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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghlan_Province | Baghlan Province | Baghlan (Dari: ولایت بغلان, romanized: Wilāyat-e Baghlān and Pashto: د بغلان ولایت, romanized: Da Baghlān Wilāyat) is one of the northern provinces of Afghanistan. It is bordered by Samangan to the west, Kunduz to the northeast, Takhar to the east, Bamyan to the southwest, and Parwan and Panjshir to the south. The provincial capital is Pul-e Khumri, which functions as the main administrative, economic, and population center of the province.
Covering an area of approximately 21,100 square kilometers and having an estimated population of about 1.1 million people (as of 2025), Baghlan is characterized by a varied physical geography. The northern part of the province consists largely of fertile plains suitable for intensive agriculture, while the southern part is dominated by mountainous terrain associated with the eastern extensions of the Hindu Kush. Several rivers and tributaries belonging to the Kunduz River basin traverse the province and play a central role in agricultural production, settlement distribution, and local water management.
Historically, Baghlan formed part of regional communication and trade networks linking Central Asia with the interior regions of what is now Afghanistan. Archaeological and historical evidence indicates long-term human settlement in the area. During the twentieth century, particularly in the period of state-driven economic modernization, Baghlan became a location for large-scale industrial projects, including sugar production in Baghlan-e Jadid as well as textile and cement factories in the Pul-e Khumri area. These developments contributed to population growth, urbanization, and changes in the economic structure of the province.
Today, Baghlan is characterized by a predominantly rural population alongside several urban and semi-urban centers, a mixed economy based primarily on agriculture and industry, and ethnically and linguistically diverse communities. Large parts of the province have been affected by decades of conflict, which have influenced infrastructure development, economic conditions, governance, and social life. Despite these challenges, Baghlan continues to function as an important transit region linking northern Afghanistan with the central regions of the country.
== Etymology ==
The name Baghlan is possibly derived from the Bactrian term bagolango, meaning "image-temple", which originates from the Old Iranian root baga danaka (Old Persian: 𐬠𐬀𐬖𐬀-𐬛𐬁𐬥𐬀𐬑𐬀, romanized: *baga-dānaka-), referring to a sanctuary or divine shrine, inscribed on the temple of Surkh Kotal during the reign of the Kushan emperor Kanishka in the early 2nd century CE. The name is generally understood to have evolved phonetically into Baghlan. Other sources describe that the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang traveled through Baghlan in the mid-7th century CE, and referred to it as the "kingdom of Fo-kia-lang".
== History ==
=== Antiquity ===
The area of present-day Baghlan has been inhabited since at least the 1st millennium BC and formed part of the broader historical region of Bactria. Archaeological evidence indicates the existence of complex administrative and religious structures during the Kushan period (1st–3rd centuries CE). Baghlan's location along trade routes linking Central Asia with the Indian subcontinent facilitated the movement of goods, people, and cultural practices, integrating it into the wider economic and cultural networks of ancient Bactria. Archaeological finds, including coins, pottery, and religious artifacts, indicate active engagement with Kushan and pre-Kushan urban and ritual traditions. The local population engaged in a combination of agriculture in the fertile northern plains and pastoralism in the southern hills, reflecting a dual economy shaped by geography.
=== Medieval times ===
During the early medieval period, Baghlan was incorporated into successive regional empires and dynasties, including the Hephthalites in the 5th to 8th centuries, the Samanids in the 9th and 10th centuries, and later the Ghaznavids and Ghurids. In the 13th century, a permanent Mongol garrison in the Kunduz-Baghlan area, initially under Sali Noyan and later his descendants, formed the Qara'unas faction, which remained influential through the Timurid period and was noted in 1494–1495 CE as ruled by a Qipchaq emir. The position of the region along routes connecting northern Afghanistan to the central highlands and to the regions of modern-day Tajikistan and Uzbekistan made it an important corridor for trade, military campaigns, and cultural exchange.
Islamic influence gradually spread during this period, bringing the establishment of mosques, madrasas, and administrative offices, while local populations retained a mixture of agrarian and pastoral livelihoods. Settlements expanded along river valleys, and irrigation networks were developed to support crop cultivation. The presence of small towns facilitated local trade, artisanal production, and the administration of surrounding rural districts, creating a pattern of semi-urban centers surrounded by agricultural hinterlands.
=== Early modern period ===
Baghlan became part of the Durrani Empire in the mid-18th century and remained predominantly agrarian, with villages concentrated along rivers such as the Kunduz and its tributaries. Small towns, including Baghlan-e Jadid and Pul-e Khumri, served as local administrative and trade centers, and early industrial activities such as sugar production and textile workshops were established there.
During the 20th century, the province saw further economic development through industrial and agricultural projects, including the expansion of sugar production, vegetable oil facilities, and coal mining, contributing to the growth of urban centers. In 1964, the modern Baghlan Province was officially created from the former Qataghan Province, formalizing administrative structures and marking a period of increased urbanization and economic integration in the region.
=== During war times (1979–2021) ===
Baghlan was heavily affected by the Soviet–Afghan War and the subsequent decades of conflict. During the 1980s, parts of the province were controlled by militias aligned with the Soviet-backed government, which maintained limited stability, local administration, schools, and hospitals, while other areas experienced armed clashes, insecurity, and population displacement. The provincial capital was moved from Baghlan to Pul-e Khumri during this period to improve governance and access. After the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Baghlan experienced continued instability during the civil war of the 1990s, as different factions, including government forces and local militias, competed for control. During the period of Taliban rule and following the 2001 NATO-led intervention, the province remained strategically significant due to its location along major transport routes connecting northern and central Afghanistan. Infrastructure, including roads, factories, and public services, suffered from prolonged conflict, and many communities faced displacement and economic disruption.
=== Today (since 2021) ===
Since 2021, Baghlan has been under the control of the Taliban following their nationwide takeover of Afghanistan. The provincial administration has been reorganized according to the structures of the Islamic Emirate, with key local government positions replaced by Taliban appointees. Security remains a concern, particularly in more remote districts, where resistance from local militias or rival groups occasionally emerges.
== Geography ==
Baghlan is located in northern Afghanistan and occupies a strategic position along key transport routes connecting the central highlands with the northern plains. The province is characterized by a combination of mountains, river valleys, and agricultural plains. Its varied terrain has shaped settlement patterns, economic activities, and local culture.
=== Landscape ===
Baghlan's landscape is dominated by mountain ranges that are part of the Hindu Kush system, with large areas lying above 2,000 meters. Several peaks exceed 4,000 meters, while lower valleys are used for agriculture and settlement. The province is traversed by several important rivers, including the Kunduz river, which flows northward toward the Amu Darya basin, and its tributaries, which create fertile valleys for farming, and the Andarab river. Settlements are typically concentrated along riverbanks and alluvial terraces, while many mountainous areas are accessible only via passes, which can be impassable during winter.
=== Flora and fauna ===
Baghlan hosts a mix of vegetation types, from coniferous forests at lower elevations to alpine meadows and grasslands in the mountains. Common trees include pine, juniper, and mulberry, while fruit and nut trees such as apples, walnuts, and almonds grow in river valleys. Wildlife in the province includes species adapted to mountainous environments, such as ibex, markhor, wolves, snow leopards, and various birds of prey. Human activity, including agriculture, grazing, and hunting, has affected some populations, but remote areas remain important habitats for wildlife.
=== Climate ===
Baghlan has a continental highland climate with cold winters and warm summers. Higher mountainous regions experience long, harsh winters, with temperatures frequently falling below −10 °C and often reaching −20 °C or lower and heavy snowfall, while valleys have shorter, milder winters. Summer temperatures generally range from 20 to 30 °C in lower areas, and 10 to 20 °C at higher elevations. Precipitation varies widely with altitude, with snow dominating at higher elevations. Seasonal isolation is common in mountainous areas, as snow, landslides, and swollen rivers can cut off villages for extended periods.
== Government and politics ==
=== Governance ===
Historically, Baghlan was governed locally by tribal structures and local community leaders, particularly in rural and mountainous areas. Local elders and tribal chiefs often played a key role in dispute resolution, resource management, and representation to regional rulers. During the Soviet–Afghan War and subsequent civil war in the 1990s, parts of the province were under the control of the Soviet-backed Ismaili Sayeds of Kayan, who maintained schools, hospitals, and administrative services. At the same time, Mujahideen factions like the Jamiat-i Islami and other Northern Alliance parties operated in other districts, contesting control and shaping local politics.
After 2001, local governance in Baghlan was aligned with the central Afghan government, with elected and appointed officials overseeing provincial administration, while local councils and tribal elders continued to play a role in mediating disputes and managing social affairs. Since 2021, the province has been under the control of the Taliban, who have replaced previous administrative structures with their centralized governance model. Traditional tribal leaders, as well as remnants of previous local power networks, still influence decision-making in rural areas, particularly in disputes, security coordination, and local resource management.
As of December 2025, the governor of Badakhshan is Mawlawi Abdul Rahman Haqqani.
=== Administrative divisions ===
Baghlan is divided into 15 districts, each governed by a district governor or local administrator appointed by the provincial authorities. The biggest cities are the provincial capital of Pul-e Khumri and Baghlan. These urban centers function as administrative, economic, and social hubs for their surrounding rural districts. The provincial and district divisions reflect both historical tribal boundaries and modern administrative planning.
=== Security ===
Since 2021, Baghlan has been under the control of the Taliban following their nationwide takeover of Afghanistan. The group now oversees law enforcement, local administration, and dispute resolution across the province. Traditional tribal leaders and local elders continue to play a role in mediating conflicts, particularly in remote or rural districts. While major urban centers such as Pul-e Khumri are relatively stable under the administration of the Islamic Emirate, some mountainous and isolated districts remain sometimes tense due to occasional clashes with local resistance groups or rival armed factions. The province's rugged terrain continues to pose challenges for maintaining consistent security throughout Baghlan.
== Economy ==
The economy of Baghlan is largely based on agriculture, livestock farming, and regional trade, which together form the primary sources of income for most households. The rural population depends heavily on farming and animal husbandry for both subsistence and market production, while urban centers provide employment in administration, services, small industries, and commerce. Limited industrial development and ongoing political instability continue to restrict large-scale private investment and diversified economic growth.
=== Agriculture and animal husbandry ===
Agriculture constitutes the economic foundation of Baghlan. The fertile river valleys and plains support the cultivation of wheat, rice, maize, and sugar beets, which are grown for both local consumption and regional markets. Cotton and silk production play an important role in several districts, continuing long-established traditions of fiber production and small-scale textile-related activities. Fruit orchards producing grapes, pistachios, and pomegranates are widespread in irrigated areas and foothill zones. Irrigation is essential for agricultural production and is maintained through a system of canals and river diversions, many of which have existed for generations. Livestock farming forms a critical complement to crop cultivation. Rural communities raise Karakul sheep, goats, cattle, and poultry, providing meat, dairy products, wool, and working animals. In higher-altitude and mountainous districts, seasonal pastoralism and transhumance remain common, with herders moving livestock between summer and winter grazing areas. Animal husbandry also serves as an important buffer against crop failure and economic shocks.
=== Mining and raw materials ===
Baghlan possesses notable deposits of dolomite, celestite, clay, gypsum, and limestone, making mining one of the province's historically important economic sectors. Coal mining, particularly in the Karkar and Dudkash mines, played a significant role in the domestic energy supply of Afghanistan during the 20th century and continues on a reduced scale today. Salt extraction and quarrying of stone and gravel support local construction and regional markets. However, limited infrastructure, outdated equipment, and political uncertainty have constrained the expansion of the mining sector.
=== Trade ===
The trade infrastructure is closely linked to agricultural output, livestock markets, and transit trade. Urban centers such as Pul-e Khumri, Baghlan, Nahrin, and Dahana-e-Ghuri, function as the main commercial hubs, where agricultural produce, textiles, coal, and imported consumer goods are exchanged. Baghlan's location along major north–south transport routes connecting Kabul with Kunduz, Samangan, and Balkh gives it a strategic position in domestic trade networks. Weekly village markets and seasonal bazaars remain central to rural economic life, facilitating the exchange of food, livestock, tools, and household goods.
=== Energy and irrigation ===
The energy supply is based on a combination of hydropower, fossil fuels, and traditional energy sources. Small and medium hydroelectric facilities supply electricity to major towns, while rural areas depend heavily on firewood, coal, and diesel generators. Electricity shortages and seasonal water fluctuations continue to affect both household life and economic production. Irrigation is vital for agriculture and relies on river systems, canals, and traditional water management techniques. While these systems enable intensive cultivation in valleys and plains, aging infrastructure and limited maintenance pose long-term risks to water security.
=== Tourism ===
Baghlan features archaeological sites, historical ruins, religious shrines, and traditional settlements, alongside natural landscapes of river valleys and foothills. Domestic tourism occurs on a limited scale, particularly to pilgrimage sites. However, insecurity, limited transport infrastructure, and the lack of hospitality services have so far prevented the growth of any considerable tourism industry.
=== Communication ===
Communication infrastructure has expanded significantly since the early 2000s. Mobile phone coverage and internet services are available in major towns and many district centers, facilitating commerce, education, and administration. Nevertheless, remote mountainous districts continue to experience weak or unreliable connectivity, limiting access to information, financial services, and markets.
=== Transport and infrastructure ===
Baghlan's transport network is structured around the national highway system, particularly the Kabul–Mazar-i-Sharif route passing through Pul-e Khumri. This corridor is essential for the movement of goods, fuel, food supplies, and passengers between northern and central Afghanistan. Outside the main highways, most districts depend on unpaved roads, gravel tracks, and mountain passes, which are often disrupted by snow, flooding, and landslides. Baghlan has no railway network, and freight as well as passenger transport relies entirely on road traffic. Air transport is also extremely limited, with only one small airfield, Baghlan Farm Airfield, used for light aircraft and occasional government or humanitarian flights. Bridges, local road networks, and transport facilities remain unevenly developed. Decades of conflict, limited funding, and difficult terrain have left much of the province's infrastructure in a fragile state, directly affecting economic productivity and market access.
== Demographics ==
=== Population ===
Baghlan has an estimated population of approximately 1.1 million people as of 2023, distributed across urban centers, small towns, and numerous rural villages. A minority of the population lives in urban areas, primarily in Pul-e Khumri, the provincial capital, and other towns such as Baghlan, Nahrin, and Dahana-e-Ghuri, while the majority resides in rural settlements throughout the river valleys and plains of the province.
Poverty remains widespread, particularly in mountainous and remote districts, with a multidimensional poverty index of 0.299, and 25.3% of the population living in severe poverty as of 2023. Limited access to infrastructure, healthcare, education, and stable employment contributes to high vulnerability. Seasonal disruptions caused by snowfall, flooding, and landslides regularly isolate villages and further strain living conditions. Internal displacement linked to past conflicts and economic migration to other Afghan provinces has also shaped recent demographic trends.
=== Ethnicity, languages, and religion ===
As in much of Afghanistan, ethnic and religious boundaries are often fluid and overlapping, shaped by intermarriage and shared local identities. Baghlan is characterized by a diverse ethnic composition, shaped by centuries of migration, trade, and regional interaction. The largest groups include Tajiks and Pashtuns with significant populations of Hazaras, Uzbeks, Sadat/ Sayed alongside smaller communities of Tatars and other minorities. Tajik communities are widespread across the province, while Pashtun and Uzbek populations are more prominent in the northern and lowland districts. Hazara communities are mainly concentrated in certain central and mountainous areas.
Dari and Pashto are the principal languages spoken and serve as the main languages of daily communication, administration, and education. Uzbek and Turkmen are used in specific districts, while multilingualism is common, with many residents speaking two or more languages. The population is predominantly Muslim. The majority adheres to Sunni Islam, while a significant minority follows Ismaili Shia Islam, particularly in districts historically associated with the Sayeds of Kayan. Religious identity continues to play an important role in social organization, local leadership, and community life.
=== Education ===
Educational infrastructure in Baghlan is unevenly developed. Primary and secondary schools operate in most district centers, providing basic education for children, though attendance is frequently affected by economic pressures and past insecurity. Access to education is generally better in urban areas than in remote rural districts. Pul-e Khumri hosts the main higher education and vocational institutions, including Baghlan University, teacher training facilities and technical schools that serve students from across the province.
Since 2021, the education system has undergone structural changes under the Taliban administration. Madrasas have expanded in both urban and rural areas, often providing religious instruction alongside basic literacy and vocational training. Female access to secondary and higher education has been sharply restricted, significantly altering enrollment patterns. Literacy levels remain low, particularly among women, with the most recent available estimates from 2011 indicating an overall literacy rate of around 24% and an overall net enrolment rate for school-age children of approximately 62%, reflecting long-standing structural challenges in the education sector.
=== Health ===
Healthcare infrastructure is limited and concentrated in major urban centers. The main provincial hospital is the Pul-i-Khumri Civil Hospital and serves as the primary referral facility, offering general medical services and limited specialized care. District hospitals, clinics, and basic health units operate in other major towns and district centers, providing services such as maternal and child healthcare, vaccinations, and treatment of common illnesses. Many rural villages lack permanent medical facilities and rely on mobile health teams, local health posts, non-governmental organizations, or traditional healers. Public health challenges include high maternal and infant mortality, malnutrition, and limited access to clean drinking water and sanitation, with the most recent available estimates from 2011 indicating that 25% of households had access to clean drinking water and 22% of births were attended by a skilled birth attendant. International humanitarian organizations continue to play a crucial role in supporting healthcare delivery. However, weak infrastructure and security constraints often hinder consistent access to medical services, particularly in mountainous and remote districts.
== Culture ==
=== Music and dances ===
Traditional music in Baghlan reflects the broader cultural patterns of northern Afghanistan, shaped mainly by Tajik, Uzbek, Pashtun, and Hazara influences. Music is commonly performed at weddings, seasonal festivals, and family celebrations. Instruments such as the rubab, dambura, tabla, and harmonium are frequently used. Folk dances are typically performed in group formations, with men and women usually dancing separately in conservative rural environments. The most common forms include regional circle dances and rhythm-based step dances that accompany live or recorded traditional music.
=== Dresses and attire ===
Traditionally, clothing varies by ethnic background, gender, and rural–urban divide. Men commonly wear perahan o tunban with waistcoats, turbans, or pakol hats, especially in rural districts. Women traditionally wear long dresses with headscarves, often decorated with regional embroidery, particularly among Uzbek and Tajik communities. In urban areas such as Pul-e Khumri, western clothing styles are increasingly common, although traditional attire remains dominant during religious events and family ceremonies.
=== Cuisine ===
The cuisine of Baghlan is based on grain production, livestock products, and locally grown fruits. Staple foods include naan, rice, beans, dairy products, and vegetables. Popular dishes reflect the broader Afghan cuisine, including qabeli palaw, ashak, mantu, qorma, yogurt-based meals, and kebabs. Baghlan is especially known nationwide for its sugar production, which strongly influences local food industries and trade. Seasonal fruits such as grapes, mulberries, apricots, and melons are widely consumed.
=== Architecture, art, and literature ===
The traditional architecture is shaped by climate and available materials, with mudbrick, stone, and timber houses dominating rural areas. Flat roofs and thick walls provide insulation against heat and cold. In mountainous districts, settlements are compact and built on steep terrain. Urban centers show a blend of traditional Afghan design, Soviet-era structures, and post-2001 concrete construction. Mosques and shrines serve as key architectural and social landmarks. Artistic expression is largely connected to handicrafts, including carpet weaving, embroidery, pottery, metalwork, and woodworking. These crafts follow long-standing regional traditions. Literary culture is rooted in Dari and Pashto poetry and oral storytelling, with strong connections to the wider Persian literary tradition. Religious poetry and epic narration remain important in rural communities.
=== Media, entertainment, and festivities ===
Local access to media is mainly through radio, mobile networks, and limited television broadcasting. National Afghan TV and radio stations are received in most urban areas. Public entertainment is mostly centered on weddings, religious holidays, and seasonal agricultural celebrations. Major religious festivals such as Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are widely celebrated through prayer gatherings, family visits, and communal meals. Since 2021, public entertainment has become more restricted, particularly regarding music performances and mixed-gender events.
=== Places of interest ===
Baghlan is home to several important historical and archaeological landmarks. The most significant site is Surkh Kotal, a major Kushan-era archaeological complex, known for its monumental ruins and inscriptions. It represents one of the most important remnants of pre-Islamic imperial architecture in Afghanistan. Other notable sites include ancient fortresses, historical bridges, and religious shrines across districts such as Dushi, Baghlan, and Nahrin. In addition to historical sites, river valleys and mountain landscapes are valued locally for their scenic importance, though tourism remains underdeveloped due to security and infrastructure limitations.
=== Sports ===
Sport plays an important role in everyday life, especially among young people. Traditional sports such as buzkashi are regularly played during major festivals and regional tournaments. Among modern sports, football and cricket are the most popular organized sports, followed by volleyball, wrestling, and athletics. Informal football fields are common in towns and villages. During the period of the Islamic Republic, Baghlan was represented in national football competitions through Mawjhai Amu FC, which served as the regional team for Baghlan together with Kunduz, Takhar, and Badakhshan in the Afghan Premier League. In national cricket competitions such as the Shpageeza Cricket League, Baghlan is represented as part of the Pamir Zalmi franchise, which covers the northeastern provinces.
== Notable people ==
=== Historical figures ===
Mir Mirak Andrabi, 16th-century Sufi scholar with roots in Baghlan
Sali Noyan, 13th-century Turco-Mongol commander stationed in the Kunduz-Baghlan area under Mongol rule, whose forces formed part of the Qara'unas and remained influential through the Timurid period
=== Modern figures ===
Dilawar Ahmadzay, national football player
Mohammad Asim Asim, politician and former governor
Bibi Ayesha, former military leader, the only known female warlord in Afghanistan
Mohammad Akbar Barakzai, politician and former governor
Khaliq Dad, national cricket player
Fazalhaq Farooqi, national cricket player
Nangialai Kharoti, national cricket player
Munshi Abdul Majid, politician and former governor
Abdul Malik, national cricket player
Waheed Muzhda, political analyst and writer
The Sayeds of Kayan are the hereditary Ismaili spiritual and political leaders of Kayan, Baghlan and neighboring districts. Their influence has historically extended to social governance, conflict mediation, and local administration. Key figures include:
Sayed Nader Shah Kayani, considered the founder of the modern Naderi Sayeds of Kayan
Sayed Mansoor Naderi, son and successor of Sayed Nader Shah Kayani, leader of the Afghan Ismaili communities
Sayed Jafar "Jeff" Naderi, son of Sayed Mansoor Naderi, known as the "Warlord of Kayan", military leader of Ismaili forces during the Soviet–Afghan War and former governor
Sadat Mansoor Naderi, son of Sayed Mansoor Naderi, politician during the Islamic Republic era, served as minister and state minister |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Bulls | Chicago Bulls | The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16, 1966, and played its first game during the 1966–67 NBA season. The Bulls share their home arena with the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks, playing in the newer United Center which replaced the former Chicago Stadium.
The Bulls saw their greatest success during the 1990s when they played a major part in popularizing the NBA worldwide. They are known for having one of the NBA's greatest dynasties, winning six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998 with two separate three-peats. All six of their championship teams were led by Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson. The Bulls are the only NBA team to win multiple championships while never losing an NBA Finals series in their history. The Bulls won 72 games during the 1995–96 season, setting an NBA record that stood until the Golden State Warriors won 73 games during the 2015–16 season. The Bulls were the first team in NBA history to win 70 games or more in a single season, and the only NBA franchise to do so until the 2015–16 Warriors.
Since 1998, the Bulls have failed to regain their former success. The franchise struggled throughout the 2000s but showed promise in the early 2010s led by Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, culminating in back-to-back seasons above .732 in 2010–11 and 2011–12. An ACL tear suffered by Rose and subsequent trades of key players triggered a rebuild, culminating in different lineups throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s. Jordan and Rose won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award while playing for the Bulls, for a total of six MVP awards. The Bulls share rivalries with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, and the New York Knicks.
== History ==
=== 1966–1975: Team creation and early success ===
The Chicago Bulls were granted an NBA franchise on January 16, 1966, making them the third NBA team in Chicago's history, following the Chicago Stags (1946–1950) and the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs (1961–1963). The franchise was founded by Dick Klein, the only owner in Bulls history to have played professional basketball, having previously played for the Chicago American Gears. Klein served as the team’s general manager and president during its formative years.
After the 1966 NBA expansion draft, the Bulls (coached by Chicagoan and former NBA All-Star Johnny "Red" Kerr) were allowed to acquire players from established teams. In their inaugural 1966–67 season, the Bulls played their first game on October 15, securing an upset victory over the St. Louis Hawks. They finished the season with a 33–48 record, the best by any expansion team in NBA history at the time, and became the first (and only) expansion team to qualify for the playoffs. Guard Guy Rodgers, who led the league in assists, and forward Jerry Sloan were named All-Stars, and Kerr earned Coach of the Year honors.
The Bulls initially played their home games at the International Amphitheatre before moving to Chicago Stadium. Despite their early success, fan interest waned over the next few seasons, with attendance dropping significantly. One Bulls game in the 1967–68 season had an official attendance of 891 while some Bulls games were being played in Kansas City. In 1969, Klein resigned as general manager and hired Pat Williams, who had gained prominence with the Philadelphia 76ers for his promotional efforts. Williams revitalized the franchise, making key roster changes and introducing the team's first mascot, Benny the Bull, which helped increase attendance and visibility.
Under Williams and head coach Dick Motta, the Bulls made the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, including setting a franchise record of 57 wins in 1972. During this period, the team relied on key players like Sloan, Bob Love, Chet Walker, and Norm Van Lier. The Bulls made their first appearance in the conference finals in the 1973–74 season, losing in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks. They also made the conference finals in the 1974–75 season but lost to the eventual NBA champion Golden State Warriors in a 4–3 series. Despite continued success through the early 1970s, the team faced challenges in the late decade. After four seasons of 50 or more wins, Williams left for Philadelphia, and Motta took on both the coaching and general manager roles. The Bulls' performance declined significantly, culminating in a 24–58 season in 1975–76. As a result, Motta was fired and replaced by Ed Badger.
=== 1976–1984: Gilmore and Theus duo ===
Klein sold the Bulls to the Wirtz family, longtime owners of the Chicago Blackhawks. Indifferent to NBA basketball, the new ownership group infamously implemented a shoestring budget, putting little time and investment into improving the team.
Artis Gilmore, acquired in the ABA dispersal draft in 1976, led a Bulls squad which included guard Reggie Theus, forward David Greenwood and forward Orlando Woolridge.
In 1979, the Bulls lost a coin flip for the right to select first in the NBA draft (Rod Thorn, the Bulls' general manager, called "heads"). Had the Bulls won the toss, they would have selected Magic Johnson; instead, they selected David Greenwood with the second pick. The Los Angeles Lakers selected Johnson with the pick acquired from the New Orleans Jazz, who traded the selection for Gail Goodrich.
After Gilmore was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for center Dave Corzine, the Bulls employed a high-powered offense centered on Theus, and which soon included guards Quintin Dailey and Ennis Whatley. However, with continued dismal results, the Bulls decided to change direction, trading Theus to the Kansas City Kings during the 1983–84 season. Local businessman Jerry Reinsdorf purchased a controlling stake in the team in 1985, two years after the death of Arthur Wirtz, patriarch of the Wirtz family.
=== 1984–1990: Michael Jordan era begins ===
In the summer of 1984, the Bulls had the third pick of the 1984 NBA draft, after Houston and Portland. The Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon, the Blazers picked Sam Bowie and the Bulls chose shooting guard Michael Jordan. The team, with new management in owner Jerry Reinsdorf and general manager Jerry Krause, decided to rebuild around Jordan. Jordan set franchise records during his rookie campaign for scoring (third in the league) and steals (fourth), and led the Bulls back to the playoffs, where they lost in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks. For his efforts, he was rewarded with a selection to the All-NBA Second Team and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
In the following off-season, the team acquired point guard John Paxson and on draft day traded with the Cavaliers for the rights to power forward Charles Oakley. Along with Jordan and center Dave Corzine, they provided much of the Bulls' offense for the next two years. After suffering a broken foot early in the 1985–86 season, Jordan finished second on the team to Woolridge in scoring. Jordan returned for the playoffs, and led the eighth-place Bulls against the 67–15 Boston Celtics, led by Larry Bird. At the time, the Bulls had the fifth-worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history. Though the Bulls were swept, Jordan recorded a playoff single-game record 63 points in Game 2 (which still stands to this day), prompting Bird to call him 'God disguised as Michael Jordan.'
In the 1986–87 season, Jordan continued his assault on the record books, leading the league in scoring with 37.1 points per game and becoming the first Bull named to the All-NBA First Team. The Bulls finished 40–42, which was good enough to qualify them for the playoffs. However, they were again swept by the Celtics in the playoffs.
In the 1987 draft, to address their lack of depth, Krause selected center Olden Polynice eighth overall and power forward Horace Grant 10th overall, then sent Polynice to Seattle in a draft-day trade for the fifth selection, small forward Scottie Pippen. With Paxson and Jordan in the backcourt, Brad Sellers and Oakley at the forward spots, Corzine anchoring center, and rookies Pippen and Grant coming off the bench, the Bulls won 50 games and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they were beaten by the eventual Eastern Conference Champions Detroit Pistons in five games. For his efforts, Jordan was named NBA Most Valuable Player, an award he would win four more times over his career. The 1987–88 season would also mark the start of the Pistons-Bulls rivalry which was formed from 1988 to 1991.
