall in November 1971, at which he conducted Sir Edward Elgar's overture Cockaigne (In London Town). He also conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the English Chamber Orchestra, as well as orchestras in Germany and the United States. During his premiership, Heath invited musician friends, such as Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, Clifford Curzon and the Amadeus Quartet, to perform either at Chequers or 10 Downing Street. Heath was the founding President of the European Community Youth Orchestra (in 1976), now the European Union Youth Orchestra.
In 1988, Heath recorded Beethoven's Triple Concerto, Op. 56 (with members of the Trio Zingara as soloists) and Boccherini's Cello Concerto in G major, G480.
=== Football ===
Heath was a supporter of the Lancashire football club Burnley, and just after the end of his term as prime minister in 1974 he opened the £450,000 Bob Lord Stand at the club's Turf Moor stadium.
=== Author ===
Heath wrote several books in the second half of the 1970s: Sailing, Music, and Travels. He also compiled a collection of carols called The Joy of Christmas, published in 1978 by Oxford University Press, which contained the music and lyrics to a wide variety of Christmas carols, each accompanied by a reproduction of a piece of religious art and a short introduction by Heath.
Heath's autobiography, The Course of My Life, appeared in 1998. According to his obituary in The Daily Telegraph, this "had involved dozens of researchers and writers (some of whom he never paid) over many years".
=== "Grocer Heath" ===
In 1964, despite substantial opposition from many Conservative MPs and independent grocers and shopkeepers, Heath led a successful fight to abolish resale price maintenance.
Private Eye, a satirical current affairs magazine, thereupon persistently ridiculed him as "Grocer Heath". The magazine also parodied him as the managing director of a struggling small company, "Heathco". The nickname was coined as a parody of Keith West's 1967 hit single "Excerpt from 'A Teenage Opera'", which features the phrase "Grocer Jack" sung during its refrain.
=== Sexuality ===
Heath never married. He had been expected to marry childhood friend Kay Raven, who was reportedly tired of waiting and married an RAF officer whom she met on holiday in 1950. In a four-sentence paragraph of his memoirs, Heath claimed that he had been too busy establishing a career after the war and had "perhaps ... taken too much for granted". In a 1998 TV interview with Michael Cockerell, Heath said that he had kept her photograph in his flat for many years afterwards.
His interest in music kept him on friendly terms with female musicians, including pianist Moura Lympany. When Heath was prime minister she was approached by the Conservative MP Tufton Beamish, who said: "Moura, Ted must get married. Will you marry him?" She said she would have done but was in love with someone else. She later said the most intimate thing Heath had done was to put his arm around her shoulder.
Bernard Levin wrote at the time in The Observer that the UK had to wait until the emergence of the permissive society for a prime minister who was a virgin. In later life, according to his official biographer Philip Ziegler, at dinner parties Heath was "apt to relapse into morose silence or completely ignore the woman next to him and talk across her to the nearest man"; others at the time claimed Heath was just not talkative at parties.
There were many innuendos in Private Eye about his being homosexual and chants insinuating the same could be heard outside Downing Street during protests by trade unionists against his Industrial Relations Bill.
John Campbell, who published a biography of Heath in 1993, devoted four pages to a discussion of the evidence concerning Heath's sexuality. While acknowledging that Heath was often assumed by the public to be gay, not least because it is "nowadays ... whispered of any bachelor", he found "no positive evidence" that this was so "except for the faintest unsubstantiated rumour" (the footnote refers to a mention of a "disturbing incident" at the beginning of the Second World War in a 1972 biography by Andrew Roth). Campbell ultimately concluded that the most significant aspect of Heath's sexuality was his complete repression of it.
Brian Coleman, the Conservative Party London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden, claimed in 2007 that Heath, to protect his career, had stopped cottaging in the 1950s. Coleman said it was "common knowledge" among Conservatives that Heath had been given a stern warning by police when he underwent background checks for the post of privy counsellor. Heath's biographer Philip Ziegler wrote in 2010 that Coleman was able to provide "little or no information" to back up this statement, that no man had ever claimed to have had a sexual relationship with Heath, nor was any trace of homosexuality to be found in his papers, and that "those who knew him well" insist that he had no such inclination. He believes Heath to have been asexual, although he does mention a letter from one "Freddy", who seems hurt that "Teddie" had spurned his advances (chapter 2 of his book).
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster, who was Heath's friend and former private secretary, stated his belief that Heath was asexual, saying that he "never detected a whiff of sexuality in relation to men, women or children." Another friend and confidant, Sara Morrison, former vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, said Heath had "effectively" told her "that he was sexless". Charles Moore, in his authorised biography of Margaret Thatcher, said that Bill Deedes believed that Thatcher "seem[ed] convinced" Heath was gay, whilst Moore believed it is "possible" that Thatcher's reference, in interview in 1974, to Heath not having a family, was a deliberate hint that he was gay, in order to discredit him. Thatcher certainly seems to have disliked Heath. "When I look at him and he looks at me," she once remarked, according to Ziegler (Chapter 4), "it doesn't feel like a man looking at a woman, more like a woman looking at another woman."
When he moved to Arundells in 1985, Heath hired Derek Frost, life partner of Jeremy Norman, to modernise and redecorate the house in Salisbury. He became friends with the couple, though never close. When they asked Heath why he had not supported homosexual law reform (he was either absent from the debates in the 1960s or voted against Lord Arran's first Bill in May 1965), he replied that he had always been in favour but that "the rank and file of the party would never have stood for it." Norman's view is that Heath was "a deeply closeted gay man" who "decided early in life to sublimate his sexuality to his political ambitions." In later life, Heath voted for the lowering of the age of same-sex consent to eighteen and then sixteen.
Similarly, Michael McManus, who was Heath's private secretary in the 1990s and helped with his memoirs, writes in his book on gay conservative politicians that he "was left in no doubt whatsoever that Heath was a gay man who had sacrificed his personal life to his political career, exercising iron self-control and living a celibate existence as he climbed the 'greasy pole' of preferment."
=== Allegations of child sexual abuse ===
In April 2015, a rape claim against Heath was investigated by the Metropolitan Police but was dropped. In August 2015, several police forces were investigating allegations of child sexual abuse by Heath. Hampshire, Jersey, Kent, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Thames Valley constabularies and London's Metropolitan Police investigated such claims. It was reported that a man had claimed that at the age of 12 years he had been raped by Heath in a Mayfair flat in 1961, after he had run away from home. Allegations about Heath were investigated as part of Operation Midland, the Metropolitan Police inquiry into claims of historic child abuse and related homicides. A witness called "Nick" was introduced to the police by the former Exaro website, who had asked him about alleged child sexual abuse by prominent figures at the Dolphin Square apartment complex in Pimlico, London; Heath was reported to be one of the figures. In 2018 "Nick", whose real name is Carl Beech, was arrested and charged over child pornography offences and in January 2019 he pleaded guilty. Beech, who had fabricated allegations against Heath and other prominent politicians and civil servants, was sentenced in July 2019 to eighteen years in prison.
Also in August 2015, Sky News reported that Jersey police were investigating allegations against Heath as part of Operation Whistle, and a similar investigation, Operation Conifer, was launched by Wiltshire Police at the same time. The Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation, which operates the museum at Arundells, his home in Salisbury, said it welcomed the investigation. In November 2016, criminologist Richard Hoskins said that the evidence used against Heath in Operation Conifer, including discredited allegations of satanic ritual abuse, was "preposterous", "fantastical" and gained through the "controversial" practice of recovered-memory therapy. Operation Conifer was closed in March 2017, having cost a reported £1.5 million over two years, as no corroborating evidence had been found in any of the 42 allegations by 40 individuals (including three different names used by one person).
In September 2017, it was announced that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse would review the police investigation into Heath. Police said that if Heath were still alive they would have interviewed him under caution in relation to seven out of the 42 allegations, but nothing should be inferred about his guilt or innocence. In his summary report, Chief Constable Mike Veale confirmed that "no further corroborative evidence was found" to support the satanic abuse claims.
== Illness and death ==
In August 2003, at the age of 87, Heath suffered a pulmonary embolism while on holiday in Salzburg, Austria. He never fully recovered, and owing to his declining health and mobility made very few public appearances in the last two years of his life. His last appearance was at the unveiling of a set of gates at St Paul's Cathedral dedicated to Churchill on 30 November 2004.
In his final public statement, Heath paid tribute to James Callaghan, who died on 26 March 2005, saying "James Callaghan was a major fixture in the political life of this country during his long and varied career. When in opposition he never hesitated to put firmly his party's case. When in office he took a smoother approach towards his supporters and opponents alike. Although he left the House of Commons in 1987 he continued to follow political life and it was always a pleasure to meet with him. We have lost a major figure from our political landscape."
Just under four months later, Heath died at his home from pneumonia at 7.30 pm on 17 July 2005, at the age of 89, the day after his spokesman said he was "nearing the end of his life". He was cremated on 25 July 2005 at a funeral service attended by 1,500 people. On the day after his death, the BBC Parliament channel showed the BBC results coverage of the 1970 election. A memorial service was held for Heath in Westminster Abbey on 8 November 2005, which was attended by 2,000 people. Three days later his ashes were interred in Salisbury Cathedral. In a tribute to him, the then-prime minister Tony Blair stated "He was a man of great integrity and beliefs he held firmly from which he never wavered".
== Honours ==
Heath received several accolades and honours.
=== Coat of arms ===
=== Honorary degrees and fellowships ===
Heath was awarded a number of honorary degrees:
=== Awards ===
Including the year of award.
Order of the Garter (1992)
Member of the Order of the British Empire, Military Division (MBE) (1946)
Mentioned in dispatches (1945)
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1993)
Order of the Aztec Eagle (1994)
Order of the Rising Sun, Grand Cordon (1998)
Bangladesh Liberation War Honour (Bangladesh Muktijuddho Sanmanona) (2012, posthumous award)
== Books by Heath ==
Heath, Edward (1970). Old World, New Horizons: Britain, Europe, and the Atlantic Alliance. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674492493.
Heath, Edward (1975). Sailing: A Course of My Life. Stein and Day. ISBN 978-1135465292.
Heath, Edward (1976). Music: A Joy for Life. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 978-0283983498.
Heath, Edward (1977). Travels: People and Places in My Life. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 978-0283984143.
Heath, Edward (1977). The Joy of Christmas: A Selection of Carols. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 978-0195200812.
Heath, Edward (1998). The Course of My Life. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0340708521. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gettysburg | Battle of Gettysburg | The Battle of Gettysburg (locally ) (July 1–3, 1863) was fought in the American Civil War between the Union and Confederate armies in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, is widely considered the Civil War's turning point, leading to an ultimate victory of the Union and the preservation of the nation. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of both the Civil War and of any battle in American military history up to that time, claiming over 50,000 combined casualties. Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, halting Lee's invasion of the North and forcing his retreat.
After his success in the Battle of Chancellorsville in Spotsylvania County, Virginia in May 1863, Lee led his Confederate forces through the Shenandoah Valley to begin the Gettysburg campaign, his second attempt to invade the North. With Lee's army in high spirits, he intended to shift the focus of the summer campaign from war-ravaged Northern Virginia in the hopes of penetrating as far as Harrisburg or Philadelphia, which he hoped would convince northern politicians to end the war. President Abraham Lincoln initially prodded Major General Joseph Hooker into pursuing Lee, then relieved him of command just three days before the Battle of Gettysburg commenced, replacing him with Meade.
On July 1, 1863, as Lee's forces moved on Gettysburg in the hopes of destroying the Union army, the two armies encountered each other, and the battle commenced. Low ridges to the northwest of Gettysburg were initially defended by a Union cavalry division under Brigadier General John Buford, soon reinforced by two corps of Union infantry. Two large Confederate corps assaulted them from the northwest and north, however, collapsing the hastily developed Union lines, leading them to retreat through the streets of Gettysburg to the hills just south of the city. On the second day of battle, on July 2, the Union line was laid out in a defensive formation resembling a fishhook. In the late afternoon, Lee launched a heavy assault on the Union's left flank, leading to fierce fighting at Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, Devil's Den, and the Peach Orchard. On the Union's right flank, Confederate demonstrations escalated into full-scale assaults on Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill. Despite incurring significant losses, Union forces held their lines.
On the third day of battle, July 3, fighting resumed on Culp's Hill, and cavalry battles raged to the east and south of Gettysburg. Pickett's Charge featured the main engagement, a Confederate infantry assault of approximately 12,000 Confederate troops, who attacked the center of the Union line at Cemetery Ridge, which was repelled by Union rifle and artillery fire, leading to great Confederate losses. The following day, on the Fourth of July, Lee led his Confederate troops on the torturous retreat from the North. Between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers from both armies were casualties in the three-day Battle of Gettysburg, the most in any battle in American history up to that time.
On November 19, Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg, where he spoke at a ceremony dedicating the Gettysburg National Cemetery, which honored the fallen Union soldiers and redefined the purpose of the Civil War in his famed Gettysburg Address, a 271-word speech that has endured as one of the most famous in American history.
== Background ==
=== Military situation ===
Shortly after the Army of Northern Virginia won a major victory over the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Chancellorsville (April 30 – May 6, 1863), General Robert E. Lee decided upon a second invasion of the North (the first was the unsuccessful Maryland campaign of September 1862, which ended in the bloody Battle of Antietam). Such a move would upset the Union's plans for the summer campaigning season and possibly reduce the pressure on the besieged Confederate garrison at Vicksburg. The invasion would allow the Confederates to live off the bounty of the rich Northern farms while giving war-ravaged Virginia a much-needed rest. In addition, Lee's 72,000-man army could threaten Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and possibly strengthen the growing peace movement in the North.
=== Initial movements to battle ===
Thus, on June 3, Lee's army began to shift northward from Fredericksburg, Virginia. Following the death of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, Lee reorganized his two large corps into three new corps, commanded by Lieutenant General James Longstreet (First Corps), Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell (Second), and Lieutenant General A.P. Hill (Third); both Ewell and Hill, who had formerly reported to Jackson as division commanders, were new to this level of responsibility. The cavalry division remained under the command of Major General J.E.B. Stuart.
The Union's Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General Joseph Hooker, consisted of seven infantry corps, a cavalry corps, and an artillery reserve, for a combined strength of more than 100,000 men.
The first major action of the campaign took place on June 9 between cavalry forces at Brandy Station, near Culpeper, Virginia. The 9,500 Confederate cavalrymen under Stuart were surprised by Major General Alfred Pleasonton's combined arms force of two cavalry divisions (8,000 troopers) and 3,000 infantry, but Stuart eventually repelled the Union attack. The inconclusive battle, the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the war, proved for the first time that Union cavalrymen were equal to their Southern counterparts.
By mid-June, the Army of Northern Virginia was poised to cross the Potomac River and enter Maryland. After defeating the Union garrisons at Winchester and Martinsburg, Ewell's Second Corps began crossing the river on June 15. Hill's and Longstreet's corps followed on June 24 and 25. Hooker's army pursued, keeping between Washington, D.C., and Lee's army. The Union army crossed the Potomac from June 25 to 27.
Lee gave strict orders for his army to minimize any negative effects on the civilian population. Food, horses, and other supplies were generally not seized outright unless a citizen concealed property, although quartermasters reimbursing Northern farmers and merchants with Confederate money which was virtually worthless or with equally worthless promissory notes were not well received. Various towns, most notably York, Pennsylvania, were required to pay indemnities in lieu of supplies, under threat of destruction. During the invasion, the Confederates seized between 40 and nearly 60 northern African Americans. A few of them were escaped fugitive slaves, but many were freemen; all were sent south into slavery under guard.
On June 26, elements of Major General Jubal Early's division of Ewell's corps occupied the town of Gettysburg after chasing off newly raised 26th Regiment Pennsylvania Emergency Militia Infantry in a series of minor skirmishes. Early laid the borough under tribute, but did not collect any significant supplies. Soldiers burned several railroad cars and a covered bridge, and destroyed nearby rails and telegraph lines. The following morning, Early departed for adjacent York County.
Meanwhile, in a controversial move, Lee allowed Stuart to take a portion of the army's cavalry and ride around the east flank of the Union army. Lee's orders gave Stuart much latitude, and both generals share the blame for the long absence of Stuart's cavalry, as well as for the failure to assign a more active role to the cavalry left with the army. Stuart and his three best brigades were absent from the army during the crucial phase of the approach to Gettysburg and the first two days of battle. By June 29, Lee's army was strung out in an arc from Chambersburg (28 mi (45 km) northwest of Gettysburg) to Carlisle (30 mi (48 km) north of Gettysburg) to near Harrisburg and Wrightsville on the Susquehanna River.
In a dispute over the use of the forces defending the Harpers Ferry garrison, Hooker offered his resignation, and Abraham Lincoln and General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck, who were looking for an excuse to rid themselves of him, immediately accepted. They replaced Hooker early on the morning of June 28 with Major General George Gordon Meade, then commander of the V Corps.
On June 29, when Lee learned that the Army of the Potomac had crossed the Potomac River, he ordered a concentration of his forces around Cashtown, located at the eastern base of South Mountain and eight mi (13 km) west of Gettysburg. On June 30, while part of Hill's corps was in Cashtown, one of Hill's brigades (North Carolinians under Brigadier General J. Johnston Pettigrew) ventured toward Gettysburg. In his memoirs, Major General Henry Heth, Pettigrew's division commander, claimed that he sent Pettigrew to search for supplies in town—especially shoes.
When Pettigrew's troops approached Gettysburg on June 30, they noticed Union cavalry under Major General John Buford arriving south of town, and Pettigrew returned to Cashtown without engaging them. When Pettigrew told Hill and Heth what he had seen, neither general believed that there was a substantial Union force in or near the town, suspecting that it had been only Pennsylvania militia. Despite Lee's order to avoid a general engagement until his entire army was concentrated, Hill decided to mount a significant reconnaissance in force the following morning to determine the size and strength of the enemy force in his front. Around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, July 1, two brigades of Heth's division advanced to Gettysburg.
== Opposing forces ==
=== Union ===
The Army of the Potomac, initially under Hooker (Meade replaced Hooker in command on June 28), consisted of more than 100,000 men in the following organization:
I Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds, with divisions commanded by Brig. Gen. James S. Wadsworth, Brig. Gen. John C. Robinson, and Maj. Gen. Abner Doubleday.
II Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock, with divisions commanded by Brig. Gens. John C. Caldwell, John Gibbon, and Alexander Hays.
III Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles, with divisions commanded by Maj. Gen. David B. Birney and Maj. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys.
V Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. George Sykes (George G. Meade until June 28), with divisions commanded by Brig. Gens. James Barnes, Romeyn B. Ayres, and Samuel W. Crawford.
VI Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, with divisions commanded by Brig. Gen. Horatio G. Wright, Brig. Gen. Albion P. Howe, and Maj. Gen. John Newton.
XI Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard, with divisions commanded by Brig. Gen. Francis C. Barlow, Brig. Gen. Adolph von Steinwehr, and Maj. Gen. Carl Schurz.
XII Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum, with divisions commanded by Brig. Gens. Alpheus S. Williams and John W. Geary.
Cavalry Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, with divisions commanded by Brig. Gens. John Buford, David McM. Gregg, and H. Judson Kilpatrick.
Artillery Reserve, commanded by Brig. Gen. Robert O. Tyler. (The preeminent artillery officer at Gettysburg was Brig. Gen. Henry Jackson Hunt, chief of artillery on Meade's staff.)
During the advance on Gettysburg, Reynolds was in operational command of the left, or advanced, wing of the Army, consisting of the I, III, and XI corps. Many other Union units (not part of the Army of the Potomac) were actively involved in the Gettysburg Campaign, but not directly involved in the Battle of Gettysburg. These included portions of the Union IV Corps, the militia and state troops of the Department of the Susquehanna, and various garrisons, including that at Harpers Ferry.
=== Confederate ===
In reaction to the death of Jackson after Chancellorsville, Lee reorganized his Army of Northern Virginia (75,000 men) from two infantry corps into three.
First Corps, commanded by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, with divisions commanded by Maj. Gens. Lafayette McLaws, George Pickett, and John Bell Hood.
Second Corps, commanded by Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, with divisions commanded by Maj. Gens. Jubal A. Early, Edward "Allegheny" Johnson, and Robert E. Rodes.
Third Corps, commanded by Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill, with divisions commanded by Maj. Gens. Richard H. Anderson, Henry Heth, and W. Dorsey Pender.
Cavalry division, commanded by Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, with brigades commanded by Brig. Gens. Wade Hampton, Fitzhugh Lee, Beverly H. Robertson, Albert G. Jenkins, William E. "Grumble" Jones, and John D. Imboden, and Col. John R. Chambliss.
== First day of battle ==
=== Herr Ridge, McPherson Ridge and Seminary Ridge ===
Anticipating that the Confederates would march on Gettysburg from the west on the morning of July 1, Buford laid out his defenses on three ridges west of the town: Herr Ridge, McPherson Ridge and Seminary Ridge. These were appropriate terrain for a delaying action by his small cavalry division against superior Confederate infantry forces, meant to buy time awaiting the arrival of Union infantrymen who could occupy the strong defensive positions south of town at Cemetery Hill, Cemetery Ridge, and Culp's Hill. Buford understood that if the Confederates could gain control of these heights, Meade's army would have difficulty dislodging them.
Heth's division advanced with two brigades forward, commanded by brigadier generals James J. Archer and Joseph R. Davis. They proceeded easterly in columns along the Chambersburg Pike. Three mi (5 km) west of town, about 7:30 a.m. on July 1, the two brigades met light resistance from vedettes of Union cavalry, and deployed into line. According to lore, the Union soldier to fire the first shot of the battle was Lieutenant Marcellus Jones. Eventually Heth's men encountered dismounted troopers of Colonel William Gamble's cavalry brigade. The dismounted troopers resisted stoutly, delaying the Confederate advance with most firing their breech-loading Sharp's carbines from behind fences and trees. (A small number of troopers had other carbine models. A small minority of historians have written that some troopers had Spencer repeating carbines or Spencer repeating rifles but most sources disagree.) Still, by 10:20 am, the Confederates had pushed the Union cavalrymen east to McPherson Ridge, when the vanguard of the I Corps (Major General John F. Reynolds) finally arrived.
North of the pike, Davis gained a temporary success against Brigadier General Lysander Cutler's brigade but was repelled with heavy losses in an action around an unfinished railroad bed cut in the ridge. South of the pike, Archer's brigade assaulted through Herbst (also known as McPherson's) Woods. The Union Iron Brigade under Brigadier General Solomon Meredith enjoyed initial success against Archer, capturing several hundred men, including Archer himself.
General Reynolds was shot and killed early in the fighting while directing troop and artillery placements just to the east of the woods. Shelby Foote wrote that the Union cause lost a man considered by many to be "the best general in the army". Major General Abner Doubleday assumed command. Fighting in the Chambersburg Pike area lasted until about 12:30 pm. It resumed around 2:30 pm, when Heth's entire division engaged, adding the brigades of Pettigrew and Colonel John M. Brockenbrough.
As Pettigrew's North Carolina Brigade came on line, they flanked the 19th Indiana and drove the Iron Brigade back. The 26th North Carolina (the largest regiment in the army, with 839 men) lost heavily, leaving the first day's fight with around 212 men. By the end of the three-day battle, they had about 152 men standing, the highest casualty percentage for one battle of any regiment, North or South. Slowly the Iron Brigade was pushed out of the woods toward Seminary Ridge. Hill added Major General William Dorsey Pender's division to the assault, and the I Corps was driven back through the grounds of the Lutheran Seminary and Gettysburg streets.
As the fighting to the west proceeded, two divisions of Ewell's Second Corps, marching west toward Cashtown in accordance with Lee's order for the army to concentrate in that vicinity, turned south on the Carlisle and Harrisburg roads toward Gettysburg, while the Union XI Corps (Major General Oliver O. Howard) raced north on the Baltimore Pike and Taneytown Road. By early afternoon, the Union line ran in a semicircle west, north, and northeast of Gettysburg.
However, the Union did not have enough troops; Cutler, whose brigade was deployed north of the Chambersburg Pike, had his right flank in the air. The leftmost division of the XI Corps was unable to deploy in time to strengthen the line, so Doubleday was forced to throw in reserve brigades to salvage his line.
Around 2:00 p.m., the Confederate Second Corps divisions of major generals Robert E. Rodes and Jubal Early assaulted and out-flanked the Union I and XI corps' positions north and northwest of town. The Confederate brigades of Colonel Edward A. O'Neal and Brigadier General Alfred Iverson suffered severe losses assaulting the I Corps division of Brigadier General John C. Robinson south of Oak Hill. Early's division profited from a blunder by Brigadier General Francis C. Barlow, when he advanced his XI Corps division to Blocher's Knoll (directly north of town and now known as Barlow's Knoll); this represented a salient in the corps line, susceptible to attack from multiple sides, and Early's troops overran Barlow's division, which constituted the right flank of the Union Army's position. Barlow was wounded and captured in the attack.
As Union positions collapsed both north and west of town, Howard ordered a retreat to the high ground south of town at Cemetery Hill, where he had left the division of Brigadier General Adolph von Steinwehr in reserve. Major General Winfield S. Hancock assumed command of the battlefield, sent by Meade when he heard that Reynolds had been killed. Hancock, commander of the II Corps and Meade's most trusted subordinate, was ordered to take command of the field and to determine whether Gettysburg was an appropriate place for a major battle. Hancock told Howard, "I think this the strongest position by nature upon which to fight a battle that I ever saw." When Howard agreed, Hancock concluded the discussion: "Very well, sir, I select this as the battle-field." Hancock's determination had a morale-boosting effect on the retreating Union soldiers, but he played no direct tactical role on the first day.
General Lee understood the defensive potential to the Union if they held this high ground. He sent orders to Ewell that Cemetery Hill be taken "if practicable". Ewell, who had previously served under Stonewall Jackson, a general well known for issuing peremptory orders, determined such an assault was not practicable and, thus, did not attempt it; this decision is considered by historians to be a great missed opportunity.
The first day at Gettysburg, more significant than simply a prelude to the bloody second and third days, ranks as the 23rd biggest battle of the war by number of troops engaged. About one quarter of Meade's army (22,000 men) and one third of Lee's army (27,000) were engaged.
== Second day of battle ==
=== Plans and movement to battle ===
Throughout the evening of July 1 and morning of July 2, most of the remaining infantry of both armies arrived on the field, including the Union II, III, V, VI, and XII Corps. Two of Longstreet's divisions were on the road: Brigadier General George Pickett, had begun the 22-mile (35 km) march from Chambersburg, while Brigadier General Evander M. Law had begun the march from Guilford. Both arrived late in the morning. Law completed his 28-mile (45 km) march in eleven hours.
The Union line ran from Culp's Hill southeast of the town, northwest to Cemetery Hill just south of town, then south for nearly two miles (3 km) along Cemetery Ridge, terminating just north of Little Round Top. Most of the XII Corps was on Culp's Hill; the remnants of I and XI Corps defended Cemetery Hill; II Corps covered most of the northern half of Cemetery Ridge; and III Corps was ordered to take up a position to its flank. The shape of the Union line is popularly described as a "fishhook" formation.
The Confederate line paralleled the Union line about one mile (1,600 m) to the west on Seminary Ridge, ran east through the town, then curved southeast to a point opposite Culp's Hill. Thus, the Union army had interior lines, while the Confederate line was nearly five miles (8 km) long.
Lee's battle plan for July 2 called for a general assault of Meade's positions. On the right, Longstreet's First Corps was to position itself to attack the Union left flank, facing northeast astraddle the Emmitsburg Road, and to roll up the Union line. The attack sequence was to begin with Maj. Gens. John Bell Hood's and Lafayette McLaws's divisions, followed by Major General Richard H. Anderson's division of Hill's Third Corps.
On the left, Lee instructed Ewell to position his Second Corps to attack Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill when he heard the gunfire from Longstreet's assault, preventing Meade from shifting troops to bolster his left. Though it does not appear in either his or Lee's Official Report, Ewell claimed years later that Lee had changed the order to simultaneously attack, calling for only a "diversion", to be turned into a full-scale attack if a favorable opportunity presented itself.
Lee's plan, however, was based on faulty intelligence, exacerbated by Stuart's continued absence from the battlefield. Though Lee personally reconnoitered his left during the morning, he did not visit Longstreet's position on the Confederate right. Even so, Lee rejected suggestions that Longstreet move beyond Meade's left and attack the Union flank, capturing the supply trains and effectively blocking Meade's escape route.
Lee did not issue orders for the attack until 11:00 a.m. About noon, General Anderson's advancing troops were discovered by General Sickles's outpost guard and the Third Corps—upon which Longstreet's First Corps was to form—did not get into position until 1:00 pm.
Hood and McLaws, after their long march, were not yet in position and did not launch their attacks until just after 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., respectively.
=== Attacks on the Union left flank ===
As Longstreet's left division, under Major General Lafayette McLaws, advanced, they unexpectedly found Major General Daniel Sickles's III Corps directly in their path. Sickles had been dissatisfied with the position assigned him on the southern end of Cemetery Ridge. Seeing ground better suited for artillery positions one-half mile (800 m) to the west—centered at the Sherfy farm's Peach Orchard—he violated orders and advanced his corps to the slightly higher ground along the Emmitsburg Road, moving away from Cemetery Ridge. The new line ran from Devil's Den, northwest to the Peach Orchard, then northeast along the Emmitsburg Road to south of the Codori farm. This created an untenable salient at the Peach Orchard; Brigadier General Andrew A. Humphreys's division (in position along the Emmitsburg Road) and Major General David B. Birney's division (to the south) were subject to attacks from two sides and were spread out over a longer front than their small corps could defend effectively. The Confederate artillery was ordered to open fire at 3:00 pm. After Sickles failed to attend a meeting at this time of Meade's corps commanders, Meade rode to Sickles's position and demanded an explanation of the situation. Knowing a Confederate attack was imminent and a retreat would be endangered, Meade refused Sickles' offer to withdraw.
Meade was forced to send 20,000 reinforcements: the entire V Corps, Brigadier General John C. Caldwell's division of the II Corps, most of the XII Corps, and portions of the newly arrived VI Corps. Hood's division moved more to the east than intended, losing its alignment with the Emmitsburg Road, attacking Devil's Den and Little Round Top. McLaws, coming in on Hood's left, drove multiple attacks into the thinly stretched III Corps in the Wheatfield and overwhelmed them in Sherfy's Peach Orchard. McLaws's attack eventually reached Plum Run Valley (the "Valley of Death") before being beaten back by the Pennsylvania Reserves division of the V Corps, moving down from Little Round Top. The III Corps was virtually destroyed as a combat unit in this battle, and Sickles's leg was amputated after it was shattered by a cannonball. Caldwell's division was destroyed piecemeal in the Wheatfield. Anderson's division, coming from McLaws's left and starting forward around 6 p.m., reached the crest of Cemetery Ridge, but could not hold the position in the face of counterattacks from the II Corps, including an almost suicidal bayonet charge by the 1st Minnesota regiment against a Confederate brigade, ordered in desperation by Hancock to buy time for reinforcements to arrive.
As fighting raged in the Wheatfield and Devil's Den, Colonel Strong Vincent of V Corps had a precarious hold on Little Round Top, an important hill at the extreme left of the Union line. His brigade of four relatively small regiments was able to resist repeated assaults by Law's brigade of Hood's division. Meade's chief engineer, Brigadier General Gouverneur K. Warren, had realized the importance of this position, and dispatched Vincent's brigade, an artillery battery, and the 140th New York to occupy Little Round Top mere minutes before Hood's troops arrived. The defense of Little Round Top with a bayonet charge by the 20th Maine, ordered by Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain and possibly led down the slope by Lieutenant Holman S. Melcher, was one of the most fabled episodes in the Civil War and propelled Chamberlain into prominence after the war.
=== Attacks on the Union right flank ===
Ewell interpreted his orders as calling only for a cannonade. His 32 guns, along with A. P. Hill's 55 guns, engaged in a two-hour artillery barrage at extreme range that had little effect. Finally, about six o'clock, Ewell sent orders to each of his division commanders to attack the Union lines in his front.
Major General Edward "Allegheny" Johnson's division had contemplated an assault on Culp's Hill, but they were still a mile away and had Rock Creek to cross. The few possible crossings would make significant delays. Because of this, only three of Johnson's four brigades moved to the attack. Most of the hill's defenders, the Union XII Corps, had been sent to the left to defend against Longstreet's attacks, leaving only a brigade of New Yorkers under Brigadier General George S. Greene behind strong, newly constructed defensive works. With reinforcements from the I and XI corps, Greene's men held off the Confederate attackers, though giving up some of the lower earthworks on the lower part of Culp's Hill.
Early was similarly unprepared when he ordered Harry T. Hays's and Isaac E. Avery's brigades to attack the Union XI Corps positions on East Cemetery Hill. Once started, fighting was fierce: Colonel Andrew L. Harris of the Union 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XI Corps came under a withering attack, losing half his men. Avery was wounded early on, but the Confederates reached the crest of the hill and entered the Union breastworks, capturing one or two batteries. Seeing he was not supported on his right, Hays withdrew. His right was to be supported by Robert E. Rodes's division, but Rodes—like Early and Johnson—had not been ordered up in preparation for the attack. He had twice as far to travel as Early; by the time he came in contact with the Union skirmish line, Early's troops had already begun to withdraw.
Jeb Stuart and his three cavalry brigades arrived in Gettysburg around noon but had no role in the second day's battle. Brigadier General Wade Hampton's brigade fought a minor engagement with newly promoted 23-year-old Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer's Michigan cavalry near Hunterstown to the northeast of Gettysburg.
== Third day of battle ==
=== Lee's plan ===
Lee wished to renew the attack on Friday, July 3, using the same basic plan as the previous day: Longstreet would attack the Union left, while Ewell attacked Culp's Hill. However, before Longstreet was ready, Union XII Corps troops started a dawn artillery bombardment against the Confederates on Culp's Hill in an effort to regain a portion of their lost works. The Confederates attacked, and the second fight for Culp's Hill ended around 11 a.m. Harry Pfanz judged that, after some seven hours of bitter combat, "the Union line was intact and held more strongly than before".
Lee was forced to change his plans. Longstreet would command Pickett's Virginia division of his own First Corps, plus six brigades from Hill's Corps, in an attack on the Union II Corps position at the right center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Prior to the attack, all the artillery the Confederacy could bring to bear on the Union positions would bombard and weaken the enemy's line.
In his memoir, Longstreet states that he told Lee that there were not enough men to assault the strong left center of the Union line by McLaws's and Hood's divisions reinforced by Pickett's brigades. Longstreet thought the attack would be repulsed and a counterattack would put Union forces between the Confederates and the Potomac River. Longstreet wrote that he said it would take a minimum of thirty thousand men to attack successfully as well as close coordination with other Confederate forces. He noted that only about thirteen thousand men were left in the selected divisions after the first two days of fighting. They would have to walk a mile under heavy artillery and long-range musketry fire. Longstreet states that he further asked Lee: "the strength of the column. He [Lee] stated fifteen thousand. Opinion was then expressed [by Longstreet] that the fifteen thousand men who could make successful assault over that field had never been arrayed for battle; but he was impatient of listening, and tired of talking, and nothing was left but to proceed."
=== Largest artillery bombardment of the war ===
Around 1 p.m., from 150 to 170 Confederate guns began an artillery bombardment that was probably the largest of the war. To save valuable ammunition for the infantry attack that they knew would follow, the Army of the Potomac's artillery, under the command of Brigadier General Henry Jackson Hunt, at first did not return the enemy's fire. After waiting about 15 minutes, about 80 Union cannons opened fire. The Army of Northern Virginia was critically low on artillery ammunition, and the cannonade did not significantly affect the Union position.
=== Pickett's Charge ===
Around 3 p.m., the cannon fire subsided, and between 10,500 and 12,500 Confederate soldiers stepped from the ridgeline and advanced the three-quarters of a mile (1,200 m) to Cemetery Ridge. Pickett's division role in leading the attack has led to the attack to be known as Pickett's Charge.
As the Confederates approached, there was fierce flanking artillery fire from Union positions on Cemetery Hill and the Little Round Top area, and musket and canister fire from Hancock's II Corps. In the Union center, the commander of artillery had held fire during the Confederate bombardment (to save it for the infantry assault, which Meade had correctly predicted the day before), leading Southern commanders to believe the Northern cannon batteries had been knocked out. However, they opened fire on the Confederate infantry during their approach with devastating results.
Although the Union line wavered and broke temporarily at a jog called The Angle in a low stone fence, just north of a patch of vegetation called the Copse of Trees, reinforcements rushed into the breach, and the Confederate attack was repelled. The farthest advance, by Brigadier General Lewis A. Armistead's brigade of Pickett's division at the Angle, is referred to as the "high-water mark of the Confederacy". Union and Confederate soldiers locked in hand-to-hand combat, attacking with their rifles, bayonets, rocks and even their bare hands. Armistead ordered his Confederates to turn two captured cannons against Union troops, but discovered that there was no ammunition left, the last double canister shots having been used against the charging Confederates. Armistead was mortally wounded shortly afterward. Nearly one half of the Confederate attackers did not return to their own lines. Pickett's division lost about two-thirds of its men, and all three brigadiers were killed or wounded.