The 1988–89 season marked a second straight year of major off-season moves. Power forward Charles Oakley, who had led the league in total rebounds in both 1987 and 1988, was traded on the eve of the 1988 NBA draft to the New York Knicks along with a first-round draft pick used by the Knicks to select Rod Strickland for center Bill Cartwright and a first-round pick, which the Bulls used to obtain center Will Perdue. In addition, the Bulls acquired three-point shooter Craig Hodges from Phoenix. The new starting lineup of Paxson, Jordan, Pippen, Grant, and Cartwright took some time to mesh, winning fewer games than the previous season, but made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were defeated in six games by the NBA champion Pistons.
In 1989–90, Jordan led the league in scoring for the fourth straight season and was joined on the all-star squad for the first time by Pippen. There was also a major change during the off-season, where head coach Doug Collins was replaced by assistant coach Phil Jackson. The Bulls also picked up rookie center Stacey King and rookie point guard B. J. Armstrong in the 1989 draft. With these additional players and the previous year's starting five, the Bulls again made it to the Conference Finals and pushed the Pistons to seven games before being eliminated for the third straight year, the Pistons going on to repeat as NBA champions.
=== 1990–1993: First championship three-peat ===
In the 1990–91 season, the Bulls recorded a then-franchise record 61 wins, and romped through the playoffs, where they swept the Knicks in the first round, defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the semifinals, and then swept the defending champion Pistons in the Conference Finals, then winning the NBA Finals in five games over the Magic Johnson-led Los Angeles Lakers.
The Bulls won their second straight title in 1992 after racking up another franchise record for wins with 67. They swept the Miami Heat in the first round, defeated the Knicks in seven games in the second round, then the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games in the third round, advancing to the Finals for the second year in a row where they defeated the Clyde Drexler-led Portland Trail Blazers in six games.
In 1993, the Bulls won their third consecutive championship by defeating the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks in the first three rounds of the playoffs and then defeating regular season MVP Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in the Finals, with Paxson's three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left giving them a 99–98 victory in Game 6 in Phoenix.
=== 1993–1995: Jordan's first retirement and the Scottie Pippen era ===
On October 6, 1993, Michael Jordan shocked the basketball community by announcing his retirement, three months after his father's murder. The Bulls were then led by Scottie Pippen, who established himself as one of the top players in the league by winning the 1994 All-Star MVP. He received help from Horace Grant and B. J. Armstrong, who were named to their first all-star games. The three were assisted by Cartwright, Perdue, shooting guard Pete Myers, and Croatian rookie forward Toni Kukoč. Despite the Bulls winning 55 games during the 1993–94 season, they were beaten in seven games by the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs, after a controversial foul call by referee Hue Hollins in game 5 of that series. The Knicks eventually reached the NBA Finals that year, but lost to the Houston Rockets. The Bulls opened the 1994–95 season by leaving their home of 27 years, Chicago Stadium, and moving into their current home, the United Center.
In 1994, the Bulls lost Grant, Cartwright and Scott Williams to free agency, and John Paxson to retirement, but picked up shooting guard Ron Harper, the seeming heir apparent to Jordan in assistant coach Tex Winter's triple-post offense, and small-forward Jud Buechler. The Bulls started Armstrong and Harper in the backcourt, Pippen and Kukoč at the forward spots, and Perdue at center. They also had sharpshooter Steve Kerr, whom they acquired via free agency before the 1993–94 season, Myers, and centers Luc Longley (acquired via trade in 1994 from the Minnesota Timberwolves) and Bill Wennington. However, the Bulls struggled during the season, and on March 18, 1995, they received the news that Michael Jordan was coming out of retirement. He scored 55 points against the Knicks in only his fifth game back, and led the Bulls to the fifth seed in the playoffs, where they defeated the Charlotte Hornets. However, Jordan and the Bulls were unable to overcome the eventual Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic, which included Horace Grant, Penny Hardaway, and Shaquille O'Neal.
In the off-season, the Bulls lost Armstrong in the expansion draft, and Krause traded Perdue to the San Antonio Spurs for rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman, who had won the past four rebounding titles, and who had also been a member of the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys" squad that served as the Bulls' chief nemesis in the late 1980s.
=== 1995–1998: Return of Michael Jordan and second championship three-peat ===
With a lineup of Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Harper and Longley, and bench players Steve Kerr, Kukoč, Wennington, Buechler, and guard Randy Brown, the Bulls were seen as the team to win again for the NBA Finals.
The Bulls started their 1995–96 campaign with a 105–91 win over the visiting Hornets. In that game, Michael Jordan recorded 42 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists for the Bulls. The next game, they were up against the Boston Celtics. The Bulls scored 35 points in the third quarter as they pulled away against the Celtics, 107–85. Six Bulls players scored in double figures in this win. The 1995–96 Bulls posted one of the best single-season improvements in league history and the best single-season record at that time, moving from 47–35 to 72–10, becoming the first NBA team to win 70 or more regular season games. Jordan won his eighth scoring title, and Rodman his fifth straight rebounding title, while Kerr finished second in the league in three-point shooting percentage. Jordan garnered the elusive triple crown with the NBA MVP, NBA All-Star Game MVP, and NBA Finals MVP. Krause was named NBA Executive of the Year, Jackson Coach of the Year, and Kukoč the Sixth Man of the Year. Both Pippen and Jordan made the All-NBA First Team, and Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman made the All-Defensive First Team, making the Bulls one of several teams in NBA history with three players on the All-Defensive First Team.
In addition, the 1995–96 team holds several other records, including the best road record in a standard 41 road-game season (33–8), the all-time best start by a team (41–3), and the best start at home (37–0). The Bulls also posted the second-best home record in history (39–2), behind only the 1985–86 Celtics 40–1 home mark. The team triumphed over the Miami Heat in the first round, the New York Knicks in the second round, the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals and finally Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and the Seattle SuperSonics for their fourth title. The 1995–96 Bulls are widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in the history of basketball.
In the 1996–97 season, the Bulls missed out on a second consecutive 70-win season by losing their final two games to finish 69–13. They repeated their home dominance, going 39–2 at the United Center. The Bulls capped the season by defeating the Bullets, Hawks and Heat in the first three rounds of the playoffs en route to winning their fifth NBA championship over John Stockton, Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz. Jordan earned his second straight and ninth career scoring title, while Rodman earned his sixth straight rebounding title. Jordan and Pippen, along with Robert Parish, who was a member of the Bulls at the time, were also honored as members of the 50 greatest players of all time with the NBA celebrating its 50th season. Parish, whose single season with the Bulls would be his last year in the league, was nominated for his stellar career with the Boston Celtics.
The 1997–98 season was one of turmoil for the NBA champion Bulls. Many speculated this would be Michael Jordan's final season with the team. Phil Jackson's future with the team was also questionable, as his relationship with team general manager Jerry Krause was one of growing tension. Scottie Pippen was looking for a significant contract extension that he thought he deserved, but was not getting from the organization. In spite of the turmoil that surrounded the Bulls, they still had a remarkable season, with a final regular season record of 62–20. Jordan would be named the league MVP for the fifth and final time, and the Bulls went into the playoffs as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference.
The first round of the playoffs for the Bulls was against the New Jersey Nets, a team led by Keith Van Horn, Kendall Gill and Sam Cassell. The Bulls swept the Nets three to nothing in a best of five series. The conference semi-finals were more challenging with the Charlotte Hornets stealing game two from the Bulls at the United Center, and tying the series 1–1. But the Bulls easily defeated the Hornets in the next three games of the series. The Conference Finals was a challenge for the Bulls as they went up against the Reggie Miller-led Indiana Pacers. Experts were of the opinion that the Pacers had the best chance to defeat the Bulls. The Pacers gave the Bulls no road wins, winning games 3, 4, and 6, sending the series to a deciding game seven at the United Center. The Bulls prevailed and beat the Pacers 88–83, winning their sixth Eastern Conference title.
In a much-anticipated Finals, The Bulls faced the team they beat the previous year, the Utah Jazz. Led by Karl Malone and John Stockton, the Jazz felt confident that they could defeat the Bulls, winning game one at Utah's Delta Center. Facing a potential two to nothing deficit, the Bulls won Game 2 at the Delta Center and tied the series. The Bulls returned to the United Center and, by winning the next two games, took a 3–1 series lead. The Jazz won Game 5 by two points, 83–81. Game 6 was a tough battle for both teams. Scottie Pippen left early in the first quarter due to an ongoing back injury. He came back at the start of the second half, and after a trip or two to the locker room to get physical therapy, came back out to finish the game. Late in the game and down by three points to the Jazz, Michael Jordan led the Bulls to one final win. Jordan hit a shot to bring the Bulls within 1, then stole the ball from Karl Malone and hit the game winning shot with 5.2 seconds remaining on the clock. With a score of 87–86, John Stockton put up a three-pointer, but missed, giving the Bulls their sixth championship in eight years. Jordan would be named the Finals MVP for the sixth time in his career. He retired for the second time on January 13, 1999.
=== 1998–2008: Post-Jordan era and a decade of struggle ===
==== 1998–2004: The Baby Bulls ====
The summer of 1998 marked the end of the Bulls' championship era. GM Jerry Krause, citing the team's aging roster, opted to rebuild rather than face decline. He traded Scottie Pippen for minimal returns, let Dennis Rodman walk, and dealt other key players for draft picks. Krause also hired coach Tim Floyd to replace Phil Jackson. Michael Jordan announced his second retirement, leaving the Bulls with a new starting lineup featuring Toni Kukoč, who led the team but couldn't prevent a 13–37 record in the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, which included a record-low 49 points in a game against Miami.
Winning the draft lottery provided a highlight, allowing the Bulls to draft Elton Brand. Despite his stellar rookie season and co-Rookie of the Year honors, injuries and trades left the team floundering at 17–65 in 1999–2000. Attempts to attract top free agents failed, and new additions like Brad Miller and Ron Mercer didn't improve results, leading to a league- and franchise-worst 15–67 record the following season. Krause shocked fans by trading Brand for Tyson Chandler and drafting Eddy Curry, both seen as long-term prospects. Without veteran leadership, the team struggled, despite mid-season trades and a coaching change from Floyd to Bill Cartwright, finishing with only 21 wins.
Optimism returned in 2002–03 with the addition of Jay Williams and a young, talented core, but inconsistency limited progress to 30–52. Krause retired in 2003, and John Paxson became GM. Williams' career was derailed by a motorcycle accident, and Pippen's return was marred by injuries. The 2003–04 season saw setbacks from Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler, leading to Cartwright's firing and Scott Skiles' hiring. A major trade shifted the team's strategy to defense, but the Bulls still finished 23–59. Kirk Hinrich emerged as a fan favorite, earning All-Rookie honors amid another disappointing season.
==== 2004–2008: Continued rebuilding ====
Between 2004 and 2008, the Chicago Bulls underwent notable roster transformations and fluctuating on-court results in their efforts to rebuild as a competitive team. In the 2004 NBA Draft, General Manager John Paxson acquired Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Chris Duhon while also signing Andrés Nocioni, a gold medalist with Argentina. Despite beginning the season with nine consecutive losses, the team recovered to finish 47–35, making their first playoff appearance since 1998. However, injuries to Deng and Eddy Curry contributed to a first-round exit against the Washington Wizards. Ben Gordon received the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.
During the 2005 off-season, Curry’s heart condition raised concerns, leading to his trade to the New York Knicks in exchange for Michael Sweetney, Tim Thomas and future draft picks. The Bulls struggled without a significant post presence but managed a 12–2 late-season run, finishing 41–41. They qualified for the playoffs but were defeated by the Miami Heat, who went on to win the championship. Despite the loss, key players gained valuable postseason experience.
In the 2006 NBA Draft, the Bulls traded for Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha and signed veteran defensive player Ben Wallace to a four-year deal. Tyson Chandler, the last player from the Krause era, was traded to the Hornets. Chicago recovered from a poor start to finish the season with a 49–33 record. In the playoffs, they swept the defending champion Miami Heat, marking their first series victory since 1998. Their postseason ended in the next round with a 4–2 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
The 2007 off-season brought speculation of major trades involving players like Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, and Kobe Bryant, but none materialized. The Bulls began the 2007–08 season poorly, leading to the dismissal of head coach Scott Skiles in December. Interim coach Jim Boylan was appointed but could not reverse the team’s fortunes, and they ended the season with a 33–49 record. In a midseason trade, the team acquired Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, and others in exchange for Ben Wallace and Joe Smith. Following the season, Boylan was not retained, and the search for a new head coach culminated in the hiring of Vinny Del Negro, a rookie coach supported by experienced assistants Del Harris, Bernie Bickerstaff, and Bob Ociepka.
=== 2008–2016: Derrick Rose era ===
==== 2008–2010: Appearance of Derrick Rose ====
With only a slim 1.7% chance of winning the rights to draft first overall, the Bulls won the 2008 NBA draft lottery and selected first overall. With this, the Bulls became the team with the lowest chance of winning to ever win the lottery since it was modified for the 1994 NBA draft, and second-lowest ever. On June 26, 2008, the Bulls drafted Chicago native Derrick Rose from the University of Memphis as the number 1 draft pick, and Sonny Weems at number 39. The Bulls later traded Weems to the Denver Nuggets for Denver's 2009 regular second-round draft pick. The Bulls also made several trades, including one that brought Ömer Aşık to the team. The team re-signed Luol Deng to a six-year deal, although he was sidelined for much of the season due to injury.
In February 2009, the Bulls made multiple trades to strengthen the roster, including a deal with the Sacramento Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons, and another with the Oklahoma City Thunder for a first-round pick. These moves helped the team secure a playoff spot, finishing the season at .500 with a 41–41 record. In the playoffs, they faced the Boston Celtics in a dramatic seven-game series. In Game 1, Derrick Rose scored 36 points, along with 11 assists, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record for most points scored by a rookie in a playoff debut. After breaking the record for most overtimes played during one playoff series, the Boston Celtics managed to overcome the Bulls after 7 games and 7 overtime periods played.
In the 2009 NBA Draft, the Bulls selected James Johnson and Taj Gibson. They also lost Ben Gordon to the Detroit Pistons in free agency. The following season, the team made further trades, including sending John Salmons to the Milwaukee Bucks and Tyrus Thomas to the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bulls finished with the eighth seed in the 2010 playoffs but were eliminated in five games by the Cleveland Cavaliers. In May 2010, the team fired head coach Vinny Del Negro.
==== 2010–2011: Arrival of Tom Thibodeau and Rose's MVP year ====
In early June 2010, Boston Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau accepted a three-year contract to fill the Bulls' head coaching vacancy. He was officially introduced on June 23. On July 7, it was revealed that Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz had verbally agreed to an $80 million, five-year contract. Afterwards, the Bulls traded veteran point guard Kirk Hinrich to the Washington Wizards to create more cap space. The Bulls also signed former 76er and Jazz sharpshooter Kyle Korver to a three-year, $15 million contract. The same day that the Bulls signed Kyle Korver, they signed Turkish All-Star Ömer Aşık. After being matched by the Orlando Magic for J. J. Redick, they signed their third free agent from the Jazz in the off-season in shooting guard Ronnie Brewer, traded for former Warrior point guard C.J. Watson, and signed former Bucks power forward Kurt Thomas as well as former Spurs player Keith Bogans and former Celtic Brian Scalabrine.
Rose earned the 2011 NBA MVP Award, thereby becoming the youngest player in NBA history to win it. He became the first Bulls player since Michael Jordan to win the award. As a team, Chicago finished the regular season with a league-best 62–20 record and clinched the first seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1998. The Bulls defeated the Pacers and the Hawks in five and six games, respectively, thereby reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1998, and faced the Miami Heat. After winning the first game of the series, they lost the next four games, ending their season.
==== 2011–2014: Injury-plagued seasons for Derrick Rose ====
The Chicago Bulls underwent significant roster changes and faced challenges between the 2011–2014 seasons, navigating injuries to star players while attempting to remain competitive. In the 2011 NBA draft, the Bulls selected Jimmy Butler with the 30th overall pick. During the off-season, they signed veteran guard Rip Hamilton to a three-year deal and extended Derrick Rose’s contract for five years at $94.8 million. Rose and Luol Deng earned All-Star selections during the 2011–12 season, marking the first Bulls duo in the All-Star game since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Despite Rose missing much of the season due to injuries, the Bulls finished with the NBA's best record (50–16) and secured the Eastern Conference's top seed.
In the first round of the playoffs, Rose tore his ACL during Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers, sidelining him for the remainder of the series. Joakim Noah also sustained a foot injury during Game 3. The Bulls, weakened by these absences, lost the series in six games, becoming one of the few first-seeded teams eliminated by an eighth-seed. Subsequent roster changes saw the departures of key players, including Kyle Korver, C.J. Watson, and Ömer Aşık, while the team added Marco Belinelli, Nate Robinson, and Nazr Mohammed.
Rose missed the entire 2012–13 season, yet the Bulls finished 45–37 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs after a seven-game victory over the Brooklyn Nets. They were eliminated by the Miami Heat in five games. During the season, the Bulls snapped both Miami's 27-game winning streak and the New York Knicks' 13-game winning streak, becoming the second team in NBA history to snap two winning streaks of 13 games or more in a season.
In 2013–14, Rose sustained another significant injury, tearing his medial meniscus just 10 games into the season, sidelining him once again. The Bulls traded Luol Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers midseason, receiving Andrew Bynum and draft picks in return, though Bynum was immediately waived. Despite finishing 48–34 and earning home-court advantage in the playoffs, the Bulls were eliminated in the first round by the Washington Wizards. Joakim Noah was a standout performer, earning Defensive Player of the Year honors, an All-NBA First Team selection, and placing fourth in MVP voting.
During the 2014 off-season, the Bulls made notable moves in the draft and free agency. They traded two first-round picks to acquire Doug McDermott, added Cameron Bairstow in the second round, and signed veteran star Pau Gasol. The team also brought over Nikola Mirotić, a EuroLeague talent acquired via a 2011 draft-day trade, and re-signed Kirk Hinrich to bolster the roster.
==== 2014–2015: Return of Derrick Rose to health and rise of Jimmy Butler ====
The 2014–15 season brought renewed optimism to the Chicago Bulls with the return of Derrick Rose, alongside the addition of two-time NBA champion Pau Gasol. The team, bolstered by a deep roster featuring Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotić, Tony Snell, Aaron Brooks, Doug McDermott and Kirk Hinrich was considered one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference, alongside the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bulls started the season strong, winning seven of their first nine games, although they took notable losses to the Cavaliers and Celtics.
Jimmy Butler's rise as a primary scorer, going from 13 to 20 points per game, was a standout story, positioning him as a candidate for the "Most Improved Player of the Year" award. Gasol's consistent double-double performances added significant value, and both Butler and Gasol were selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Despite this, the Bulls struggled with consistency in the second half of the season, with Rose publicly expressing frustration over the team's lack of cohesion. Tensions between head coach Tom Thibodeau and the front office, led by Gar Forman and John Paxson, also created internal instability.
The Bulls finished the regular season with a 50–32 record, securing the third seed in the Eastern Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the Milwaukee Bucks, quickly establishing a 3–0 lead in the series before allowing the Bucks to win two games in a row. However, the Bulls dominated in Game 6, winning by a playoff-record 54 points to advance 4–2. The next round saw a matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James. The Bulls initially shocked the Cavs in Game 1, but Cleveland responded strongly, winning in Game 2. Despite a dramatic Game 3 win by Derrick Rose on a last-second three-pointer, the Bulls were ultimately defeated 4–2, ending their playoff run. Following the series, speculation about Thibodeau's future with the team intensified due to the ongoing tensions with the front office.
==== 2015–2017: Departures of Tom Thibodeau and Derrick Rose ====
On May 28, 2015, the Bulls fired Tom Thibodeau to seek a "change in approach". The following month, Fred Hoiberg was named as the new head coach. The Bulls had only one draft pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, selecting center Bobby Portis from the University of Arkansas.
With forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. sidelined for the first four months of the season due to back surgery, the Bulls promoted Doug McDermott to the starting small forward position. Hoiberg told the media that the move was suggested by Noah himself, but Noah denied having made any suggestions to Hoiberg, which sparked a distrust between the two before the season even began. The Bulls started the 2015–16 season strong with a season-opening victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers and posted an 8–3 record early on; however, they struggled through the middle of the season, eventually losing 12 of their next 17 games. Jimmy Butler was sidelined for four weeks due to a knee injury, and despite finishing with a 42–40 record, the Bulls were eliminated from playoff contention, marking the first time in eight years the team had missed the postseason.
In the 2016 off-season, the Bulls underwent significant roster changes. On June 22, 2016, they traded Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday, and a 2017 second-round pick to the New York Knicks in exchange for center Robin Lopez, and point guards Jerian Grant and José Calderón, the latter of whom was later traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. In July, the Bulls signed veteran guard Rajon Rondo and Chicago native Dwyane Wade, bolstering their lineup. Additionally, they acquired 2014 Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The team made further moves in February 2017, trading Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott, and a second-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for point guard Cameron Payne, shooting guard Anthony Morrow, and power forward/center Joffrey Lauvergne. Despite these changes, Jimmy Butler had a standout season, setting several career highs, earning All-Star honors, and being named to the All-NBA third team. The Bulls finished the regular season with a 41–41 record and clinched the eighth seed in the 2017 NBA playoffs. They took a surprising 2–0 series lead over the top-seeded Boston Celtics but ultimately lost the series 4–2.
=== 2017–2025: Lavine era ===
==== 2017–2020: Final years of GarPax and rebuilding ====
In June 2017, the Chicago Bulls traded Jimmy Butler and their 2017 first-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and a pick used to select Lauri Markkanen. They also waived Rajon Rondo and Isaiah Canaan, and allowed Michael Carter-Williams to enter free agency. Justin Holiday rejoined the Bulls on a two-year, $9 million contract, while Dwyane Wade reached a buyout agreement, returning $8 million of his $23.2 million contract.
On October 17, 2017, a fight broke out between Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotić during practice. Portis punched Mirotić in the face, causing a concussion and facial fractures. Portis was suspended eight games, and Mirotić missed 23 games. The incident led to Mirotić being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in February 2018 for a first-round draft pick and Ömer Aşık, Tony Allen, and Jameer Nelson. The Bulls finished the 2017-18 season with a 27–55 record.
In 2018, the Bulls drafted Wendell Carter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison, and re-signed Zach LaVine to a four-year, $78 million deal. They also signed Jabari Parker to a two-year, $40 million contract. After a poor start to the 2018-19 season, Fred Hoiberg was fired and replaced by Jim Boylen. In February 2019, Bobby Portis, Jabari Parker, and a second-round pick were traded for Otto Porter. The Bulls ended the season with a 22-60 record, missing the playoffs.
In 2019, the Bulls selected Coby White and signed veterans Tomáš Satoranský and Thaddeus Young. After the COVID-19 disruption, Artūras Karnišovas became the Bulls' executive vice president, and Marc Eversley was hired as general manager. Jim Boylen was fired, and Billy Donovan became head coach in 2020. The Bulls drafted Patrick Williams with the fourth overall pick.
In March 2021, the Bulls traded for Nikola Vučević and Al-Farouq Aminu, sending Wendell Carter Jr, Otto Porter and draft picks to Orlando. Despite these moves, the Bulls finished the 2020-21 season with a 31-41 record, missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.
==== 2021–2024: DeRozan–Lavine duo ====
In the 2021 off-season, the Chicago Bulls made several notable moves aimed at improving their roster. They selected Ayo Dosunmu with the 38th pick in the second round of the NBA Draft, traded for Lonzo Ball from the New Orleans Pelicans, and signed free agent Alex Caruso. The Bulls also received DeMar DeRozan from the San Antonio Spurs, giving up Thaddeus Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, and draft picks.
The Bulls's new look lineup initially performed quite well, making it to the top seed in the Eastern Conference in January 2022. DeRozan's performance in this period, including back-to-back buzzer-beater three-pointers against the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards, briefly captured the spotlight. After Lonzo Ball was sidelined with a knee injury requiring a meniscus replacement, the team struggled to maintain consistency. DeRozan earned an All-Star selection and LaVine joined him as a reserve, but the team quickly fell in the rankings. They finished the season in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks in five games.
In the 2022 off-season, the Bulls re-signed LaVine to a five-year, $215.2 million contract (the largest in franchise history) and selected Dalen Terry in the draft. They also signed Patrick Beverley mid-season in an attempt to reignite their playoff hopes. However, despite some individual success, the team’s lack of consistency persisted. The Bulls finished 40–42 in the 2022–23 season and earned a spot in the play-in tournament, beating the Toronto Raptors in a bittersweet win for Derozan, before they were again eliminated by the Miami Heat.
The 2023 off-season saw the Bulls trade for the 35th pick in the draft and select Julian Philips, while also re-signing Vucevic and Coby White. The Bulls finished with a 39–43 record, once again securing a play-in spot. After defeating the Atlanta Hawks, they were eliminated by the Miami Heat in the second game, missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
==== 2024–present: new direction with Buzelis–Giddey ====
DeMar DeRozan signed with the Sacramento Kings as part of a three-team sign-and-trade deal. The team also traded Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Josh Giddey. Andre Drummond signed with the Sixers. In the draft, Matas Buzelis was taken by the Bulls 11th overall. After two missed seasons, Lonzo Ball made his return to the court. On February 2, 2025, the team traded Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings for Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter and their own 2025 first round pick from the San Antonio Spurs.
The Bulls finished the season with a 39–43 recorde, placing them 9th in the Eastern Conference. This earned them spot in the play-in tournament where they would go on to lose to the Miami Heat for the third consecutive year, missing the playoffs once again.
== Rivalries ==
=== Cleveland Cavaliers ===
The Bulls–Cavaliers rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls. The teams have played each other since the Cavaliers joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970, but the rivalry didn't begin in earnest until the Bulls drafted Michael Jordan with the third overall pick in 1984. After Jordan went on to the Washington Wizards and eventually retired, the rivalry died down, but when Cleveland picked LeBron James with the first selection in 2003, the rivalry heated up again. However, the Cavaliers had an edge over the Bulls, who would pick Derrick Rose with the first selection in 2008 to turn Chicago from a lottery team to a future contender.
=== Detroit Pistons ===
The Bulls' main division rivals have been the Detroit Pistons ever since the Jordan-led Bulls met the "Bad Boy" Pistons in the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals. The two teams met in the playoffs four consecutive years, with the Pistons winning each time until 1991. The Eastern Conference Finals in 1991 ended with a four-game sweep of the Pistons, who walked off the floor with time still on the game clock. The rivalry was renewed in the 2007 Eastern Conference Semifinals, in which former Detroit cornerstone Ben Wallace met his former team (the Pistons won in 6 games). The geographic proximity and membership in the Central Division further intensify the rivalry, which has been characterized by intense, physical play ever since the teams met in the late 1980s. Chicago fans' rivalry with Detroit extends past the NBA, as the two cities shared divisions in all four major North American sports until 2013 when the Detroit Red Wings moved to the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.
=== Miami Heat ===
The Bulls and the Miami Heat rivalry began once the Heat became contenders during the 1990s, a decade dominated by the Bulls. They were eliminated 3 times by Chicago, who went on to win the title each time. The rivalry was revived due to the return of the Bulls to the playoffs after the departure of Jordan from the Bulls and the emergence of Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose. The revived rivalry was physical, involving rough plays and hard fouls between players, most notably the actions of former Heat player James Posey. The Bulls and Heat met in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, with the Heat winning in 5 games. On March 27, 2013, Chicago snapped Miami's 27-game winning streak. The Bulls and Heat met later that year in the 2013 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Miami won the series 4–1. In 2023, the two would meet in the Eastern Conference play-in, with the Heat winning to advance to the playoffs. Notably the game featured former Bull, Jimmy Butler on the Heat and former teammates DeMar DeRozan (Chicago) versus Kyle Lowry (Miami). The Bulls and the Heat would go on to meet in the Eastern Conference play-ins in both of the next two years, with the Heat eliminating the Bulls from playoff contention in both of those games.
=== New York Knicks ===
Another franchise that the Bulls have competed fiercely with is the New York Knicks. The two teams met in the playoffs in four consecutive years (1991–1994) and again in 1996, with the teams' series twice (1992 and 1994) going the full seven games. Their first playoff confrontation, however, came in 1989 when both teams were called "teams on the rise" under Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing, respectively (rivalry that started their freshman year in the 1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game with Jordan hitting the deciding jumper of the final). That first confrontation would belong to Chicago with six games of the Eastern Semifinals. The Bulls won in the first three years (1991–1993) before losing in 1994 but got revenge in 1996. As with Detroit, the historic rivalry between the cities has led to animosity between the teams and occasionally their fans.
=== Boston Celtics ===
The Bulls-Celtics rivalry is a historic NBA clash defined by 1980s battles between Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, including Jordan's 63-point playoff game in 1986. It continued through intense 2000s playoff series and remains a significant matchup due to the storied history and contrasting team building philosophies. The Celtics dominated early matchups, setting the stage for legendary battles. In the 1986 playoffs, Jordan scored a record 63 points against the Celtics, prompting Larry Bird to say it was "God disguised as Michael Jordan". The Bulls overcame their early losses to the Celtics, with the rivalry fading slightly as the Bulls began their 1990s championship run while Boston rebuilt. The rivalry was renewed with a thrilling 2009 first-round series, featuring seven games with four overtimes, which the Celtics won. A 2017 matchup also saw intense play.
== Traditions ==
=== Starting lineup introductions ===
During the Bulls' run of dominance, the player introductions became world-famous. Longtime announcer Tommy Edwards was the first to use "Sirius" by The Alan Parsons Project, "On The Run" by Pink Floyd, and other songs in game presentation in the NBA. When Edwards moved to Boston for employment with CBS Radio, he was replaced by Ray Clay in 1990, and Clay continued many of the traditional aspects of the Bulls introductions, including "On The Run" and "Sirius" for all six championship runs.
The starting lineup sequence is typically done as follows: The lights are first dimmed during the visiting team introduction, accompanied by first "On The Run" during the 90s, then "The Imperial March" from Star Wars, composed by John Williams during the 2000s, and most recently "Tick of the Clock" by Chromatics since the 2010s. Virtually all lights in the stadium are then shut off for the Bulls introduction (since the 2010s, after a short countdown from Bulls players promoting their "See Red" campaign), and a spotlight illuminates each player as he is introduced and runs onto the court. At Chicago Stadium, there was just one spotlight, that focused on the fans, then the introduced players. When the Bulls moved to the United Center, multiple spotlights as well as lasers and fireworks were added, as well as a 3D-animated 'Running of the Bulls' video, which has been updated numerous times. The first version of the video debuted with the United Center in 1994 on their Sony Jumbotron, which showed a first-person POV of the Bulls running to the United Center. In 1997, the video was updated, now with a third-person POV of the Bulls, as well as prominently showing the Michael Jordan Statue as the Bulls arrive to the United Center and a Bull standing on top of the United Center. The video was updated again in 2002 with Bulls highlights, then again in 2006 to show more realistic Bulls, which was the first to show the Bulls smashing a bus of the other teams logo as they arrive to the United Center. The most recent version of the intro debuted in 2014, which removed the Bull on top of United Center as well as the bus, but showed more realistic Bulls, as well as humans, with live-action filming used for the first time throughout the city of Chicago. In 2016, the Bulls ended the use of lasers and fireworks on court and replaced them with an on-court projection, also showing Bulls, which temporality replaced the second half of the Running of the Bulls video before the projection was dropped in 2018, adding back in the second half of the video. In 2019, the bus was added back, as well as a readjusting of the video to fill up the new United Center scoreboard. The Bulls also added back lasers and multiple spotlights on court, with a part of the intro meant to resemble the court during the Bulls intros of the 90s.
Traditionally, the players have been introduced in the following order: small forward, power forward, center, point guard, shooting guard. During the championship era, Scottie Pippen was usually the first (or second after Horace Grant) Bulls player introduced, and Michael Jordan the last. (Pippen and Jordan are the only players to play on all six Bulls championship teams.) More recently with Derrick Rose's arrival, the guards have been reversed in order, making the Chicago-bred point guard the last player introduced. Although internal disputes eventually led to the dismissal of Clay, the Bulls in 2006 announced the return of Tommy Edwards as the announcer.
As part of Edwards' return, the introductions changed as a new introduction was developed by Lily and Lana Wachowski, Ethan Stoller and Jamie Poindexter, all from Chicago. The introduction also included a newly composed remix of the traditional Sirius theme. Edwards was replaced in 2020 by Tim Sinclair.
Coincidentally, Alan Parsons wrote "Sirius" for his own band and was the sound engineer for "On the Run" from Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon.
=== Black shoes and socks ===
The Bulls have an unofficial tradition of wearing black shoes (regardless of being home or away) during the playoffs, which dates all the way back to 1989 when they debuted the tradition. Then-Bulls backup center Brad Sellers suggested to wear black shoes as a way to show unity within the team. For the 1996 playoffs, they became the first team to wear black socks with the black shoes, similar to the University of Michigan and the Fab Five which started the trend in college earlier in the decade. Since then, many teams have this look in both the regular season and playoffs. It was noted when the Bulls made their first playoff appearance during the 2004–05 season after a six-year hiatus, they continued the tradition and wore black shoes.
Even though the Bulls generally wear black footwear in the playoffs since 1989, there have been some notable exceptions. In the 1995 playoffs against the Magic, when Michael Jordan debuted his Air Jordan XI shoe, he wore the white colorway during the Bulls' playoff games in Orlando. He was fined by the Bulls for not complying with their colorway policy. During the 2009 playoffs, the Bulls again broke the tradition when all of their players wore white shoes and socks in Game 3 of the first round against the Boston Celtics. More recently, since the NBA's relaxation of sneaker color rules, some Bulls players wore either red or white sneakers in defiance of the tradition.
=== Circus trip ===
The Bulls and their arena mates, the Chicago Blackhawks, shared an odd tradition dating to the opening of Chicago Stadium. Every fall, Feld Entertainment's now-defunct Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus came to Chicago on its nationwide tour. Since it used large indoor venues rather than tents, it took over the United Center for its entire run and the Bulls were forced, along with the Blackhawks, to take an extended road trip that lasted about two weeks. Initially local newspapers and television and radio sportscasters, and later national programs like SportsCenter, referred to this fortnight-long local hiatus as "the circus trip". Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz, who co-owned the United Center with Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, let the contract lapse after the circus' 2016 run, and condensed the formerly two-week local run of Feld's Disney on Ice to a week-long period effective February 2018. The circus itself would be discontinued in 2017.
== Name, logo, and uniforms ==
=== Name ===
Dick Klein wanted a name that evoked Chicago's traditional meat packing industry (similarly to the forerunner Packers franchise) and the Chicago Stadium's proximity to the Union Stock Yards. Klein considered names like Matadors or Toreadors, but dismissed them, saying, "If you think about it, no team with as many as three syllables in its nickname has ever had much success except for the Montreal Canadiens." After discussing possible names with his family, Klein settled on Bulls when his son Mark said, "Dad, that's a bunch of bull!"
=== Logo ===
The Bulls are unique in the fact they have used the same logo with very little change since the team's inception. The iconic logo is a red, charging bull's face. The logo was designed by noted American graphic designer Dean P. Wessel and was adopted in 1966. At one point, the Bulls also had an alternate logo during the early 1970s, featuring the same Bulls logo, but with a cloud that says "Windy City" below the bull's nose.
=== Uniforms ===
==== 1966–1973 uniforms ====
The Bulls wear three different uniforms: a white uniform, a red uniform, and a black alternate uniform. The original uniforms were esthetically close to the current design, featuring the iconic diamond surrounding the Bulls logo on the shorts and block lettering. What distinguished the original uniforms were the black drop shadows, red or white side stripes with black borders, and white lettering on the red uniforms. For the 1969–70 season, the red uniforms were tweaked to include the city name.
==== 1973–1985 uniforms ====
For the 1973–74 season, the Bulls drastically changed their look, removing the side stripes and drop shadows while moving the front numbers to the left chest. While the white uniforms saw the "Bulls" wordmark go from a vertically arched to radially arched arrangement, the red uniforms saw a more significant makeover, featuring black lettering and a script "Chicago" wordmark. With a few tweaks in the lettering, these uniforms were used until 1985.
This uniform set was later revived as a throwback uniform during the 2003–04 and 2015–16 seasons.
==== 1985–present uniforms ====
Starting with the 1985–86 season, the Bulls updated their uniform. Among the more notable changes in the look were centered uniform numbers and a vertically arched "Bulls" wordmark in both the red and white uniforms. Like the previous set, this uniform saw a few tweaks particularly in the treatment of the player's name.
When Nike became the NBA's uniform provider in 2017, the Bulls kept much of the same look save for the truncated shoulder striping and the addition of the Chicago four stars on the waistline. With Nike and the NBA eliminating designations on home and away uniforms, the Bulls also announced that their red "Icon" uniforms would become their home uniforms, and the white "Association" uniforms would become their away uniforms. The Bulls would continue to wear red "Icon" uniforms in home games until the 2020–21 season, after which they returned to wearing the white "Association" uniforms in home games starting in the 2021–22 season.
==== Alternate black uniforms ====
In the 1995–96 season, the Bulls added a black uniform to their set. The initial look featured red pinstripes and lacked the classic diamond on the shorts. This set was revived as throwback uniforms in the 2012–13 seasons.
From the 1997–98 to the 2005–06 seasons, the Bulls wore slightly modified black uniforms without pinstripes. This set, with a few slight changes in the template, also marked the return of the city name in front of the uniform during the 1999–2000 season.
The 2006–07 season saw another change in the Bulls' black alternate uniform, now resembling the red and white uniform with the addition of a red diamond in the shorts. For the 2014–15 season, the uniforms were tweaked a bit to include sleeves and a modernized diamond treatment in black with red and white borders.
Since the 2017–18 season, the Bulls' black uniforms remained mostly untouched for the aforementioned switch to the new Nike logo that affected the treatment towards the shoulder piping. Nike also dubbed this uniform as the "Statement" uniform in reference to its third jerseys. The Bulls began wearing the Statement uniforms after Thanksgiving and they are currently used in away games against teams that wear their white, gray/silver or cream uniforms.
The 2019–20 season marked the return of pinstripes to the Bulls' "Statement" uniform, albeit in dark gray. In addition, the diamond treatment returned to red, piping was tweaked, and four six-point stars were featured on the beltline. The Bulls wore this "Statement" uniform in select home games and away games against teams wearing white, cream, yellow, red or silver uniforms.
Ahead of the 2025–26 season, the Bulls' black "Statement" uniform was tweaked to feature red pinstripes and modified striping.
==== Other uniforms ====
The Chicago Bulls have worn various special edition uniforms throughout the years to celebrate different events and milestones.
Throwback Uniforms: In the 2005–06 season, the Bulls honored the defunct Chicago Stags with red and blue throwback uniforms, featuring red tops and blue shorts.
St. Patrick's Day Uniforms: From 2006 to 2017, the Bulls wore green versions of their red uniforms around St. Patrick's Day, with modifications such as sleeved versions in 2015 and a sleeveless style in 2016–17.
Noche Latina: Between 2009 and 2017, the Bulls wore a red variation of their uniforms for the NBA's "Noche Latina," often featuring the "Los Bulls" wordmark. In 2014, they briefly wore black sleeved uniforms for this event.
Green Week: The Bulls also wore dark green uniforms, based on their black alternate uniforms, for the NBA's "Green Week" in 2009 which sought to raise awareness for environmental issues.
Christmas Day Uniforms: The Bulls wore special Christmas uniforms for the NBA's Christmas Day games from 2012 to 2016, featuring various red and modified designs with silver and ornate script lettering.
Pride Uniforms: From 2015 to 2017, the Bulls wore gray sleeved Pride uniforms, featuring red and white lettering, modernized diamond designs, and six-pointed stars.
===== Nike City uniforms =====
The Bulls' "City" uniforms, introduced by Nike in 2017, pay homage to Chicago’s flag, architecture, and cultural symbols. These uniforms have evolved each season:
2017–2018: White with red "Chicago" script and stars, inspired by Chicago’s flag.
2018–2019: Black with a portion of the flag’s red stars and blue stripes.
2019–2020: Light blue with a recolored Bulls logo, inspired by Lake Michigan and the Chicago River.
2020–2021: Dark grey with gold lettering and red accents, reflecting Chicago's Art Deco architecture.
2021–2022: A red design blending elements from past uniforms, such as black and white striping, cursive "Chicago" script, and red pinstripes.
2022–2023: White with rust red letters and alternating red and black side stripes, referencing Chicago’s municipal device "Y" symbol.
2023–2024: Black, inspired by the Chicago Stadium with a vertical "Chicago" wordmark and "Madhouse on Madison" on the jock tag.
2024–2025: Gray and sand uniform commemorating the 30th anniversary of the United Center, incorporating design elements from the arena's signage and iconic starting lineup spotlights.
2025–2026: Essentially the 2017–2018 "City" uniform but in black with light blue letters and stars, and red trim.
== Mascots ==
Benny the Bull is the main mascot of the Chicago Bulls. He was first introduced in 1969. Benny is a red bull who wears number 1. Benny is one of the oldest and best-known mascots in all of professional sports. The Bulls also had another mascot named Da Bull. Introduced in 1995, he was described on the team website as being the high-flying cousin of Benny, known for his dunking skills. The man who portrayed Da Bull was arrested in 2004 for possession and selling marijuana from his car. Da Bull was retired soon after the incident. While Benny has a family-friendly design, Da Bull was designed as a more realistic bull. Unlike Benny, Da Bull was brown. He also had a meaner facial expression and wore number 95.
== Season-by-season record ==
List of the last five seasons completed by the Bulls. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Chicago Bulls seasons.
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, W–L% = Winning percentage
== Franchise records ==
== Training facilities ==
Alumni Hall on DePaul University's Lincoln Park campus was the practice facility for the Bulls in the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1992, the team began training at the Berto Center, located in Deerfield, Illinois.
On June 13, 2012, the team announced that it would move its practice facility to a downtown location closer to the United Center to reduce game day commutes. On September 12, 2014, the Bulls officially opened their new training facility, the Advocate Center (named after the Advocate Medical Group, one of the medicine-practicing firms that serves Chicago), a block east of the United Center.
== Home arenas ==
== Personnel ==
=== Current roster ===
=== Retained draft rights ===
The Bulls hold the draft rights to the following unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA. A drafted player, either an international draftee or a college draftee who is not signed by the team that drafted him, is allowed to sign with any non-NBA teams. In this case, the team retains the player's draft rights in the NBA until one year after the player's contract with the non-NBA team ends. This list includes draft rights that were acquired from trades with other teams.
=== Franchise leaders ===
Bold denotes still active with the team. Italics denotes still active, but not with the team.
Points scored (regular season) (as of the end of the 2024–25 season)
Other statistics (regular season) (as of the end of the 2024–25 season)
== Head coaches ==
== Hall of Famers, retired, and honored numbers ==
=== Basketball Hall of Famers ===
Notes:
1 In total, Jordan was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice – as player and as a member of the 1992 Olympic team.
2 In total, Pippen was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice – as player and as a member of the 1992 Olympic team.
3 He also played for the team in 1966–1976.
4 Colangelo worked as a marketing director, scout, and assistant to the president of the team.
5 He also coached the team in 1981–1982.
6 In total, Wade was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice – as player and as a member of the 2008 Olympic team.
=== FIBA Hall of Famers ===
Notes:
1 In total, Jordan was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame twice – as player and as a member of the 1992 Olympic team.
=== Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame ===
=== Retired numbers and honorees ===
The NBA retired Bill Russell's No. 6 for all its member teams on August 11, 2022.
1 Worn by B. J. Armstrong at the time the number was retired, and was allowed to keep it until his departure in 1995.
2 Jordan also wore #12 for one game in 1990 due to a stolen jersey, and #45 for part of the 1994–95 season.
The Bulls announced that Derrick Rose’s #1 jersey will be retired on January 24, 2026.
=== Chicago Bulls Ring of Honor ===
On January 12, 2024, the Bulls introduced the Ring of Honor, which honors former players and other personnel. On September 12, 2025, the Bulls announced 6 more members to the Ring of Honor - Johnny Bach, Cartwright, Neil Funk, Grant, Paxson and Van Lier.
The inaugural class of Ring of Honor inductees included all personnel (players, coaches, executives, etc.) who have had their number retired or were honored with similar banners in the rafters, as well as a number of other contributors to the team over the years, such as original owner Dick Klein and assistant coach Tex Winter. Plans were made to induct a class every two years for people with at least three seasons with the Bulls and being retired from basketball for at least three years.
== Media ==
=== Radio ===
The team's games are broadcast on Entercom's WSCR (670) as of February 3, 2018. From October 2015-January 2018, games were carried on Cumulus Media's WLS (890) in a deal that was expected to last until the 2020–21 season, but was nullified in the middle of the 2017–18 season after Cumulus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and nullified several large play-by-play and talent contracts.
Chuck Swirsky does play-by-play, with Bill Wennington providing color commentary. Univision Radio's WRTO (1200) has carried Spanish language game coverage since 2009–10, with Omar Ramos as play-by-play announcer and Matt Moreno as color analyst.
=== Television ===
The Bulls' television broadcasts are televised by Chicago Sports Network, which broadcasts all of the games that are not televised nationally as of the 2024–2025 season. For many years, broadcasts were split between NBC Sports Chicago (and prior to that, FSN Chicago), WGN-TV, and WCIU-TV. The announcers are Adam Amin and Stacey King. Jason Benetti fills in for Amin whenever the latter is assigned to work for Fox Sports.
On January 2, 2019, the Bulls (along with the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Blackhawks) agreed to an exclusive multi-year deal with NBC Sports Chicago, ending the team's broadcasts on WGN-TV following the 2018–19 season. The Bulls left NBC Sports Chicago at the end of the 2023–2024 season, moving to the new Chicago Sports Network in 2024.
In 2020, the Chicago Bulls received significant media coverage following the release of The Last Dance, a critically acclaimed ESPN and Netflix documentary miniseries that chronicled Michael Jordan's career with the Bulls, with a particular focus on the team's 1997–98 championship season. The series reignited widespread interest in the Bulls' dominant run during the 1990s, leading to increased discussions across sports media and a surge in viewership for Bulls-related broadcasts.
Some games are televised nationally on ABC, NBC, and ESPN, or streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Peacock. All non nationally televised games are on NBA League Pass |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_Memorial_Prize_laureates_in_Economic_Sciences | List of Nobel Memorial Prize laureates in Economic Sciences | The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (Swedish: Sveriges riksbanks pris i ekonomisk vetenskap till Alfred Nobels minne), commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics, is an award in the field of Economic Sciences administered by the Nobel Foundation.
The first Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded in 1969 to Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen. Each recipient receives a medal, a diploma and a monetary award that has varied throughout the years. In 1969, Frisch and Tinbergen were given a combined 375,000 SEK, which is equivalent to 2,871,041 SEK in December 2007. The award is presented in Stockholm at an annual ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.
As of the awarding of the 2023 prize, 55 Prizes in Economic Sciences have been given to 93 individuals. As of October 2023, the department of economics with the most affiliated laureates in economic sciences is the University of Chicago, with 16 affiliated laureates. As of 2023, the institutions with the most PhD (or equivalent) graduates who went on to receive the prize are Harvard University and MIT (13 each), followed by the University of Chicago (10).
As of 2024, the institutions with the most affiliated faculty at the time of the award are the University of Chicago (15), followed by MIT (10), then by Princeton University and Harvard University (8 each).
== Laureates ==
=== List of Economic Nobel laureates by PhD (or equivalent) alma mater ===
=== List of Economic Nobel laureates by country === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon (NOT REQUIRED, BUT HELPFUL) | Pokémon (NOT REQUIRED, BUT HELPFUL) | |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guildford_Four_and_Maguire_Seven | Guildford Four and Maguire Seven | The Guildford Four and Maguire Seven were two groups of people, mostly from Northern Ireland, who were wrongly convicted in English courts in 1975 and 1976 of the Guildford pub bombings of 5 October 1974 and the Woolwich pub bombing of 7 November 1974. All the convictions were eventually overturned in 1989 (for the Guildford Four) and 1991 (for the Maguire Seven) after long campaigns for justice, as were those of the Birmingham Six.
== Background ==
On 22 October 1975, at the Old Bailey in London, the Guildford Four were convicted of bombings carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). Subsequently, the Maguire Seven were convicted of handling explosives found during the investigation into the bombings. Both groups' convictions were eventually declared "unsafe and unsatisfactory" and reversed in 1989 and 1991, respectively, after they had served 15 to 16 years in prison.
Along with the Guildford Four and Maguire Seven, several other people faced charges relating to the bombings, six of whom were charged with murder, but these charges were dropped.
In the wake of the scandal, in October 1989 the UK Government appointed Appeal Court Justice Sir John May to undertake a judicial inquiry into the suspect convictions of the Guildford Four and Maguire Seven. The inquiry's findings criticised the trial judge, Lord Donaldson of Lymington. It unearthed improprieties in the handling of scientific evidence that were relevant to the other cases and declared the convictions unsound and recommended referral back to the Court of Appeal, but no action was taken.
No one else has been charged with the Guildford and Woolwich bombings, or with supplying the material. Three police officers were charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice in the wake of the inquiry, but found not guilty in 1993.
Over 700 documents, including secret testimony, were collected by the inquiry and were due to be unsealed for public access in The National Archives on 1 January 2020, but on 31 December 2019 the Home Office removed all the documents from the National Archive and took them back into government control. The files remain sealed for now.
== Guildford Four ==
The Guildford Four were charged with direct involvement with the IRA attacks. They were:
After their arrest, all four defendants confessed to the bombing under intense police interrogation. These confessions were later retracted but remained the basis of the case against them. They were later alleged to be the result of coercion by the police, ranging from intimidation to torture—including threats against family members—as well as the effects of drug withdrawal. Conlon wrote in his autobiography that a key factor in his coerced confession was that anti-terrorism laws passed in the early 1970s allowed the police to hold suspects without charges for up to a week, and that he might have been able to withstand the treatment he had received had a shorter time limit been in effect.
The four were convicted on 22 October 1975 of murder and other crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment—mandatory for adults convicted of murder. Richardson, a minor at the time of the bombings, received an indeterminate "at Her Majesty's pleasure" sentence for murder and a life sentence for conspiracy. Justice Lord Donaldson of Lymington, who also presided over the Maguire Seven trial, expressed regret that the Four had not been charged with high treason, which still had a mandatory death penalty. Although no hangings had been carried out in the UK since 1964, treason still carried the death penalty until 1998. The usual practice was for judges to be consulted by the Home Secretary when considering release from a life sentence, rather than giving a tariff at trial, but the judge, believing he might be dead by the time they were released, recommended 30 years for Conlon, 35 for Armstrong, and until "great age" for Hill.
The Guildford Four did not "fit the bill" of IRA involvement according to the way they lived. Paddy Armstrong and Carole Richardson, an Englishwoman, lived in a squat and were involved with drugs and petty crime. Conlon asserted at several points in his autobiography that the IRA would not have taken him due to his record for shoplifting and other petty crimes, and that he had been expelled from Fianna Éireann, an Irish republican youth organisation with strong ties to the Provisional IRA.
== Maguire Seven ==
The Maguire Seven were charged with possessing nitroglycerine allegedly passed to the IRA to make bombs after the police raided the West Kilburn house of Anne Maguire (Conlon's aunt) on 3 December 1974.
They were tried and convicted on 4 March 1976 and received the following sentences:
Giuseppe Conlon had travelled from Belfast to help his son, Gerry Conlon, in the Guildford Four trial. Giuseppe, who had troubles with his lungs for many years, died in prison in January 1980, while the other six served their sentences and were released.
== Appeals ==
The Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven sought leave to appeal their convictions immediately and were refused, but a growing body of disparate groups pressed for reexamination of the case.
In February 1977, during the trial of the Balcombe Street ASU, the four IRA men instructed their lawyers to "draw attention to the fact that four totally innocent people were serving massive sentences", referring to the Guildford Four. Despite telling the police they were responsible, they were never charged with these offences and the Guildford Four remained in prison for another 12 years.
The Guildford Four tried to obtain from the Home Secretary a reference to the Court of Appeal under Section 17 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (later repealed), but were unsuccessful. In 1987, the Home Office issued a memorandum recognising that it was unlikely they were terrorists, but that this would not be sufficient evidence for appeal.
=== Campaigns ===
After the 1977 court appeal failed, a number of 'lone voices' publicly questioned the conviction; among them were David Martin in The Leveller, Gavin Esler and Chris Mullin in the New Statesman, and David McKittrick in the Belfast Telegraph. On 26 February 1980, BBC One Northern Ireland aired Spotlight: Giuseppe Conlon and the Bomb Factory, which contained an interview by Patrick Maguire and the BBC's Gavin Esler.
=== Quashing of the Guildford Four verdict ===
In 1989, detectives from Avon and Somerset Constabulary, investigating the handling of the case, found significant pieces of evidence in relation to Surrey Police's handling of the Guildford Four and their statements. Typed notes from Patrick Armstrong's police interviews had been extensively edited. Deletions and additions had been made and the notes had been rearranged. The notes and their amendments were consistent with handwritten and typed notes presented at the trial, which suggested that the handwritten notes were made after the interviews had been conducted. The notes presented had been described in court as contemporaneous records. Manuscript notes relating to an interview with Hill showed that Hill's fifth statement was taken in breach of Judges' Rules and may well have been inadmissible as evidence. The information was not made available to the DPP or the prosecution and the officers involved had denied under oath that such an interview had happened. Detention records were inconsistent with the times and durations of the claimed interviews, as reported by the Surrey police.
An appeal was already under way on the basis of other evidence. Lord Gifford represented Paul Hill, and others were represented by human rights solicitor Gareth Peirce. The appeal hearing had been adjourned to January 1990 at the request of the Guildford Four but once the findings of the Somerset and Avon report were available, the hearing was resumed, with the Crown saying it did not wish to support the convictions. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Lane, concluded that, regardless of the impact of the content of the material Avon and Somerset discovered or the alibis or additional evidence the appellants wished to introduce, the level of duplicity meant that all the police evidence was suspect, and the case for the prosecution was unsafe.
Lane remarked:
We have no doubt that these events make the convictions of all of these four appellants in respect of the Guildford and the Woolwich events unsafe, even though the latest revelations have no direct bearing on the evidence relating to the Woolwich bombing.
The Four were released on 19 October 1989, after having their convictions quashed. Hill had also been convicted of the murder of a British soldier, Brian Shaw, based on his confession while in the custody of Surrey Police. This did not fall under the ambit of the Lane appeal, but he was released on bail pending his appeal against this conviction. In 1994, Her Majesty's Court of Appeal in Belfast quashed Hill's conviction for Shaw's murder.
=== Quashing of the Maguire verdicts ===
On 12 July 1990, the Home Secretary, David Waddington, published Interim Report on the Maguire Case: The Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the convictions arising out of the bomb attacks in Guildford and Woolwich in 1974, which criticised the trial judge, Donaldson, unearthed improprieties in the handling of scientific evidence, declared the convictions unsound, and recommended referral back to the Court of Appeal. The report "strongly criticise[d] the decision by the prosecution at the Guildford Four's trial not to disclose to the defence a statement supporting Mr Conlon's alibi." The Maguire Seven's convictions were quashed in 1991.
== Aftermath ==
=== Guildford Four and Maguire Seven ===
Neither the bombings nor the wrongful imprisonment resulted in convictions. The bombings were most likely the work of the Balcombe Street ASU, which claimed responsibility. They were already serving life sentences, but were released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Three British police officers—Thomas Style, John Donaldson and Vernon Attwell—were charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, but each was found not guilty.
On 9 February 2005, Prime Minister Tony Blair apologised to the families of the 11 people imprisoned for the bombings in Guildford and Woolwich and those related to those who were still alive. He said, in part, "I am very sorry that they were subject to such an ordeal and injustice... they deserve to be completely and publicly exonerated."
The Roman Catholic Church awarded Anne Maguire a Benemerenti medal for her 'remarkable ability to forgive' and her community work. In 1993, Hill married Courtney Kennedy, a daughter of assassinated U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy and a niece of assassinated president John F. Kennedy. They had a daughter, Saoirse, in 1997. Paul had a daughter, Cara, from a previous relationship with Gina Tohill. Paul and Courtney legally separated in 2006. Their daughter, Saoirse Kennedy Hill, died in 2019 at age 22, due to an accidental overdose.
Hill had a televised meeting with the brother of murdered soldier Brian Shaw, who continued to accuse him. He travelled to Colombia to attend the trial of the Colombia Three.
Gerry Conlon's autobiography Proved Innocent was adapted into the film In the Name of the Father, with actor Daniel Day-Lewis portraying Conlon. The film depicts Conlon's attempt to rebuild his shattered relationship with his father but is partly fictional; Conlon never shared a cell with his father. He is reported to have settled with the government for compensation in the region of £500,000. Conlon gave support to Tommy Sheridan in relation to the charges brought against him.
Sarah Conlon, who spent 16 years campaigning to have the names of her husband and son cleared and helped secure the apology, died on 20 July 2008.
Paddy Armstrong had problems with drinking and gambling. He eventually married and moved to Dublin. Carole Richardson married and had a daughter soon after her release. She kept out of the public eye and died in 2012 aged 55.
The autobiography of the youngest member of the Maguire Seven, Patrick Maguire, My Father's Watch: The Story of a Child Prisoner in 70s Britain, was released in 2008. It tells his story before, during, and after his imprisonment and details its impact on his life and those of his family.
Gerry Conlon later joined a campaign to free the "Craigavon Two", Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton, convicted of the murder of a police officer in Northern Ireland.
Conlon died at home in Belfast on 21 June 2014. His family issued a statement: "He brought life, love, intelligence, wit and strength to our family through its darkest hours. He helped us to survive what we were not meant to survive. We recognise that what he achieved by fighting for justice for us had a far, far greater importance—it forced the world's closed eyes to be opened to injustice; it forced unimaginable wickedness to be acknowledged; we believe it changed the course of history".
Sir John Donaldson went on to an illustrious judicial career and became Master of the Rolls, Head of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal. The appeal case itself for R v Maguire 1981, is now the leading case for disclosure to the defence. In 2018, the BBC broadcast the documentary A Great British Injustice: The Maguire Story, with the involvement of the Maguire family's surviving members.