=== Cavalry battles ===
There were two significant cavalry engagements on July 3. The first one was coordinated with Pickett's Charge, and the standoff may have prevented a disaster for Union infantry. The site of this engagement is now known as the East Cavalry Field. The second engagement was a loss for Union cavalry attacking Confederate infantry. It has been labeled as a "fiasco", and featured faulty cavalry tactics. The site of this engagement is now known as the South Cavalry Field.
==== Northeast of Gettysburg ====
Stuart's cavalry division (three brigades), with the assistance of Jenkins' brigade, was sent to guard the Confederate left flank. Stuart was also in position to exploit any success the Confederate infantry (Pickett's Charge) might achieve on Cemetery Hill by flanking the Union right and getting behind Union infantry facing the Confederate attack. The cavalry fight took place about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of Gettysburg at about 3:00 pm—around the end of the Confederate artillery barrage that preceded Pickett's charge. Stuart's forces collided with Union cavalry: Brigadier General David McMurtrie Gregg's division and Custer's brigade from Kilpatrick's division. The fight evolved into "a wild melee of swinging sabers and blazing pistols and carbines". One of Custer's regiments, the 5th Michigan Cavalry Regiment, was armed with Spencer repeating rifles, and at least two companies from the 6th Michigan Cavalry Regiment were also armed with repeaters. The fight ended in a standoff, as neither side changed positions. However, Gregg and Custer prevented Stuart from gaining the rear of Union infantry facing Pickett.
==== Southwest of Gettysburg ====
After hearing news of the Union's success against Pickett's charge, Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick launched a cavalry attack against the infantry positions of Longstreet's Corps southwest of Big Round Top. The terrain was difficult for a mounted attack because it was rough, heavily wooded, and contained huge boulders—and Longstreet's men were entrenched with artillery support. Brigadier General Elon J. Farnsworth protested against the futility of such a move, but obeyed orders. Farnsworth was killed in the fourth of five unsuccessful attacks, and his brigade suffered significant losses. Although Kilpatrick was described by at least one Union leader as "brave, enterprising, and energetic", incidents such as Farnsworth's charge earned him the nickname of "Kill Cavalry".
== Aftermath ==
=== Casualties ===
The two armies suffered between 46,000 and 51,000 casualties. Union casualties were 23,055 (3,155 killed, 14,531 wounded, 5,369 captured or missing), while Confederate casualties are more difficult to estimate. Many authors have referred to as many as 28,000 Confederate casualties, and Busey and Martin's more recent 2005 work, Regimental Strengths and Losses at Gettysburg, documents 23,231 (4,708 killed, 12,693 wounded, 5,830 captured or missing). Nearly a third of Lee's general officers were killed, wounded, or captured. The casualties for both sides for the 6-week campaign, according to Sears, were 57,225.
In addition to being the deadliest battle of the war, Gettysburg also had the most generals killed in action. Several generals also were wounded. The Confederacy lost generals Paul Jones Semmes, William Barksdale, William Dorsey Pender, Richard Garnett, and Lewis Armistead, as well as J. Johnston Pettigrew during the retreat after the battle. Confederate generals who were wounded included Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood who lost the use of his left arm and Maj. Gen. Henry Heth who received a shot to the head on the first day of battle (though incapacitated for the rest of the battle, he remarkably survived without long-term injuries, credited in part due to his hat stuffed full of paper dispatches). Confederate generals James L. Kemper and Isaac R. Trimble were severely wounded during Pickett's charge and captured during the Confederate retreat. Confederate Brig. Gen. James J. Archer, in command of a brigade that most likely was responsible for killing Reynolds, was taken prisoner shortly after Reynolds' death. In the Confederate 1st Corps, eight of Longstreet's fourteen division and brigade commanders were killed or wounded, including Brig. Gen. George T. Anderson and Brig. Gen. Jerome B. Robertson, who were wounded. In Ewell's 2nd Corps, Brig. Gen. Isaac E. Avery was mortally wounded and Brig. Gen. John M. Jones was wounded. In Hill's 3rd Corps, in addition to Pender and Pettigrew being killed, Maj. Gen. Henry Heth and Col. Birkett D. Fry (later brigadier general), in temporary brigade command were wounded. In Hill's 3rd Corp, Brig. Gen. Alfred M. Scales and Col. William L. J. Lowrance, in temporary brigade command, were wounded. In the Confederate Cavalry Division, Brig. Gen. Wade Hampton and Brig. Gen. Albert G. Jenkins were wounded.
Union generals killed were John Reynolds, Samuel K. Zook, and Stephen H. Weed, as well as Elon J. Farnsworth, assigned as brigadier general by Maj. Gen. Pleasanton based on his nomination although his promotion was confirmed posthumously, and Strong Vincent, who after being mortally wounded was given a deathbed promotion to brigadier general. Additional senior officer casualties included the wounding of Union Generals Dan Sickles (lost a leg), Francis C. Barlow, Daniel Butterfield, and Winfield Scott Hancock. Five of seven brigade commanders in Reynolds's First Corps were wounded. In addition to Hancock and Brig. Gen. John Gibbon being wounded in the Second Corps, three of ten brigade commanders were killed and three were wounded.
The following tables summarize casualties by corps for the Union and Confederate forces during the three-day battle, according to Busey and Martin.
Bruce Catton wrote, "The town of Gettysburg looked as if some universal moving day had been interrupted by catastrophe." But there was only one documented civilian death during the battle: Ginnie Wade (also widely known as Jennie), 20 years old, was hit by a stray bullet that passed through her kitchen in town while she was making bread. Another notable civilian casualty was John L. Burns, a 69-year-old veteran of the War of 1812 who walked to the front lines on the first day of battle and participated in heavy combat as a volunteer, receiving numerous wounds in the process. Though aged and injured, Burns survived the battle and lived until 1872. Nearly 8,000 had been killed outright; these bodies, lying in the hot summer sun, needed to be buried quickly. More than 3,000 horse carcasses were burned in a series of piles south of town; townsfolk became violently ill from the stench. Meanwhile, the town of Gettysburg, with its population of just 2,400, found itself tasked with taking care of 14,000 wounded Union troops and an additional 8,000 Confederate prisoners.
Confederates lost over 31–55 battle flags, with the Union possibly having lost slightly fewer than 40. The Confederate battle flags were sent to Washington.
3,000–5,000 horses were killed.
=== Confederate retreat ===
On the morning of July 4, with Lee's army still present, Meade ordered his cavalry to get to the rear of Lee's army. In a heavy rain, the armies stared at one another across the bloody fields, on the same day that, some 920 miles (1,480 km) away, the Vicksburg garrison surrendered to Major General Ulysses S. Grant. Lee had reformed his lines into a defensive position on Seminary Ridge the night of July 3, evacuating the town of Gettysburg. The Confederates remained on the battlefield's west side, hoping that Meade would attack, but the cautious Union commander decided against the risk, a decision for which he would later be criticized. Both armies began to collect their remaining wounded and bury some of the dead. A proposal by Lee for a prisoner exchange was rejected by Meade.
Late in the rainy afternoon, Lee started moving the non-fighting portion of his army back to Virginia. Cavalry under Brigadier General John D. Imboden was entrusted to escort the seventeen-mile long wagon train of supplies and wounded men, using a long route through Cashtown and Greencastle to Williamsport, Maryland. After sunset, the fighting portion of Lee's army began its retreat to Virginia using a more direct (but more mountainous) route that began on the road to Fairfield. Although Lee knew exactly what he needed to do, Meade's situation was different. Meade needed to remain at Gettysburg until he was certain Lee was gone. If Meade left first, he could possibly leave an opening for Lee to get to Washington or Baltimore. In addition, the army that left the battlefield first was often considered the defeated army.
Union cavalry had some minor successes pursuing Lee's army. The first major encounter took place in the mountains at Monterey Pass on July 4, where Kilpatrick's cavalry division captured 150 to 300 wagons and took 1,300 to 1,500 prisoners. Beginning July 6, additional cavalry fighting took place closer to the Potomac River in Maryland's Williamsport-Hagerstown area. Lee's army was trapped and delayed from crossing the Potomac River because rainy weather had caused the river to swell, and the pontoon bridge at Falling Waters had been destroyed. Meade's infantry did not fully pursue Lee until July 7, and despite repeated pleas from Lincoln and Halleck, was not aggressive enough to destroy Lee's army. A new pontoon bridge was constructed at Falling Waters, and lower water levels allowed the Confederates to begin crossing after dark on July 13. Although Meade's infantry had reached the area on July 12, it was his cavalry that attacked the Confederate rear guard on the morning of July 14. Union cavalry took 500 prisoners, and Confederate Brigadier General Pettigrew was mortally wounded, but Lee's army completed its Potomac crossing. The campaign continued south of the Potomac until the Battle of Manassas Gap on July 23, when Lee escaped and Meade abandoned the pursuit.
=== Union reaction to the news of the victory ===
The news of the Union victory electrified the North. A headline in The Philadelphia Inquirer proclaimed, "Victory! Waterloo Eclipsed!" New York diarist George Templeton Strong wrote:
The results of this victory are priceless. ... The charm of Robert E. Lee's invincibility is broken. The Army of the Potomac has at last found a general that can handle it, and has stood nobly up to its terrible work in spite of its long disheartening list of hard-fought failures. ... Copperheads are palsied and dumb for the moment at least. ... Government is strengthened four-fold at home and abroad.
Union enthusiasm soon dissipated, however, as the public realized that Lee's army had escaped destruction and the war would continue. Lincoln complained to Gideon Welles, his Secretary of the Navy, that "Our army held the war in the hollow of their hand and they would not close it!" Brigadier General Alexander S. Webb wrote to his father on July 17, stating that such Washington politicians as "Chase, Seward and others", disgusted with Meade, "write to me that Lee really won that Battle!"
=== Effect on the Confederacy ===
In fact, the Confederates had lost militarily and also politically. During the final hours of the battle, Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens was approaching the Union lines at Norfolk, Virginia, under a flag of truce. Although his formal instructions from Confederate President Jefferson Davis had limited his powers to negotiate on prisoner exchanges and other procedural matters, historian James M. McPherson speculates that he had informal goals of presenting peace overtures. Davis had hoped that Stephens would reach Washington from the south while Lee's victorious army was marching toward it from the north. President Lincoln, upon hearing of the Gettysburg results, refused Stephens's request to pass through the lines. Furthermore, when the news reached London, any lingering hopes of European recognition of the Confederacy were finally abandoned. Henry Adams, whose father was serving as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom at the time, wrote, "The disasters of the rebels are unredeemed by even any hope of success. It is now conceded that all idea of intervention is at an end."
Compounding the effects of the defeat was the end of the Siege of Vicksburg, which surrendered to Grant's Federal armies in the West on July 4, the day after the Gettysburg battle, costing the Confederacy an additional 30,000 men, along with all their arms and stores.
The immediate reaction of the Southern military and public sectors was that Gettysburg was a setback, not a disaster. The sentiment was that Lee had been successful on July 1 and had fought a valiant battle on July 2–3, but could not dislodge the Union Army from the strong defensive position to which it fled. The Confederates successfully stood their ground on July 4 and withdrew only after they realized Meade would not attack them. The withdrawal to the Potomac that could have been a disaster was handled masterfully. Furthermore, the Army of the Potomac had been kept away from Virginia farmlands for the summer and all predicted that Meade would be too timid to threaten them for the rest of the year. Lee himself had a positive view of the campaign, writing to his wife that the army had returned "rather sooner than I had originally contemplated, but having accomplished what I proposed on leaving the Rappahannock, viz., relieving the Valley of the presence of the enemy and drawing his Army north of the Potomac". He was quoted as saying to Maj. John Seddon, brother of the Confederate secretary of war, "Sir, we did whip them at Gettysburg, and it will be seen for the next six months that that army will be as quiet as a sucking dove." Some Southern publications, such as the Charleston Mercury, were critical of Lee's actions. On August 8, Lee offered his resignation to President Davis, who quickly rejected it.
=== Gettysburg Address ===
The ravages of war were still evident in Gettysburg more than four months later when, on November 19, Soldiers' National Cemetery, later renamed Gettysburg National Cemetery, was dedicated. During this ceremony, Lincoln honored the fallen and redefined the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address, a 271-word address that is widely considered one of the most famous and significant speeches in American history.
=== Medal of Honor ===
There were 72 Medals of Honor awarded for the Gettysburg Campaign, 64 of which were for actions taken during the battle itself. The first recipient was awarded in December 1864, while the most recent was posthumously awarded to Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing in 2014.
== Historical assessment ==
=== Decisive victory controversies ===
The nature of the result of the Battle of Gettysburg has been the subject of controversy. Although not seen as overwhelmingly significant at the time, particularly since the war continued for almost two years, in retrospect it has often been cited as the "turning point", usually in combination with the fall of Vicksburg the following day. This is based on the observation that, after Gettysburg, Lee's army conducted no more strategic offensives—his army merely reacted to the initiative of Ulysses S. Grant in 1864 and 1865—and by the speculative viewpoint of the Lost Cause writers that a Confederate victory at Gettysburg might have resulted in the end of the war.
It is currently a widely held view that Gettysburg was a decisive victory for the Union, but the term is considered imprecise. It is inarguable that Lee's offensive on July 3 was turned back decisively and his campaign in Pennsylvania was terminated prematurely (although the Confederates at the time argued that this was a temporary setback and that the goals of the campaign were largely met). However, when the more common definition of "decisive victory" is intended—an indisputable military victory of a battle that determines or significantly influences the ultimate result of a conflict—historians are divided. For example, David J. Eicher called Gettysburg a "strategic loss for the Confederacy" and James M. McPherson wrote that "Lee and his men would go on to earn further laurels. But they never again possessed the power and reputation they carried into Pennsylvania those palmy summer days of 1863."
However, Herman Hattaway and Archer Jones wrote that the "strategic impact of the Battle of Gettysburg was ... fairly limited." Steven E. Woodworth wrote that "Gettysburg proved only the near impossibility of decisive action in the Eastern theater." Edwin Coddington pointed out the heavy toll on the Army of the Potomac and that "after the battle Meade no longer possessed a truly effective instrument for the accomplishments of his task. The army needed a thorough reorganization with new commanders and fresh troops, but these changes were not made until Grant appeared on the scene in March 1864." Joseph T. Glatthaar wrote that "Lost opportunities and near successes plagued the Army of Northern Virginia during its Northern invasion," yet after Gettysburg, "without the distractions of duty as an invading force, without the breakdown of discipline, the Army of Northern Virginia [remained] an extremely formidable force." Ed Bearss wrote, "Lee's invasion of the North had been a costly failure. Nevertheless, at best the Army of the Potomac had simply preserved the strategic stalemate in the Eastern Theater ..." Historian Alan Guelzo notes that Gettysburg and Vicksburg did not end the war and that the war would go on for two more years. He also noted that a little more than a year later Federal armies appeared hopelessly mired in sieges at Petersburg and Atlanta.
Peter Carmichael refers to the military context for the armies, the "horrendous losses at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, which effectively destroyed Lee's offensive capacity," implying that these cumulative losses were not the result of a single battle. Thomas Goss, writing in the U.S. Army's Military Review journal on the definition of "decisive" and the application of that description to Gettysburg, concludes: "For all that was decided and accomplished, the Battle of Gettysburg fails to earn the label 'decisive battle'." The military historian John Keegan agrees. Gettysburg was a landmark battle, the largest of the war and it would not be surpassed. The Union had restored to it the belief in certain victory, and the loss dispirited the Confederacy. If "not exactly a decisive battle", Gettysburg was the end of Confederate use of Northern Virginia as a military buffer zone, the setting for Grant's Overland Campaign.
=== Lee vs. Meade ===
Prior to Gettysburg, Robert E. Lee had established a reputation as an almost invincible general, achieving stunning victories against superior numbers—although usually at the cost of high casualties to his army—during the Seven Days, the Northern Virginia Campaign (including the Second Battle of Bull Run), Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. Only the Maryland Campaign, with its tactically inconclusive Battle of Antietam, had been less than successful. Therefore, historians such as Fuller, Glatthaar, and Sears have attempted to explain how Lee's winning streak was interrupted so dramatically at Gettysburg. Although the issue is tainted by attempts to portray history and Lee's reputation in a manner supporting different partisan goals, the major factors in Lee's loss arguably can be attributed to: his overconfidence in the invincibility of his men; the performance of his subordinates, and his management thereof; his failing health; and, the performance of his opponent, George G. Meade, and the Army of the Potomac.
Throughout the campaign, Lee was influenced by the belief that his men were invincible; most of Lee's experiences with the Army of Northern Virginia had convinced him of this, including the great victory at Chancellorsville in early May and the rout of the Union troops at Gettysburg on July 1. Since morale plays an important role in military victory when other factors are equal, Lee did not want to dampen his army's desire to fight and resisted suggestions, principally by Longstreet, to withdraw from the recently captured Gettysburg to select a ground more favorable to his army. War correspondent Peter W. Alexander wrote that Lee "acted, probably, under the impression that his troops were able to carry any position however formidable. If such was the case, he committed an error, such however as the ablest commanders will sometimes fall into." Lee himself concurred with this judgment, writing to President Davis, "No blame can be attached to the army for its failure to accomplish what was projected by me, nor should it be censured for the unreasonable expectations of the public—I am alone to blame, in perhaps expecting too much of its prowess and valor."
The most controversial assessments of the battle involve the performance of Lee's subordinates. The dominant theme of the Lost Cause writers and many other historians is that Lee's senior generals failed him in crucial ways, directly causing the loss of the battle; the alternative viewpoint is that Lee did not manage his subordinates adequately, and did not thereby compensate for their shortcomings. Two of his corps commanders—Richard S. Ewell and A.P. Hill—had only recently been promoted and were not fully accustomed to Lee's style of command, in which he provided only general objectives and guidance to their former commander, Stonewall Jackson; Jackson translated these into detailed, specific orders to his division commanders. All four of Lee's principal commanders received criticism during the campaign and battle:
James Longstreet suffered most severely from the wrath of the Lost Cause authors, not the least because he directly criticized Lee in postbellum writings and became a Republican after the war. His critics accuse him of attacking much later than Lee intended on July 2, squandering a chance to hit the Union Army before its defensive positions had firmed up. They also question his lack of motivation to attack strongly on July 2 and 3 because he had argued that the army should have maneuvered to a place where it would force Meade to attack them. The alternative view is that Lee was in close contact with Longstreet during the battle, agreed to delays on the morning of July 2, and never criticized Longstreet's performance. (There is also considerable speculation about what an attack might have looked like before Dan Sickles moved the III Corps toward the Peach Orchard.)