=== Key prosecution figures ===
Many of the key figures in the British legal and criminal justice establishment who were responsible for the wrongful prosecution of the Guildford Four and Maguire Seven, while later facing public criticism, were never formally held accountable for their role in the scandal. In 2013, in what is believed to be the final media interview he gave before his premature death in 2014, Gerry Conlon told Italian documentary maker and photographer Lorenzo Moscia that every key British figure involved in his wrongful conviction had subsequently been promoted and reached the top of their respective profession. He contrasted this with the struggles and hardships he and the other wrongfully convicted people faced in the years after their release from prison.
==== Lord Justice Donaldson (trial judge) ====
Two months after Margaret Thatcher became British Prime Minister in 1979, the trial judge in the Guildford Four case, Lord Justice (John) Donaldson, was made a Lord Justice of Appeal and a Privy Counsellor. In 1982 he was appointed Master of the Rolls, the second-most-senior judicial office in England and Wales as head of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Head of Civil Justice. In 1988 he was elevated to the House of Lords with a life peerage as Baron Donaldson of Lymington.
==== Sir Peter Imbert (Police investigator) ====
Peter Imbert, the then deputy head of the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch in 1974, was the police officer who oversaw the arrest and interrogation of the Guildford Four and Maguire Seven. Lord Chief Justice Lane later called this investigation "a sequence of false confessions and police deceits." In late 1975 Imbert led the police operation that saw the arrest of the IRA's Balcombe Street ASU, members of which later confessed to being the real bombers in Guildford and Woolwich, a fact Imbert knew.
In 1976 Imbert was appointed Assistant Chief Constable, and later Deputy Chief Constable of Surrey Constabulary (the police force that investigated the Guildford pub bombings). In 1979, he became Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, the youngest Chief Constable in the country at that time. He returned to the Metropolitan Police as Assistant Commissioner in 1985, and in 1987 he was appointed Commissioner of the Met (the seniormost police force position in the UK) by then Conservative Home Secretary Douglas Hurd. Imbert retired from the police in 1992 and in was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Greater London from 1998 until 2008. He was appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer as Baron Imbert, of New Romney in the County of Kent in 1999, sitting as a crossbencher.
==== Sir Norman Skelhorn (Director of Public Prosecutions) ====
Sir Norman Skelhorn was the Director of Public Prosecutions in England and Wales in 1974 oversaw the Crown's prosecution of Guildford Four and Maguire Seven, as well as the prosecution of the Birmingham Six. Skelhorn had a chequered history in relation to prosecution of terrorist offences related to the Troubles. He became entangled in the row that erupted around the use of torture in Northern Ireland. Edward Heath, Prime Minister since 1970, had banned sensory deprivation in light of the report by Sir Edmund Compton into internment and interrogation techniques used by the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. In October 1973, while being questioned at a meeting of the Harvard Law School Forum, Skelhorn did not deny that torture had taken place. On the contrary, he stated that "when dealing with "Irish terrorists" any methods were justified."
Skelhorn retired as DPP before the publication of the critical report by Lord Devlin published in 1977 recommended statutory prosecution safeguards, on which the then Callaghan Government took no action.
==== Lord (Michael) Havers (Prosecuting counsel) ====
British barrister and Conservative politician Sir Michael Havers MP, was selected by DPP Norman Skelhorn to lead both the prosecution of the Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven in 1974, and the Crown's case in opposing the subsequent appeals of both groups in the Court of Appeal.
Havers was from a distinguished legal family. His father was High Court judge Sir Cecil Havers, and his sister was Baroness Butler-Sloss who in 1988 became the first woman named to the Court of Appeal and later President of the Family Division. Sir Michael was the father of the well-known English actor Nigel Havers.
Havers was elected to the House of Commons in 1970 as Conservative MP for Wimbledon (a seat he held until 1987). He served as Solicitor General for England and Wales under Prime Minister Edward Heath from 1972 to 1974. By October 1974, with the Conservatives in opposition, Havers acted for the DPP in both prosecutions. In the case of the Guildford Four, the DPP was found to have suppressed alibi evidence that supported Gerry Conlon's and Paul Hill's claims of innocence. The DPP, for which Havers was acting, was also found to have suppressed confessions by Provisional IRA bombers in the Balcombe Street Gang, claiming responsibility for the Guildford and Woolwich bombings. While it was never directly shown that Havers knew of the evidence the DPP suppressed, many, including Labour MP Chris Mullin, cast doubt on his integrity in the matter in his submission to the May Inquiry into the wrongful convictions.
In 1977, Havers became a member of the Privy Council. In 1979, Thatcher reappointed him as Attorney-General for England and Wales and as Attorney General for Northern Ireland. He held both posts until 1987. During the Falklands War in 1982, Havers was included in Thatcher's War Cabinet, to which he provided advice on international law and rules of engagement.
After Havers retired from the House of Commons in the 1987 UK general election, Thatcher appointed him Lord Chancellor, and he consequently became a life peer as Baron Havers, of St Edmundsbury in the County of Suffolk. At the time, this made him a senior Minister of the Crown, the most senior judicial officer holder in the UK, as well as presiding officer of the House of Lords.
== In popular culture ==
In 1989 RTÉ aired Dear Sarah, a TV movie focusing on Sarah Conlon, Gerry Conlon and Giuseppe Conlon.
In March 1991 Paul Hill appeared on the Channel 4 discussion programme After Dark with, among others, Patrick Cosgrave, J. P. Donleavy, David Norris, Emily O'Reilly and Francis Stuart.
In May 1994 Paul Hill gave a half-hour Opinions lecture televised on Channel 4 and subsequently published in The Independent as "Prisoners on the Outside".
The film In the Name of the Father starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite and Emma Thompson was based on the story of the Guildford Four as well as Conlon's biography. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards.
The Guildford Four are mentioned in the track "Fifty in Five" from the Australian hip-hop album State of the Art which compiles major events of the past fifty years condensed into a five-minute song.
The song "The Guildford Four" on the album "Himself" by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Andy White tells the story of their wrongful conviction. It was released in 1990 on Cooking Vinyl. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Nations#:~:text=The%20Republic%20of%20Ireland%20(as,former%20members%20of%20the%20Commonwealth. | Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations#:~:text=The Republic of Ireland (as,former members of the Commonwealth. | The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 56 sovereign states, referred to as Commonwealth countries. Most of them were British colonies or dependencies of those colonies.
No government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others, as is the case in a political union. Rather, the Commonwealth is an international organisation in which countries with diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status, and cooperate within a framework of common values and goals, as outlined in the Singapore Declaration issued in 1971. Such common values and goals include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, civil liberties, equality before the law, free trade, multilateralism, and world peace, which are promoted through multilateral projects and meetings, such as the Commonwealth Games, held once every four years.
The symbol of this free association is the Head of the Commonwealth, currently King Charles III. All heads of the Commonwealth to date have been monarchs of the United Kingdom. The office of Head of the Commonwealth does not imbue the holder with any political or executive power over any Commonwealth member states; the position is purely symbolic and titular, and it is the Commonwealth Secretary-General who is the chief executive of the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth was first officially formed in 1926 when the Balfour Declaration of the Imperial Conference recognised the full sovereignty of Dominions. Known as the British Commonwealth of Nations, the original and therefore earliest members were Australia, Canada, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. It was re-stated by the 1930 conference and incorporated in the Statute of Westminster the following year (although Australia and New Zealand did not adopt the statute until 1942 and 1947, respectively). In 1949, the London Declaration marked the birth of the modern Commonwealth and the adoption of its present name. The members have a combined population of 2.6 billion, almost a third of the world's population, of whom 1.419 billion live in India, and 95% live in Africa and Asia combined.
The most recent members to join were the Francophone African nations of Gabon and Togo on 29 June 2022, who along with Mozambique and Rwanda, are unusual in not having a historical constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom or other Commonwealth states.
As of 2026, fifteen of the member states are Commonwealth realms, with the Head of the Commonwealth as their heads of state, five others are monarchies with their own individual monarchs (Brunei (since 1984), Eswatini (since 1968; formerly Swaziland), Lesotho (since 1966), Malaysia (since 1963), and Tonga (since 1970)), and the rest are republics.
The Republic of Ireland (as of 1949 according to the Commonwealth; 1936 according to the Irish government) and Zimbabwe (2003) are former members of the Commonwealth. Zimbabwe is in the process of trying to return to its membership of the Commonwealth since Emmerson Mnangagwa became President of Zimbabwe when Robert Mugabe was overthrown in the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'etat.
== Current member states ==
All dates below are provided by the Commonwealth of Nations Secretariat members list, and population figures are as of 1 February 2020.
^ A. Unless otherwise noted, independence was gained from the United Kingdom on the date (shown in column 2) of joining the Commonwealth.
^ B. Not a member of the Commonwealth Foundation.
^ C. Though Pakistan celebrates 14 August 1947 as its independence day, independence was officially granted at midnight, 15 August 1947. Therefore, its date of joining the Commonwealth would be 15 August 1947.
^ D. Geographically a part of Asia, considered a European country in political geography.
^ E. Constitutional monarchy that operates under a Westminster system. The monarch is not the same individual as the British monarch, hence making it not a Commonwealth realm.
^ F. In geology, the Maltese Islands are located on the African Plate. The island group lies approximately 200 km (120 mi) south of the boundary between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. In political geography, Malta is considered a European country.
== Former member states ==
== Dissolved member states ==
== Prospective member states ==
^ G. The population figure is based on 2014 estimates.
== Other candidates ==
Other states which have expressed an interest in joining the Commonwealth over the years include:
Howard Henry, former Director of External Relations of the Cook Islands, stated that the Cook Islands could apply for Commonwealth membership as soon as the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, following the United States recognition of the Cook Islands and Niue as sovereign states.
The 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting agreed on the core criteria for membership. An applicant country should have historic constitutional association with an existing Commonwealth member, aside from exceptional circumstances which are only considered on a case-by-case basis.
Most Commonwealth members have constitutional links with the United Kingdom and the former British Empire. Former British dependencies are eligible to join the Commonwealth providing they agree and commit to the Commonwealth principles, these were laid out in the Singapore Declaration and reaffirmed in the Lusaka Declaration, the Langkawi Declaration and the Harare Declaration. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1932_Winter_Olympics | 1932 Winter Olympics | The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 and closed on February 13. It was the first time the Winter Games were held outside of Europe and the first of four Winter Olympics held in the United States; Lake Placid hosted again in 1980.
The games were awarded to Lake Placid in part by the efforts of Godfrey Dewey, head of the Lake Placid Club and son of Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey Decimal System. California also had a bid for the 1932 Winter Games. William May Garland, president of the California X Olympiad Association, wanted the games to take place in Wrightwood and Big Pines, California. The world's largest ski jump at the time was constructed in Big Pines for the event, but the games were ultimately awarded to Lake Placid.
The practice of awarding Olympic medals at podium ceremonies was established at the 1932 Winter Olympics, based on pedestals used at the 1930 British Empire Games, as proposed by Melville Marks Robinson.
== Highlights ==
American company Coca-Cola became the official provider of that games' soft drinks and would remain so for all subsequent winter Olympics (as of 2024).
The Games were opened by Franklin D. Roosevelt, then the Governor of New York. He would be elected President of the United States nine months later.
The victory podium was used for the first time at the winter games. Speed skater Jack Shea became the first Olympic champion to receive a gold medal on the podium.
Billy Fiske (who would win his second gold medal at Lake Placid, having won his first at 16 in the 1928 Winter Olympics), carried the flag for the United States in the opening ceremonies. A planner of a winter resort in Aspen, Colorado, he was killed in 1940 flying in the Battle of Britain.
Sonja Henie won the second of three consecutive Olympic gold medals in figure skating. She also won gold in 1928 and 1936.
Irving Jaffee won the 5,000 m (3.1 mi) and the 10,000 m (6.2 mi) speed skating gold medals, beating previous champion and world record holder Ivar Ballangrud in the 10,000 m by 4.5 m (15 ft).
Eddie Eagan became the only Olympian to win gold medals at both the summer and winter games in different sports. He won gold in boxing in the 1920 Antwerp summer games and gold in bobsleigh at Lake Placid. The bobsleigh race was held two days after the games' closing ceremonies due to unseasonably warm weather in the region the week prior.
Georg Gyssling, a member of the Nazi Party, joined a newly created four man bobsledding team after half the German team was injured in several violent crashes on Mount Van Hoevenberg. René Fonjallaz, a future Nazi propagandist on the Swiss team, was also injured and left unconscious for five minutes after a crash during a practice run.
The United States topped the medal count with a total of 12 medals (6 gold, 4 silver, and 2 bronze). This was the only time the U.S. led the overall medal standings at the Winter Olympics until the 2010 Games in Vancouver, and the only time the United States won the most gold medals.
Seventeen countries participated.
== Events ==
Medals were awarded in 14 events contested in 4 sports (7 disciplines).
Bobsleigh (2) ()
Ice hockey (1) ()
Skating
Figure skating (3) ()
Speed skating (4) ()
Nordic skiing ()
Cross-country skiing (2) ()
Nordic combined (1) ()
Ski jumping (1) ()
=== Demonstration sports ===
The Games also included events in three demonstration sports.
Curling
Sled dog race
Speed skating (women)
== Venues ==
== Participating nations ==
Athletes from 17 nations competed in these Games, down from 25 nations at the previous Games in 1928. Argentina, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Yugoslavia did not send athletes to Lake Placid.
=== Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees ===
== Medal count ==
=== Podium sweeps === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_NBA_Finals | 1985 NBA Finals | The 1985 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1984–85 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It featured the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics against the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers.
The Celtics were looking to repeat as NBA champions for the first time since the 1968–69 season. The Celtics had home court advantage for the second year in a row as they finished the regular season with a 63–19 record while the Lakers compiled a 62–20 record. The Lakers looked to bounce back from the previous year's painful loss to the Celtics in the championship series, and were still seeking to beat Boston for the first time ever in NBA Finals history. Also for the first time since 1955, the Finals implemented a 2–3–2 format with Games 1 and 2 in Boston while the next three games were in Los Angeles. The final two games of the series would be played in Boston, if required. This change of format came after David Stern had a conversation with Celtics legend Red Auerbach in 1984, who disliked the frequent traveling between games. The 2–3–2 format would be used until the 2013 NBA Finals, after which the 2–2–1–1–1 format returned in 2014. The 2–3–2 format has long been used by Major League Baseball in the World Series and was also used in the League Championship Series upon changing to a best-of-seven format later that year. The Stanley Cup Final in the National Hockey League also went to a 2–3–2 format that same year as well as the previous year but returned to a 2–2–1–1–1 format from 1986 onward.
With the help of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, the Los Angeles Lakers achieved their first NBA Finals victory over the Boston Celtics in nine meetings, four to two games. The Lakers recovered after losing in a rout in game 1, dubbed as the "Memorial Day Massacre". The series was the last time the NBA World Championship Series branding would be in use as the NBA Finals branding would replace it for 1986. The video documentary Return to Glory recaps the 1985 NBA playoffs action.
== Background ==
=== Los Angeles Lakers ===
After losing to the Celtics in the previous year's finals, the Lakers entered the 1984–85 NBA season with a mission. Once again using the effective Showtime offense, they ran away with the Western Conference-leading 62 wins. The team as a whole underwent a slight evolution, as James Worthy supplanted Jamaal Wilkes as the starting small forward, while Byron Scott began to earn more minutes as the backup to both Magic Johnson and Michael Cooper.
In the playoffs, the Lakers eliminated the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets, going 11–2 in the three playoff rounds.
=== Boston Celtics ===
The Celtics repeated with the NBA's best record by winning 63 games. For the second straight season, Larry Bird won the MVP award, while Kevin McHale won Sixth Man Award for the second year running, despite making the transition from bench cog to starter late in the season with Cedric Maxwell nursing a knee injury. Danny Ainge also emerged as the team's starting shooting guard, after the Celtics traded Gerald Henderson to the Seattle SuperSonics in the offseason.
The Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers, finishing with an 11–4 record heading into the finals. By that point, Boston's classic starting five under head coach K. C. Jones was solidified, featuring Bird, McHale and Robert Parish in the frontcourt, and Ainge and Dennis Johnson in the backcourt.
=== Road to the Finals ===
=== Regular season series ===
Both teams split the two meetings, each won by the home team:
== Series summary ==
=== Game 1 ===
The Celtics defeated the Lakers 148–114. It was dubbed the "Memorial Day Massacre" and a profound embarrassment for the Lakers team. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had only 12 points and 3 rebounds, while Magic Johnson pulled down only one rebound. Danny Ainge of the Celtics started hot, scoring 15 points in the first quarter. Scott Wedman made all 11 shots he took from the field. Afterwards, Abdul-Jabbar apologized to his teammates for his terrible performance.
The 34-point differential set a new record for a Finals game between the Celtics and Lakers in their rivalry. This record would stand until the 2008 NBA Finals, when the Celtics defeated the Lakers, 131–92.
=== Game 2 ===
The Lakers recovered from the Game 1 loss behind Abdul-Jabbar's 30 points, 17 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 8 assists. Lakers swingman Michael Cooper finished with 22 points on an 8 for 9 shooting performance, including several clutch outside jumpers down the stretch. The series was evened at 1–1.
=== Game 3 ===
The Celtics held a 48–38 lead in the second quarter before the Lakers rallied and led, 65–59, at halftime. The Lakers pulled away in the second half and won the game 136–111. Abdul-Jabbar scored his 4,456th career point and became the league's all-time leading playoff scorer, which had previously been held by Lakers guard Jerry West. Larry Bird's shooting slump from game 2 continued. He shot a combined 17 of 42 from the field in games two and three. James Worthy led the Lakers with 29 points.
=== Game 4 ===
The Celtics tied the series in the fourth game with a 107–105 win with a buzzer-beating jumper by Dennis Johnson, who scored 27 points. Kevin McHale led all players with 28 points to go along with 12 rebounds for the Celtics.
=== Game 5 ===
In this game, the Lakers stomped out the Celtics by jumping out to a 64–51 lead and stretched it to 89–72 before the Celtics cut the deficit to 4 points, late in the 4th quarter. The Celtics would cut the lead to 4 points several times, but the Lakers answered each time. Magic Johnson made three shots, Kareem added four more shots, and Cooper hit 2 outside jumpers, and the Lakers came away with a 120–111 victory to take a 3–2 series lead.
=== Game 6 ===
In the series clincher, the game was tied at halftime. The Lakers would hold the Celtics to just 18 third quarter points to pull away. Abdul-Jabbar scored 29 points and James Worthy scored 28 of his own, as Los Angeles became the first road team to clinch a title at the Boston Garden. Magic Johnson dished out a game-high 14 assists. Celtics' forward Kevin McHale scored 32 points and grabbed 16 rebounds—both game-highs—before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Larry Bird's dismal shooting continued as he hit just 12 of 29 shots.
The 38-year-old Abdul-Jabbar was named MVP of the series, his second Finals MVP award and first since 1971 (back when he was known as Lew Alcindor), averaging 25.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.5 blocks in six games. Worthy averaged 23.7 points for the Lakers, while Magic Johnson scored 18.3 points per game to go along with 14.0 assists and 6.8 rebounds. Los Angeles shot 51.2% as a team for the series.
McHale led Boston in scoring (26.0) and rebounding (10.7) while shooting 59.8% from the floor. Bird averaged 23.8 points and 8.8 rebounds on just 44.9% shooting. Celtics' guard Dennis Johnson led both teams in minutes played (247). Boston shot 47.6% from the floor while out-rebounding Los Angeles 259–256.
It was the first time (and only time until 2022) in NBA Finals history where the other team clinched the championship against the Celtics in Boston. It was also only the Celtics' second Finals series defeat, having previously lost to the St. Louis Hawks in 1958.
== Player statistics ==
Los Angeles Lakers
Boston Celtics
== Team rosters ==
=== Los Angeles Lakers ===
=== Boston Celtics ===
== Television coverage ==
The Finals were telecast by CBS in the United States, with its coverage anchored by Brent Musburger. Dick Stockton did play-by-play with Tom Heinsohn as color analyst, working their second Finals together. Pat O'Brien worked sideline duties for both teams.
== Celebration ==
The Lakers were invited to a reception at the White House with President Ronald Reagan, where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar presented the President with a jersey. The following Tuesday would be declared "Laker Day" by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley with a parade beginning at 9th in Broadway.
== Aftermath ==
After appearing in and winning both the 1981 and 1984 NBA Finals, this finals championship marked the first loss for the Larry Bird-led Celtics, the first Finals loss to the Lakers in the history of the rivalry, and the Celtics' first finals loss since 1958. Boston would appear in two more NBA Finals before the decade was over, winning it all the next year against the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Houston Rockets in six games, only to lose in a rematch to the Lakers in 1987.
Footage of the Lakers' locker room celebration after the Finals was later used in the sports blooper-laden music video for "Walk of Life" by Dire Straits, released later that year. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_at_the_1984_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_470 | Sailing at the 1984 Summer Olympics – 470 | The 470 was a sailing event on the Sailing at the 1984 Summer Olympics program in Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California . Seven races were scheduled. 56 sailors, on 28 boats, from 28 nations competed.
== Results ==
DNF = Did Not Finish, DNS= Did Not Start, DSQ = Disqualified, PMS = Premature Start, YMP = Yacht Materially Prejudiced
= Male, = Female
=== Daily standings === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margot_Robbie | Margot Robbie | Margot Elise Robbie ( MAR-goh ROB-ee; born 2 July 1990) is an Australian actress and producer. The world's highest-paid actress in 2023, she is known for her performances in both blockbuster and independent films. Robbie has been nominated for three Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and six British Academy Film Awards.
Born and raised in Queensland, Robbie began her acting career in 2008 on the television soap opera Neighbours, where she appeared as a regular until 2011. After relocating to the US, she starred in the television drama Pan Am (2011–2012) and gained international recognition with her breakthrough role in Martin Scorsese's black comedy The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). She garnered wider acclaim for her performances as Jane Porter in The Legend of Tarzan (2016) and Harley Quinn in three superhero films of the DC Extended Universe: Suicide Squad (2016), Birds of Prey (2020) and The Suicide Squad (2021).
Robbie earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for portraying figure skater Tonya Harding in the biopic I, Tonya (2017). She received critical acclaim for her performances as Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots (2018), Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), and a Fox News employee in Bombshell (2019), the latter earning her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She starred as an aspiring actress in the period drama Babylon (2022) and played the titular fashion doll in the fantasy comedy Barbie (2023), her highest-grossing release, which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture as a producer. She has since produced and starred in Wuthering Heights (2026).
In 2017, Time included Robbie among its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. She is married to filmmaker Tom Ackerley, with whom she has one child. Together, they co-founded the production company LuckyChap Entertainment in 2014. Under the label, they have produced several projects, including the films I, Tonya, Promising Young Woman (2020), Barbie, and Saltburn (2023), as well as the Hulu series Dollface (2019–2022) and the Netflix miniseries Maid (2021). Outside the entertainment industry, Robbie is an advocate for human rights, women's rights, gender equality and LGBT rights.
== Early life and education ==
Margot Elise Robbie was born in Dalby, Queensland, on 2 July 1990. Her father, Doug Robbie, was a former farm-owner and sugarcane tycoon, while her mother, Sarie Kessler, was a physiotherapist. Through her father, she is of Scottish descent. Margot is the third of four children: she has an older sister and brother, and a younger brother. When she was five years old, her father, whom she has described as "awful", separated from the family and she moved to her mother's hometown of the Gold Coast. Robbie recalled that she and her siblings "didn't make life easy" for their single mother, remembering that they often fought and that her mother had to be a "very strong woman to hold things together". The family spent most of her childhood on her grandparents' Currumbin Valley farm in the Gold Coast hinterland.
As a child, Robbie frequently went boar hunting and surfing with her siblings, and developed an early interest in agriculture and animal husbandry—an upbringing she described as one "you'd never expect to lead anyone into acting". Around this time, her classmates began nicknaming her "Maggot", which originated from a teacher's mispronunciation during roll call and stayed with her into adulthood. Robbie often staged performances at home, and her mother later enrolled her in a circus school, where she excelled in trapeze and earned a certificate at the age of eight. During her teenage years, she became obsessed with the Harry Potter novels, admitting that she once lied to an optometrist in order to get glasses like the titular wizard. For her secondary education, Robbie attended Somerset College, where she studied drama. During this period, she held three jobs: tending bar, cleaning houses, and working at Subway. After graduating, with experience in commercials and independent thriller films, she relocated to Melbourne to pursue acting professionally.
== Career ==
=== 2008–2012: Early work and Neighbours ===
Robbie's first acting roles came when she was in high school. She starred in two low-budget independent thriller films, called Vigilante and I.C.U., both released years later. She described the experience of being on a film set as "a dream come true". She made her television debut in a 2008 guest role as Caitlin Brentford in the drama series City Homicide and followed this with a two-episode arc in the children's television series The Elephant Princess, in which she starred alongside Liam Hemsworth.
With agent encouragement at the time and as Robbie recalled on The Graham Norton Show, she called FremantleMedia on a daily basis. "One day, I got put through by accident to the casting director for Neighbours," and she said, "I'm in town working on something." The casting director asked how old she was, and she responded "seventeen". She was told, "We're looking for exactly that, come in and audition" for the television soap opera Neighbours. In June 2008, she began playing Donna Freedman, a role that was meant to be a guest character, but Robbie was promoted to the regular cast after she made her debut. In her three-year stint on the soap, she received two Logie Award nominations.
Shortly after arriving in America, Robbie landed the role of Laura Cameron, a newly trained flight attendant in the period drama series Pan Am (2011). The series premiered to high ratings and positive reviews but was cancelled after one season due to falling ratings.
=== 2013–2015: Breakthrough ===
Robbie next appeared in Richard Curtis' romantic comedy About Time (2013), co-starring Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams. It tells the story of a young man with the ability to time travel who tries to change his past in hopes of improving his future. To play Gleeson's unattainable teenage love interest, she adopted a British accent. The film was a modest commercial success. Robbie's breakthrough came the same year with the role of Naomi Lapaglia, the wife of protagonist Jordan Belfort, in Martin Scorsese's biographical black comedy The Wolf of Wall Street. In her audition for the role, Robbie improvised a slap on co-star Leonardo DiCaprio during a fight scene which ultimately won her the part. The film and her performance received positive reviews; she was particularly praised for her on-screen Brooklyn accent. Critic Sasha Stone wrote of Robbie's performance, "She's Scorsese's best blonde bombshell discovery since Cathy Moriarty in Raging Bull. Robbie is funny, hard and kills every scene she's in." The Wolf of Wall Street was a box office success, grossing $392 million worldwide, making it Scorsese's highest-grossing film to date. Robbie was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and won the Empire Award for Best Newcomer.
She later said that the fame and attention the movie brought her led her to consider quitting acting, but her mother was philosophical about her profession and explained to her that it was probably too late to quit. She fully understood and stuck with it. With the aim to produce more female-driven projects, Robbie and her future husband, Tom Ackerley, and their respective longtime friends Sophia Kerr and Josey McNamara, started their own production company LuckyChap Entertainment. The company was founded in 2014, and its name was inspired by Charlie Chaplin.
Robbie appeared in four films released in 2015. The first of these was opposite Will Smith in Glenn Ficarra and John Requa's $158.8 million-grossing romantic comedy-drama film Focus. In the film, she played an inexperienced grifter learning the craft from Smith's character; she learned how to pickpocket from Apollo Robbins for the role. Reviews of the film were generally mixed, but Robbie's performance was praised; Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote, "Robbie is wow and then some. Even when Focus fumbles, [she] deals a winning hand."
She was nominated for the Rising Star Award at the 68th British Academy Film Awards. Her next appearance was alongside Michelle Williams and Kristin Scott Thomas in Saul Dibb's war romantic drama Suite Française, a film based on the second part of Irène Némirovsky's 2004 novel of the same name. In the film, she played a woman falling for a German soldier during the German occupation of France during World War II, a role which Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter found "underwritten".
She followed this with Craig Zobel's post-apocalyptic drama Z for Zachariah opposite Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor, in her first leading role. Partially based on Robert C. O'Brien's book of the same name, the film follows Ann Burden (Robbie) as she finds herself in an emotionally charged love triangle with the last known survivors of a nuclear disaster that wipes out most of civilisation. In preparation for the film, Robbie dyed her hair brown and learned to speak in an Appalachian accent. The film received positive reviews, and Robbie's performance was widely praised, with Drew McWeeny of HitFix asserting that "Robbie's work here establishes her as one of the very best actresses in her age range today." Her fourth release of 2015 was a cameo appearance in Adam McKay's comedy-drama The Big Short, in which she breaks the fourth wall to explain subprime mortgages while in a bathtub. The Big Short was a commercial and critical success and Robbie's cameo became a trending topic six years later, in the wake of the GameStop short squeeze, as her explanation provided reference points for what was happening with the GameStop and related stocks.
=== 2016–2018: Worldwide recognition ===
In 2016, Robbie reunited with Ficarra and Requa, playing a British war correspondent in the film adaptation of The Taliban Shuffle, called Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, co-starring Tina Fey and Martin Freeman. Later that year, Robbie took on the part of Jane Porter in David Yates's adventure film The Legend of Tarzan. She was adamant about not losing weight and ensuring the role was not a damsel in distress like in previous Tarzan adaptations. Reviews of the film were generally unfavourable, but Manohla Dargis of The New York Times credited Robbie for "holding her own" in her supporting role alongside the all-male cast with Alexander Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson.