J.E.B. Stuart deprived Lee of cavalry intelligence during a good part of the campaign by taking his three best brigades on a path away from the army's. This arguably led to Lee's surprise at Hooker's vigorous pursuit; the engagement on July 1 that escalated into the full battle prematurely; and it also prevented Lee from understanding the full disposition of the enemy on July 2. The disagreements regarding Stuart's culpability for the situation originate in the relatively vague orders issued by Lee, but most modern historians agree that both generals were responsible to some extent for the failure of the cavalry's mission early in the campaign.
Richard S. Ewell has been universally criticized for failing to seize the high ground on the afternoon of July 1. Once again the disagreement centers on Lee's orders, which provided general guidance for Ewell to act "if practicable". Many historians speculate that Stonewall Jackson, if he had survived Chancellorsville, would have aggressively seized Culp's Hill, rendering Cemetery Hill indefensible, and changing the entire complexion of the battle. A differently worded order from Lee might have made the difference with this subordinate.
A.P. Hill has received some criticism for his ineffective performance. His actions caused the battle to begin and then escalate on July 1, despite Lee's orders not to bring on a general engagement (although historians point out that Hill kept Lee well informed of his actions during the day). However, Hill's illness minimized his personal involvement in the remainder of the battle, and Lee took the explicit step of temporarily removing troops from Hill's corps and giving them to Longstreet for Pickett's Charge.
In addition to Hill's illness, Lee's performance was affected by heart troubles, which would eventually lead to his death in 1870; he had been diagnosed with pericarditis by his staff physicians in March 1863, though modern doctors believe he had in fact suffered a heart attack.
As a final factor, Lee faced a new and formidable opponent in George G. Meade, and the Army of the Potomac fought well on its home territory. Although new to his army command, Meade deployed his forces relatively effectively; relied on strong subordinates such as Winfield S. Hancock to make decisions where and when they were needed; took great advantage of defensive positions; nimbly shifted defensive resources on interior lines to parry strong threats; and, unlike some of his predecessors, stood his ground throughout the battle in the face of fierce Confederate attacks.
Lee was quoted before the battle as saying Meade "would commit no blunders on my front and if I make one ... will make haste to take advantage of it." That prediction proved to be correct at Gettysburg. Stephen Sears wrote, "The fact of the matter is that George G. Meade, unexpectedly and against all odds, thoroughly outgeneraled Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg." Edwin B. Coddington wrote that the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac received a "sense of triumph which grew into an imperishable faith in [themselves]. The men knew what they could do under an extremely competent general; one of lesser ability and courage could well have lost the battle."
Meade had his own detractors as well. Similar to the situation with Lee, Meade suffered partisan attacks about his performance at Gettysburg, but he had the misfortune of experiencing them in person. Supporters of his predecessor, Hooker, lambasted Meade before the U.S. Congress's Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, where Radical Republicans suspected that Meade was a Copperhead and tried in vain to relieve him from command. Daniel E. Sickles and Daniel Butterfield accused Meade of planning to retreat from Gettysburg during the battle. Most politicians, including Lincoln, criticized Meade for what they considered to be his half-hearted pursuit of Lee after the battle. A number of Meade's most competent subordinates—Winfield S. Hancock, John Gibbon, Gouverneur K. Warren, and Henry J. Hunt, all heroes of the battle—defended Meade in print, but Meade was embittered by the overall experience.
== Battlefield preservation ==
Gettysburg National Cemetery and Gettysburg National Military Park are maintained by the U.S. National Park Service as two of the nation's most revered historical landmarks. Although Gettysburg is one of the best known of all Civil War battlefields, it too faces threats to its preservation and interpretation. Many historically significant locations on the battlefield lie outside the boundaries of Gettysburg National Military Park and are vulnerable to residential or commercial development.
Some preservation successes have emerged in recent years. Two proposals to open a casino at Gettysburg were defeated in 2006 and most recently in 2011, when public pressure forced the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to reject the proposed gambling hub at the intersection of Routes 15 and 30, near East Cavalry Field. The American Battlefield Trust, formerly the Civil War Trust, also successfully purchased and transferred 95 acres (38 ha) at the former site of the Gettysburg Country Club to the control of the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2011.
Less than half of the over 11,500 acres on the old Gettysburg Battlefield have been preserved for posterity thus far. The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved 1,242 acres (5.03 km2) of the battlefield in more than 40 separate transactions from 1997 to mid-2023. Some of these acres are now among the 4,998 acres (2,023 ha) of the Gettysburg National Military Park. In 2015, the Trust made one of its most important and expensive acquisitions, paying $6 million for a four-acre (1.6 ha) parcel that included the stone house that Confederate General Robert E. Lee used as his headquarters during the battle. The Trust razed a motel, restaurant and other buildings within the parcel to restore Lee's headquarters and the site to their wartime appearance, adding interpretive signs. It opened the site to the public in October 2016.
== In popular culture ==
At the 50th anniversary Gettysburg reunion (1913), 50,000 veterans attended according to a 1938 Army Medical report. Historian Carol Reardon writes that attendance included at least 35,000 Union veterans and though estimates of attendees ran as high as 56,000, only a few more than 7,000 Confederate veterans, most from Virginia and North Carolina, attended. Some veterans re-enacted Pickett's Charge in a spirit of reconciliation, a meeting that carried great emotional force for both sides. There was a ceremonial mass hand-shake across a stone wall on Cemetery Ridge.
At the 75th anniversary Gettysburg reunion (1938), 1,333 Union veterans and 479 Confederate veterans attended.
Film records survive of two Gettysburg reunions, held on the battlefield, in 1913, and 1938.
During the Civil War Centennial, the U.S. Post Office issued five postage stamps commemorating the 100th anniversaries of famous battles. The American Civil War Centennial was the official United States commemoration of the American Civil War. Commemoration activities began in 1957, four years before the 100th anniversary of the war's first battle, and ended in 1965 with the 100th anniversary of the surrender at Appomattox. The United States Civil War Centennial Commission and state commissions were established to organize the commemorations. The National Park Service, and other federal agencies that controlled key Civil War battlefields, used the Centennial to successfully lobby Congress for increased funding to re-landscape and interpret these battlefields for the general public. The Post Office issued a series of noncontroversial commemorative stamps to mark the centennial.
The children's novel Window of Time (1991), by Karen Weinberg, tells the story of a boy transported by time travel from the 1980s to the Battle of Gettysburg.
The Battle of Gettysburg was depicted in the 1993 film Gettysburg, based on Michael Shaara's 1974 novel The Killer Angels. The film and novel focused primarily on the actions of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, John Buford, Robert E. Lee, and James Longstreet during the battle. The first day focused on Buford's cavalry defense, the second day on Chamberlain's defense at Little Round Top, and the third day on Pickett's Charge. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_Beth_Israel_(West_Hartford,_Connecticut) | Congregation Beth Israel (West Hartford, Connecticut) | Congregation Beth Israel (transliterated from the Hebrew as "House of Israel") is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 701 Farmington Avenue in West Hartford, Connecticut.
Established in 1843, Beth Israel is one of the two oldest Jewish congregations in Connecticut and is one of the largest reformed congregations in New England. Its membership includes about 650 families and about 2,000 individuals.
The congregation's first synagogue building on Charter Oak Avenue in Hartford, commonly called the Charter Oak Temple, was completed in 1876. It was designed by George Keller in the Romanesque Revival style and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November 1978.
== History ==
=== Founding and affiliation ===
Beth Israel was founded in 1843, the same year the Connecticut legislature first permitted public worship by Jews. That year also saw the founding of Congregation Mishkan Israel. Originally an Orthodox congregation, Beth Israel adopted Reform practices relatively quickly, influenced in part by the immigration of German Jews to Hartford. In 1877, the congregation joined with other American Reform Jewish communities to form the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
=== First synagogue ===
Congregation Beth Israel's first synagogue was built at 21 Charter Oak Avenue in Hartford in 1876. Though Beth Israel left the building in 1936, the building is occupied by the Charter Oak Cultural Center. It is among the oldest synagogue buildings still standing in the United States.
Beth Israel moved into its present location in 1936.
== Clergy ==
=== Rabbi Feldman ===
For most of the middle of the 20th century (1925–1977), Congregation Beth Israel was led by Rabbi Abraham J. Feldman, a leading exponent of Classical Reform philosophy.
Dr. Feldman was a nationally known Jewish leader. He received many awards, authored several books, and held important positions in various offices including the Connecticut Advisory Committee of the United States Commission on Civil Rights and American Jewish Committee. He was praised by President Dwight D. Eisenhower for "his outstanding leadership" and "bringing strength to the nation and hope to the free world".
=== Rabbi Silver ===
Rabbi Harold Silver succeeded Feldman in 1968. He served as senior rabbi for 25 years, retiring in 1993. Silver came from a family of rabbis, including the five generations preceding him. His father, Maxwell Silver, was a rabbi in New York City; his uncle, Abba Hillel Silver, was a rabbi in Cleveland, Ohio; and his grandfather, Moses Silver, was a rabbi in Jerusalem. Silver was ordained in 1951 at Hebrew Union College in New York City. Rabbi Silver's first rabbinate was as assistant rabbi at the Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh. He later became rabbi at Temple Emanuel in Pittsburgh, where he served from 1955 until 1968, when he came to Congregation Beth Israel.
Silver was prominent in the Hartford Jewish community. He organized the first Greater Hartford Rabbinical Board of Rabbis, which assembles rabbis from different Jewish congregations and movements. He also served on a variety of community boards, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Silver also promoted interfaith dialogue, preaching at many local churches, as well as encouraging peace and understanding between people of different faiths. Additionally, Silver taught courses on Judaism at local universities. He hired Connecticut's first female associate rabbi, Jody Cohen, bringing her to Beth Israel in 1984.
Silver retired in 1993 and became rabbi emeritus. He died on March 9, 2017, at the age of 92.
=== Rabbi Glaser ===
Silver was succeeded by Rabbi Simeon Glaser in 1993, who served as assistant rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel at the end of Rabbi Silver's tenure as senior rabbi. Glaser was popular with young families and children because of his interest in and talent for music and song. Glaser put on lively services for the holidays of Purim and Simchas Torah; in these services, he, Cantor Green, and Assistant Rabbi Weiss sang, danced, and acted out stories of the holidays. After serving four years as senior rabbi, Glaser left Beth Israel, initially to serve at a small Conservative synagogue in Wethersfield, Connecticut, and then at Temple Israel in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
=== Rabbi Fuchs ===
Rabbi Stephen Fuchs is a former president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and rabbi emeritus of Congregation Beth Israel. He served as the primary rabbi of the congregation from 1997 to 2011.
=== Rabbi Pincus ===
Rabbi Michael Pincus served as associate rabbi (2004–2011) and rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel since 2012. He has shared his leadership position with Rabbi Andi Fliegel since 2016.
=== Rabbi Fliegel ===
Rabbi Andi Fliegel has served as associate rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel since 2016. She shares this leadership position with Rabbi Michael Pincus.
== Architecture ==
The congregation occupies a large building that is dominated by a Byzantine Revival dome. The building contains multiple parts: a sanctuary (on which the dome is built), a chapel, a religious school, a pre-school, offices, two meeting halls, a small museum, and a library. Both the sanctuary and the chapel feature stained-glass windows.
The 1936 building was designed by Charles R. Greco and built at the height of the Art Deco movement; the Byzantine revival form in Art Deco style provides a grand appearance. In 2006, the congregation was given the West Hartford Historic Preservation Award for its meticulous restoration of the historic structure.
The synagogue building was one of fifteen Connecticut synagogues added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 and 1996.
== Cemeteries ==
Congregation Beth Israel owns and maintains two cemeteries, in Avon, and Hartford. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_NFL_draft#Round_6 | 1997 NFL draft#Round 6 | The 1997 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. No teams chose to claim any players in the supplemental draft that year.
This draft was notable for its high-profile offensive linemen. The first overall selection was Orlando Pace, who appeared in seven consecutive Pro Bowls from 2000 to 2006 and was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2016. Tarik Glenn was selected 19th overall and was also named to three Pro Bowls. Walter Jones, who made nine Pro Bowls (including eight consecutive from 2001 to 2008), was a seven time All-Pro, and was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2014, was selected sixth overall. Others include Chris Naeole, Dan Neil, Ryan Tucker, Jeff Mitchell, Mike Flynn, and Joe Andruzzi.
The 1997 Draft is also known for its running backs. Warrick Dunn, Corey Dillon, and Tiki Barber each rushed for over 10,000 yards in their careers, and Antowain Smith, and Duce Staley all enjoyed productive seasons in the NFL. This draft is also well known for its undrafted Pro Bowl players, including Jake Delhomme, Priest Holmes, and Pat Williams.
== Player selections ==
== Notable undrafted players ==
== Hall of Famers ==
Walter Jones, offensive tackle from Florida State University taken 1st round 6th overall by the Seattle Seahawks.
inducted: Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2014.
Orlando Pace, offensive tackle from Ohio State University taken 1st round 1st overall by the St. Louis Rams.
inducted: Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2016.
Jason Taylor, defensive end from University of Akron taken 3rd round 73rd overall by the Miami Dolphins.
inducted: Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2017.
Tony Gonzalez, tight end from University of California taken 1st round 13th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs.
inducted: Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2019.
Ronde Barber, cornerback from University of Virginia taken 3rd round 66th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
inducted: Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2023.
== Trades ==
In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the 1994 Draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round five
Round six
Round seven |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China | China | China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the second-most populous country after India, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, representing 17% of the world's population. China borders fourteen countries by land across an area of 9.6 million square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), making it the third-largest country by area. The country is divided into 33 province-level divisions: 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and 2 semi-autonomous special administrative regions. Beijing is the capital, while Shanghai is the most populous city by urban area and largest financial center.
The first humans in China arrived during the Paleolithic era. By the 2nd millennium BCE dynastic states had emerged in the Yellow River basin. The 8th–3rd centuries BCE saw a breakdown in the authority of the Zhou dynasty, accompanied by the emergence of administrative and military techniques, literature and philosophy. In 221 BCE, China was unified under an emperor, ushering in two millennia of imperial rule. Chinese achievements include the invention of gunpowder, paper, printing and the compass, the establishment of the Silk Road, and the building of the Great Wall. Chinese culture has flourished and has had a great influence on the region and beyond. China began to cede parts of the country in the 19th century, to European powers through a series of unequal treaties. The 1911 Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China was established the following year. The country was unstable and fragmented during the Warlord Era, this came to an end with the Northern Expedition conducted by the Kuomintang to reunify the country.
The Chinese Civil War began in 1927, when Kuomintang forces purged members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). China was invaded by the Empire of Japan in 1937, leading the CCP and Kuomintang to form the Second United Front to fight the Japanese. The Second Sino-Japanese War ended in a Chinese victory; however, the CCP and the Kuomintang resumed their civil war. In 1949, the CCP proclaimed the People's Republic of China and forced the Kuomintang-led government to retreat to the island of Taiwan. The country was split, with both sides claiming to be the legitimate government. Following the implementation of land reforms, attempts by the CCP to realize communism failed: the Great Leap Forward was responsible for the Great Chinese Famine which resulted in millions of deaths, and the Cultural Revolution was a period of turmoil and persecution. The reform and opening up that began in 1978 moved the country away from a planned economy towards a market-based economy, spurring an economic boom. A movement for political liberalization stalled after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.
Since 1949, China has been a unitary communist state with the CCP as its sole ruling party. It is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a member of numerous multilateral and regional organizations. Making up around one-fifth of the world's economy, China is the second-wealthiest country in the world, with the Chinese economy being the largest when adjusted for PPP. However, China ranks poorly in measures of democracy and human rights. China has been one of the fastest-growing modern economies and is the world's largest manufacturer and exporter, as well as the second-largest importer. China has the world's largest standing army, second-largest defense budget, and third-largest nuclear weapons stockpile. It is described as either a potential or established superpower due to its influence in the fields of geopolitics, science and technology, manufacturing, economics and culture. China is known for its cuisine and culture. It is a megadiverse country, and has 60 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
== Etymology ==
The word "China" has been used in English since the 16th century; however, it was not used by the Chinese themselves during this period. Its origin has been traced through Portuguese, Malay, and Persian back to the Sanskrit word चिन Cīna, used in ancient India. "China" appears in Richard Eden's 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. Barbosa's usage was derived from Persian Chīn (چین), which in turn derived from Sanskrit Cīna (चीन). The origin of the Sanskrit word is a matter of debate. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahabharata (3rd century BCE–4th century CE) and the Laws of Manu (2nd century BCE–2nd century CE). In 1655, Martino Martini suggested that the word China is derived ultimately from the name of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE) or the prior state of Qin. Although use in Indian sources precedes this dynasty, though not the state, this derivation is still given in various sources. Alternative suggestions include the names for Yelang and the Jing or Chu state.
The official name of the modern state is the "People's Republic of China" (simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国; traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá rénmín gònghéguó). The shorter form is "China" (中国; 中國; Zhōngguó), from zhōng ('central') and guó ('state'), a term which developed under the Western Zhou dynasty in reference to its royal demesne. It was used in official documents as an synonym for the state under the Qing. The name Zhongguo is also translated as 'Middle Kingdom' in English. China is sometimes referred to as mainland China or "the Mainland" when distinguishing it from the Republic of China or the PRC's Special Administrative Regions.
== History ==
=== Prehistory ===
Archaeological evidence suggests that early hominids inhabited China 2.25 million years ago. The hominid fossils of Peking Man, a Homo erectus who used fire, have been dated to between 680,000 and 780,000 years ago. The fossilized teeth of Homo sapiens (dated to 125,000–80,000 years ago) have been discovered in Fuyan Cave. Chinese proto-writing existed in Jiahu around 6600 BCE, at Damaidi around 6000 BCE, Dadiwan from 5800 to 5400 BCE, and Banpo dating from the 5th millennium BCE. Some scholars have suggested that the Jiahu symbols (7th millennium BCE) constituted the earliest Chinese writing system.
=== Early dynastic rule ===
According to traditional Chinese historiography, the Xia dynasty was established during the late 3rd millennium BCE, marking the beginning of the dynastic cycle that was understood to underpin China's entire political history. In the modern era, the Xia's historicity came under increasing scrutiny, in part due to the earliest known attestation of the Xia being written millennia after the date given for their collapse. In 1958, archaeologists discovered sites belonging to the Erlitou culture that existed during the early Bronze Age; they have since been characterized as the remains of the historical Xia, but this conception is often rejected. The Shang dynasty that traditionally succeeded the Xia is the earliest for which there are both contemporary written records and undisputed archaeological evidence. The Shang ruled much of the Yellow River valley until the 11th century BCE, with the earliest hard evidence dated c. 1300 BCE. The oracle bone script, attested from c. 1250 BCE but generally assumed to be considerably older, represents the oldest known form of written Chinese, and is the direct ancestor of modern Chinese characters.
The Shang were overthrown by the Zhou, who ruled between the 11th and 5th centuries BCE, though the centralized authority of Son of Heaven was slowly eroded by fengjian lords. Some principalities eventually emerged from the weakened Zhou and continually waged war with each other during the 300-year Spring and Autumn period. By the time of the Warring States period of the 5th–3rd centuries BCE, there were seven major powerful states left.
=== Imperial China ===
==== Qin and Han ====
The Warring States period ended in 221 BCE after the state of Qin conquered the other six states, reunited China and established the dominant order of autocracy. Qin Shi Huang proclaimed himself the Emperor of the Qin dynasty, becoming the first emperor of a unified China. He enacted legalist reforms, notably the standardization of Chinese characters, measurements, road widths, and currency. His dynasty also conquered the Yue tribes in Guangxi, Guangdong, and Northern Vietnam. The Qin dynasty lasted only fifteen years, falling soon after the Qin Shi Huang's death.
Following widespread revolts during which the imperial library was burned, the Han dynasty emerged to rule China between 206 BCE and 220 CE, creating a cultural identity among its populace still remembered in the ethnonym of the modern Han Chinese. The Han expanded the empire's territory considerably, with military campaigns reaching Central Asia, Mongolia, Korea, and Yunnan, and the recovery of Guangdong and northern Vietnam from Nanyue. Han involvement in Central Asia and Sogdia helped establish the land route of the Silk Road, replacing the earlier path over the Himalayas to India. Han China gradually became the largest economy of the ancient world. Despite the Han's initial decentralization and the official abandonment of the Qin philosophy of Legalism in favor of Confucianism, Qin's legalist institutions and policies continued to be employed by the Han government and its successors.
==== Three Kingdoms, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties ====
After the end of the Han dynasty, a period of strife known as Three Kingdoms followed, at the end of which Wei was swiftly overthrown by the Jin dynasty. The Jin fell to civil war upon the ascension of the developmentally disabled Emperor Hui; the Five Barbarians then rebelled and ruled northern China as the Sixteen States. The Xianbei unified them as the Northern Wei, whose Emperor Xiaowen reversed his predecessors' apartheid policies and enforced a drastic sinification on his subjects. In the south, the general Liu Yu secured the abdication of the Jin in favor of the Liu Song. The various successors of these states became known as the Northern and Southern dynasties, with the two areas finally reunited by the Sui in 589.
==== Sui, Tang and Song ====
The Sui restored the Han to power through China, reformed its agriculture, economy and imperial examination system, constructed the Grand Canal, and patronized Buddhism. However, they fell quickly when their conscription for public works and a failed war in northern Korea provoked widespread unrest.
Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese economy, technology, and culture entered a golden age. The Tang dynasty retained control of the Western Regions and the Silk Road, which brought traders to as far as Mesopotamia and the Horn of Africa, and made the capital Chang'an a cosmopolitan urban center. However, it was devastated and weakened by the An Lushan rebellion in the 8th century. In 907, the Tang disintegrated completely when the local military governors became ungovernable. The Song dynasty ended the separatist situation in 960, leading to a balance of power between the Song and the Liao dynasty. The Song was the first government in world history to issue paper money and the first Chinese polity to establish a permanent navy which was supported by the developed shipbuilding industry along with the sea trade.
Between the 10th and 11th century CE, the population of China doubled to around 100 million people, mostly because of the expansion of rice cultivation in central and southern China, and the production of abundant food surpluses. The Song dynasty also saw a revival of Confucianism, in response to the growth of Buddhism during the Tang, and a flourishing of philosophy and the arts, as landscape art and porcelain were brought to new levels of complexity. However, the military weakness of the Song army was observed by the Jin dynasty. In 1127, Emperor Emeritus Huizong, Emperor Qinzong and the capital Bianjing were captured during the Jin–Song wars. The remnants of the Song retreated to southern China and reestablished the Song at Jiankang.
==== Yuan, Ming and Qing ====
The Mongol conquest of China began in 1205 with the campaigns against Western Xia by Genghis Khan, who also invaded Jin territories. In 1271, the Mongol leader Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty, which conquered the last remnant of the Song dynasty in 1279. Before the Mongol invasion, the population of Song China was 120 million citizens; this was reduced to 60 million by the time of the census in 1300. A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan in 1368 and founded the Ming dynasty as the Hongwu Emperor. Under the Ming dynasty, China enjoyed another golden age, developing one of the strongest navies in the world and a rich and prosperous economy amid a flourishing of art and culture. It was during this period that admiral Zheng He led the Ming treasure voyages throughout the Indian Ocean, reaching as far as East Africa.
In the early Ming dynasty, China's capital was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. With the budding of capitalism, philosophers such as Wang Yangming critiqued and expanded Neo-Confucianism with concepts of individualism and equality of four occupations. The scholar-official stratum became a supporting force of industry and commerce in the tax boycott movements, which, together with the famines and defense against Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) and Later Jin incursions led to an exhausted treasury. In 1644, Beijing was captured by a coalition of peasant rebel forces led by Li Zicheng. The Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide when the city fell. The Manchu Qing dynasty, then allied with Ming dynasty general Wu Sangui, overthrew Li's short-lived Shun dynasty and subsequently seized control of Beijing, which became the new capital of the Qing dynasty.
The Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1644 until 1912, was the last imperial dynasty of China. The transition from Ming to Qing (1618–1683) cost 25 million lives, but the Qing appeared to have restored China's imperial power and inaugurated another flowering of the arts. After the Southern Ming ended, the further conquest of the Dzungar Khanate added Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang to the empire. Meanwhile, China's population growth resumed and shortly began to accelerate. It is commonly agreed that pre-modern China's population experienced two growth spurts, one during the Northern Song period (960–1127), and other during the Qing period (around 1700–1830). By the High Qing era China was possibly the most commercialized country in the world, and imperial China experienced a second commercial revolution by the end of the 18th century. On the other hand, the centralized autocracy was strengthened in part to suppress anti-Qing sentiment with the policy of valuing agriculture and restraining commerce, like the Haijin during the early Qing period and ideological control as represented by the literary inquisition, causing some social and technological stagnation.
In the mid-19th century, the Opium Wars with Britain and France forced China to pay compensation, open treaty ports, allow extraterritoriality for foreign nationals, and cede Hong Kong to the British under the 1842 Treaty of Nanking, the first of what have been termed the unequal treaties. The First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) resulted in Qing China's loss of influence in the Korean Peninsula, as well as the cession of Taiwan to Japan. The Qing dynasty also began experiencing internal unrest in which tens of millions of people died, especially in the White Lotus Rebellion, the failed Taiping Rebellion that ravaged southern China in the 1850s and 1860s and the Dungan Revolt (1862–1877) in the northwest. The initial success of the Self-Strengthening Movement of the 1860s was frustrated by a series of military defeats in the 1880s and 1890s. In the 19th century, the great Chinese diaspora began. Losses due to emigration were added to by conflicts and catastrophes such as the Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–1879, in which between 9 and 13 million people died. The Guangxu Emperor drafted a reform plan in 1898 to establish a modern constitutional monarchy, but these plans were thwarted by the Empress Dowager Cixi. The ill-fated anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion of 1899–1901 further weakened the dynasty. Although Cixi sponsored a program of reforms known as the late Qing reforms, the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 ended the Qing dynasty. Puyi, the last Emperor, abdicated in 1912.
=== Republic of China ===
On 1 January 1912, the Republic of China (ROC) was established, and Sun Yat-sen of the Kuomintang was proclaimed provisional president. In 1912, the presidency was given to Yuan Shikai, a former Qing general who in 1915 proclaimed himself Emperor of China. In the face of popular condemnation and opposition from his own Beiyang Army, he was forced to re-establish the republic in 1916. After Yuan's death in 1916, China was politically fragmented. Its Beijing-based government was internationally recognized but virtually powerless; regional warlords controlled most of its territory. During this period, China participated in World War I and saw a far-reaching popular uprising called the May Fourth Movement. In the late 1920s, the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek reunified most the country through the Northern Expedition. The Kuomintang moved the nation's capital to Nanjing and implemented "political tutelage", an intermediate stage of political development outlined in Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People program for transforming China into a modern democratic state. The Kuomintang briefly allied with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Northern Expedition, though the alliance broke down in 1927 after Chiang violently suppressed the CCP and other leftists in Shanghai, marking the beginning of the Chinese Civil War. CCP forces in Jiangxi were wiped out by the Nationalist government in 1934, leading the CCP to initiate the Long March and relocate to Yan'an in Shaanxi. It would be the base of the communists before major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949.
In 1931, Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria. Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), a theater of World War II. The war forced an uneasy alliance between the Kuomintang and the CCP. Japanese forces committed numerous war atrocities against the civilian population; as many as 20 million Chinese civilians died. An estimated 40,000 to over 300,000 Chinese were massacred in Nanjing alone during the Japanese occupation. The Republic of China, along with the UK, the United States, and the Soviet Union, were recognized as the Allied "Big Four" in the Declaration by United Nations. Along with the other three great powers, China was one of the four major Allies of World War II, and was later considered one of the primary victors in the war. After the surrender of Japan in 1945, China emerged victorious but war-ravaged and financially drained. Taiwan, along with the Penghu, were handed over to ROC control; however, the validity of this handover is controversial. In 1946, fighting between CCP and KMT forces broke out and the country resumed a state of civil war that lasted more than three years. Constitutional rule was established in 1947, but because of the ongoing war, many provisions of the ROC constitution were never implemented in mainland China.
=== People's Republic of China ===
By 1949, the CCP took control of most of mainland China, and the ROC government retreated to Taiwan. On 1 October 1949, CCP Chairman Mao Zedong formally proclaimed the People's Republic of China. In 1950, the PRC captured Hainan from the ROC and annexed Tibet. The CCP consolidated its popularity among the peasants through the Land Reform Movement, which included the state-tolerated executions of between 1 and 2 million landlords by peasants and former tenants. Though the PRC initially allied closely with the Soviet Union, the relations between the two communist nations gradually deteriorated, leading China to develop an independent industrial system and its own nuclear weapons. The Chinese population increased from 550 million in 1950 to 900 million in 1974. However, the Great Leap Forward, a massive industrialization project, resulted in an estimated 15 to 55 million deaths between 1959 and 1961, mostly from starvation. In 1964, China detonated its first atomic bomb. In 1966, Mao and his allies launched the Cultural Revolution, sparking a decade of political recrimination and social upheaval that lasted until Mao's death in 1976.
After Mao's death, the Gang of Four were arrested by Hua Guofeng. The Cultural Revolution was rebuked, with millions rehabilitated. Deng Xiaoping took power in 1978, and started the reform and opening up, instituting large-scale political and economic reforms to transition away from planned economy. China adopted its current constitution on 4 December 1982. In 1989, there were protests such those in Tiananmen Square, and then throughout the entire nation. Jiang Zemin was elevated to become the CCP general secretary, becoming the paramount leader. China's economy grew sevenfold during Jiang's tenure. British Hong Kong and Portuguese Macau returned to China in 1997 and 1999, respectively, as special administrative regions under the principle of one country, two systems. In 2002, Hu Jintao succeeded Jiang as the general secretary. Under Hu, China maintained its high rate of economic growth, overtaking the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan to become the world's second-largest economy. However, the growth also severely impacted the country's resources and environment, and caused major social displacement. Xi Jinping succeeded Hu as paramount leader in 2012. Shortly after his ascension to power, Xi launched a vast anti-corruption crackdown, that prosecuted more than 2 million officials by 2022. During his tenure, Xi has consolidated power unseen since the initiation of economic and political reforms.
== Geography ==
China's landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts in the arid north to the subtropical forests in the wetter south. The Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third- and sixth-longest in the world, respectively, run from the Tibetan Plateau to the densely populated eastern seaboard. China's coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 km (9,000 mi) long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China connects through the Kazakh border to the Eurasian Steppe.
The territory of China lies between latitudes 18° and 54° N, and longitudes 73° and 135° E. The geographical center of China is marked by the Center of the Country Monument at 35°50′40.9″N 103°27′7.5″E. China's landscapes vary significantly across its vast territory. In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, there are extensive and densely populated alluvial plains, while on the edges of the Inner Mongolian plateau in the north, broad grasslands predominate. Southern China is dominated by hills and low mountain ranges, while the central-east hosts the deltas of China's two major rivers, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Other major rivers include the Xi, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur. To the west sit major mountain ranges, most notably the Himalayas. High plateaus feature among the more arid landscapes of the north, such as the Taklamakan and the Gobi Desert. The world's highest point, Mount Everest (8,848 m), lies on the Sino-Nepalese border. The country's lowest point, and the world's third-lowest, is the dried lake bed of Ayding Lake (−154 m) in the Turpan Depression.
Despite spanning the equivalent of five geographical time zones (from UTC+5 to UTC+9), China uses a single national time zone, China Standard Time (UTC+8). This uniform time policy was adopted in 1949.
=== Climate ===
China's climate is mainly dominated by dry seasons and wet monsoons, which lead to pronounced temperature differences between winter and summer. In the winter, northern winds coming from high-latitude areas are cold and dry; in summer, southern winds from coastal areas at lower latitudes are warm and moist.
A major environmental issue in China is the continued expansion of its deserts, particularly the Gobi Desert. Although barrier tree lines planted since the 1970s have reduced the frequency of sandstorms, prolonged drought and poor agricultural practices have resulted in dust storms plaguing northern China each spring, which then spread to other parts of East Asia, including Japan and Korea. Water quality, erosion, and pollution control have become important issues in China's relations with other countries. Melting glaciers in the Himalayas could potentially lead to water shortages for hundreds of millions of people. According to academics, in order to limit climate change in China to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) electricity generation from coal in China without carbon capture must be phased out by 2045.
Official government statistics about Chinese agricultural productivity are considered unreliable, due to exaggeration of production at subsidiary government levels. Much of China has a climate very suitable for agriculture and the country has been the world's largest producer of rice, wheat, tomatoes, eggplant, grapes, watermelon, spinach, and many other crops. In 2021, 12 percent of global permanent meadows and pastures belonged to China, as well as 8% of global cropland.
=== Biodiversity ===
China is one of 17 megadiverse countries, lying in two of the world's major biogeographic realms: the Palearctic and the Indomalayan. By one measure, China has over 34,687 species of animals and vascular plants, making it the third-most biodiverse country in the world, after Brazil and Colombia. The country is a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity; its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan was received by the convention in 2010.
China is home to at least 551 species of mammals (the third-highest in the world), 1,221 species of birds (eighth), 424 species of reptiles (seventh) and 333 species of amphibians (seventh). Wildlife in China shares habitat with, and bears acute pressure from, one of the world's largest population of humans. At least 840 animal species are threatened, vulnerable or in danger of local extinction, due mainly to human activity such as habitat destruction, pollution and poaching for food, fur and traditional Chinese medicine. Endangered wildlife is protected by law, and as of 2019, the country has over 2,750 nature reserves, covering a total area of 1,470,000 km2 (570,000 sq mi), 15 percent of China's total land area. Most wild animals have been eliminated from the core agricultural regions of east and central China, but they have fared better in the mountainous south and west. The Baiji was confirmed extinct on 12 December 2006.
China has over 32,000 species of vascular plants, and is home to a variety of forest types. Cold coniferous forests predominate in the north of the country, supporting animal species such as moose and Asian black bear, along with over 120 bird species. The understory of moist conifer forests may contain thickets of bamboo. In higher montane stands of juniper and yew, the bamboo is replaced by rhododendrons. Subtropical forests, which are predominate in central and southern China, support a high density of plant species including numerous rare endemics. Tropical and seasonal rainforests, though confined to Yunnan and Hainan, contain a quarter of all the animal and plant species found in China. China has over 10,000 recorded species of fungi.
=== Environment ===
In the early 2000s, China has suffered from environmental deterioration and pollution due to its rapid pace of industrialization. Environmental regulations fairly stringent, though they are poorly enforced, frequently disregarded in favor of rapid economic development. China has the second-highest death toll because of air pollution, after India, with approximately 1 million deaths. Although China ranks as the highest CO2 emitting country, it only emits 8 tons of CO2 per capita, significantly lower than developed countries such as the United States (16.1), Australia (16.8) and South Korea (13.6). Greenhouse gas emissions by China are the world's largest. 90.4% of China's national surface water was graded suitable for human consumption by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in 2024.
China has prioritized clamping down on pollution, bringing a significant decrease in air pollution in the 2010s. In 2020, the Chinese government announced its aims for the country to reach its peak emissions levels before 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 in line with the Paris Agreement, which, according to Climate Action Tracker, would lower the expected rise in global temperature by 0.2–0.3 degrees – "the biggest single reduction ever estimated by the Climate Action Tracker". According to China's government, the forest coverage of the country grew from 10% of the overall territory in 1949 to 25% in 2024.
China is the world's leading investor in renewable energy and its commercialization, with $546 billion invested in 2022; it the world's leading manufacturer and innovator of renewable energy technologies and invests heavily in local-scale renewable energy projects. Long heavily relying on non-renewable energy sources such as coal, China's adaptation of renewable energy has increased significantly in recent years. In 2024, 58.2% of China's electricity came from coal (largest producer in the world), 13.5% from hydroelectric power (largest), 9.8% from wind (largest), 8.3% from solar energy (largest), 4.4% from nuclear energy (second-largest), 3% from natural gas (fifth-largest), and 2.1% from bioenergy (largest); in total, 38% of China's energy came from clean energy sources. Despite its emphasis on renewables, China remains deeply connected to global oil markets and next to India, has been the largest importer of Russian crude oil in 2022.
=== Political geography ===
China is the second-largest country by land area after Russia, and the third- or fourth-largest country by total area. China's total area is generally stated as being approximately 9,600,000 km2 (3,700,000 sq mi). Specific area figures range from 9,572,900 km2 (3,696,100 sq mi) according to the Encyclopædia Britannica, to 9,596,961 km2 (3,705,407 sq mi) according to the UN Demographic Yearbook, and The World Factbook.