Robbie became the first person to portray DC Comics villain Harley Quinn in live-action when she signed on to David Ayer's 2016 superhero film Suicide Squad alongside an ensemble cast that included Will Smith, Jared Leto and Viola Davis. She admitted to having never read the comics, but felt a huge responsibility to do the character justice and satisfy the fans. Robbie began preparing for the role of the supervillainess six months prior to the film shoot; her schedule consisted of gymnastics, boxing, aerial silk training and learning how to hold her breath underwater for five minutes. She performed the majority of her own stunts in the film. Suicide Squad was a commercial success and was tenth-highest-grossing film of 2016 with global revenues of $746.8 million, and Robbie's performance was considered its prime asset. Writing for Time, Stephanie Zacharek found Robbie to be "a criminally appealing actress, likable in just about every way" despite finding flaws in the character and Christopher Orr of The Atlantic called her performance "genuinely terrific". At the annual People's Choice Awards ceremony, she won the Favourite Action Movie Actress award and was also awarded the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie.
In October 2016, Robbie hosted the season 42 premiere of NBC's late-night sketch comedy Saturday Night Live; her appearances included a parody of Ivanka Trump. The series logged its strongest season premiere ratings in eight years. Robbie collaborated with Domhnall Gleeson in Simon Curtis' Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017), a biographical drama about the lives of Winnie-the-Pooh creator A. A. Milne and his family. The film, and her performance, received modest reviews and was a commercial failure.
Her final release of 2017 and LuckyChap Entertainment's first release was Craig Gillespie's sports black comedy I, Tonya, based on the life of American figure skater Tonya Harding (Robbie) and her connection to the 1994 assault on rival Nancy Kerrigan. In preparation, Robbie met with Harding, watched old footage and interviews of her, worked with a voice coach to speak in Harding's Pacific Northwest accent and vocal timbre at different ages, and underwent several months of rigorous skating instruction with choreographer Sarah Kawahara. I, Tonya premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival to critical acclaim. James Luxford of Metro deemed it Robbie's best performance to date, and Mark Kermode of The Observer wrote, "Margot Robbie's performance in this satirical, postmodern tale of the disgraced star is a tour-de-force tornado that balances finely nuanced character development with impressively punchy physicality". She received numerous accolades for her performance, including nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics' Choice Movie Award, all for Best Actress.
Robbie began 2018 with the voice role of Flopsy Rabbit in Peter Rabbit, an animated comedy from director Will Gluck, which is based on the Beatrix Potter book series. The animated feature was a box office success, grossing $351.3 million worldwide against a production budget of $50 million. Her next two 2018 films—the neo-noir thriller Terminal and comedy-horror Slaughterhouse Rulez—were critical and commercial failures. The historical drama Mary Queen of Scots, directed by Josie Rourke, was her final release of 2018. The film featured Saoirse Ronan as the titular character and Robbie as her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, and it chronicles the 1569 conflict between their two countries. Robbie had initially turned down the role for being "terrified" of not living up to the history of portrayals of the Queen. Before each day of shooting, she spent three hours in the make-up chair while a prosthetic nose, painted on boils and blisters were applied. Critics dismissed the film for its screenplay and several historical inaccuracies, but praised the performances of Robbie and Ronan. Yolanda Machado of TheWrap wrote, "[B]ow down to Ronan and Robbie for taking two legendarily complex characters, [...] and completely owning both roles. Ronan's fiery Mary and Robbie's emotionally complex Elizabeth truly reign divine on screen." For her portrayal, Robbie received nominations for a BAFTA Award and for a Screen Actors Guild Award.
=== 2019–present: Established actress and producer ===
Robbie's first release of 2019 was the LuckyChap Entertainment production Dreamland, a poorly received period crime thriller set during the 1930s Dust Bowl. She began executive producing the comedy series Dollface, which streamed on Hulu from 2019 to 2022. Robbie was filmmaker Quentin Tarantino's only choice to portray the late actress Sharon Tate in his period film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. With the Tate–LaBianca murders serving as a backdrop, the film tells the story of a fading character actor (DiCaprio) and his stunt double (Pitt) as they navigate New Hollywood in 1969 Los Angeles. Feeling "an enormous sense of responsibility", Robbie prepared for the role by meeting Tate's family members and friends, watching all of her films and reading the autobiography by Tate's then-husband, Roman Polanski. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim, and was a commercial success with a worldwide gross of $374.3 million. Despite many bemoaning Robbie's lack of lines in the film, Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph highlighted a scene with Robbie in the cinema, which he found to be the film's "most delightful" scene.
Also in 2019, she starred as Kayla Pospisil, a composite character based on several Fox News employees, in Jay Roach's drama Bombshell. Co-starring Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman, the film recounts stories of various female personnel at the news network and their sexual harassment by the network's chairman Roger Ailes. Robbie based her character's accent on Katherine Harris. The film received positive reviews; Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Robbie [is] at her best, the arc of her story is so crushing that it stays with you the longest." For her performances in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Bombshell, she received two nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and for the latter she received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award; all in the Best Supporting Actress category.
Robbie began the new decade by reprising the role of Harley Quinn in Cathy Yan's Birds of Prey (2020). Determined to make a female ensemble action film, she pitched the idea for the film to Warner Bros. in 2015. Robbie spent the subsequent three years developing the project under her production company, making a concerted effort to hire a female director and screenwriter. Birds of Prey, along with Robbie's performance, gained generally positive reviews; Ian Freer of Empire wrote that "the MVP is Robbie, who lends Harley charming quirk and believable menace, hinting at Harley's inner life without reams of dialogue." She received two nominations at the 46th People's Choice Awards.
Robbie served as a producer on Promising Young Woman (2020), a comedy thriller by writer-director Emerald Fennell, starring Carey Mulligan as a woman who seeks to avenge the rape and death of her best friend. The film received acclaim, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2021, Robbie reprised her voice role as Flopsy Rabbit in Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, which received mixed reviews and grossed $153.8 million worldwide. She also made her third outing as Quinn in the standalone sequel The Suicide Squad, written and directed by James Gunn. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was simultaneously released theatrically and on the streaming service HBO Max. Owen Gleiberman praised Robbie's "delectable performance" in it. She also served as an executive producer for the Netflix miniseries Maid.
In 2022, Robbie reprised her role as Donna Freedman for the final episode of Neighbours. She starred alongside an ensemble cast in David O. Russell's period comedy Amsterdam, based on the 1933 Business Plot. The film emerged as a critical and commercial failure. In her second film release of the year, she played Nellie LaRoy, an actress inspired by silent movie star Clara Bow, in Damien Chazelle's comedy-drama Babylon. In preparation, she studied the works of Bow and researched her traumatic childhood. She described LaRoy as "the most physically and emotionally draining character I've ever played". The film polarised critics and had poor box office returns, though her performance received praise; Caryn James of BBC Culture opined, "Robbie's bold, charismatic performance makes Nellie a daring, endlessly spiraling, sympathetic figure". She received another Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress, although the underperformance of her two major releases that year led some commentators to brand her as "box office poison" at the time.
In the following year, Robbie had a single scene in Wes Anderson's ensemble comedy film Asteroid City. Chris Hewitt of the Star Tribune described her "impassioned acting in her lone scene" as "perfectly judged". The fantasy comedy Barbie, co-starring Ryan Gosling as Ken, was her next film release. As producer, Robbie bought the rights from Mattel for a film about the eponymous fashion doll in 2018. She hired Greta Gerwig to write and direct the film, and took on the title role herself after Gal Gadot declined her offer. In preparation, Gerwig and Robbie watched old Technicolor musicals such as The Red Shoes (1948) and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964). Variety reported that Robbie earned $12.5 million for the role, the highest for an actress in Hollywood that year. Vulture's Alison Willmore took note of how much Robbie fit the part, and commended her for combining both "heartbreaking earnestness" and "humor" in her performance. With a worldwide gross of over $1.4 billion, Barbie emerged as Robbie's highest-grossing release. She received further BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for her performance, in addition to a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Also in 2023, Robbie produced Fennell's second directorial, Saltburn. The 2024 Sundance Film Festival marked the release of her next production, Megan Park's comedy film My Old Ass. Robbie starred alongside Colin Farrell in Kogonada's 2025 film A Big Bold Beautiful Journey Robbie starred as Catherine Earnshaw alongside Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, the romantic drama film written and directed by Emerald Fennell and loosely based on Emily Brontë 1847 novel of the same name. The film was released theatrically on February 13, 2026.
=== Upcoming projects ===
Robbie is set to produce and star in Tim Burton's upcoming remake of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman for Warner Bros Pictures. The film will be a contemporary reimagining of the original story about a wealthy heiress who grows to gigantic size after an alien encounter, and will be co-produced through Robbie's production company, LuckyChap Entertainment.
== Personal life ==
Despite significant media attention, Robbie rarely discusses her personal life. Robbie moved from Melbourne to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the early 2010s, having previously shared a flat with Neighbours co-star Ashleigh Brewer. During that period, she became an avid ice hockey fan; she supports the New York Rangers and previously played right wing in an amateur ice hockey league.
Robbie met British assistant director Tom Ackerley on the set of Suite Française in 2013. As a child, Ackerley served as an extra in the first three films of the Harry Potter film series, which Robbie has been a fan of since childhood. In 2014, she moved to London with Ackerley and the other LuckyChap Entertainment co-founders Sophia Kerr and Josey McNamara. Later that year, Robbie and Ackerley began a romantic relationship. In December 2016, they married in a private wedding ceremony in Byron Bay, Australia. The couple reside in Venice Beach, California. In August 2024, the couple revealed that they were expecting their first child, and Robbie gave birth to their son.
== Other work ==
Robbie has been a vocal supporter of human rights, women's rights, gender equality and LGBTQ rights. Through LuckyChap Entertainment, she and her co-founders focus on promoting female stories from female storytellers, whether it would be writers, directors, producers or all the above. In 2014, she was part of a fundraising event in support of the Motion Picture & Television Fund, which helps people in the film and television industries with limited or no resources; she joined the same event on two other occasions, in 2018 and 2020. In 2015, she helped raise $12 million through the BGC Global Charity Day fundraising event, which donates money to different charities around the world. In 2016, Robbie joined other celebrities and UN Refugee Agency staff in a petition aiming to gather public support for the growing number of families forced to flee conflict and persecution worldwide. Later in the year, she joined Oxfam's "I Hear You" project, which was designed to amplify the personal stories of the world's most vulnerable refugees and donated more than $50.000 to UNICEF's "Children First" campaign, in support of refugee children.
In October 2016, while hosting Saturday Night Live, Robbie made a stand for same-sex marriage in her native Australia wearing a T-shirt that read "Say 'I Do' Down Under", with a map of the country in rainbow colours. A year later, she joined fellow actor Chris Hemsworth in advocating for the same purpose. In 2018, she pledged to support the Time's Up initiative to protect women from harassment and discrimination. In April 2021, Robbie was announced as the recipient of the inaugural RAD Impact Award, for inspiring purpose with her philanthropy. She chose to share the prize with Youngcare, a charity she had previously worked with, and therefore an impact donation was made to fund a project benefiting young people with extensive care needs.
== Public image ==
Robbie is known for starring in both high-profile, mainstream productions and low-budget independent films, in which she has been able to display both her dramatic and comedic range.
For her role in The Wolf of Wall Street, Vanity Fair named her one of its breakthrough actors of 2013. In 2017, she appeared on the annual Forbes 30 Under 30 list, a compilation of the brightest young entrepreneurs, innovators and game changers in the world and was included on a similar list compiled by The Hollywood Reporter. That same year, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world; her The Wolf of Wall Street director Martin Scorsese penned the article in the magazine, referring to Robbie as having "a unique audacity that surprises and challenges and just burns like a brand into every character she plays. [...] Margot is stunning in all she is and all she does, and she will astonish us forever." In 2019, Forbes ranked her among the world's highest-paid actresses, with annual earnings of $23.5 million, and The Hollywood Reporter listed her among the 100 most powerful people in entertainment. In 2021, she was named one of the 100 most influential women in entertainment by The Hollywood Reporter. In December 2023, Robbie has been listed in The Hollywood Reporter's 2023 Women in Entertainment Power 100. In 2024, she was named by Forbes as the world's highest-paid actress in 2023, with earnings of $78 million.
Vogue has named her "one of the most glamorous starlets", and she was ranked as one of the best-dressed women in 2018 and 2019 by luxury fashion retailer Net-a-Porter. In 2016, Robbie was placed at number one on FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" list. Since 2016, she has been chosen as the ambassador for brands such as Calvin Klein, Nissan and Chanel. She was the last brand ambassador picked by Karl Lagerfeld before his death in February 2019. She is the latest ambassador of Chanel No. 5. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohr_model | Bohr model | In atomic physics, the Bohr model or Rutherford–Bohr model is an obsolete model of the atom that incorporated some early quantum concepts. Developed from 1911 to 1918 by Niels Bohr and building on Ernest Rutherford's discovery of the atom's nucleus, it supplanted the plum pudding model of J. J. Thomson only to be replaced by the quantum atomic model in the 1920s. It consists of a small, dense atomic nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons. It is analogous to the structure of the Solar System, but with attraction provided by electrostatic force rather than gravity, and with the electron energies quantized (assuming only discrete values).
In the history of atomic physics, it followed and ultimately replaced, several earlier models, including Joseph Larmor's Solar System model (1897), Jean Perrin's model (1901), the cubical model (1902), Hantaro Nagaoka's Saturnian model (1904), the plum pudding model (1904), Arthur Haas's quantum model (1910), the Rutherford model (1911), and John William Nicholson's nuclear quantum model (1912). The improvement over the 1911 Rutherford model mainly concerned the new quantum mechanical interpretation introduced by Haas and Nicholson, but forsaking any attempt to explain radiation according to classical physics.
The model's key success lies in explaining the Rydberg formula for hydrogen's spectral emission lines. While the Rydberg formula had been known experimentally, it did not gain a theoretical basis until the Bohr model was introduced. Not only did the Bohr model explain the reasons for the structure of the Rydberg formula, it also provided a justification for the fundamental physical constants that make up the formula's empirical results.
The Bohr model is a relatively primitive model of the hydrogen atom, compared to the valence shell model. As a theory, it can be derived as a first-order approximation of the hydrogen atom using the broader and much more accurate quantum mechanics and thus may be considered to be an obsolete scientific theory. However, because of its simplicity, and its correct results for selected systems (see below for application), the Bohr model is still commonly taught to introduce students to quantum mechanics or energy level diagrams before moving on to the more accurate, but more complex, valence shell atom. A related quantum model was proposed by Arthur Erich Haas in 1910 but was rejected until the 1911 Solvay Congress where it was thoroughly discussed. The quantum theory of the period between Planck's discovery of the quantum (1900) and the advent of a mature quantum mechanics (1925) is often referred to as the old quantum theory.
== Background ==
Until the second decade of the 20th century, atomic models were generally speculative. Even the concept of atoms, let alone atoms with internal structure, faced opposition from some scientists.
=== Planetary models ===
In the late 1800s speculations on the possible structure of the atom included planetary models with orbiting charged electrons.
These models faced a significant constraint.
In 1897, Joseph Larmor showed that an accelerating charge would radiate power according to classical electrodynamics, a result known as the Larmor formula. Since electrons forced to remain in orbit are continuously accelerating, they would be mechanically unstable. Larmor noted that electromagnetic effect of multiple electrons, suitably arranged, would cancel each other. Thus subsequent atomic models based on classical electrodynamics needed to adopt such special multi-electron arrangements.
=== Thomson's atom model ===
When Bohr began his work on a new atomic theory in the summer of 1912 the atomic model proposed by J. J. Thomson, now known as the plum pudding model, was the best available. Thomson proposed a model with electrons rotating in coplanar rings within an atomic-sized, positively-charged, spherical volume. Thomson showed that this model was mechanically stable by lengthy calculations and was electrodynamically stable under his original assumption of thousands of electrons per atom. Moreover, he suggested that the particularly stable configurations of electrons in rings was connected to chemical properties of the atoms. He developed a formula for the scattering of beta particles that seemed to match experimental results.
However Thomson himself later showed that the atom had a factor of a thousand fewer electrons, challenging the stability argument and forcing the poorly understood positive sphere to have most of the atom's mass. Thomson was also unable to explain the many lines in atomic spectra.
=== Rutherford nuclear model ===
In 1908, Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden demonstrated that alpha particles occasionally scatter at large angles, a result inconsistent with Thomson's model.
In 1911 Ernest Rutherford developed a new scattering model, showing that the observed large angle scattering could be explained by a compact, highly charged mass at the center of the atom.
Rutherford scattering did not involve the electrons and thus his model of the atom was incomplete.
Bohr begins his first paper on his atomic model by describing Rutherford's atom as consisting of a small, dense, positively charged nucleus attracting negatively charged electrons.
=== Atomic spectra ===
By the early twentieth century, it was expected that a successful model of the atom should account for the many atomic spectral lines. These lines were summarized in empirical formulas by Johann Balmer and Johannes Rydberg. In 1897, Lord Rayleigh showed that vibrations of electrical systems predicted spectral lines that depend on the square of the vibrational frequency, contradicting the empirical formula which depended directly on the frequency.
In 1907 Arthur W. Conway showed that, rather than the entire atom vibrating, vibrations of only one of the electrons in the system described by Thomson might be sufficient to account for spectral series. Although Bohr's model would also rely on just the electron to explain the spectrum, he did not assume an electrodynamical model for the atom.
The other important advance in the understanding of atomic spectra was the Rydberg–Ritz combination principle which related atomic spectral line frequencies to differences between 'terms', special frequencies characteristic of each element. Bohr would recognize the terms as energy levels of the atom divided by the Planck constant, leading to the modern view that the spectral lines result from energy differences.
=== Haas atomic model ===
In 1910, Arthur Erich Haas proposed a model of the hydrogen atom with an electron circulating on the surface of a sphere of positive charge. The model resembled Thomson's plum pudding model, but Haas added a radical new twist: he constrained the magnitude of the electron's potential energy,
|
E
pot
|
{\displaystyle |E_{\text{pot}}|}
, on a sphere of radius a to equal the frequency, f, of the electron's orbit on the sphere times the Planck constant:
|
E
pot
|
=
|
−
e
2
a
|
=
h
f
{\displaystyle |E_{\text{pot}}|={\Big |}{\frac {-e^{2}}{a}}{\Big |}=hf}
where e represents the charge on the electron and the sphere. Haas combined this constraint with the balance-of-forces equation. The attractive force between the electron and the sphere balances the centrifugal force:
e
2
a
2
=
m
a
(
2
π
f
)
2
{\displaystyle {\frac {e^{2}}{a^{2}}}=ma(2\pi f)^{2}}
where m is the mass of the electron. This combination relates the radius of the sphere to the Planck constant:
a
=
h
2
4
π
2
e
2
m
{\displaystyle a={\frac {h^{2}}{4\pi ^{2}e^{2}m}}}
Haas solved for the Planck constant using the then-current value for the radius of the hydrogen atom.
Three years later, Bohr would use similar equations with different interpretation. Bohr took the Planck constant as a given value and used the equations to predict a, the radius of the electron orbiting in the ground state of the hydrogen atom. This value is now called the Bohr radius.
=== Influence of the Solvay Conference ===
The first Solvay Conference, in 1911, was one of the first international physics conferences. Nine Nobel or future Nobel laureates attended, including
Ernest Rutherford, Bohr's mentor.
Bohr did not attend but he read the Solvay reports and discussed them with Rutherford.
The subject of the conference was the theory of radiation and the energy quanta of Max Planck's oscillators.
Planck's lecture at the conference ended with comments about atoms and the discussion that followed it concerned atomic models. Hendrik Lorentz raised the question of the composition of the atom based on Haas's model, a form of Thomson's plum pudding model with a quantum modification. Lorentz explained that the size of atoms could be taken to determine the Planck constant as Haas had done or the Planck constant could be taken as determining the size of atoms. Bohr would adopt the second path.
The discussions outlined the need for the quantum theory to be included in the atom. Planck explicitly mentions the failings of classical mechanics. While Bohr had already expressed a similar opinion in his PhD thesis, at Solvay the leading scientists of the day discussed a break with classical theories. Bohr's first paper on his atomic model cites the Solvay proceedings saying: "Whatever the alteration in the laws of motion of the electrons may be, it seems necessary to introduce in the laws in question a quantity foreign to the classical electrodynamics, i.e. Planck's constant, or as it often is called the elementary quantum of action." Encouraged by the Solvay discussions, Bohr would assume the atom was stable and abandon the efforts to stabilize classical models of the atom
=== Nicholson atom theory ===
In 1911 John William Nicholson published a model of the atom which would influence Bohr's model. Nicholson developed his model based on the analysis of astrophysical spectroscopy. He connected the observed spectral line frequencies with the orbits of electrons in his atoms. The connection he adopted associated the atomic electron orbital angular momentum with the Planck constant.
Whereas Planck focused on a quantum of energy, Nicholson's angular momentum quantum relates to orbital frequency.
This new concept gave Planck constant an atomic meaning for the first time. In his 1913 paper Bohr cites Nicholson as finding quantized angular momentum important for the atom.
The other critical influence of Nicholson work was his detailed analysis of spectra. Before Nicholson's work Bohr thought the spectral data was not useful for understanding atoms. In comparing his work to Nicholson's, Bohr came to understand the spectral data and their value. When he then learned from a friend about Balmer's compact formula for the spectral line data, Bohr quickly realized his model would match it in detail.
Nicholson's model was based on classical electrodynamics along the lines of J.J. Thomson's plum pudding model but his negative electrons orbiting a positive nucleus rather than circulating in a sphere. To avoid immediate collapse of this system he required that electrons come in pairs so the rotational acceleration of each electron was matched across the orbit. By 1913 Bohr had already shown, from the analysis of alpha particle energy loss, that hydrogen had only a single electron not a matched pair. Bohr's atomic model would abandon classical electrodynamics.
Nicholson's model of radiation was quantum but was attached to the orbits of the electrons. Bohr quantization would associate it with differences in energy levels of his model of hydrogen rather than the orbital frequency.
=== Bohr's previous work ===
Bohr completed his PhD in 1911 with a thesis 'Studies on the Electron Theory of Metals', an application of the classical electron theory of Hendrik Lorentz. Bohr noted two deficits of the classical model. The first concerned the specific heat of metals which James Clerk Maxwell noted in 1875: every additional degree of freedom in a theory of metals, like subatomic electrons, cause more disagreement with experiment. The second, the classical theory could not explain magnetism.
After his PhD, Bohr worked briefly in the lab of JJ Thomson before moving to Rutherford's lab in Manchester to study radioactivity. He arrived just after Rutherford completed his proposal of a compact nuclear core for atoms. Charles Galton Darwin, also at Manchester, had just completed an analysis of alpha particle energy loss in metals, concluding the electron collisions were the dominant cause of loss. Bohr showed in a subsequent paper that Darwin's results would improve by accounting for electron binding energy. Importantly this allowed Bohr to conclude that hydrogen atoms have a single electron.
== Development ==
Next, Bohr was told by his friend, Hans Hansen, that the Balmer series is calculated using the Balmer formula, an empirical equation discovered by Johann Balmer in 1885 that described wavelengths of some spectral lines of hydrogen. This was further generalized by Johannes Rydberg in 1888, resulting in what is now known as the Rydberg formula.
After this, Bohr declared, "everything became clear".
In 1913 Niels Bohr put forth five assumptions of postulates to provide an electron model consistent with Rutherford's nuclear model:
The atom cannot absorb nor radiate continuous energy, contrary to what classical electromagnetism suggests. Thus the electron maintains stable orbits, stationary orbits and the electron cannot have any other orbit in between the discrete ones.
The electrons otherwise obey ordinary mechanics in the stationary orbits.
The absorption or emission of electromagnetic radiation with a frequency
ν
{\displaystyle \nu }
is related to an energy according to the Planck relation:
E
=
h
ν
{\displaystyle E=h\nu }
, where
h
{\displaystyle h}
is the Planck constant.
The stationary orbits are obtained by the condition that the ratio of the total energy emitted in forming the state and the frequency of the electron rotation about the positive nucleus is an integer multiple of
h
/
2
{\displaystyle h/2}
.
In atomic state corresponding to the maximum emitted energy, the stationary orbits are attained at distances for which the angular momentum of the revolving electron is equal to the reduced Planck constant,
h
/
2
π
{\displaystyle h/2\pi }
.
The first two postulates formulate the experimental observations that absorption and emission of radiation for hydrogen do not obey the rules known at the time. The third postulate restates Planck's quantum theory of radiation which was already widely accepted by 1913. The fourth and fifth postulates are combined in modern discussions. In the combined form the stationary orbits are given by
m
e
v
r
=
n
ℏ
{\displaystyle m_{\mathrm {e} }vr=n\hbar }
, where
n
=
1
,
2
,
3
,
.
.
.
{\displaystyle n=1,2,3,...}
is called the principal quantum number, and
ℏ
=
h
/
2
π
{\displaystyle \hbar =h/2\pi }
. The lowest value of
n
{\displaystyle n}
is 1; this gives the smallest possible orbital radius, known as the Bohr radius, of 0.0529 nm for hydrogen. Once an electron is in this lowest orbit, it can get no closer to the nucleus.
Bohr's condition, that the angular momentum be an integer multiple of
ℏ
,
{\displaystyle \hbar ,}
was later reinterpreted in 1924 by de Broglie as a standing wave condition. In this model, the electron is described by a wave and a whole number of wavelengths must fit along the circumference of the electron's orbit:
n
λ
=
2
π
r
.
{\displaystyle n\lambda =2\pi r.}
According to de Broglie's hypothesis, matter particles such as the electron behave as waves. The de Broglie wavelength of an electron is
λ
=
h
m
v
,
{\displaystyle \lambda ={\frac {h}{mv}},}
which implies that
n
h
m
v
=
2
π
r
,
{\displaystyle {\frac {nh}{mv}}=2\pi r,}
or
n
h
2
π
=
m
v
r
,
{\displaystyle {\frac {nh}{2\pi }}=mvr,}
where
m
v
r
{\displaystyle mvr}
is the angular momentum of the orbiting electron. Writing
ℓ
{\displaystyle \ell }
for this angular momentum, the previous equation becomes
ℓ
=
n
h
2
π
,
{\displaystyle \ell ={\frac {nh}{2\pi }},}
which is the combined form of Bohr's fourth and fifth postulate.
In 1932, these two postulates where further justified when C. V. Raman and Suri Bhagavantam experimentally demonstrated that a photon carries an angular momentum of
ℏ
{\displaystyle \hbar }
. Bohr had assumed that electrons can transition between stationary orbits, during which a photon is either absorbed or emitted by the system. With the measurement of the photon angular momentum, the law of conservation of angular momentum predicts that the angular momentum of an electron on a stationary orbit must equal an integer multiple of
ℏ
{\displaystyle \hbar }
.
Starting from the angular momentum quantum rule as Bohr admits is previously given by Nicholson in his 1912 paper, Bohr was able to calculate the energies of the allowed orbits of the hydrogen atom and other hydrogen-like atoms and ions. These orbits are associated with definite energies and are also called energy shells or energy levels. In these orbits, the electron's acceleration does not result in radiation and energy loss.
== Refinements ==
Several enhancements to the Bohr model were proposed, most notably the Sommerfeld or Bohr–Sommerfeld models, which suggested that electrons travel in elliptical orbits around a nucleus instead of the Bohr model's circular orbits. This model supplemented the quantized angular momentum condition of the Bohr model with an additional radial quantization condition, the Wilson–Sommerfeld quantization condition
∫
0
T
p
r
d
q
r
=
n
h
,
{\displaystyle \int _{0}^{T}p_{\text{r}}\,dq_{\text{r}}=nh,}
where pr is the radial momentum canonically conjugate to the coordinate qr, which is the radial position, and T is one full orbital period. The integral is the action of action-angle coordinates. This condition, suggested by the correspondence principle, is the only one possible, since the quantum numbers are adiabatic invariants.
The Bohr–Sommerfeld model was fundamentally inconsistent and led to many paradoxes. The magnetic quantum number measured the tilt of the orbital plane relative to the xy plane, and it could only take a few discrete values. This contradicted the obvious fact that an atom could have any orientation relative to the coordinates, without restriction. The Sommerfeld quantization can be performed in different canonical coordinates and sometimes gives different answers. The incorporation of radiation corrections was difficult, because it required finding action-angle coordinates for a combined radiation/atom system, which is difficult when the radiation is allowed to escape. The whole theory did not extend to non-integrable motions, which meant that many systems could not be treated even in principle. In the end, the model was replaced by the modern quantum-mechanical treatment of the hydrogen atom, which was first given by Wolfgang Pauli in 1925, using Heisenberg's matrix mechanics. The current picture of the hydrogen atom is based on the atomic orbitals of wave mechanics, which Erwin Schrödinger developed in 1926.
However, this is not to say that the Bohr–Sommerfeld model was without its successes. Calculations based on the Bohr–Sommerfeld model were able to accurately explain a number of more complex atomic spectral effects. For example, up to first-order perturbations, the Bohr model and quantum mechanics make the same predictions for the spectral line splitting in the Stark effect. At higher-order perturbations, however, the Bohr model and quantum mechanics differ, and measurements of the Stark effect under high field strengths helped confirm the correctness of quantum mechanics over the Bohr model. The prevailing theory behind this difference lies in the shapes of the orbitals of the electrons, which vary according to the energy state of the electron.