China has the longest combined land border in the world, measuring 22,117 km (13,743 mi) and its coastline covers approximately 14,500 km (9,000 mi) from the mouth of the Yalu River (Amnok River) to the Gulf of Tonkin. China borders 14 nations and covers the bulk of East Asia, bordering Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar in Southeast Asia; India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia; Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in Central Asia; and Russia, Mongolia, and North Korea in Inner Asia and Northeast Asia. It is narrowly separated from Bangladesh and Thailand to the southwest and south, and has several maritime neighbors such as Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
China has resolved its land borders with 12 out of 14 neighboring countries, having pursued substantial compromises in most of them. China currently has a disputed land border with India and Bhutan. China is additionally involved in maritime disputes with multiple countries over territory in the East and South China Seas, such as the Senkaku Islands, which it refers as the Diaoyu Islands, and the entirety of South China Sea Islands.
== Government and politics ==
The People's Republic of China is a communist state under the absolute leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP is officially guided by socialism with Chinese characteristics, which it describes as Marxism adapted to Chinese circumstances. The Chinese constitution states that the PRC "is a socialist state governed by a people's democratic dictatorship that is led by the working class and based on an alliance of workers and peasants", and that "the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party."
The PRC officially characterizes itself as a democracy—more specifically, a whole-process people's democracy—that is organized around the Leninist principle of democratic centralism. However, the country is commonly described as an authoritarian one-party state and a dictatorship, with some of the world's heaviest restrictions in many civil areas, most notably against freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, free formation of social organizations, freedom of religion and freedom of the Internet. China has consistently been ranked amongst the lowest as an "authoritarian regime" by the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, ranking at 145th out of 167 countries in 2024. In the V-Dem Democracy Indices, China ranks amongst the lowest as a "closed autocracy", ranking at 175th and 172nd out of 179 countries in electoral democracy and liberal democracy indices respectively. Other sources suggest that terming China as "authoritarian" does not sufficiently account for the multiple consultation mechanisms that exist in the Chinese governmental system.
=== Chinese Communist Party ===
The CCP is the founding and sole ruling party of the PRC. According to the CCP constitution, the Party's highest body is the National Congress held every five years. The National Congress elects the Central Committee, which convenes at least once a year. The Central Committee then elects the party's Politburo, Politburo Standing Committee and the general secretary (party leader), the top leadership of the country. The general secretary holds ultimate power and authority over party and state and serves as the paramount leader of China. The current general secretary is Xi Jinping, who took office on 15 November 2012. The National Congress also elects the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the CCP's supreme disciplinary organ.
The government in China is under the sole control of the CCP. The CCP controls appointments in government bodies, with most senior government officials being CCP members. The CCP maintains committees in the each level of government. At the local level, the CCP committee of a subdivision and its secretary outranks the local government and its head; CCP committee of a provincial division and its secretary outranks the provincial people's government and the governor while the CCP committee of a city and its secretary outranks the municipal people's government the mayor.
=== Government ===
The National People's Congress (NPC), with nearly 3,000-members, as the supreme organ of state power holds the unified powers of the state, creating a system where all state organs including the presidency, the State Council, the State Central Military Commission, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the National Supervisory Commission are subject to its oversight through democratic centralism. However, observers often describe it as a "rubber stamp" body. The NPC meets annually, while the NPC Standing Committee, around 175 members elected from NPC delegates, meets every couple of months. Elections are indirect and not pluralistic, with nominations at all levels being controlled by the CCP by law. The NPC is dominated by the CCP, with another eight minor parties having nominal representation under the condition of upholding CCP leadership.
The NPC elects the president, who is the ceremonial state representative. The incumbent president is Xi Jinping, who is also the general secretary of the CCP and the chairman of the Central Military Commission, making him China's paramount leader and supreme commander of the armed forces. The premier is the head of government, with Li Qiang being the incumbent. The premier is officially nominated by the president and then elected by the NPC, and has generally been either the second- or third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC). The premier presides over the State Council, China's cabinet, composed of four vice premiers, state councillors, and the heads of ministries and commissions. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body that is critical in China's "united front" system, which aims to gather non-CCP voices to support the CCP. Similar to the people's congresses, CPPCCs have subdivisions; the National Committee of the CPPCC is chaired by Wang Huning, the fourth-ranking member of the PSC.
The governance of China is characterized by a high degree of political centralization but significant economic decentralization. Policy instruments or processes are often tested locally before being applied more widely, resulting in a policy that involves experimentation and feedback. Generally, central government leadership refrains from drafting specific policies, instead using the informal networks and site visits to affirm or suggest changes to the direction of local policy experiments or pilot programs. The typical approach is that central government leadership begins drafting formal policies, law, or regulations after policy has been developed at local levels.
=== Administrative divisions ===
The PRC is constitutionally a unitary state divided into 23 provinces, five autonomous regions (each with a designated minority group), four direct-administered municipalities—collectively referred to as "mainland China"—as well as the special administrative regions (SARs) of Hong Kong and Macau. The PRC regards the island of Taiwan as its Taiwan Province, Kinmen and Matsu as a part of Fujian Province, and islands the ROC controls in the South China Sea as a part of Hainan Province and Guangdong Province, though all these territories are governed by the Republic of China (ROC). Geographically, all 31 provincial divisions of mainland China can be grouped into six regions: North China, East China, Southwestern China, South Central China, Northeast China, and Northwestern China.
=== Foreign relations ===
The PRC has diplomatic relations with 179 United Nations member-states and maintains embassies in 174. As of 2024, China has the largest diplomatic networks of any country in the world. China is of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. It is a member of intergovernmental organizations including the G20, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the BRICS, the East Asia Summit, and the APEC. China is also a former member and leader of the Non-Aligned Movement and still considers itself an advocate for developing countries. China is widely described as either a potential or established superpower, due to its influence in the fields of geopolitics, technology, manufacturing, economics and culture.
Much of current Chinese foreign policy is officially based on Premier Zhou Enlai's Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, as well as by the concept of "harmony without uniformity", which encourages diplomatic relations between states despite ideological differences. Per its policy of non-alignment, China maintains no military alliances except its defense treaty with North Korea. Most countries have switched recognition from the ROC to the PRC since the latter replaced the former in the UN in 1971. The PRC officially maintains the one China principle: the view that there is only one sovereign state with the name "China"—represented by the PRC—and that Taiwan is an integral part of China. The unique status of Taiwan has led to countries formally recognizing the PRC to maintain unique "one China policies" that differ from each other; some countries explicitly recognize the PRC's claim over Taiwan, while others, including the U.S. and Japan, only acknowledge the claim.
China has a close political, economic and military relationship with Russia, and the two states often vote in unison in the UN Security Council. China has provided Russia with economic, technological, and diplomatic support during the Russo-Ukrainian war. China's relationship with the United States is complex, and includes deep trade ties but significant political differences. Since the early 2000s, China has followed a policy of engaging with African nations for trade and bilateral co-operation. It maintains extensive and highly diversified trade links with the European Union, and became its largest trading partner for goods. China is increasing its influence in Central Asia and South Pacific. The country has strong trade ties with ASEAN countries and major South American economies, and is the largest trading partner of Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina, and several others.
In 2013, China initiated the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a large global infrastructure building initiative with funding on the order of $50–100 billion per year. BRI could be one of the largest development plans in modern history. It expanded significantly over the next six years and, as of April 2020, included 138 countries and 30 international organizations. In addition to intensifying foreign policy relations, the focus is particularly on building efficient transport routes, especially the maritime Silk Road with its connections to East Africa and Europe. However many loans made under the program are unsustainable and China has faced a number of calls for debt relief from debtor nations.
=== Military ===
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is considered one of the world's most powerful militaries and has rapidly modernized in the recent decades. Per the principle of "the Party commands the gun," the CCP maintains absolute control of the PLA. It consists of four services: the Ground Force (PLAGF), the Navy (PLAN), the Air Force (PLAAF) and the Rocket Force (PLARF). It also has four independent arms: the Aerospace Force, the Cyberspace Force, the Information Support Force, and the Joint Logistics Support Force, the first three of which were split from the disbanded Strategic Support Force (PLASSF). Its 2 million active duty personnel is the largest in the world. The PLA holds the world's third-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, and the world's second-largest navy by tonnage.
China's official military budget for 2024 totalled US$229 billion (1.67 trillion Yuan), the second-largest in the world, though the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates that its real expenditure that year was US$314 billion, making up 12% of global military spending and accounting for 1.7% of the country's GDP. But on a Purchasing Power Parity basis, China's 2024 military budget was the equivalent of US$567 billion. The PLA is commanded by the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the party and the state; though officially two separate organizations, the two CMCs have identical membership except during leadership transition periods and effectively function as one organization. The chairman of the CMC is the commander-in-chief of the PLA, who maintains absolute control over the military per the chairman responsibility system.
=== Sociopolitical issues and human rights ===
The situation of human rights in China has attracted significant criticism from foreign governments, foreign press agencies, and non-governmental organizations, alleging widespread civil rights violations such as detention without trial, forced confessions, torture, restrictions of fundamental rights, and excessive use of the death penalty. Since its inception, Freedom House has ranked China as "not free" in its Freedom in the World survey, while Amnesty International has documented significant human rights abuses. The Chinese constitution nevertheless states that the "fundamental rights" of citizens include freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to a fair trial, freedom of religion, universal suffrage, and property rights. However, in practice, these provisions do not afford significant protection against criminal prosecution by the state. Although some criticisms of government policies and the ruling CCP are tolerated, censorship of political speech and information is amongst the harshest in the world and is routinely used to prevent collective action. The government suppresses popular protests and demonstrations that it considers a potential threat to "social stability". China additionally uses a massive surveillance network of cameras, facial recognition software, sensors, and surveillance of personal technology as a means of social control of persons living in the country.
China is regularly accused of large-scale repression and human rights abuses in Tibet and Xinjiang, where significant numbers of ethnic minorities reside, including violent police crackdowns and religious suppression. Since 2017, the Chinese government has been engaged in a harsh crackdown in Xinjiang, with around one million Uyghurs and other ethnic and religion minorities being detained in internment camps aimed at changing the political thinking of detainees, their identities, and their religious beliefs, in what some described as a genocide or crimes against humanity. According to reports, political indoctrination, torture, physical and psychological abuse, forced sterilization, sexual abuse, and forced labor are common in these facilities. The Chinese authorities have also cracked down on dissent in Hong Kong, especially after the passage of a national security law in 2020.
In 2017 and 2020, the Pew Research Center ranked the severity of Chinese government restrictions on religion as being among the world's highest, despite ranking religious-related social hostilities in China as low in severity. China has limited protections regarding LGBT rights. The Global Slavery Index estimated that in 2016 more than 3.8 million people (0.25% of the population) were living in "conditions of modern slavery", including victims of human trafficking, forced labor, forced marriage, child labor, and state-imposed forced labor. The state-imposed re-education through labor (laojiao) system was formally abolished in 2013, but it is not clear to what extent its practices have stopped. The much larger reform through labor (laogai) system includes labor prison factories, detention centers, and re-education camps; the Laogai Research Foundation has estimated in June 2008 that there were nearly 1,422 of these facilities, though it cautioned that this number was likely an underestimate.
=== Public views of government ===
Political concerns in China include the growing gap between rich and poor and government corruption. Nonetheless, international surveys show the Chinese public have a high level of satisfaction with their government. These views are generally attributed to the material comforts and security available to large segments of the Chinese populace as well as the government's attentiveness and responsiveness. According to the World Values Survey (2022), 91% of Chinese respondents have significant confidence in their government. A Harvard University survey published in July 2020 found that citizen satisfaction with the government had increased since 2003, also rating China's government as more effective and capable than ever in the survey's history. A 2020 study by University of Southern California researchers affiliated with the Hoover Institution found that more anonymous surveys show 50 to 70 percent support for the CCP, much lower than what direct surveys show at above 90 percent.
== Economy ==
China has the world's second-largest economy in terms of nominal GDP, and the world's largest in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). As of 2022, China accounts for around 18% of the global economy by nominal GDP. China is one of the world's fastest-growing major economies, with its economic growth having been almost consistently above 5 percent since the introduction of the reform and opening up policy in 1978. According to the World Bank, China's GDP grew from $150 billion in 1978 to $18.74 trillion by 2024. It ranks 78th by nominal GDP per capita, making it an upper-middle income country. Of the world's 500 largest companies, 135 are headquartered in China.
China was one of the world's foremost economic powers throughout the arc of East Asian and global history. The country had one of the largest economies in the world for most of the past two millennia, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since economic reforms began in 1978, China has developed into a highly diversified economy and one of the most consequential players in international trade. China officially calls its economic system as the socialist market economy. Modern-day China is often described as an example of state capitalism or party-state capitalism, with both market forces and the state playing a major role in the economy. China has numerous state-owned enterprises; the state dominates in strategic "pillar" sectors such as infrastructure, telecommunications, finance, energy production and heavy industries. The Chinese government issues five-year plans to guide the direction of the economy. Private enterprise has expanded enormously, with around 57 million private businesses recorded in 2025. According to official statistics, privately owned companies constitute more than 60% of China's GDP.
=== Wealth ===
China accounted for 18.6% of the world's total wealth in 2022, second highest in the world after the U.S. China brought more people out of extreme poverty than any other country in history—between 1978 and 2018, China reduced extreme poverty by 800 million, with the average standard of living multiplying by a factor of twenty-six. From 1990 to 2018, the proportion of the Chinese population living with an income of less than $1.90 per day (2011 PPP) decreased from 66.3% to 0.3%, the share living with an income of less than $3.20 per day from 90.0% to 2.9%, and the share living with an income of less than $5.50 per day decreased from 98.3% to 17.0%. Per capita incomes have risen significantly – when the PRC was founded in 1949, per capita income in China was one-fifth of the world average; per capita incomes now equal the world average itself.
China's development is highly uneven; its major cities and coastal areas are far more prosperous than its rural and interior regions. It has a high level of economic inequality, which has increased quickly since the economic reforms. Income inequality decreased in the 2010s, and China's Gini coefficient was 0.37 in 2023. In March 2025, Forbes estimated China ranked second in the world, after the U.S., in total number of billionaires and total number of millionaires, with 516 Chinese billionaires, while Hurun Global Rich List estimated it ranked first, with 1,021 billionaires. China also has 6.3 million millionaires as of 2025, second highest after the U.S. In 2019, China overtook the U.S. as the home to the highest number of people who have a net personal wealth of at least $110,000, according to the global wealth report by Credit Suisse. China had 85 female billionaires as of January 2021, two-thirds of the global total. China has had the world's largest middle-class population since 2015; the middle-class grew to 500 million by 2024.
=== Industry and services ===
China is the world's leading manufacturing power, accounting for 30% of global manufacturing. It has been the world's largest manufacturing nation since 2010, after overtaking the U.S., which had been the largest for the previous hundred years. China is the world's leading producer of steel and rare earths, the world's leading electronics industry manufacturer, and the world's dominant shipbuilding manufacturer. China has the world's largest market for automobiles, having surpassed the United States in both auto sales and production. The country is the world's largest exporter of cars by number as of 2024. The Chinese automotive industry is regarded as one of the most competitive and innovative in the world. China is the world's leader in electric vehicle consumption, production and innovation, as well as the leading producer of batteries for electric vehicles.China is the second-largest retail market after the United States. China leads the world in e-commerce, accounting for over 37% of the global market share in 2021. China has three out of the ten largest stock exchanges in the world—Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen—that together have a market capitalization of over $15.9 trillion, as of October 2020. China has three out of the world's ten most competitive financial centers according to the 2024 Global Financial Centres Index—Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen. As of at least 2024, China has the world's second-largest equity markets and futures markets, as well as the third-largest bond market. China has the world's largest banking sector. Its finance sector is dominated by state-owned institutions.
=== China in the global economy ===
China has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 2001 and is the world's largest trading power. By 2016, China was the largest trading partner of 124 countries. China became the world's largest trading nation in 2013 by the sum of imports and exports, as well as the world's largest commodity importer, accounting for roughly 45% of maritime's dry-bulk market. China's foreign exchange reserves reached US$3.246 trillion as of March 2024, making its reserves by far the world's largest. In 2022, China was amongst the world's largest recipient of inward foreign direct investment (FDI), attracting $180 billion, though most of these were speculated to be from Hong Kong. China also invests abroad, with a total outward FDI of $147.9 billion in 2023.
The Chinese government has promoted the internationalization of the renminbi in order to wean itself off its dependence on the U.S. dollar. The renminbi is the world's fourth-most traded currency as of 2023. However, partly due to capital controls that make the renminbi fall short of being a fully convertible currency, it remains far behind the Euro and the U.S. Dollar in international trade volumes. The Chinese government has also been cited for failing to crack down on the manufacturing and export of counterfeit goods. In 2023, Harvard University's Economic Complexity Index ranked complexity of China's exports 16th in the world, up from 24th in 2010.
=== Tourism ===
China received 65.7 million international visitors in 2019, and in 2018 was the fourth-most-visited country in the world. It also experiences an enormous volume of domestic tourism; Chinese tourists made an estimated 6 billion travels within the country in 2019. China hosts the world's second-largest number of World Heritage Sites (60) after Italy, and is one of the most popular tourist destinations (first in the Asia-Pacific).
=== Science and technology ===
==== Historical ====
China was a world leader in science and technology until the Ming dynasty. Ancient and medieval Chinese discoveries and inventions, such as papermaking, printing, the compass, and gunpowder (the Four Great Inventions), became widespread across East Asia, the Middle East and later Europe. Chinese mathematicians were the first to use negative numbers. By the 17th century, the Western World surpassed China in scientific and technological advancement. The causes of this early modern Great Divergence continue to be debated by scholars.
After repeated military defeats by the European colonial powers and Imperial Japan in the 19th century, Chinese reformers began promoting modern science and technology as part of the Self-Strengthening Movement. After the Communists came to power in 1949, efforts were made to organize science and technology based on the model of the Soviet Union, in which scientific research was part of central planning. After Mao's death in 1976, science and technology were promoted as one of the Four Modernizations, and the Soviet-inspired academic system was gradually reformed.
==== Modern era ====
Since the end of the Cultural Revolution, China has made significant investments in scientific research and is quickly catching up with the U.S. in R&D spending. China officially spent around 2.7% of its GDP on R&D in 2024, totaling to around $496 billion. China was ranked 10th in the Global Innovation Index in 2025, a considerable improvement from its rank of 35th in 2013. Chinese supercomputers are ranked among the fastest in the world. China is the world's largest industrial robotics producer and user in the world, accounting for 51% of the world's 2024 total demand, and 43% of global production. Its efforts to develop the most advanced semiconductors and jet engines have seen delays and setbacks. China is also considered a world leader in artificial intelligence.
China is developing its education system with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Its academic publication apparatus became the world's largest publisher of scientific papers in 2016. According to the World Intellectual Property Indicators, China received more applications than the U.S. did in 2018 and 2019 and ranked first globally in patents, utility models, trademarks, industrial designs, and creative goods exports in 2021. In 2022, China overtook the US in the Nature Index, which measures the share of published articles in leading scientific journals.
===== Space program =====
The Chinese space program started in 1958 with some technology transfers from the Soviet Union. However, it did not launch the nation's first satellite until 1970 with the Dong Fang Hong I, which made China the fifth country to do so independently.
In 2003, China became the third country in the world to independently send humans into space with Yang Liwei's spaceflight aboard Shenzhou 5. As of 2023, eighteen Chinese nationals have journeyed into space, including two women. In 2011, China launched its first space station testbed, Tiangong-1. In 2013, a Chinese robotic rover Yutu successfully touched down on the lunar surface as part of the Chang'e 3 mission. In 2019, China became the first country to land a probe—Chang'e 4—on the far side of the Moon. In 2020, Chang'e 5 successfully returned Moon samples to the Earth, making China the third country to do so independently. In 2021, China became the third country to land a spacecraft on Mars and the second one to deploy a rover (Zhurong) on Mars. China completed its own modular space station, the Tiangong, in low Earth orbit on 3 November 2022. On 29 November 2022, China performed its first in-orbit crew handover aboard the Tiangong.
In May 2023, China announced a plan to land humans on the Moon by 2030. To that end, China has been developing a lunar-capable super-heavy launcher, the Long March 10, a new crewed spacecraft, and a crewed lunar lander. China sent Chang'e 6 on 3 May 2024, which conducted the first lunar sample return from Apollo Basin on the far side of the Moon. This is China's second lunar sample return mission, the first was achieved by Chang'e 5 from the lunar near side 4 years ago. It also carried a Chinese rover called Jinchan to conduct infrared spectroscopy of lunar surface and imaged Chang'e 6 lander on lunar surface.
== Infrastructure ==
After a decades-long infrastructural boom, China has produced numerous world-leading infrastructural projects: it has the largest high-speed rail network, the most supertall skyscrapers, the largest power plant (the Three Gorges Dam), the most extensive ultra-high-voltage transmission network and innovation infrastructure, and a global satellite navigation system with the largest number of satellites.
=== Telecommunications ===
China is the largest telecom market in the world and currently has the largest number of active cellphones of any country, with over 1.7 billion subscribers, as of February 2023. It has the largest number of internet and broadband users, with over 1.125 billion Internet users as of December 2025—equivalent to around 80.1% of its population. By 2018, China had more than 1 billion 4G users, accounting for 40% of world's total. As of December 2023, China had over 810 million 5G users and 3.38 million base stations installed. China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, are the three large providers of mobile and internet in China. Combined, the three operators had over 3.4 million 4G base-stations in China. China has developed its own satellite navigation system, dubbed BeiDou, which began offering commercial navigation services across Asia in 2012 as well as global services by the end of 2018. BeiDou followed GPS and GLONASS as the third completed global navigation satellite.
=== Transport ===
Since the late 1990s, China's national road network has been significantly expanded through the creation of a network of national highways and expressways. In 2022, China's highways had reached a total length of 177,000 km (110,000 mi), making it the longest highway system in the world. In urban areas, bicycles remain a common mode of transport, despite the increasing prevalence of automobiles – as of 2023, there are approximately 200 million bicycles in China.
China's railways, which are operated by the state-owned China Railway, are among the busiest in the world. As of 2025, the country had 165,000 km (102,526 mi) of railways, the second-longest network in the world. The railways strain to meet enormous demand particularly during the Chinese New Year holiday, when the world's largest annual human migration called Chunyun takes place. China's high-speed rail (HSR) system started construction in the early 2000s. By the end of 2025, high speed rail in China had reached 50,400 kilometers (31,317 miles) of dedicated lines alone, making it the longest HSR network in the world. Services on the Beijing–Shanghai, Beijing–Tianjin, and Chengdu–Chongqing lines reach up to 350 km/h (217 mph), making them the fastest conventional high speed railway services in the world. With an annual ridership of over 3.3 billion passengers in 2024, it is the world's busiest. The network includes the Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway, the single longest HSR line in the world, and the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway, which has three of longest railroad bridges in the world. The Shanghai maglev train, which reaches 431 km/h (268 mph), is the fastest commercial train service in the world. Since 2000, the growth of rapid transit systems in Chinese cities has accelerated. As of December 2023, 55 Chinese cities have urban mass transit systems in operation. As of 2020, China boasts the five longest metro systems in the world with the networks in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen being the largest.
The civil aviation industry in China is mostly state-dominated, with the Chinese government retaining a majority stake in the majority of Chinese airlines. The top three airlines in China are Air China, China Southern Airlines, and China Eastern Airlines, which collectively made up 71% of the market in 2018, are all state-owned. Air travel has expanded rapidly in the last decades, with the number of passengers increasing from 16.6 million in 1990 to 551.2 million in 2017. China had approximately 259 airports in 2024. China has over 2,000 river and seaports, about 130 of which are open to foreign shipping. Of the fifty busiest container ports, 18 are located in China, of which the busiest is the Port of Shanghai, also the busiest port in the world. The country's inland waterways are the world's sixth-longest, and total 27,700 km (17,212 mi).
=== Water supply and sanitation ===
Water supply and sanitation infrastructure in China is facing challenges such as rapid urbanization, as well as water scarcity, contamination, and pollution. According to the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation, 93% of rural households had access to basic sanitation in 2022 (up from 77% in 2015). The ongoing South–North Water Transfer Project intends to abate water shortage in the north.
== Demographics ==
The 2020 Chinese census recorded the population as approximately 1,411,778,724. About 17.95% were 14 years old or younger, 63.35% were between 15 and 59 years old, and 18.7% were over 60 years old. Between 2010 and 2020, the average population growth rate was 0.53%. Since 2022, deaths have outpaced births in the country. In 2023, the total fertility rate was reported to be 1.09, ranking among the lowest in the world. In 2023, National Bureau of Statistics estimated that the population fell 850,000 from 2021 to 2022, the first decline since 1961. In 2025, China's population officially stood at 1.404 billion with births at 7.92 million, the lowest recorded birthrate since at least 1949.
Given concerns about population growth, China implemented a two-child limit during the 1970s, and, in 1979, began to advocate for an even stricter limit of one child per family. Beginning in the mid-1980s, however, given the unpopularity of the strict limits, China began to allow some major exemptions, particularly in rural areas, resulting in what was actually a "1.5"-child policy from the mid-1980s to 2015; ethnic minorities were also exempt from one-child limits. The next major loosening of the policy was enacted in December 2013, allowing families to have two children if one parent is an only child. In 2016, the one-child policy was replaced in favor of a two-child policy. A three-child policy was announced in May 2021, due to population aging, and in July 2021, all family size limits as well as penalties for exceeding them were removed.
According to one group of scholars, one-child limits had little effect on population growth or total population size. However, these scholars have been challenged. The policy, along with traditional preference for boys, may have contributed to an imbalance in the sex ratio at birth. The 2020 census found that males accounted for 51.2% of the total population. However, China's sex ratio is more balanced than it was in 1953, when males accounted for 51.8% of the population. China maintains a restrictive immigration policy, with permanent residence granted to only around 12,000 foreigners as of 2023.
=== Urbanization ===
China has urbanized significantly in recent decades. The percent of the country's population living in urban areas increased from 20% in 1980 to over 68% in 2025, according to Chinese government figures. According to the United Nations, the country's urbanization rate is 83.7 percent, having peaked in absolute numbers in 2021. China has over 160 cities with a population of over one million, including the 18 megacities as of 2024 (cities with a population of over 10 million) of Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Xi'an, Suzhou, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Linyi, Shijiazhuang, Dongguan, Qingdao, Changsha and Hefei. The total permanent population of Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu is above 20 million. Shanghai is China's most populous urban area while Chongqing is its largest city proper, the only city in China with a permanent population of over 30 million. The figures in the table below are from the 2020 census, and are only estimates of the urban populations within administrative city limits; a different ranking exists for total municipal populations. The large "floating populations" of migrant workers make conducting censuses in urban areas difficult; the figures below include only long-term residents.
=== Ethnic groups ===
China legally recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups, who comprise the Zhonghua minzu. The largest of these nationalities are the Han Chinese, who constitute more than 91% of the total population. The Han Chinese – the world's largest single ethnic group – outnumber other ethnic groups in every place excluding Tibet, Xinjiang, Linxia, and autonomous prefectures like Xishuangbanna. Ethnic minorities account for less than 10% of the population of China, according to the 2020 census. Compared with the 2010 population census, the Han population increased by 60,378,693 persons, or 4.93%, while the population of the 55 national minorities combined increased by 11,675,179 persons, or 10.26%. The 2020 census recorded a total of 845,697 foreign nationals living in mainland China.
=== Languages ===
There are as many as 284 living languages in China. The languages most commonly spoken belong to the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family, which contains Mandarin, spoken by 80% of the population, and other varieties of Chinese language: Jin, Wu, Min, Hakka, Yue, Xiang, Gan, Hui, Ping and unclassified Tuhua (Shaozhou Tuhua and Xiangnan Tuhua). Languages of the Tibeto-Burman branch, including Tibetan, Qiang, Naxi and Yi, are spoken across the Tibetan and Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau. Other ethnic minority languages in southwestern China include Zhuang, Thai, Dong and Sui of the Tai-Kadai family, Miao and Yao of the Hmong–Mien family, and Wa of the Austroasiatic family. Across northeastern and northwestern China, local ethnic groups speak Altaic languages including Manchu, Mongolian and several Turkic languages: Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Salar and Western Yugur. Korean is spoken natively along the border with North Korea. Sarikoli, the language of Tajiks in China, is an Indo-European language. Taiwanese indigenous peoples, including a small population on the mainland, speak Austronesian languages.
Standard Chinese, a variety based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin, is the national language of China, having de facto official status. It is used as a lingua franca between people of different linguistic backgrounds. In the autonomous regions of China, other languages may also serve as a lingua franca, such as Uyghur in Xinjiang, where governmental services in Uyghur are constitutionally guaranteed.
=== Religion ===
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by China's constitution, although religious organizations that lack official approval can be subject to state persecution. The government of the country is officially atheist, and the Chinese Communist Party requires its members to be atheist. Religious affairs and issues in the country are overseen by the National Religious Affairs Administration, under the CCP's United Front Work Department.
Over the millennia, the Chinese civilization has been influenced by various religious movements. The "three doctrines" of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism have historically shaped Chinese culture, enriching a theological and spiritual framework of traditional religion which harks back to the early Shang and Zhou dynasty. Chinese folk religion, which is framed by the three doctrines and by other traditions, consists in allegiance to the shen, who can be deities of the surrounding nature or ancestral principles of human groups, concepts of civility, culture heroes, many of whom feature in Chinese mythology and history. Amongst the most popular cults of folk religion are those of the Yellow Emperor, embodiment of the God of Heaven and one of the two divine patriarchs of the Chinese people, of Mazu (goddess of the seas), Guandi (god of war and business), Caishen (god of prosperity and richness), Pangu and many others. In the early decades of the 21st century, the Chinese government has been engaged in a rehabilitation of folk cults—formally recognizing them as "folk beliefs" as distinguished from doctrinal religions, and often reconstructing them into forms of "highly curated" civil religion—as well as in a national and international promotion of Buddhism. China is home to many of the world's tallest religious statues, representing either deities of Chinese folk religion or enlightened beings of Buddhism; the tallest of all is the Spring Temple Buddha in Henan.
Statistics on religious affiliation in China are difficult to gather due to complex and varying definitions of religion and the diffusive nature of Chinese religious traditions. Scholars note that in China there is no clear boundary between the three doctrines and local folk religious practices. Chinese religions or some of their currents are also definable as non-theistic and humanistic, since they do not hold that divine creativity is completely transcendent, but that it is inherent in the world and in particular in the human being. In 2023, according to surveys done by Pew Research, 93% of respondents were formally unaffiliated with any religion. However, in terms of practices, 75% visit family graveyards each year, 47% believe in feng shui, 33% believe in buddha, 26% burn incense to deities each year and 18% believe in taoist deities. These are not exclusive beliefs and often these will overlap as the respondents will have multiple beliefs at the same time. For example, of those 33% who believe in buddha, a significant portion also believe in figures such as Taoist immortals, Jesus Christ, Catholic God and Allah. Chinese folk religion also comprises a variety of salvationist doctrinal organized movements which emerged since the Song dynasty. There are also ethnic minorities in China who maintain their own indigenous religions, while major religions characteristic of specific ethnic groups include Tibetan Buddhism among Tibetans, Mongols and Yugurs, and Islam among the Hui, Uyghur, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz peoples, and other ethnicities in the northern and northwestern regions of the country.
=== Education ===
Compulsory education in China comprises primary and junior secondary school, which together last for nine years from the age of 6 and 15. The Gaokao, China's national university entrance exam, is a prerequisite for entrance into most higher education institutions. Vocational education is available to students at the secondary and tertiary level. More than 10 million Chinese students graduated from vocational colleges every year. In 2024, about 92.0 percent of students continued their education at a three-year senior secondary school, while 60.8 percent of secondary school graduates were enrolled in higher education.
China has the largest education system in the world, with about 287 million students and 18.85 million full-time teachers in over 470,300 schools in 2024. Annual education investment went from less than US$50 billion in 2003 to more than US$817 billion in 2020. However, there remains an inequality in education spending. In 2010, the annual education expenditure per secondary school student in Beijing totalled ¥20,023, while in Guizhou, one of the poorest provinces, it only totalled ¥3,204. China's literacy rate has grown dramatically, from only 20% in 1949 and 65.5% in 1979, to 97% of the population over age 15 in 2020.
As of 2024, China has over 3,167 universities, with over 47.6 million students enrolled in mainland China, giving China the largest higher education system in the world. As of 2025, China had the world's highest number of top universities. As of 2025, there were 2 Chinese universities in the global top 20, 5 in the top 50, and 19 in the top 200, behind only the United States and the United Kingdom in terms of the overall representation in the Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities, a composite ranking system combining three of the world's most influential university rankings (ARWU+QS+THE). China had five universities listed among the world's top 50, placing it third after the United States and the United Kingdom based on aggregate performance from four widely observed university rankings (THE+ARWU+QS+US News). China is home to two of the highest-ranking universities (Tsinghua University and Peking University) in Asia and emerging economies, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities. These universities are members of the C9 League, an alliance of elite Chinese universities offering comprehensive and leading education.
=== Health ===
The National Health Commission, together with its counterparts in the local commissions, oversees the health needs of the population. An emphasis on public health and preventive medicine has characterized Chinese health policy since the early 1950s. The Communist Party started the Patriotic Health Campaign, which was aimed at improving sanitation and hygiene, as well as treating and preventing several diseases. Diseases such as cholera, typhoid and scarlet fever, which were previously rife in China, were nearly eradicated by the campaign.
After Deng Xiaoping began instituting economic reforms in 1978, the health of the Chinese public improved rapidly because of better nutrition, although many of the free public health services provided in the countryside disappeared. Healthcare in China became mostly privatized, and experienced a significant rise in quality. In 2009, the government began a three-year large-scale healthcare provision initiative worth US$124 billion. By 2011, the campaign resulted in 95% of China's population having basic health insurance coverage. By 2022, China had established itself as a key producer and exporter of pharmaceuticals, producing around 40 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients in 2017.
As of 2024, the life expectancy at birth exceeds 79 years. As of 2023, the infant mortality rate is 5 per thousand. Both have improved significantly since the 1950s. Rates of stunting, a condition caused by malnutrition, have declined from 33.1% in 1990 to 4.5% in 2024. Despite significant improvements in health and the construction of advanced medical facilities, China has several emerging public health problems, such as respiratory illnesses caused by widespread air pollution, hundreds of millions of cigarette smokers, and an increase in obesity among urban youths. Chinese mental health services are inadequate. China's large population and densely populated cities have led to serious disease outbreaks, such as SARS in 2003, although this has since been largely contained. The COVID-19 pandemic was first identified in Wuhan in December 2019; pandemic led the government to enforce strict public health measures intended to completely eradicate the virus, a goal that was abandoned in December 2022 following protests.
== Culture and society ==
Since ancient times, Chinese culture has been heavily influenced by Confucianism. Chinese culture, in turn, has heavily influenced East Asia and Southeast Asia. For much of the country's dynastic era, opportunities for social advancement could be provided by high performance in the prestigious imperial examinations, which have their origins in the Han dynasty. The literary emphasis of the exams affected the general perception of cultural refinement in China, such as the belief that calligraphy, poetry and painting were higher forms of art than dancing or drama. Chinese culture has long emphasized a sense of deep history and a largely inward-looking national perspective. Examinations and a culture of merit remain greatly valued in China today.
Today, the Chinese government has accepted numerous elements of traditional Chinese culture as being integral to Chinese society. With the rise of Chinese nationalism and the end of the Cultural Revolution, various forms of traditional Chinese art, literature, music, film, fashion and architecture have seen a vigorous revival, and folk and variety art in particular have sparked interest nationally and even worldwide.
=== Architecture ===
Chinese architecture has developed over millennia in China and has remained a vestigial source of perennial influence on the development of East Asian architecture, including in Japan, Korea, and Mongolia. and minor influences on the architecture of Southeast and South Asia including the countries of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Chinese architecture is characterized by bilateral symmetry, use of enclosed open spaces, feng shui (e.g. directional hierarchies), a horizontal emphasis, and an allusion to various cosmological, mythological or in general symbolic elements. Chinese architecture traditionally classifies structures according to type, ranging from pagodas to palaces.
Chinese architecture varies widely based on status or affiliation, such as whether the structures were constructed for emperors, commoners, or for religious purposes. Other variations in Chinese architecture are shown in vernacular styles associated with different geographic regions and different ethnic heritages, such as the stilt houses in the south, the Yaodong buildings in the northwest, the yurt buildings of nomadic people, and the Siheyuan buildings in the north.