The Bohr–Sommerfeld quantization conditions lead to questions in modern mathematics. Consistent semiclassical quantization condition requires a certain type of structure on the phase space, which places topological limitations on the types of symplectic manifolds which can be quantized. In particular, the symplectic form should be the curvature form of a connection of a Hermitian line bundle, which is called a prequantization.
Bohr also updated his model in 1922, assuming that certain numbers of electrons (for example, 2, 8, and 18) correspond to stable "closed shells".
== Replacement ==
In 1925, a new kind of mechanics was proposed, quantum mechanics, in which Bohr's model of electrons traveling in quantized orbits was extended into more accurate model of electron motion. The new framework of the theory was proposed by Werner Heisenberg in the Umdeutung paper that was later extended into matrix mechanics with Max Born and Pascual Jordan. Another form of the same theory, wave mechanics, was discovered by the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger independently, and by different reasoning. Schrödinger employed de Broglie's matter waves, but sought wave solutions of a three-dimensional wave equation describing electrons that were constrained to move about the nucleus of a hydrogen-like atom, by being trapped by the potential of the positive nuclear charge.
== Electron energy levels ==
The Bohr model gives almost exact results only for a system where two charged points orbit each other at speeds much less than that of light. This not only involves one-electron systems such as the hydrogen atom, singly ionized helium, and doubly ionized lithium, but it includes positronium and Rydberg states of any atom where one electron is far away from everything else. It can be used for K-line X-ray transition calculations if other assumptions are added (see Moseley's law below). In high energy physics, it can be used to calculate the masses of heavy quark mesons.
Calculation of the orbits requires two assumptions.
Classical mechanics
The electron is held in a circular orbit by electrostatic attraction. The centripetal force is equal to the Coulomb force.
m
e
v
2
r
=
Z
k
e
e
2
r
2
,
{\displaystyle {\frac {m_{\mathrm {e} }v^{2}}{r}}={\frac {Zk_{\mathrm {e} }e^{2}}{r^{2}}},}
where me is the electron's mass, e is the elementary charge, ke is the Coulomb constant and Z is the atom's atomic number. It is assumed here that the mass of the nucleus is much larger than the electron mass (which is a good assumption). This equation determines the electron's speed at any radius:
v
=
Z
k
e
e
2
m
e
r
.
{\displaystyle v={\sqrt {\frac {Zk_{\mathrm {e} }e^{2}}{m_{\mathrm {e} }r}}}.}
It also determines the electron's total energy at any radius:
E
=
−
1
2
m
e
v
2
.
{\displaystyle E=-{\frac {1}{2}}m_{\mathrm {e} }v^{2}.}
The total energy is negative and inversely proportional to r. This means that it takes energy to pull the orbiting electron away from the proton. For infinite values of r, the energy is zero, corresponding to a motionless electron infinitely far from the proton. The total energy is half the potential energy, the difference being the kinetic energy of the electron. This is also true for noncircular orbits by the virial theorem.
A quantum rule
The angular momentum L = mevr is an integer multiple of ħ:
m
e
v
r
=
n
ℏ
.
{\displaystyle m_{\mathrm {e} }vr=n\hbar .}
=== Derivation ===
In classical mechanics, if an electron is orbiting around an atom with period T, and if its coupling to the electromagnetic field is weak, so that the orbit doesn't decay very much in one cycle, it will emit electromagnetic radiation in a pattern repeating at every period, so that the Fourier transform of the pattern will only have frequencies which are multiples of 1/T.
However, in quantum mechanics, the quantization of angular momentum leads to discrete energy levels of the orbits, and the emitted frequencies are quantized according to the energy differences between these levels. This discrete nature of energy levels introduces a fundamental departure from the classical radiation law, giving rise to distinct spectral lines in the emitted radiation.
Bohr assumes that the electron is circling the nucleus in an elliptical orbit obeying the rules of classical mechanics, but with no loss of radiation due to the Larmor formula.
Denoting the total energy as E, the electron charge as −e, the nucleus charge as K = Ze, the electron mass as me, half the major axis of the ellipse as a, he starts with these equations:
E is assumed to be negative, because a positive energy is required to unbind the electron from the nucleus and put it at rest at an infinite distance.
Eq. (1a) is obtained from equating the centripetal force to the Coulombian force acting between the nucleus and the electron, considering that
E
=
T
+
U
{\displaystyle E=T+U}
(where T is the average kinetic energy and U the average electrostatic potential), and that for Kepler's second law, the average separation between the electron and the nucleus is a.
Eq. (1b) is obtained from the same premises of eq. (1a) plus the virial theorem, stating that, for an elliptical orbit,
Then Bohr assumes that
|
E
|
{\displaystyle \vert E\vert }
is an integer multiple of the energy of a quantum of light with half the frequency of the electron's revolution frequency, i.e.:
From eq. (1a, 1b, 2), it descends:
He further assumes that the orbit is circular, i.e.
a
=
r
{\displaystyle a=r}
, and, denoting the angular momentum of the electron as L, introduces the equation:
Eq. (4) stems from the virial theorem, and from the classical mechanics relationships between the angular momentum, the kinetic energy and the frequency of revolution.
From eq. (1c, 2, 4), it stems:
where:
that is:
This results states that the angular momentum of the electron is an integer multiple of the reduced Planck constant.
Substituting the expression for the velocity gives an equation for r in terms of n:
m
e
k
e
Z
e
2
m
e
r
r
=
n
ℏ
,
{\displaystyle m_{\text{e}}{\sqrt {\dfrac {k_{\text{e}}Ze^{2}}{m_{\text{e}}r}}}r=n\hbar ,}
so that the allowed orbit radius at any n is
r
n
=
n
2
ℏ
2
Z
k
e
e
2
m
e
.
{\displaystyle r_{n}={\frac {n^{2}\hbar ^{2}}{Zk_{\mathrm {e} }e^{2}m_{\mathrm {e} }}}.}
The smallest possible value of r in the hydrogen atom (Z = 1) is called the Bohr radius and is equal to:
r
1
=
ℏ
2
k
e
e
2
m
e
≈
5.29
×
10
−
11
m
=
52.9
p
m
.
{\displaystyle r_{1}={\frac {\hbar ^{2}}{k_{\mathrm {e} }e^{2}m_{\mathrm {e} }}}\approx 5.29\times 10^{-11}~\mathrm {m} =52.9~\mathrm {pm} .}
The energy of the n-th level for any atom is determined by the radius and quantum number:
E
=
−
Z
k
e
e
2
2
r
n
=
−
Z
2
(
k
e
e
2
)
2
m
e
2
ℏ
2
n
2
≈
−
13.6
Z
2
n
2
e
V
.
{\displaystyle E=-{\frac {Zk_{\mathrm {e} }e^{2}}{2r_{n}}}=-{\frac {Z^{2}(k_{\mathrm {e} }e^{2})^{2}m_{\mathrm {e} }}{2\hbar ^{2}n^{2}}}\approx {\frac {-13.6\ Z^{2}}{n^{2}}}~\mathrm {eV} .}
An electron in the lowest energy level of hydrogen (n = 1) therefore has about 13.6 eV less energy than a motionless electron infinitely far from the nucleus. The next energy level (n = 2) is −3.4 eV. The third (n = 3) is −1.51 eV, and so on. For larger values of n, these are also the binding energies of a highly excited atom with one electron in a large circular orbit around the rest of the atom. The hydrogen formula also coincides with the Wallis product.
The combination of natural constants in the energy formula is called the Rydberg energy (RE):
R
E
=
(
k
e
e
2
)
2
m
e
2
ℏ
2
.
{\displaystyle R_{\mathrm {E} }={\frac {(k_{\mathrm {e} }e^{2})^{2}m_{\mathrm {e} }}{2\hbar ^{2}}}.}
This expression is clarified by interpreting it in combinations that form more natural units:
m
e
c
2
{\displaystyle m_{\mathrm {e} }c^{2}}
is the rest mass energy of the electron (511 keV),
k
e
e
2
ℏ
c
=
α
≈
1
137
{\displaystyle {\frac {k_{\mathrm {e} }e^{2}}{\hbar c}}=\alpha \approx {\frac {1}{137}}}
is the fine-structure constant,
R
E
=
1
2
(
m
e
c
2
)
α
2
{\displaystyle R_{\mathrm {E} }={\frac {1}{2}}(m_{\mathrm {e} }c^{2})\alpha ^{2}}
.
Since this derivation is with the assumption that the nucleus is orbited by one electron, we can generalize this result by letting the nucleus have a charge q = Ze, where Z is the atomic number. This will now give us energy levels for hydrogenic (hydrogen-like) atoms, which can serve as a rough order-of-magnitude approximation of the actual energy levels. So for nuclei with Z protons, the energy levels are (to a rough approximation):
E
n
=
−
Z
2
R
E
n
2
.
{\displaystyle E_{n}=-{\frac {Z^{2}R_{\mathrm {E} }}{n^{2}}}.}
The actual energy levels cannot be solved analytically for more than one electron (see n-body problem) because the electrons are not only affected by the nucleus but also interact with each other via the Coulomb force.
When Z = 1/α (Z ≈ 137), the motion becomes highly relativistic, and Z2 cancels the α2 in R; the orbit energy begins to be comparable to rest energy. Sufficiently large nuclei, if they were stable, would reduce their charge by creating a bound electron from the vacuum, ejecting the positron to infinity. This is the theoretical phenomenon of electromagnetic charge screening which predicts a maximum nuclear charge. Emission of such positrons has been observed in the collisions of heavy ions to create temporary super-heavy nuclei.
The Bohr formula properly uses the reduced mass of electron and proton in all situations, instead of the mass of the electron,
m
red
=
m
e
m
p
m
e
+
m
p
=
m
e
1
1
+
m
e
/
m
p
.
{\displaystyle m_{\text{red}}={\frac {m_{\mathrm {e} }m_{\mathrm {p} }}{m_{\mathrm {e} }+m_{\mathrm {p} }}}=m_{\mathrm {e} }{\frac {1}{1+m_{\mathrm {e} }/m_{\mathrm {p} }}}.}
However, these numbers are very nearly the same, due to the much larger mass of the proton, about 1836.1 times the mass of the electron, so that the reduced mass in the system is the mass of the electron multiplied by the constant 1836.1/(1 + 1836.1) = 0.99946. This fact was historically important in convincing Rutherford of the importance of Bohr's model, for it explained the fact that the frequencies of lines in the spectra for singly ionized helium do not differ from those of hydrogen by a factor of exactly 4, but rather by 4 times the ratio of the reduced mass for the hydrogen vs. the helium systems, which was much closer to the experimental ratio than exactly 4.
For positronium, the formula uses the reduced mass also, but in this case, it is exactly the electron mass divided by 2. For any value of the radius, the electron and the positron are each moving at half the speed around their common center of mass, and each has only one fourth the kinetic energy. The total kinetic energy is half what it would be for a single electron moving around a heavy nucleus.
E
n
=
R
E
2
n
2
{\displaystyle E_{n}={\frac {R_{\mathrm {E} }}{2n^{2}}}}
(positronium).
== Rydberg formula ==
Beginning in late 1860s, Johann Balmer and later Johannes Rydberg and Walther Ritz developed increasingly accurate empirical formula matching measured atomic spectral lines.
Critical for Bohr's later work, Rydberg expressed his formula in terms of wave-number, equivalent to frequency. These formula contained a constant,
R
{\displaystyle R}
, now known the Rydberg constant and a pair of integers indexing the lines:
ν
=
R
(
1
m
2
−
1
n
2
)
.
{\displaystyle \nu =R\left({\frac {1}{m^{2}}}-{\frac {1}{n^{2}}}\right).}
Despite many attempts, no theory of the atom could reproduce these relatively simple formula.
In Bohr's theory describing the energies of transitions or quantum jumps between orbital energy levels is able to explain these formula. For the hydrogen atom Bohr starts with his derived formula for the energy released as a free electron moves into a stable circular orbit indexed by
τ
{\displaystyle \tau }
:
W
τ
=
2
π
2
m
e
4
h
2
τ
2
{\displaystyle W_{\tau }={\frac {2\pi ^{2}me^{4}}{h^{2}\tau ^{2}}}}
The energy difference between two such levels is then:
h
ν
=
W
τ
2
−
W
τ
1
=
2
π
2
m
e
4
h
2
(
1
τ
2
2
−
1
τ
1
2
)
{\displaystyle h\nu =W_{\tau _{2}}-W_{\tau _{1}}={\frac {2\pi ^{2}me^{4}}{h^{2}}}\left({\frac {1}{\tau _{2}^{2}}}-{\frac {1}{\tau _{1}^{2}}}\right)}
Therefore, Bohr's theory gives the Rydberg formula and moreover the numerical value the Rydberg constant for hydrogen in terms of more fundamental constants of nature, including the electron's charge, the electron's mass, and the Planck constant:
c
R
H
=
2
π
2
m
e
4
h
3
.
{\displaystyle cR_{\text{H}}={\frac {2\pi ^{2}me^{4}}{h^{3}}}.}
Since the energy of a photon is
E
=
h
c
λ
,
{\displaystyle E={\frac {hc}{\lambda }},}
these results can be expressed in terms of the wavelength of the photon given off:
1
λ
=
R
(
1
n
f
2
−
1
n
i
2
)
.
{\displaystyle {\frac {1}{\lambda }}=R\left({\frac {1}{n_{\text{f}}^{2}}}-{\frac {1}{n_{\text{i}}^{2}}}\right).}
Bohr's derivation of the Rydberg constant, as well as the concomitant agreement of Bohr's formula with experimentally observed spectral lines of the Lyman (nf = 1), Balmer (nf = 2), and Paschen (nf = 3) series, and successful theoretical prediction of other lines not yet observed, was one reason that his model was immediately accepted.
To apply to atoms with more than one electron, the Rydberg formula can be modified by replacing Z with Z − b or n with n − b where b is constant representing a screening effect due to the inner-shell and other electrons (see Electron shell and the later discussion of the "Shell Model of the Atom" below). This was established empirically before Bohr presented his model.
== Shell model (heavier atoms) ==
Bohr's original three papers in 1913 described mainly the electron configuration in lighter elements. Bohr called his electron shells, "rings" in 1913. Atomic orbitals within shells did not exist at the time of his planetary model. Bohr explains in Part 3 of his famous 1913 paper that the maximum electrons in a shell is eight, writing: "We see, further, that a ring of n electrons cannot rotate in a single ring round a nucleus of charge ne unless n < 8." For smaller atoms, the electron shells would be filled as follows: "rings of electrons will only join together if they contain equal numbers of electrons; and that accordingly the numbers of electrons on inner rings will only be 2, 4, 8". However, in larger atoms the innermost shell would contain eight electrons, "on the other hand, the periodic system of the elements strongly suggests that already in neon N = 10 an inner ring of eight electrons will occur". Bohr wrote "From the above we are led to the following possible scheme for the arrangement of the electrons in light atoms:"
In Bohr's third 1913 paper Part III called "Systems Containing Several Nuclei", he says that two atoms form molecules on a symmetrical plane and he reverts to describing hydrogen. The 1913 Bohr model did not discuss higher elements in detail and John William Nicholson was one of the first to prove in 1914 that it couldn't work for lithium, but was an attractive theory for hydrogen and ionized helium.
In 1921, following the work of chemists and others involved in work on the periodic table, Bohr extended the model of hydrogen to give an approximate model for heavier atoms. This gave a physical picture that reproduced many known atomic properties for the first time although these properties were proposed contemporarily with the identical work of chemist Charles Rugeley Bury
Bohr's partner in research during 1914 to 1916 was Walther Kossel who corrected Bohr's work to show that electrons interacted through the outer rings, and Kossel called the rings: "shells". Irving Langmuir is credited with the first viable arrangement of electrons in shells with only two in the first shell and going up to eight in the next according to the octet rule of 1904, although Kossel had already predicted a maximum of eight per shell in 1916. Heavier atoms have more protons in the nucleus, and more electrons to cancel the charge. Bohr took from these chemists the idea that each discrete orbit could only hold a certain number of electrons. Per Kossel, after that the orbit is full, the next level would have to be used. This gives the atom a shell structure designed by Kossel, Langmuir, and Bury, in which each shell corresponds to a Bohr orbit.
This model is even more approximate than the model of hydrogen, because it treats the electrons in each shell as non-interacting. But the repulsions of electrons are taken into account somewhat by the phenomenon of screening. The electrons in outer orbits do not only orbit the nucleus, but they also move around the inner electrons, so the effective charge Z that they feel is reduced by the number of the electrons in the inner orbit.
For example, the lithium atom has two electrons in the lowest 1s orbit, and these orbit at Z = 2. Each one sees the nuclear charge of Z = 3 minus the screening effect of the other, which crudely reduces the nuclear charge by 1 unit. This means that the innermost electrons orbit at approximately 1/2 the Bohr radius. The outermost electron in lithium orbits at roughly the Bohr radius, since the two inner electrons reduce the nuclear charge by 2. This outer electron should be at nearly one Bohr radius from the nucleus. Because the electrons strongly repel each other, the effective charge description is very approximate; the effective charge Z doesn't usually come out to be an integer.
The shell model was able to qualitatively explain many of the mysterious properties of atoms which became codified in the late 19th century in the periodic table of the elements. One property was the size of atoms, which could be determined approximately by measuring the viscosity of gases and density of pure crystalline solids. Atoms tend to get smaller toward the right in the periodic table, and become much larger at the next line of the table. Atoms to the right of the table tend to gain electrons, while atoms to the left tend to lose them. Every element on the last column of the table is chemically inert (noble gas).
In the shell model, this phenomenon is explained by shell-filling. Successive atoms become smaller because they are filling orbits of the same size, until the orbit is full, at which point the next atom in the table has a loosely bound outer electron, causing it to expand. The first Bohr orbit is filled when it has two electrons, which explains why helium is inert. The second orbit allows eight electrons, and when it is full the atom is neon, again inert. The third orbital contains eight again, except that in the more correct Sommerfeld treatment (reproduced in modern quantum mechanics) there are extra "d" electrons. The third orbit may hold an extra 10 d electrons, but these positions are not filled until a few more orbitals from the next level are filled (filling the n = 3 d-orbitals produces the 10 transition elements). The irregular filling pattern is an effect of interactions between electrons, which are not taken into account in either the Bohr or Sommerfeld models and which are difficult to calculate even in the modern treatment.
== Moseley's law and calculation (K-alpha X-ray emission lines) ==
Niels Bohr said in 1962: "You see actually the Rutherford work was not taken seriously. We cannot understand today, but it was not taken seriously at all. There was no mention of it any place. The great change came from Moseley."
In 1913, Henry Moseley found an empirical relationship between the strongest X-ray line emitted by atoms under electron bombardment (then known as the K-alpha line), and their atomic number Z. Moseley's empiric formula was found to be derivable from Rydberg's formula and later Bohr's formula (Moseley actually mentions only Ernest Rutherford and Antonius Van den Broek in terms of models as these had been published before Moseley's work and Moseley's 1913 paper was published the same month as the first Bohr model paper). The two additional assumptions that [1] this X-ray line came from a transition between energy levels with quantum numbers 1 and 2, and [2], that the atomic number Z when used in the formula for atoms heavier than hydrogen, should be diminished by 1, to (Z − 1)2.
Moseley wrote to Bohr, puzzled about his results, but Bohr was not able to help. At that time, he thought that the postulated innermost "K" shell of electrons should have at least four electrons, not the two which would have neatly explained the result. So Moseley published his results without a theoretical explanation.
It was Walther Kossel in 1914 and in 1916 who explained that in the periodic table new elements would be created as electrons were added to the outer shell. In Kossel's paper, he writes: "This leads to the conclusion that the electrons, which are added further, should be put into concentric rings or shells, on each of which ... only a certain number of electrons—namely, eight in our case—should be arranged. As soon as one ring or shell is completed, a new one has to be started for the next element; the number of electrons, which are most easily accessible, and lie at the outermost periphery, increases again from element to element and, therefore, in the formation of each new shell the chemical periodicity is repeated." Later, chemist Langmuir realized that the effect was caused by charge screening, with an inner shell containing only 2 electrons. In his 1919 paper, Irving Langmuir postulated the existence of "cells" which could each only contain two electrons each, and these were arranged in "equidistant layers".
In the Moseley experiment, one of the innermost electrons in the atom is knocked out, leaving a vacancy in the lowest Bohr orbit, which contains a single remaining electron. This vacancy is then filled by an electron from the next orbit, which has n=2. But the n=2 electrons see an effective charge of Z − 1, which is the value appropriate for the charge of the nucleus, when a single electron remains in the lowest Bohr orbit to screen the nuclear charge +Z, and lower it by −1 (due to the electron's negative charge screening the nuclear positive charge). The energy gained by an electron dropping from the second shell to the first gives Moseley's law for K-alpha lines,
E
=
h
ν
=
E
i
−
E
f
=
R
E
(
Z
−
1
)
2
(
1
1
2
−
1
2
2
)
,
{\displaystyle E=h\nu =E_{i}-E_{f}=R_{\mathrm {E} }(Z-1)^{2}\left({\frac {1}{1^{2}}}-{\frac {1}{2^{2}}}\right),}
or
f
=
ν
=
R
v
(
3
4
)
(
Z
−
1
)
2
=
(
2.46
×
10
15
Hz
)
(
Z
−
1
)
2
.
{\displaystyle f=\nu =R_{\mathrm {v} }\left({\frac {3}{4}}\right)(Z-1)^{2}=(2.46\times 10^{15}~{\text{Hz}})(Z-1)^{2}.}
Here, Rv = RE/h is the Rydberg constant, in terms of frequency equal to 3.28×1015 Hz. For values of Z between 11 and 31 this latter relationship had been empirically derived by Moseley, in a simple (linear) plot of the square root of X-ray frequency against atomic number (however, for silver, Z = 47, the experimentally obtained screening term should be replaced by 0.4). Notwithstanding its restricted validity, Moseley's law not only established the objective meaning of atomic number, but as Bohr noted, it also did more than the Rydberg derivation to establish the validity of the Rutherford/Van den Broek/Bohr nuclear model of the atom, with atomic number (place on the periodic table) standing for whole units of nuclear charge. Van den Broek had published his model in January 1913 showing the periodic table was arranged according to charge while Bohr's atomic model was not published until July 1913.
The K-alpha line of Moseley's time is now known to be a pair of close lines, written as (Kα1 and Kα2) in Siegbahn notation.
== Shortcomings ==
The Bohr model gives an incorrect value L=ħ for the ground state orbital angular momentum: The angular momentum in the true ground state is known to be zero from experiment. Although mental pictures fail somewhat at these levels of scale, an electron in the lowest modern "orbital" with no orbital momentum, may be thought of as not to revolve "around" the nucleus at all, but merely to go tightly around it in an ellipse with zero area (this may be pictured as "back and forth", without striking or interacting with the nucleus). This is only reproduced in a more sophisticated semiclassical treatment like Sommerfeld's. Still, even the most sophisticated semiclassical model fails to explain the fact that the lowest energy state is spherically symmetric – it does not point in any particular direction.
In modern quantum mechanics, the electron in hydrogen is a spherical cloud of probability that grows denser near the nucleus. The rate-constant of probability-decay in hydrogen is equal to the inverse of the Bohr radius, but since Bohr worked with circular orbits, not zero area ellipses, the fact that these two numbers exactly agree is considered a "coincidence". (However, many such coincidental agreements are found between the semiclassical vs. full quantum mechanical treatment of the atom; these include identical energy levels in the hydrogen atom and the derivation of a fine-structure constant, which arises from the relativistic Bohr–Sommerfeld model (see below) and which happens to be equal to an entirely different concept, in full modern quantum mechanics).
The Bohr model also failed to explain:
Much of the spectra of larger atoms. At best, it can make predictions about the K-alpha and some L-alpha X-ray emission spectra for larger atoms, if two additional ad hoc assumptions are made. Emission spectra for atoms with a single outer-shell electron (atoms in the lithium group) can also be approximately predicted. Also, if the empiric electron–nuclear screening factors for many atoms are known, many other spectral lines can be deduced from the information, in similar atoms of differing elements, via the Ritz–Rydberg combination principles (see Rydberg formula). All these techniques essentially make use of Bohr's Newtonian energy-potential picture of the atom.
The relative intensities of spectral lines; although in some simple cases, Bohr's formula or modifications of it, was able to provide reasonable estimates (for example, calculations by Kramers for the Stark effect).
The existence of fine structure and hyperfine structure in spectral lines, which are known to be due to a variety of relativistic and subtle effects, as well as complications from electron spin.
The Zeeman effect – changes in spectral lines due to external magnetic fields; these are also due to more complicated quantum principles interacting with electron spin and orbital magnetic fields.
Doublets and triplets appear in the spectra of some atoms as very close pairs of lines. Bohr's model cannot say why some energy levels should be very close together.
Multi-electron atoms do not have energy levels predicted by the model. It does not work for (neutral) helium.
Another issue with the Bohr model was that although an electron in a stationary state
n
{\displaystyle n}
is described in periodic motion, and therefore should be associated with a characteristic radiation frequency
ω
(
n
)
{\displaystyle \omega (n)}
, no such frequency was experimentally measured. Heisenberg attempted to fix this issue in the Umdeutung paper by replacing the idea of a single orbital frequency associated with the electron's motion by the set of observable spectral frequencies
ω
(
n
,
n
−
α
)
{\displaystyle \omega (n,n-\alpha )}
(for a quantum transition from stationary state
n
{\displaystyle n}
to
n
−
α
{\displaystyle n-\alpha }
). By this time, however, the electronic orbit was practically abandoned as physically meaningful.
== Model of the chemical bond ==
Niels Bohr proposed a model of the atom and a model of the chemical bond. According to his model for a diatomic molecule, the electrons of the atoms of the molecule form a rotating ring whose plane is perpendicular to the axis of the molecule and equidistant from the atomic nuclei. The dynamic equilibrium of the molecular system is achieved through the balance of forces between the forces of attraction of nuclei to the plane of the ring of electrons and the forces of mutual repulsion of the nuclei. The Bohr model of the chemical bond took into account the Coulomb repulsion – the electrons in the ring are at the maximum distance from each other.
== Symbolism of planetary atomic models ==
Although Bohr's atomic model was superseded by quantum models in the 1920s, the visual image of electrons orbiting a nucleus has remained the popular concept of atoms.
The concept of an atom as a tiny planetary system has been widely used as a symbol for atoms and even for "atomic" energy (even though this is more properly considered nuclear energy). Examples of its use over the past century include but are not limited to:
The logo of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, which was in part responsible for its later usage in relation to nuclear fission technology in particular.
The flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency is a "crest-and-spinning-atom emblem", enclosed in olive branches.
The US minor league baseball Albuquerque Isotopes' logo shows baseballs as electrons orbiting a large letter "A".
A similar symbol, the atomic whirl, was chosen as the symbol for the American Atheists, and has come to be used as a symbol of atheism in general.
The Unicode Miscellaneous Symbols code point U+269B (⚛) for an atom looks like a planetary atom model.
The television show The Big Bang Theory uses a planetary-like image in its print logo.
The JavaScript library React uses planetary-like image as its logo.
On maps, it is generally used to indicate a nuclear power installation. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._K._Rowling | J. K. Rowling | Joanne Rowling ( ROH-ling; born 31 July 1965), better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author, philanthropist, producer, and screenwriter. She is best known for writing Harry Potter, a seven-volume series about a young wizard. Published from 1997 to 2007, the fantasy novels are the best-selling book series in history, with over 600 million copies sold. They have been translated into 84 languages and have spawned a global media franchise including films and video games. She writes Cormoran Strike, an ongoing crime fiction series, under the alias Robert Galbraith.
Born in Yate, Gloucestershire, Rowling was working as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International in 1990 when she conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series. The seven-year period that followed saw the death of her mother, the birth of her first child, divorce from her first husband, and relative poverty until the first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published in 1997. Six sequels followed, concluding with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007). By 2008, Forbes had named her the world's highest-paid author.
The novels follow a boy called Harry Potter as he attends Hogwarts (a school for wizards), and battles Lord Voldemort. Death and the divide between good and evil are the central themes of the series. Its influences include Bildungsroman (the coming-of-age genre), school stories, fairy tales, and Christian allegory. The series revived fantasy as a genre in the children's market, spawned a host of imitators, and inspired an active fandom. Critical reception has been more mixed. Many reviewers see Rowling's writing as conventional; some regard her portrayal of gender and social division as regressive. There were also religious debates over the Harry Potter series.
Rowling has won many accolades for her work. She was named to the Order of the British Empire and was appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for services to literature and philanthropy. Harry Potter brought her wealth and recognition, which she has used to advance philanthropic endeavours and political causes. She established the Volant Charitable Trust in 2000, and co-founded the charity Lumos in 2005. Rowling's philanthropy centres on medical causes and supporting at-risk women and children. In 2025, Forbes estimated that Rowling's charitable giving exceeded US$200 million. She has also donated to the British Labour Party, and opposed Scottish independence and Brexit.
From 2019, Rowling began making public remarks about transgender people, opposing attempts to replace the legal definition of birth sex with gender self identity. She has been condemned as transphobic by LGBTQ rights groups and various other critics, including academics. This has affected her public image and relationship with readers and colleagues, altering the way they engage with her works.
== Name ==
Although she writes under the pen name J. K. Rowling, before her remarriage her name was Joanne Rowling with no middle name, nicknamed Jo. Staff at Bloomsbury Publishing suggested that she use two initials rather than her full name, anticipating that young boys – their target audience – would not want to read a book written by a woman. She chose K as the second initial, from her paternal grandmother Kathleen Rowling, and because of the ease of pronunciation of the two consecutive letters. Following her 2001 remarriage, she has sometimes used the name Joanne Murray when conducting personal business.
== Life and career ==
=== Early life and family ===
Joanne Rowling was born on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, to a middle-class family. Her parents Anne (née Volant) and Peter ("Pete") James Rowling had met the previous year on a train, sharing a trip from King's Cross station, London, to their naval postings at Arbroath, Scotland. Rowling's mother was with the Wrens and her father with the Royal Navy. Her mother was of Scottish and French ancestry. Pete Rowling was the son of a machine-tool setter who later opened a grocery shop. Pete and Anne married on 14 March 1965 and settled in Yate, where Pete started work as an assembly-line production worker and eventually worked his way into management as a chartered engineer. Anne Rowling later worked as a science technician. Neither of Rowling's parents attended university. Rowling is two years older than her sister, Dianne.
When she was four, Rowling's family moved to Winterbourne, Gloucestershire. She began at St Michael's Church of England Primary School in Winterbourne when she was five. The Rowlings lived near a family called Potter – a name Rowling always liked. Rowling's mother liked to read and the family's homes were filled with books. Her father read The Wind in the Willows to his daughters, while her mother introduced them to the animals in Richard Scarry's books. Rowling's first attempt at writing, a story called "Rabbit" composed when she was six, was inspired by Scarry's creatures.
When Rowling was about nine, the family purchased the historic Church Cottage in Tutshill. In 1974, Rowling began attending the nearby Church of England School. Biographer Sean Smith describes her teacher as a "battleaxe" who "struck fear into the hearts of the children"; Rowling's teacher seated her in "dunces' row" after she performed poorly on an arithmetic test. In 1975, Rowling joined a Brownies pack. Its special events and parties, and the pack groups (Fairies, Pixies, Sprites, Elves, Gnomes and Imps) provided a magical world away from her stern teacher. When she was eleven or twelve, she wrote a short story, "The Seven Cursed Diamonds". She later described herself during this period as "the epitome of a bookish child – short and squat, thick National Health glasses, living in a world of complete daydreams".
=== Secondary school and university ===
Rowling's secondary school was Wyedean School and College, a state school she began attending at the age of eleven and where she was bullied. Rowling was inspired by her favourite teacher, Lucy Shepherd, who taught the importance of structure and precision in writing. Smith describes her as "intelligent yet shy". Her teacher Dale Neuschwander was impressed by her imagination. When she was a young teenager, Rowling's great-aunt gave her Hons and Rebels, the autobiography of the civil rights activist Jessica Mitford, who became Rowling's heroine.
Anne had a strong influence on her daughter. Early in Rowling's life, the support of her mother and sister instilled confidence and enthusiasm for storytelling. Anne was a creative and accomplished cook, who helped lead her daughters' Brownie activities, and took a job in the chemistry department at Wyedean while her daughters were there. John Nettleship, the head of science at Wyedean, described Anne as "absolutely brilliant ... very imaginative". Anne was diagnosed with a "virulent strain" of multiple sclerosis when she was 34 or 35 and Jo was 15. Rowling's home life was complicated by her mother's illness and a strained relationship with her father. Rowling later said "home was a difficult place to be", and that her teenage years were unhappy. In 2020, she wrote that her father would have preferred a son and described herself as having severe obsessive–compulsive disorder in her teens. She began to smoke, took an interest in alternative rock, and adopted Siouxsie Sioux's back-combed hair and black eyeliner. Sean Harris, her best friend in the Upper Sixth, owned a turquoise Ford Anglia that provided an escape from her difficult home life and the means for Harris and Rowling to broaden their activities.
Living in a small town with pressures at home, Rowling became more interested in her schoolwork. Steve Eddy, her first secondary school English teacher, remembers her as "not exceptional" but "quite good at English". Rowling took A-levels in English, French, and German, achieving two As and a B, and was named head girl at Wyedean. She applied to Oxford University in 1982 but was rejected. Biographers attribute her rejection to lack of privilege, as she had attended a state school rather than a private one.
Rowling always wanted to be a writer, but chose to study French and the classics at the University of Exeter for practical reasons, influenced by her parents who thought job prospects would be better with evidence of bilingualism. She later stated that Exeter was not initially what she expected ("to be among lots of similar people – thinking radical thoughts") but that she enjoyed herself after she met more people like her. She was an average student at Exeter, described by biographers as prioritising her social life over her studies, and lacking ambition and enthusiasm. Rowling recalls doing little work at university, preferring to read Charles Dickens and J. R. R. Tolkien. She earned a BA in French from Exeter, graduating in 1987 after a year of study in Paris.
=== Inspiration and mother's death ===
After university, Rowling moved to a flat in Clapham Junction with friends, and took a course to become a bilingual secretary. While she was working in temporary jobs in London, Amnesty International hired her to document human rights issues in French-speaking Africa. She began writing adult novels while working as a temp, although they were never published. In 1990, she planned to move with her boyfriend to Manchester, and frequently took long train trips to visit. In mid-1990, she was on a train delayed by four hours from Manchester to London, when the characters Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger came plainly into her mind. Having no pen or paper allowed her to fully explore the characters and their story in her imagination before she reached her flat and began to write.
Rowling moved to Manchester around November 1990. She described her time in Manchester, where she worked for the Chamber of Commerce and at Manchester University in temp jobs, as a "year of misery". Her mother died of multiple sclerosis on 30 December 1990. At the time, Rowling was writing Harry Potter, and her mother's death heavily affected her writing.
The pain of the loss of her mother was compounded when some personal effects her mother had left her were stolen. With the end of the relationship with her boyfriend, and "being made redundant from an office job in Manchester", Rowling moved to Porto, Portugal, in November 1991 to teach night classes in English as a foreign language, writing during the day.
=== Marriage, divorce and single parenthood ===
Five months after arriving in Porto, Rowling met the Portuguese television journalist Jorge Arantes in a bar and found that they shared an interest in Jane Austen. The relationship was troubled, but they married on 16 October 1992. Their daughter Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes (named after Jessica Mitford) was born on 27 July 1993 in Portugal. By this time, Rowling had finished the first three chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone – almost as they were eventually published – and had drafted the rest of the novel.
Rowling experienced domestic abuse during her marriage. Arantes said in June 2020 that he had slapped her and did not regret it. Rowling described the marriage as "short and catastrophic". She says she was not allowed to have a house key and that her husband used the growing manuscript of her first book as a hostage. Rowling and Arantes separated on 17 November 1993 after Arantes threw her out of the house; she returned with the police to retrieve Jessica and her belongings and went into hiding for two weeks before she left Portugal. In late 1993, with a draft of Harry Potter in her suitcase, Rowling moved with her daughter to Edinburgh, Scotland, planning to stay with her sister until Christmas. Her biographer Sean Smith raises the question of why Rowling did not stay with her father. Rowling has spoken of an estrangement from her father; he had married his secretary within two years of her mother's death, and The Scotsman reported that this caused a rift between his daughters and their father.
Rowling sought government assistance and got £69 per week from Social Security; not wanting to burden her recently married sister, she moved to a flat that she described as mouse-ridden. She later described her economic status as being as "poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless". Seven years after graduating from university, she saw herself as a failure. Tison Pugh writes that the "grinding effects of poverty, coupled with her concern for providing for her daughter as a single parent, caused great hardship". Her marriage had failed, and she was jobless with a dependent child, but she later described this as "liberating" her to focus on writing. She has said that "Jessica kept me going". Her old school friend, Sean Harris, lent her £600 ($900), which allowed her to move to a flat in Leith, where she finished Philosopher's Stone.
Arantes arrived in Scotland in March 1994 seeking both Rowling and Jessica. On 15 March 1994, Rowling sought an action of interdict (order of restraint); the interdict was granted and Arantes returned to Portugal. Early in the year, Rowling began to experience a deep depression and sought medical help when she contemplated suicide. With nine months of therapy, her mental health gradually improved. She filed for divorce on 10 August 1994; the divorce was finalised on 26 June 1995.
Rowling wanted to finish the book before enrolling on a teacher training course, fearing she might not be able to finish once she started the course. She often wrote in cafés, including Nicolson's, part-owned by her brother-in-law. Secretarial work brought in £15 ($22.50) per week, but she would lose government benefits if she earned more. In mid-1995, a friend gave her money that allowed her to come off benefits and enrol full-time in college. Still needing money and expecting to make a living by teaching, Rowling began a teacher training course in August 1995 at Moray House School of Education after completing her first novel. She earned her teaching certificate in July 1996 and began teaching at Leith Academy.
=== Publishing Harry Potter ===
Rowling completed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in June 1995. The initial draft included an illustration of Harry by a fireplace, showing a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Following an enthusiastic report from an early reader, Christopher Little Literary Agency agreed to represent Rowling. Her manuscript was submitted to twelve publishers, all of which rejected it. Barry Cunningham, who ran the children's literature department at Bloomsbury Publishing, bought it after Nigel Newton, who headed Bloomsbury at the time, saw his eight-year-old daughter finish one chapter and want to keep reading. Rowling recalls Cunningham telling her, "You'll never make any money out of children's books, Jo." Rowling was awarded a writer's grant by the Scottish Arts Council to support her childcare costs and finances before Philosopher's Stone's publication, and to aid in writing the sequel, Chamber of Secrets. On 26 June 1997, Bloomsbury published Philosopher's Stone with an initial print run of 5,650 copies. Before Chamber of Secrets was published, Rowling had received £2,800 ($4,200) in royalties.
Philosopher's Stone introduces Harry Potter. Harry is a wizard who lives with his non-magical relatives until his eleventh birthday, when he is invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rowling wrote six sequels, which follow Harry's adventures at Hogwarts with friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley and his attempts to defeat the wizard, Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents when he was a child.
Rowling received the news that the US rights were being auctioned at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. To her surprise and delight, Scholastic Corporation bought the rights for $105,000. She bought a flat in Edinburgh with the money from the sale. Arthur A. Levine, head of the imprint at Scholastic, pushed for a name change. He wanted Harry Potter and the School of Magic; as a compromise Rowling suggested Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Sorcerer's Stone was released in the United States in September 1998. It was not widely reviewed, but the reviews it received were generally positive. Sorcerer's Stone became a New York Times bestseller by December.
The next three books in the series were released in quick succession between 1998 and 2000, each selling millions of copies. When Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix had not appeared by 2002, rumours circulated that Rowling was suffering writer's block. Rowling denied these rumours, stating the 896-page book took three years to write because of its length. It was published in June 2003, selling millions of copies on the first day. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released two years later in July 2005, again selling millions of copies on the first day. The series ended with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, published in July 2007.
=== Films ===
In 1999, Warner Bros. purchased film rights to the first two Harry Potter novels for a reported $1 million. Rowling accepted the offer with the provision that the studio only produce Harry Potter films based on books she authored, while retaining the right to final script approval, and some control over merchandising. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, an adaptation of the first Harry Potter book, was released in November 2001. Steve Kloves wrote the screenplays for all but the fifth film, with Rowling's assistance, ensuring that his scripts kept to the plots of the novels.
The film series concluded with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which was adapted in two parts; part one was released on 19 November 2010, and part two followed on 15 July 2011.
Warner Bros. announced an expanded relationship with Rowling in 2013, including a planned series of films about her character Newt Scamander, fictitious author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The first film of five, a prequel to the Harry Potter series, set roughly 70 years earlier, was released in November 2016. Rowling wrote the screenplay, which was released as a book. Crimes of Grindelwald was released in November 2018. Secrets of Dumbledore was released in April 2022.
In November 2022, Variety reported that Warner Bros. Discovery was not actively planning to continue the film series or to develop any further films related to the Wizarding World franchise.
=== Religion, wealth and remarriage ===
By 1998, Rowling was portrayed in the media as a "penniless divorcee hitting the jackpot". According to her biographer Sean Smith, the publicity became effective marketing for Harry Potter, but her journey from living on benefits to wealth brought, along with fame, concerns from different groups about the books' portrayals of the occult and gender roles. Ultimately, Smith says that these concerns served to "enhance [her] public profile rather than damage it".
Rowling identifies as a Christian. Although she grew up next door to her church, accounts of the family's church attendance differ. She began attending a Church of Scotland congregation, where Jessica was christened, around the time she was writing Harry Potter. In a 2012 interview, she said she belonged to the Scottish Episcopal Church. Rowling has stated that she believes in God, but has experienced doubt. She does not believe in magic or witchcraft.
Rowling married Neil Murray, a doctor, in 2001. The couple intended to marry that July in the Galapagos, but when this leaked to the press, they delayed their wedding and changed their holiday destination to Mauritius. After the UK Press Complaints Commission ruled that a magazine had breached Jessica's privacy when the eight-year-old was included in a photograph of the family taken during that trip, Murray and Rowling sought a more private and quiet place to live and work. Rowling bought Killiechassie, an estate house in Perthshire, Scotland, and on 26 December 2001, the couple had a small, private wedding there, officiated by an Episcopalian priest who travelled from Edinburgh. Their son, David Gordon Rowling Murray, was born in 2003, and their daughter Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray in 2005.
In 2004, Forbes named Rowling "the first billion-dollar author". Rowling denied that she was a billionaire in a 2005 interview. By 2012, Forbes concluded she was no longer a billionaire due to her charitable donations and high UK taxes, but it re-added her to its list of billionaires in 2025. She was named the world's highest paid author by Forbes in 2008, 2017 and 2019. Her UK sales total in excess of £238 million, which made her the best-selling living author in Britain, until 2025 when she was supplanted by Julia Donaldson. The 2021 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling's fortune at £820 million, ranking her as the 196th-richest person in the UK, and The National reported her net worth in 2025 as £945 million. As of 2020, she owns a £4.5 million Georgian house in Kensington and a £2 million home in Edinburgh, where she lives with Murray and her two youngest children.
In February 2026, J. K. Rowling was listed on the Sunday Times Tax list with an estimated £47.5 million.
=== Adult fiction and Robert Galbraith ===
In mid-2011, Rowling left Christopher Little Literary Agency and followed her agent Neil Blair to the Blair Partnership. He represented her for the publication of The Casual Vacancy, released in September 2012 by Little, Brown and Company. It was Rowling's first since Harry Potter ended, and her first book for adults. A contemporary take on 19th-century British fiction about village life, Casual Vacancy was promoted as a black comedy, while the critic Ian Parker described it as a "rural comedy of manners". It was adapted to a miniseries co-created by the BBC and HBO.
Little, Brown and Company also published The Cuckoo's Calling, the purported début novel of Robert Galbraith, in April 2013. Telling the story of a detective named Cormoran Strike, a disabled veteran of the War in Afghanistan, it initially sold 1,500 copies in hardback. After an investigation prompted by discussion on Twitter, the journalist Richard Brooks contacted Rowling's agent, who confirmed Galbraith was Rowling's pseudonym. Rowling later said she enjoyed working as Robert Galbraith, a name she took from Robert F. Kennedy, a personal hero, and Ella Galbraith, a name she invented for herself in childhood. After the revelation of her identity, sales of Cuckoo's Calling escalated.
Continuing the Cormoran Strike series of detective novels, The Silkworm was released in 2014; Career of Evil in 2015; Lethal White in 2018; Troubled Blood in 2020; The Ink Black Heart in 2022; The Running Grave in 2023; and The Hallmarked Man, which was released in September 2025. In 2017, BBC One aired the first episode of the five-season series Strike, a television adaptation of the Cormoran Strike novels starring Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger, with a sixth season being shot in 2024. The series was picked up by HBO for distribution in the United States and Canada.
=== Later Harry Potter works ===
Rowling launched Pottermore in 2011, an e-book publisher and interactive content portal on which she would publish articles about the Harry Potter universe. Rowling had reserved e-book and audiobook publishing rights, and until 2015, sales could only be fulfilled through Pottermore, bypassing other marketing formats. In 2015 the innovative new media site moved to a more traditional content model, and Rowling allowed digital sales to transition to an industry standard open-commerce model. The site was migrated to Wizarding World Digital in 2019, retaining original content, and now operates under the name HarryPotter.com.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child premiered in the West End in May 2016 and on Broadway in July. At its London premiere, Rowling confirmed that she would not write any more Harry Potter books. Rowling collaborated with the writer Jack Thorne and the director John Tiffany. The stage play's script was published as a book in July 2016. The play follows the friendship between Harry's son Albus and Scorpius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's son, at Hogwarts.
Announced in April 2023, the Harry Potter television series will begin in 2026, span ten years of production and feature a series dedicated to each of the seven Harry Potter books, with Rowling as executive producer.
=== Children's stories ===
The Ickabog was Rowling's first book aimed at children since Harry Potter. Ickabog is a monster that turns out to be real; a group of children find out the truth about the Ickabog and save the day. Rowling released The Ickabog free online in mid-2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom. She began writing it in 2009 but set it aside to focus on other works including Casual Vacancy. Scholastic held a competition to select children's art for the print edition, which was published in the US and Canada on 10 November 2020. Profits went to charities focused on COVID-19 relief.
In The Christmas Pig, a young boy loses his favourite stuffed animal, a pig, and the Christmas Pig guides him through the fantastical Land of the Lost to retrieve it. The novel was published on 12 October 2021 and became a bestseller in the UK and the US.
== Influences ==
Rowling has named Jessica Mitford as her greatest influence. She said Mitford had "been my heroine since I was 14 years old, when I overheard my formidable great-aunt discussing how Mitford had run away at the age of 19 to fight with the Reds in the Spanish Civil War", and that what inspired her about Mitford was that she was "incurably and instinctively rebellious, brave, adventurous, funny and irreverent, she liked nothing better than a good fight, preferably against a pompous and hypocritical target". As a child, Rowling read C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, Elizabeth Goudge's The Little White Horse, Manxmouse by Paul Gallico, and books by E. Nesbit and Noel Streatfeild. Rowling describes Jane Austen as her "favourite author of all time".
Rowling acknowledges Homer, Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare as literary influences. Scholars agree that Harry Potter is heavily influenced by the children's fantasy of writers such as Lewis, Goudge, Nesbit, J. R. R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin and Diana Wynne Jones. According to the critic Beatrice Groves, Harry Potter is also "rooted in the Western literary tradition", including the classics. Commentators also note similarities to the children's stories of Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. Rowling expresses admiration for Lewis, in whose writing battles between good and evil are also prominent, but rejects any connection with Dahl.
Earlier works prominently featuring characters who learn to use magic include Le Guin's Earthsea series, in which a school of wizardry also appears, and the Chrestomanci books by Jones. Rowling's setting of a "school of witchcraft and wizardry" departs from the still older tradition of protagonists as apprentices to magicians, exemplified by The Sorcerer's Apprentice: yet this trope does appear in Harry Potter, when Harry receives individual instruction from Remus Lupin and other teachers. Rowling also draws on the tradition of stories set in boarding schools, a major example of which is Thomas Hughes's 1857 volume Tom Brown's School Days.
== Style and themes ==
=== Style and allusions ===
Rowling is known primarily as an author of fantasy and children's literature. Her writing in other genres, including literary fiction and murder mystery, has received less critical attention. Rowling's most famous work, Harry Potter, has been defined as a fairy tale, a bildungsroman and a boarding-school story. Her other writings have been described by Pugh as gritty contemporary fiction with historical influences (The Casual Vacancy) and hardboiled detective fiction (Cormoran Strike).
In Harry Potter, Rowling juxtaposes the extraordinary against the ordinary. Her narrative features two worlds – the mundane and the fantastic – but it differs from typical portal fantasy in that its magical elements stay grounded in the everyday. Paintings move and talk; books bite readers; letters shout messages; and maps show live journeys, making the wizarding world "both exotic and cosily familiar" according to the scholar Catherine Butler. This blend of realistic and romantic elements extends to Rowling's characters. Harry is ordinary and relatable, with down-to-earth features such as wearing broken glasses; these elements serve to highlight Harry when he is heroic, making him both an everyman and a fairytale hero.
Arthurian, Christian and fairytale motifs are frequently found in Rowling's writing. Harry's ability to draw the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat resembles the Arthurian sword in the stone legend. His life with the Dursleys has been compared to Cinderella. Like C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter contains Christian symbolism and allegory. The series has been viewed as a Christian moral fable in the psychomachia tradition, in which stand-ins for good and evil fight for supremacy over a person's soul. The critic of children's literature Joy Farmer sees parallels between Harry and Jesus Christ. According to Maria Nikolajeva, Christian imagery is particularly strong in the final scenes of the series: she writes that Harry dies in self-sacrifice and Voldemort delivers an ecce homo speech, after which Harry is resurrected and defeats his enemy.
=== Themes ===
Death is Rowling's overarching theme in Harry Potter. She later said that her literary creation of the Mirror of Erised is about her mother's death. In the first book, when Harry looks into the mirror, he feels both joy and "a terrible sadness" at seeing his desire: his parents, alive and with him. Confronting their loss is central to Harry's character arc and manifests in different ways through the series, such as in his struggles with Dementors. Other characters in Harry's life die; he even faces his own death in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Soon after she started writing Philosopher's Stone, her mother died, and she said that "I really think from that moment on, death became a central, if not the central theme of the seven books". Rowling has described Harry as "the prism through which I view death", and further stated that "all of my characters are defined by their attitude to death and the possibility of death".
While Harry Potter can be viewed as a story about good versus evil, its moral divisions are not absolute. First impressions of characters are often misleading. Harry assumes in the first book that Quirrell is good because he opposes Snape, who appears malicious; in reality, their positions are reversed. In Rowling's world, good and evil are choices rather than inherent attributes: second chances and redemption are key themes of the series.
== Reception ==
Rowling has enjoyed enormous commercial success as an author. Her Harry Potter series topped bestseller lists, spawned a global media franchise including films and video games, and had been translated into 84 languages by 2023. The first three Harry Potter books occupied the top three spots of The New York Times bestseller list for more than a year; they were then moved to a newly created children's list. The final four books each set records as the fastest-selling books in the UK or US, and the series as a whole had sold more than 600 million copies as of 2023. Neither of Rowling's later works, The Casual Vacancy and the Cormoran Strike series, has been as successful, although Casual Vacancy was still a bestseller in the UK within weeks of its release. Harry Potter's popularity has been attributed to factors including the nostalgia evoked by the boarding-school story, the endearing nature of Rowling's characters, and the accessibility of her books to a variety of readers. According to Julia Eccleshare, the books are "neither too literary nor too popular, too difficult nor too easy, neither too young nor too old", and hence bridge traditional reading divides.
Critical response to Harry Potter has been more mixed. Harold Bloom regarded Rowling's prose as poor and her plots as conventional, while Jack Zipes argues that the series would not be successful if it were not formulaic. Zipes states that the early novels have the same plot: in each book, Harry escapes the Dursleys to visit Hogwarts, where he confronts Lord Voldemort and then heads back successful. Rowling's prose has been described as simple and not innovative; the author Ursula K. Le Guin, like several other critics, considered it "stylistically ordinary". According to the novelist A. S. Byatt, the books reflect a dumbed-down culture dominated by soap operas and reality television. Thus, some critics argue, Harry Potter does not innovate on established literary forms; nor does it challenge readers' preconceived ideas. Conversely, the scholar Philip Nel rejects such critiques as "snobbery" that reacts to the novels' popularity, whereas Mary Pharr argues that Harry Potter's conventionalism is the point: by amalgamating literary forms familiar to her readers, Rowling invites them to "ponder their own ideas". Other critics who see artistic merit in Rowling's writing include Marina Warner, who views Harry Potter as part of an "alternative genealogy" of English literature that she traces from Edmund Spenser to Christina Rossetti. Michiko Kakutani praises Rowling's fictional world and the darker tone of the series' later entries.
Reception of Rowling's later works has varied among critics. The Casual Vacancy, her attempt at literary fiction, drew mixed reviews. Some critics praised its characterisation, while others stated that it would have been better if it had contained magic. The Cormoran Strike series was more warmly received as a work of British detective fiction, even as some reviewers noted that its plots are occasionally contrived. Theatrical reviews of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child were highly positive. Fans have been more critical of the play's use of time travel, changes to characters' personalities, and perceived queerbaiting in Albus and Scorpius's relationship, leading some to question its connection to the Harry Potter canon.
=== Gender and social division ===
Rowling's portrayal of women in Harry Potter has been described as complex and varied, but nonetheless conforming to stereotypical and patriarchal depictions of gender. Gender divides are ostensibly absent in the books: Hogwarts is coeducational and women hold positions of power in wizarding society. However, this setting obscures the typecasting of female characters and the general depiction of conventional gender roles. According to the scholars Elizabeth Heilman and Trevor Donaldson, the subordination of female characters goes further early in the series. The final three books "showcase richer roles and more powerful females": for instance, the series' "most matriarchal character", Molly Weasley, engages substantially in the final battle of Deathly Hallows, while other women are shown as leaders. Hermione Granger, in particular, becomes an active and independent character essential to the protagonists' battle against evil. Yet, even particularly capable female characters such as Hermione and Minerva McGonagall are placed in supporting roles, and Hermione's status as a feminist model is debated. Girls and women are frequently shown as emotional, defined by their appearance, and denied agency in family settings.
The social hierarchies in Rowling's magical world have been a matter of debate among scholars and critics. The primary antagonists of Harry Potter, Voldemort and his followers, believe blood purity is paramount, and that non-wizards, or "muggles", are subhuman. Their ideology of racial difference is depicted as unambiguously evil. However, the series cannot wholly reject racial division, according to several scholars, as it still depicts wizards as fundamentally superior to muggles. Blake and Zipes argue that numerous examples of wizardly superiority are depicted as "natural and comfortable". Thus, according to Gupta, Harry Potter depicts superior races as having a moral obligation of tolerance and altruism towards lesser races, rather than explicitly depicting equality.
Rowling's depictions of the status of magical non-humans is similarly debated. Discussing the slavery of house-elves within Harry Potter, scholars such as Brycchan Carey have praised the books' abolitionist sentiments, viewing Hermione's Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare as a model for younger readers' political engagement. Other critics, including Farah Mendlesohn, find the portrayal of house-elves extremely troublesome; they are written as happy in their slavery, and Hermione's efforts on their behalf are implied to be naïve. Pharr terms the house-elves a disharmonious element in the series, writing that Rowling leaves their fate hanging; at the end of Deathly Hallows, the elves remain enslaved and cheerful. More generally, the subordination of magical non-humans remains in place, unchanged by the defeat of Voldemort. Thus, scholars suggest, the series's message is essentially conservative; it sees no reason to transform social hierarchies, only being concerned with who holds positions of power.
=== Religious reactions ===
There have been attempts to ban Harry Potter around the world, especially in the United States, and in the Bible Belt in particular. The series topped the American Library Association's list of most challenged books in the first three years of its publication. In the following years, parents in several US cities launched protests against teaching it in schools. Some Christian critics, particularly Evangelical Christians, have claimed that the novels promote witchcraft and harm children; similar opposition has been expressed to the film adaptations. Criticism has taken two main forms: allegations that Harry Potter is a pagan text; and claims that it encourages children to oppose authority, derived mainly from Harry's rejection of the Dursleys, his guardians. The author and scholar Amanda Cockrell suggests that Harry Potter's popularity, and recent preoccupation with fantasy and the occult among Christian fundamentalists, explains why the series received particular opposition. Some groups of Shia and Sunni Muslims also argued that the series contained Satanic subtext, and it was banned in private schools in the United Arab Emirates by its Ministry of Education and Youth, which stated it contradicted Islamic values.
The Harry Potter books also have a group of vocal religious supporters who believe that Harry Potter espouses Christian values, or that the Bible does not prohibit the forms of magic described in the series. Christian analyses of the series have argued that it embraces ideals of friendship, loyalty, courage, love, and the temptation of power. After the final volume was published, Rowling said she intentionally incorporated Christian themes, in particular the idea that love may hold power over death. According to Farmer, it is a profound misreading to think that Harry Potter promotes witchcraft. The scholar Em McAvan writes that evangelical objections to Harry Potter are superficial, based on the presence of magic in the books: they do not attempt to understand the moral messages in the series.
== Legacy ==
Rowling's Harry Potter series has been credited with a resurgence in crossover fiction: children's literature with an adult appeal. Crossovers were prevalent in 19th-century American and British fiction, but fell out of favour in the 20th century and did not occur at the same scale. The post-Harry Potter crossover trend is associated with the fantasy genre. In the 1970s, children's books were generally realistic as opposed to fantastic, while adult fantasy became popular because of the influence of The Lord of the Rings. The next decade saw an increasing interest in grim, realist themes, with an outflow of fantasy readers and writers to adult works.
The commercial success of Harry Potter in 1997 reversed this trend. The scale of its growth had no precedent in the children's market: within four years, it occupied 28% of that field by revenue. Children's literature rose in cultural status, and fantasy became a dominant genre. Older works of children's fantasy, including Diana Wynne Jones's Chrestomanci series and Diane Duane's Young Wizards, were reprinted and rose in popularity; some authors re-established their careers. In the following decades, many Harry Potter imitators and subversive responses grew popular.