=== Literature ===
Chinese literature has its roots in the Zhou dynasty's literary tradition. The classical texts of China encompass a wide range of thoughts and subjects, such as the calendar, military, astrology, herbology, and geography, as well as many others. Among the most significant early works are the I Ching and the Shujing, which are part of the Four Books and Five Classics. These texts were the cornerstone of the Confucian curriculum sponsored by the state throughout the dynastic periods. Inherited from the Classic of Poetry, classical Chinese poetry developed to its floruit during the Tang dynasty. Li Bai and Du Fu opened the forking ways for the poetic circles through romanticism and realism respectively. Chinese historiography began with the Shiji, the overall scope of the historiographical tradition in China is termed the Twenty-Four Histories, which set a vast stage for Chinese fictions along with Chinese mythology and folklore. Pushed by a burgeoning citizen class in the Ming dynasty, Chinese classical fiction rose to a boom of the historical, town and gods and demons fictions as represented by the Four Great Classical Novels which include Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West and Dream of the Red Chamber. Along with the wuxia fictions of Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng, it remains an enduring source of popular culture in the Chinese sphere of influence.
In the wake of the New Culture Movement after the end of the Qing dynasty, Chinese literature embarked on a new era with written vernacular Chinese for ordinary citizens. Hu Shih and Lu Xun were pioneers in modern literature. Various literary genres, such as misty poetry, scar literature, young adult fiction and the xungen literature, which is influenced by magic realism, emerged following the Cultural Revolution. Mo Yan, a xungen literature author, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012.
=== Music ===
Chinese music covers a highly diverse range of music from traditional music to modern music. Chinese music dates back before the pre-imperial times. Traditional Chinese musical instruments were traditionally grouped into eight categories known as bayin (八音). Traditional Chinese opera is a form of musical theatre in China originating thousands of years and has regional style forms such as Beijing and Cantonese opera. Chinese pop (C-Pop) includes mandopop and cantopop. Chinese hip hop and Hong Kong hip hop have become popular.
=== Fashion ===
Hanfu is the historical clothing of the Han people in China. The qipao or cheongsam is a popular Chinese female dress. The hanfu movement has been popular in contemporary times and seeks to revitalize Hanfu clothing. China Fashion Week is the country's only national-level fashion festival.
=== Media ===
The mass media of China primarily consists of television, newspapers, radio, and magazines. State media outlets operate under the control of the CCP. The largest media organizations are the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, and the China Media Group consisting of China Central Television, China Global Television Network, China National Radio and China Radio International. Access to foreign media remains heavily restricted.
Cinema was first introduced to China in 1896 and the first Chinese film, Dingjun Mountain, was released in 1905. China has had the largest number of movie screens in the world since 2016; China became the largest cinema market in 2020, and domestic movies dominate the market. The top three highest-grossing films in China as of 2025 were Ne Zha 2 (2025), The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021), and Wolf Warrior 2 (2017). In 2025, the video game market of China was the world's largest by revenue.
China has the most comprehensive and sophisticated Internet censorship regime in the world called the Great Firewall, with numerous websites being blocked. The Great Firewall has allowed China to develop its own major internet services and companies, such as Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili and Weibo. The Cyberspace Administration of China acts as the national internet regulator and censor. China requires a real-name system for Internet services and online platforms.
=== Cuisine ===
Chinese cuisine is highly diverse, drawing on several millennia of culinary history and geographical variety, in which the most influential are known as the "Eight Major Cuisines", including Sichuan, Cantonese, Jiangsu, Shandong, Fujian, Hunan, Anhui, and Zhejiang cuisines. Chinese cuisine is known for its breadth of cooking methods and ingredients. China's staple food is rice in the northeast and south, and wheat-based breads and noodles in the north. Bean products such as tofu and soy milk remain a popular source of protein. Pork is now the most popular meat in China, accounting for about 60% of the country's total meat consumption. Pork-free Chinese Islamic cuisine is served at halal-certified restaurants in various regions while vegetarian Buddhist cuisine is commonly found at restaurants near shrines and temples.
=== Sports ===
China has one of the oldest sporting cultures. There is evidence that archery (shèjiàn) was practiced during the Western Zhou dynasty. Swordplay (jiànshù) and cuju, a sport loosely related to association football date back to China's early dynasties as well.
Physical fitness is widely emphasized in Chinese culture, with morning exercises such as qigong and tai chi widely practiced, and commercial gyms and private fitness clubs are gaining popularity. Basketball is the most popular spectator sport in China. The Chinese Basketball Association and the American National Basketball Association also have a huge national following amongst the Chinese populace, with native-born and NBA-bound Chinese players and well-known national household names such as Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian being held in high esteem. China's professional football league, known as Chinese Super League, is the largest football market in East Asia. Other popular sports include martial arts, table tennis, badminton, swimming and snooker. China is home to a huge number of cyclists, with an estimated 470 million bicycles as of 2012. China has the world's largest esports market. Many more traditional sports, such as dragon boat racing, Mongolian-style wrestling and horse racing are also popular.
China has participated in the Olympic Games since 1932, although it has only participated as the PRC since 1952. China hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where its athletes received 48 gold medals – the highest number of any participating nation that year. China also won the most medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, with 231 overall, including 95 gold. In 2011, Shenzhen hosted the 2011 Summer Universiade. China hosted the 2013 East Asian Games in Tianjin and the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, the first country to host both regular and Youth Olympics. Beijing and its nearby city Zhangjiakou collaboratively hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics, making Beijing the first dual Olympic city by holding both the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics. China hosted the Asian Games in 1990 (Beijing), 2010 (Guangzhou), and 2023 (Hangzhou). |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WNBA_career_scoring_leaders | List of WNBA career scoring leaders | This article contains two charts: The first chart is a list of the top 50 all-time scorers in the history of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The list includes only points scored in regular season games. The second chart is a progressive list of the leading all-time WNBA scorers. Diana Taurasi is the all-time leading scorer in WNBA history.
== Scoring leaders ==
Statistics accurate as of the 2025 WNBA season.
== Progressive list of scoring leaders ==
This is a progressive list of scoring leaders showing how the record increased through the years.
Statistics accurate as of the 2025 WNBA season. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/89.5_FM | 89.5 FM | The following radio stations broadcast on FM frequency 89.5 MHz:
== Argentina ==
Amistad in La Verde, Chaco
Ciudad in Coronel Pringles, Buenos Aires
Ciudad in Lobería, Buenos Aires
Cristal in Ingeniero Luiggi, La Pampa
CNN Radio Rosario in Rosario, Santa Fe
Ideas del Pueblo in Colonia Aldao, Santa Fe
Municipal in General Rodriguez, Buenos Aires
Nuevo horizonte in San Carlos, Corrientes
Radio María in Ciudadela, Buenos Aires
Radio María in Mayor Buratovich, Buenos Aires
Radio María in General Cabrera, Córdoba
Radio María in Pilar, Córdoba
Radio María in Chamical, La Rioja
Radio María in Cutral Có, Neuquén
Radio María in El Bolsón, Río Negro
Radio María in Río Colorado, Río Negro
Radio María in Rosario de Lerma, Salta
Rec in Moreno, Buenos Aires
Reconquista in Jose Leon Suarez, Buenos Aires
San Ramon in Goya, Corrientes
Sol in Parana, Entre Rios
Universo in Comodoro Rivadavia, Chubut
Uno in Paso de los Libres, Corrientes
Urbana in Buenos Aires
Visión Formosa in Formosa
== Australia ==
Valley FM 89.5 Tuggeranong in Tuggeranong, Australian Capital Territory
ABC Classic in Goulburn, New South Wales
2GF 89.5 in Grafton, New South Wales
Triple J in Sunshine Coast, Queensland
3PNN in Bendigo, Victoria
SBS Radio in Wodonga, Victoria
== Canada (Channel 208) ==
CBHN-FM in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
CBPJ-FM in Waterton Park, Alberta
CBSM-FM in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
CBUD-FM in Bonnington Falls, British Columbia
CBYP-FM in Portland Creek, Newfoundland and Labrador
CFGB-FM in Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador
CHWK-FM in Chilliwack, British Columbia
CIUT-FM in Toronto, Ontario
CJBR-FM-1 in Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec
CJRL-FM in Kenora, Ontario
CJSE-FM in Shediac, New Brunswick
CKWG-FM in Wahgoshig Lake, Ontario
== China ==
CNR Business Radio in Yongzhou
CNR Kazakh Radio in Xinjiang
CNR The Voice of China in Putian
Yangjiang Travel & Economic Radio
GRT News Radio in Jieyang
== Costa Rica ==
LIFE 895 FM in Curridabat, San José
== Malaysia ==
IKIMfm in Malacca
Kool FM in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (coming soon)
== Mexico ==
XHBON-FM in Guadalajara, Jalisco
XHCG-FM in Nogales, Sonora
XHCSI-FM in Culiacán, Sinaloa
XHFTI-FM in Fortín, Veracruz
XHME-FM in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
XHNAL-FM in Tonalá, Chiapas
XHRCL-FM in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora
XHRRR-FM in Encarnación de Díaz, Jalisco
XHRV-FM in Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas
XHSAB-FM in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León
XHUAQ-FM in Querétaro, Querétaro
XHUCT-FM in Torreón, Coahuila
== Philippines ==
DWIM-FM in Baguio
DWJX in Sorsogon
DWSB-FM in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Olongapo
DZTR in Naga, Camarines Sur
DYQN in Iloilo City
DYKZ in Dumaguete City
DXYM in General Santos
DWEG in Lipa
FM Radio Davnor in Tagum
== Taiwan ==
Transfers CNR The Voice of China in Central Taiwan, mainly Wuqiu Township of Kinmen County
== Thailand ==
Live 89.5 Radio
== United States (Channel 208) ==
KACU in Abilene, Texas
KAGJ in Ephraim, Utah
KAIB in Shafter, California
KBAQ in Phoenix, Arizona
KBES in Ceres, California
KBMJ in Heber Springs, Arkansas
KBMM in Odessa, Texas
KBPG (FM) in Montevideo, Minnesota
KCAC (FM) in Camden, Arkansas
KCFV in Ferguson, Missouri
KCJA in Conway, Iowa
KCKJ in Sarcoxie, Missouri
KCNP in Ada, Oklahoma
KDCB in Coos Bay, Oregon
KDKO in Lake Andes, South Dakota
KEFS in North Powder, Oregon
KENW-FM in Portales, New Mexico
KEPX in Eagle Pass, Texas
KEQX in Stephenville, Texas
KEWU-FM in Cheney, Washington
KFAA in Horace, North Dakota
KGRU in Burwell, Nebraska
KGVI-FM in Grangeville, Idaho
KGWO in Ogallala, Nebraska
KHCD in Salina, Kansas
KHKE in Cedar Falls, Iowa
KICO in Rico, Colorado
KITA in Iota, Louisiana
KJAI in Ojai, California
KJCC in Carnegie, Oklahoma
KJVH in Longview, Washington
KJZA in Drake, Arizona
KKLY in El Paso, Texas
KLAP in Gerlach, Nevada
KLCD in Decorah, Iowa
KLFG in Fort Dodge, Iowa
KLND in Little Eagle, South Dakota
KLRI in Rigby, Idaho
KLUX in Robstown, Texas
KLXD in Victorville, California
KMFA in Austin, Texas
KMGS in Anvik, Alaska
KMOC in Wichita Falls, Texas
KNCJ in Reno, Nevada
KNHC in Seattle, Washington
KNIB in Nikolai, Alaska
KNLH in Cedar Hill, Missouri
KOKS in Poplar Bluff, Missouri
KOPN in Columbia, Missouri
KPBS-FM in San Diego, California
KPFR in Pine Grove, Oregon
KPJH in Polson, Montana
KPOO in San Francisco, California
KPPR in Williston, North Dakota
KPRA in Ukiah, California
KPRN in Grand Junction, Colorado
KQAL in Winona, Minnesota
KQSI-LP in Sidney, Nebraska
KRCI in Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona
KSKC in Crooked Creek, Alaska
KSKO-FM in McGrath, Alaska
KSKP in Sleetmute, Alaska
KSKQ in Ashland, Oregon
KSMC in Moraga, California
KSOH in Wapato, Washington
KTCB in Tillamook, Oregon
KTCF in Dolores, Colorado
KTEC in Klamath Falls, Oregon
KTKF in Tok, Alaska
KTME in Reliance, Wyoming
KTOT in Spearman, Texas
KTSC-FM in Pueblo, Colorado
KTSY in Caldwell, Idaho
KUSR in Logan, Utah
KVBE-LP in Portland, Oregon
KVLK in Milan, New Mexico
KVMR in Nevada City, California
KVNE in Tyler, Texas
KVRF in Sutton, Alaska
KVSJ-FM in Tracy, California
KVUD in Bay City, Texas
KWCC-FM in Woodland Park, Colorado
KWGS in Tulsa, Oklahoma
KYFL in Monroe, Louisiana
KYHK in Kearney, Nebraska
KYPF in Stanford, Montana
KYQX in Weatherford, Texas
KZCT in Vallejo, California
WAHS in Auburn Heights, Michigan
WAWN in Franklin, Pennsylvania
WAYJ in Naples, Florida
WBCY in Archbold, Ohio
WBEW in Chesterton, Indiana
WBFR in Birmingham, Alabama
WBSB (FM) in Anderson, Indiana
WCLQ in Wausau, Wisconsin
WCMU-FM in Mount Pleasant, Michigan
WCNP in Baraboo, Wisconsin
WCOF in Arcade, New York
WCVV in Belpre, Ohio
WDPS-FM in Dayton, Ohio
WDTP in Huron Township, Michigan
WEFI in Effingham, Illinois
WEOS in Geneva, New York
WETS-FM in Johnson City, Tennessee
WFIT in Melbourne, Florida
WFOT in Lexington, Ohio
WGRN in Greenville, Illinois
WGSG in Mayo, Florida
WGTF in Dothan, Alabama
WHRV in Norfolk, Virginia
WHSS in Hamilton, Ohio
WHVY in Coshocton, Ohio
WILB-FM in Boardman, Ohio
WITF-FM in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
WIUW in Warsaw, Illinois
WJHW in Mayodan, North Carolina
WJMU in Decatur, Illinois
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Bradbury | Malcolm Bradbury | Sir Malcolm Stanley Bradbury, (7 September 1932 – 27 November 2000) was an English author and academic.
== Life ==
Bradbury was born in Sheffield, the son of a railwayman. His family moved to London in 1935, but returned to Sheffield in 1941 with his brother and mother. The family later moved to Nottingham and in 1943 Bradbury attended West Bridgford Grammar School, where he remained until 1950. He read English at University College, Leicester, gaining a first-class degree in 1953. He continued his studies at Queen Mary College, University of London, where he gained his MA in 1955.
Between 1955 and 1958, Bradbury moved between teaching posts with the University of Manchester and Indiana University in the United States. He returned to England in 1958 for a major heart operation; such was his heart condition that he was not expected to live beyond middle age. In 1959, while in hospital, he completed his first novel, Eating People is Wrong.
Bradbury married Elizabeth Salt and they had two sons. He took up his first teaching post as an adult-education tutor at the University of Hull. With his study on Evelyn Waugh in 1962 he began his career of writing and editing critical books. From 1961 to 1965 he taught at the University of Birmingham. He completed his PhD in American studies at the University of Manchester in 1962, moving to the University of East Anglia (his second novel, Stepping Westward, appeared in 1965), where he became Professor of American Studies in 1970 and launched the MA in Creative Writing course, attended by both Ian McEwan and Kazuo Ishiguro.
He published Possibilities: Essays on the State of the Novel in 1973, The History Man in 1975, Who Do You Think You Are? in 1976, Rates of Exchange in 1983 and Cuts: A Very Short Novel in 1987. He retired from academic life in 1995.
Bradbury became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1991 for services to literature and was made a Knight Bachelor in the New Year Honours 2000, again for services to literature.
Bradbury died at Priscilla Bacon Lodge, Colman Hospital, Norwich, on 27 November 2000, attended by his wife and their two sons, Matthew and Dominic. He was buried on 4 December 2000 in the churchyard of St Mary's parish church, Tasburgh, near Norwich where the Bradburys owned a second home. Though he was not an orthodox religious believer, he respected the traditions and socio-cultural role of the Church of England and enjoyed visiting churches in the spirit of Philip Larkin's poem, "Church Going".
== Works ==
Bradbury was a productive academic writer as well as a successful teacher; an expert on the modern novel, he published books on Evelyn Waugh, Saul Bellow and E. M. Forster, as well as editions of such modern classics as F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and a number of surveys and handbooks of modern fiction, both British and American. However, he is best known to a wider public as a novelist. Although often compared with his contemporary David Lodge, a friend who also wrote campus novels, Bradbury's books are consistently darker in mood and less playful both in style and language. In 1986, he wrote a short humorous book titled Why Come to Slaka?, a parody of travel books, dealing with Slaka, the fictional Eastern European country that is the setting for his novel Rates of Exchange, a 1983 novel that was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Bradbury also wrote extensively for television, including scripting series such as Anything More Would Be Greedy, The Gravy Train (and its sequel, The Gravy Train Goes East, which explored life in Bradbury's fictional Slaka), and adapting novels such as Tom Sharpe's Blott on the Landscape and Porterhouse Blue, Alison Lurie's Imaginary Friends, Kingsley Amis's The Green Man, and the penultimate Inspector Morse episode The Wench is Dead. His last television script was for Dalziel and Pascoe series 5, produced by Andy Rowley. The episode "Foreign Bodies" was screened on BBC One on 15 July 2000.
His work was often humorous and ironic, mocking academics, British culture, and communism, usually with a picaresque tone.
== Selected bibliography ==
Eating People is Wrong (1959)
Writers and Critics: Evelyn Waugh (Oliver and Boyd, 1964)
Stepping Westward (1965)
Two Poets with Allan Rodway (Byron Press, 1966)
Contemporary Criticism (1970)
The Social Context of Modern English Literature (1971)
Possibilities (1973)
The History Man (1975)
Who Do You Think You Are? (1976) — a collection of short stories
All Dressed Up and Nowhere To Go (1982)
The After Dinner Game (1982)
Rates of Exchange (1983) – includes description of a performance of the imaginary opera Vedontakal Vrop, also described in Why Come to Slaka?
The Modern American Novel (1983)
Why Come to Slaka? (1986)
Cuts (1987)
Mensonge (1987)
My Strange Quest for Mensonge: Structuralism's Hidden Hero (1987)
No Not Bloomsbury (1987)
Unsent Letters (1988)
The Modern World: Ten Great Writers (1988)
Doctor Criminale (1992)
The Modern British Novel (1993)
Dangerous Pilgrimages: Trans-Atlantic Mythologies and the Novel (1995)
To the Hermitage (2000) |
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