Rowling has been compared with Enid Blyton, who also wrote in simple language about groups of children and long held sway over the British children's market. She has also been described as an heir to Roald Dahl. Some critics view Harry Potter's rise, along with the concurrent success of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, as part of a broader shift in reading tastes: a rejection of literary fiction in favour of plot and adventure. This is reflected in the BBC's 2003 "Big Read" survey of the UK's favourite books, where Pullman and Rowling ranked at numbers 3 and 5, respectively, with very few British literary classics in the top 10.
Harry Potter's popularity led its publishers to plan elaborate releases and fostered additional publications by fans and forgers after the books. Beginning with the release of Prisoner of Azkaban on 8 July 1999 at 3:45 pm, its publishers coordinated selling the books at the same time globally, introduced security protocols to prevent premature purchases, and required booksellers to agree not to sell copies before the appointed time. Driven by the growth of the internet, fan fiction about the series proliferated and has spawned a diverse community of readers and writers. While Rowling has supported fan fiction, her statements about characters made after the books were published, but not included in the books – for instance, that Harry and Hermione could have been a couple, and that Dumbledore was gay – have complicated her relationship with readers; according to scholars, this shows that modern readers feel a sense of ownership over the text that is independent of, and sometimes contradicts, authorial intent.
== Legal disputes ==
In the 1990s and 2000s, Rowling was both a plaintiff and defendant in lawsuits alleging copyright infringement. Nancy Stouffer sued Rowling in 1999, alleging that Harry Potter was based on stories she published in 1984. Rowling won in September 2002. Richard Posner describes Stouffer's suit as deeply flawed and notes that the court, finding Stouffer had used "forged and altered documents", assessed a $50,000 penalty against her.
With her literary agents and Warner Bros., Rowling has brought legal action against publishers and writers of Harry Potter knockoffs in several countries. In mid-2000, Rowling and her publishers obtained a series of injunctions prohibiting sales or published reviews of her books before their official release dates.
Beginning in 2001, after Rowling sold film rights to Warner Bros., the studio tried to take Harry Potter fan sites offline unless it determined that they were made by "authentic" fans for innocuous purposes. In 2007, with Warner Bros., Rowling started proceedings to cease publication of a book based on content from a fan site called The Harry Potter Lexicon. The court held that Lexicon was neither a fair use of Rowling's material nor a derivative work, but it did not prevent the book from being published in a different form. Lexicon was published in 2009.
== Philanthropy ==
Rowling's charitable donations between 2005 and 2025 were estimated at over $200 million by Forbes, which also estimated she had donated $160 million before 2012. She was the second most generous UK donor in 2015 (following the singer Elton John), giving about $14 million.
In 2000, she established the Volant Charitable Trust, named after her mother to address social deprivation in at-risk women, children and youth. She was appointed president of One Parent Families (now Gingerbread) in 2004, after becoming its first ambassador in 2000. She collaborated with Sarah Brown on a book of children's stories to benefit One Parent Families. Together with the member of the European Parliament, Emma Nicholson, Rowling founded the charity now known as Lumos in 2005. Lumos has worked with orphanages in Ukraine, Romania, Haiti, and Colombia, and it had supported at least 280,000 children by 2025. She has donated several hundred thousand pounds to help women lawyers flee from the Taliban's control, helping hundreds of Afghans escape.
Rowling has made donations to support other medical causes. She named another institution after her mother in 2010, when she donated £10 million to found a multiple sclerosis research centre at the University of Edinburgh. She gave an additional £15.3 million to the centre in 2019. To support COVID-19 relief, she donated six-figure sums to both Khalsa Aid and the British Asian Trust from royalties for The Ickabog.
Several publications in the Harry Potter universe have been sold for charitable purposes. Profits from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, both published in 2001, went to Comic Relief. To support Children's Voice, later renamed Lumos, Rowling sold a deluxe copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard at auction in 2007; Amazon's £1.95 million purchase set a record for a contemporary literary work and for children's literature. Rowling published the book and, in 2013, donated the proceeds of nearly £19 million (then about $30 million) to Lumos. Rowling and 12 other writers composed short pieces in 2008 to be sold to benefit Dyslexia Action and English PEN. Rowling's contribution was an 800-word Harry Potter prequel. When the revelation that Rowling wrote The Cuckoo's Calling led to an increase in sales, she donated the royalties to ABF The Soldiers' Charity (formerly the Army Benevolent Fund).
== Views ==
Rowling was actively engaged on the internet before author webpages were common, and used Twitter to reach her Harry Potter fans and followers. She often uses sarcasm in tweets about her political opinions, sometimes generating controversy.
=== Politics ===
In 2008, Rowling donated £1 million to the Labour Party, endorsed the Labour prime minister Gordon Brown over his Conservative challenger David Cameron, and commended Labour's policies on child poverty. In June 2024, she wrote that she had a "poor opinion" of Keir Starmer and that it would be hard for her to vote for Labour due to their position on transgender rights, which she argues comes at the expense of women.
In her "Single mother's manifesto" published in The Times in 2010, Rowling criticised the prime minister David Cameron's plan to offer married couples an annual tax credit. She thought that the proposal discriminated against single parents, whose interests the Conservative Party failed to consider. Rowling opposed the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, and donated £1 million to the Better Together anti-independence campaign. She campaigned for the UK to stay in the European Union in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. She defined herself as an internationalist, "the mongrel product of this European continent", and expressed concern that "racists and bigots" were directing parts of the Leave campaign.
She opposed Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but refused to support a cultural boycott of Israel in 2015, believing that depriving Israel of shared culture would not dislodge him. In 2015, Rowling joined 150 others in signing a letter published in The Guardian in favour of cultural engagement with Israel.
She expressed condolences on the death of a Harry Potter fan who was killed during the 2026 Iran massacres.
=== Press ===
Rowling has a difficult relationship with the press and has tried to influence the type of coverage she receives. She described herself in 2003 as "too thin-skinned". As of 2011, she had taken more than 50 actions against the press. Rowling dislikes the British tabloid the Daily Mail, which she successfully sued in 2014 for libel about her time as a single mother.
The Leveson Inquiry into the British press named Rowling as a "core participant" in 2011. She was one of many celebrities alleged to have been victims of phone hacking. The following year she criticised Cameron's decision not to implement all the inquiry's recommendations and supported the Hacked Off campaign, pushing for stricter media reform.
=== Transgender people ===
Rowling is opposed to legislation that would allow transgender people to legally self-identify their gender without first receiving a medical diagnosis. She rejects the view that gender identity is different from birth sex, and that it should take priority in equalities law. Her view is that it would be unsafe to allow "any man who believes or feels he's a woman" into bathrooms, changing rooms, or what she considers "single-sex spaces". These views are often described as trans-exclusionary. Studies estimate that her positions and public profile make her an influential figure in the acceptability of transphobic discourse in the United Kingdom. She is often regarded as a prominent figure of the TERF movement a label she does not accept, preferring the term "gender critical."
Friction over Rowling's trans-exclusionary writings surged in 2019 when she defended Maya Forstater, whose employment contract was not renewed after she made a series of tweets questioning UK government plans to let people declare their own gender. (The Employment Appeal Tribunal found that Forstater had been discriminated against.) Rowling wrote that transgender people should live in "peace and security" but said she opposed "forc[ing] women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real". According to the Harry Potter scholar Lana Whited, in the next six months "Rowling herself fanned the flames as she became increasingly vocal".
Rowling has opposed proposed gender self-recognition law reforms in the UK that would make it easier for trans people to change their legal gender. She also supported trans-exclusionary campaign group For Women Scotland in the landmark UK Supreme Court case For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers. According to the media scholar Jennifer Duggan, Rowling has suggested on social media that children and cisgender women are threatened by trans women and trans-positive messages. Responding to an online op-ed that used the words people who menstruate, Rowling mocked the phrase and tweeted that women's rights and "lived reality" would be "erased" if "sex isn't real". Following the strengthening of a hate crime law in Scotland in April 2024, she tweeted a list of trans women, writing that they are "men, every last one of them" and challenging the police to arrest her. In 2024, Variety wrote that Rowling had "made her campaign against trans identity the central focus of her online persona".
Rowling denies that her views are transphobic. Rowling's public expression of her views has prompted declarations of support for transgender people from the literary, music, theme park, and video gaming sectors as well as fuelling debates on freedom of speech and cancel culture. She has been the target of widespread condemnation for her comments, with negative reactions including insults and death threats. Criticism came from Harry Potter fansites, LGBT charities, leading actors of the Wizarding World, and Human Rights Campaign. After Kerry Kennedy expressed "profound disappointment" in her views, Rowling returned the Ripple of Hope Award given to her by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation.
During her advocacy in 2022 against the Scottish Parliament's bill to simplify changing one's legal gender, Rowling founded Beira's Place with her own funds, a women-only rape help centre that provides free support services to survivors of sexual violence. The centre does not serve trans women. Rowling has donated to the group For Women Scotland, which brought legal challenges leading to the UK Supreme Court case For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers. In 2025, she opened the J.K. Rowling Women's Fund, which supports groups advocating for "sex-based rights" for women; in describing the group, NBC says that while the fund makes no mention of trans people directly, this terminology is frequently used by "proponents of efforts to restrict trans rights".
Whited wrote in 2024 that Rowling's sometimes "flippant" and "simplistic understanding of gender identity" had left some transgender people feeling betrayed and permanently changed her "relationship not only with fans, readers, and scholars ... but also with her works themselves".
== Awards and honours ==
Rowling's Harry Potter series has won awards for general literature, children's literature, and speculative fiction. It has earned multiple British Book Awards, beginning with the Children's Book of the Year for the first two volumes, Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets. The third novel, Prisoner of Azkaban, was nominated for an adult award, the Whitbread Book of the Year, where it competed against the Nobel Prize laureate Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf. The award body gave Rowling the children's prize instead (worth half the cash amount), which some scholars felt exemplified a literary prejudice against children's books. She won the World Science Fiction Convention's Hugo Award for the fourth book, Goblet of Fire, and the British Book Awards' adult prize – the Book of the Year – for the sixth novel, Half-Blood Prince.
Rowling was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2000 Birthday Honours for services to children's literature, and three years later received Spain's Prince of Asturias Award for Concord. Following the conclusion of the Harry Potter series, she won the Outstanding Achievement Prize at the 2008 British Book Awards. The next year, she was awarded Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur by the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and leading magazine editors named her the "Most Influential Woman in the UK" in 2010. In the 2017 Birthday Honours, Rowling was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) for services to literature and philanthropy.
Many academic institutions have bestowed honorary degrees on Rowling, including her alma mater, the University of Exeter, and Harvard University, where she spoke at the 2008 commencement ceremony. In 2002, Rowling was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) and awarded as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (HonFRSE). In 2011, she was recognised as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (FRCPE).
Rowling shared the British Academy Film Award (BAFTA) for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema with the cast and crew of the Harry Potter films in 2011. Her other awards include the 2017 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and the 2021 British Book Awards' Crime and Thriller prize for the fifth volume of her Cormoran Strike series.
== Written works ==
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Hit_Music#Groups | Big Hit Music#Groups | Big Hit Music (Korean: 빅히트 뮤직, stylized in all caps), formerly Big Hit Entertainment (Korean: 빅히트 엔터테인먼트), is a South Korean record label established in 2005 by Bang Si-hyuk. It was re-branded and re-structured into an independent label under Hybe Corporation (formerly Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd.) in March 2021. As of date, the label is home to soloist Lee Hyun, and boy groups BTS, Tomorrow X Together, and Cortis. It previously managed soloist Lim Jeong-hee, and groups 8Eight, 2AM, and co-managed Glam.
== History ==
=== 2005–2021: Big Hit Entertainment ===
Big Hit Entertainment was founded on February 1, 2005, and signed the trio 8Eight in 2007. In 2010, the company signed a joint management contract with JYP Entertainment over the boy group 2AM. That year, Bang Si-hyuk signed RM as the first member of BTS and launched nationwide auditions to recruit other members of the group—BTS made their debut under Big Hit on June 13, 2013.
In 2012, the company signed Lim Jeong-hee, and formed the girl group Glam as a collaboration with Source Music. The group was active until 2014 when it was disbanded due to a controversy involving one of its members, Kim Da-hee—Kim was sentenced to prison after being found guilty of blackmailing actor Lee Byung-hun.
Following the end of the joint contract between Big Hit and JYP in April 2014, three members of 2AM returned to JYP, while Lee Chang-min remained with Big Hit in order to continue with his solo career and as part of the duo Homme. The year also saw the disbandment of 8Eight after Baek Chan and Joo Hee's contracts with Big Hit ended. In May 2015, Lim Jeong-hee parted ways with the agency, following the expiration of her three-year contract.
In February 2018, Homme disbanded after member Changmin's contract came to an end. He left the company to start his own agency, while Lee Hyun continued on as a solo artist. In October, BTS renewed and extended their contract with the agency for seven more years. Big Hit debuted its second male group, Tomorrow X Together (TXT), in March 2019.
In February 2021, Big Hit announced a partnership with Universal Music Group, which would include a joint venture between Big Hit America and Geffen Records on a Los Angeles-based label and to develop a pop group under a K-pop-influenced model, and UMG exploring further use of Big Hit's social platform Weverse. As a consequence of this partnership, Big Hit reached an agreement in October for BTS to move its distribution in the U.S. and several other countries from Sony Music's Columbia Records and The Orchard to Universal.
=== 2021–present: Big Hit Music ===
On March 19, 2021, Big Hit Entertainment announced that it had been renamed Hybe Corporation to emphasize its wider array of business units and ventures. With the change, the Big Hit record label was renamed Big Hit Music . On April 1, 2021, Hybe announced through a board resolution that it would separate the label business (Big Hit Music) from Hybe and establish a new company with 100% of the stake held by Hybe. On July 1, 2021, Big Hit Music became a subsidiary of Hybe.
== Philanthropy ==
In January 2017, Big Hit Entertainment donated ₩30 million to the 4/16 Sewol Families for Truth and A Safer Society, an organization connected to the families of the sinking of MV Sewol. In June 2020, Big Hit, together with BTS, donated $1 million in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, during the George Floyd protests, and another $1 million to Live Nation's Crew Nation campaign to help support live music personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
== Artists ==
=== Groups ===
BTS
Tomorrow X Together
Cortis
=== Soloists ===
Lee Hyun (Midnatt)
RM
Agust D
J-Hope
Jin
Jimin
Jungkook
V
Yeonjun
Beomgyu
=== Producers ===
"Hitman" Bang
Pdogg
Slow Rabbit
Supreme Boi
Suga
RM
J-Hope
Yeonjun
Beomgyu
Huening Kai
James
Martin
Seonghyeon
=== Choreographers ===
Son Sung-deuk
J-Hope
James
Yeonjun
== Former artists ==
K.Will (2005–2007, co-managed by JYP Entertainment)
2AM (2008–2014, co-managed by JYP)
Jo Kwon (2010–2014)
8Eight (2007–2014, co-managed by Source Music)
Glam (2010–2014, co-managed by Source Music)
Lim Jeong-hee (2012–2015, co-managed by JYP)
Homme (2010–2018)
Changmin (2010–2018)
== Discography == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthem_Lights | Anthem Lights | Anthem Lights is an American Christian vocal quartet with roots in Nashville, Tennessee and at Liberty University. The group, all of whom having studied at Liberty between 2003 and 2009 without ever having met, began performing in 2007 using the name Yellow Cavalier. On May 26, 2009, they independently released their first and only EP using the Yellow Cavalier name. The group's debut album under their current name was released on May 10, 2011, by Reunion Records, and they tallied five subsequent full-length releases prior to being dropped by the label in 2023.
== Beginnings ==
Anthem Lights began as a solo project for vocalist Chad Graham in the fall of 2007. Both he and Alan Powell were living in Los Angeles, writing music for Graham's solo project. As the last of the vocal tracks were being finalized, both men realized that the songs they'd written were more appropriate for an ensemble than a solo act. It was then that Powell and Graham decided to alert their contacts at Liberty University in an effort to recruit members for what is now a singing group. Powell and Graham's contacts came to a consensus that Kyle Kupecky and Caleb Grimm would be the best candidates for the project. After receiving notifications by e-mail, Graham flew from Los Angeles to meet with Kupecky and Grimm, who gladly accepted membership. Powell joined the group at the last minute.
The original name of the group was Yellow Cavalier. The group recorded one self-titled EP under this name in 2009. The EP was released independently on May 26, 2009. The group changed their name to Anthem Lights before any other projects were released.
== Name change ==
The group's name changed to Anthem Lights sometime after their independent release as Yellow Cavalier. Months later, the group signed to Reunion Records. Vocalist Kyle Kupecky comments about the meaning behind the name:
These songs [and] this record is our anthem to the world saying, "Listen, we know there's a lot of darkness in this life, but in the end, light is gonna win." And we wanna be the light to people and just show them who the light of the world is.
On February 1, 2011, Anthem Lights released the Anthem Lights EP. Although it was the second EP by the group, it was the first on Reunion Records and the first under their current name. The EP received very positive reviews and chart success as "Can't Shut Up," the first track from the EP, peaked at No. 42 on Billboard's Christian Songs chart and at No. 27 on the CHR radio charts. All of the tracks on the EP were also featured on their debut album, which was also self-titled. The album was released May 10, 2011.
On May 7, 2012, the group announced their first lineup change with the news that Kyle Kupecky had left the group, adding later that day that they had already selected someone to replace him. One week later, on May 14, 2012, they introduced Joseph "Joey" Stamper as the new member during a livestream on Ustream.
Anthem Lights performed on the Listen to the Sound Tour. The tour was headlined by Building 429, since the tour carried the same name as their latest album, and it featured Revive. Anthem Lights performed on the 2011 Rock & Worship Roadshow tour along with MercyMe, Jars of Clay, and The Afters.
The album You Have My Heart was released on February 4, 2014. The album Escape was released on October 14, 2014.
On February 1, 2016, former singer-guitarist-pianist Alan Powell left the band to pursue a career in acting.
On April 7, 2017, they released their fourth album, Hymns. On October 12, 2017, they released their fifth album, Painted Skies. This is their first album with Spencer Kane, a solo Christian artist formerly of the TV Series iShine Knect of TBN Studios and a 6 time award winner and Billboard charting indie artist.
On February 2, 2018, the band released a compilation album called Better Together: The Mixtape, which features an acoustic version of their song Better Together, along with solo music from each of the members, On March 16, 2018, they released their sixth album, Hymns Vol. II.
== Members ==
=== Current members ===
Chad Graham – vocals
Caleb Grimm – vocals
Spencer Kane – vocals
Joey Stamper – vocals, piano, guitar, drums
=== Former members ===
Kyle Kupecky – vocals
Alan Powell – vocals, guitar, piano
== Discography ==
=== Studio albums ===
=== Studio EPs ===
=== Singles ===
=== Compilation appearances === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Roddick | Andy Roddick | Andrew Stephen Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 13 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in 2003. Roddick won 32 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including a major at the 2003 US Open and five Masters events, and led the United States to the 2007 Davis Cup title. He was the runner-up at four other majors (Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open in 2006), losing to rival Roger Federer each time.
Roddick was ranked in the year-end top 10 for nine consecutive years (2002–2010), first reaching the No. 1 spot in 2003. Roddick retired from the sport following the 2012 US Open to focus on his work at the Andy Roddick Foundation. In retirement, Roddick played for the Austin Aces in World Team Tennis in 2015. He was also the 2015 and 2017 champion of the QQQ Champions Series. Roddick was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2017. He is married to swimwear model and actress Brooklyn Decker.
== Early life ==
Roddick was born on August 30, 1982, in Omaha, Nebraska, the youngest son of Blanche (née Corell), a school teacher, and Jerry Roddick, a businessman. Roddick has two older brothers, Lawrence and John, who were both promising tennis players at a young age.
Roddick lived in Austin, Texas, from ages 4 to 11, and then moved to Boca Raton, Florida, in the interest of his brother's tennis career, attending SEK Boca Prep International School, and graduating in 2000. Roddick also took high school classes online through the University of Nebraska High School.
== Career ==
=== 1997–2000: Juniors ===
Roddick considered quitting competitive tennis at age 17 when he had a losing streak in the juniors. His coach Tarik Benhabiles talked him into giving tennis four more months of undivided attention. Roddick finished as the No. 6 junior in the U.S. in 1999, and as the No. 1 junior in the world in 2000. He won six world junior singles titles and seven world junior doubles titles, and won the US Open and Australian Open junior singles titles in 2000.
=== 2000–2002: Breakthrough ===
In March in Miami, in the first round, Roddick had his first ATP level victory as he beat No. 41 Fernando Vicente of Spain. In August in Washington, D.C., he beat No. 30 Fabrice Santoro of France. Roddick played the Banana Bowl in the city of São Paulo and won, beating Joachim Johansson in the final. Roddick also won the Australian Junior Open, defeating Mario Ančić in the final.
Entering the pros in 2001 at the age of 18, Roddick quickly showed his promise when he defeated 7-time Wimbledon champion and world No. 4 Pete Sampras in the third round of the Miami Masters. Later that year, he dispatched then World No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil in August. Earlier, at the 2001 French Open, Roddick defeated a French Open champion, Michael Chang, in a five set battle in the second round. During the ensuing Wimbledon, he further showed potential by taking a set from eventual winner Goran Ivanišević.
=== 2003: US Open title and world No. 1 ===
Roddick's breakthrough year was 2003, in which he defeated Younes El Aynaoui in the quarterfinals of the 2003 Australian Open. Roddick and the Moroccan battled for five hours, with the fifth set (21–19 in favor of Roddick) at the time the longest fifth set in a Grand Slam tournament during the open era, at 2 hours and 23 minutes. Despite a lackluster French Open, Roddick enjoyed success in the United Kingdom by winning Queen's Club, beating No. 2 Andre Agassi on a final set tie break along the way, and reaching the Wimbledon semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets. He avenged that loss in August, beating then No. 3 Federer in Montreal in a third set tie break. It is one of three times that Roddick defeated Federer in an official ATP tournament.
Roddick's hard-court record in 2003 included his first Masters Series titles—coming at Canada and Cincinnati—and his only Grand Slam title. At the 2003 US Open, Roddick rallied from two sets down and a match point in the semifinals to beat David Nalbandian of Argentina in five sets. He then defeated No. 3 Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final in straight sets. At the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston, he defeated No. 7 Carlos Moyá of Spain, and No. 4 Guillermo Coria of Argentina, before losing to Roger Federer in the semifinals. By the end of the year, at age 21, he was ranked No. 1, the first American to finish a year at No. 1 since Andre Agassi in 1999.
=== 2004: First Wimbledon final ===
Roddick's reign at No. 1 ended the following February, when Roger Federer ascended to the top position, after winning his first Australian Open; the 2004 Australian Open would be the only time in Roddick's career that he was the No. 1 seed in a Grand Slam. In April, Roddick again beat No. 6 Moyá. In June, Roddick advanced to his first Wimbledon final after taking the first set from defending champion Federer, losing in four sets. Roddick was knocked out during the 2004 US Open in a five-set quarterfinal against another big server, Joachim Johansson. In September, he beat No. 9 Marat Safin of Russia in Bangkok. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Roddick lost to Chilean Fernando González, the eventual bronze medal winner, in the third round. In November he beat No. 7 Tim Henman of Great Britain, No. 4 Safin, and No. 6 Guillermo Coria. Later that year, Roddick teamed up with Mardy Fish and Bob and Mike Bryan on the U.S. Davis Cup team that lost to Spain in the final in Seville. Roddick lost his singles match against Rafael Nadal, who would in the following year win the French Open. Towards the end of 2004, Roddick fired his coach of 18 months, Brad Gilbert, and hired assistant Davis Cup coach Dean Goldfine. Roddick finished 2004 ranked as the world No. 2, U.S. No. 1, and player with the most aces (2,017). In 2004, Roddick saved fellow tennis player Sjeng Schalken and other guests (including close friends Ben Campezi and Dean Monroe) from a hotel fire.
=== 2005: Second Wimbledon final ===
Roddick's first 2005 tournament victory was the SAP Open in San Jose, California, where he became the first to win the event in consecutive years since Mark Philippoussis in 1999 and 2000. The top-seeded Roddick defeated Cyril Saulnier in 50 minutes, the event's first championship shutout set since Arthur Ashe beat Guillermo Vilas in 1975. In March, he defeated No. 7 Carlos Moyá. In April, Roddick won the U.S. Men's Claycourt Championships, reclaiming the title he won in 2001 and 2002. (He lost in 2003 to Agassi, and in 2004 to Tommy Haas.) At the Rome Masters in May, Roddick had match point in the round of 16 against Spain's Fernando Verdasco. Verdasco was attempting to save the match point on his second serve, when the linesman erroneously called the serve out. If this call had held, Roddick would have won the match. Roddick motioned to the umpire, pointing to the clear ball mark on the clay indicating that the ball was in, and the call was consequently changed. Verdasco went on to win the match. At the 2005 French Open, Roddick lost to unseeded Argentine José Acasuso in the second round, and at Wimbledon, Roddick lost to Federer in the final for the second consecutive year. In August, he defeated No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt at the Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati. At the US Open, Roddick was defeated by No. 70 Gilles Müller in the first round. Roddick's most recent US Open first-round loss had been in 2000. At the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, Roddick defeated Gaël Monfils to wrap up a tournament without losing a set or getting his serve broken.
=== 2006: US Open final ===
Roddick's first ATP event of the year was the Australian Open. There, he reached the fourth round, before being upset by unseeded and eventual finalist, Marcos Baghdatis. At the French Open, Roddick retired in the first round, after sustaining a foot injury during the match. Two weeks later at Wimbledon, Roddick was upset in the third round by British hopeful Andy Murray. This loss caused Roddick to fall below the top 10 for the first time since 2002. After Wimbledon, Roddick began working with a new coach, tennis legend Jimmy Connors. In his first event with his new coach, Roddick reached the final of Indianapolis, before losing to good friend and fellow American, James Blake. His resurgence finally came at the Cincinnati Masters, where he won the event by defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final, making this the first masters event he won since 2004. At the US Open, Roddick easily won his first two matches against Florent Serra and Kristian Pless. He then won a five-set match against Fernando Verdasco. Next, he beat Benjamin Becker, who was coming off a huge win against recently retired Andre Agassi. In the quarterfinals, Roddick beat Lleyton Hewitt, avenging his loss in 2001, in straight sets. Now in the semifinals for the first time since he won in 2003, Roddick beat Mikhail Youzhny in four sets. In the finals of a Grand Slam for the first time since Wimbledon a year prior, Roddick lost to No. 1 Federer in four sets. He then qualified for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, where he defeated No. 4 Ivan Ljubičić of Croatia, but lost in the round robin to No. 1 Federer in a tough three-set battle, despite holding three match points in the second-set tiebreaker.
=== 2007: Davis Cup victory ===
At the Australian Open in his first-round match, he lost a marathon first-set tiebreak 20–18, but eventually won the match in four sets against wild card Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Roddick defeated Marat Safin in the third round, Mario Ančić in a five-set fourth-round match and Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals. His run was ended in the semifinals by No. 1 Federer, who defeated him in straight sets, making his head-to-head record against Federer 1–13. In first-round Davis Cup action, Roddick helped the US defeat the Czech Republic, winning his singles matches against Ivo Minář and Tomáš Berdych. Roddick bowed out to Andy Murray in the semifinals of the SAP Open in San Jose, California and then defeated Murray in the semifinals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, before losing in the final to defending champion Tommy Haas. Reaching the final, however, enabled Roddick to overtake Nikolay Davydenko for the No. 3 position, his first week inside the top three since March 6, 2006. At Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California Roddick beat No. 8 Ivan Ljubičić, but lost to No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.
Roddick then retired in the quarters of Miami Masters against Andy Murray due to a left hamstring injury. Roddick helped the U.S. defeat Spain and advance to the Davis Cup semifinals, winning his lone singles match against Fernando Verdasco. However, Roddick re-aggravated his hamstring injury during the Davis Cup tie, and was subsequently forced to pull out of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas. His next tournament was the Internazionali d'Italia, where lost to Juan Ignacio Chela in the third round. At the French Open he was eliminated in the first round by Igor Andreev in four sets. Roddick was victorious at the Stella Artois Championships for the fourth time, when he defeated Nicolas Mahut in the final. At Wimbledon, Roddick lost in five close sets to Richard Gasquet in the quarter finals.
During the summer hard-court season, Roddick played four tournaments in four weeks. Roddick lost in the semifinals of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships to Frank Dancevic. Roddick claimed his second ATP title of the year by winning the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C. for the third time, when he beat John Isner. He then lost in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal to Novak Djokovic, and in the third round of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters tournament in Cincinnati to David Ferrer. At the US Open, Roddick defeated Gimelstob in the first round. He won his next three matches, one in straight sets and the other two when his opponent retired. In the quarterfinals, Roddick once again lost to Federer, bringing his head-to-head record with Federer 1–14.
At Lyon, France, Roddick lost in the first round to Fabrice Santoro. Roddick then withdrew from the Paris Masters, incurring a $22,600 fine for not fulfilling his media obligations at the tournament. At the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, Roddick defeated No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko in his first round-robin match, and then defeated No. 7 Fernando González to become the first player to qualify for the semifinals of the tournament. In his final round-robin match, Roddick lost once again to Federer for the 15th time in 16 career matches. In the semifinals, Roddick lost to sixth seed David Ferrer. This was Roddick's third semifinal finish in five years at the Tennis Masters Cup (he reached the semifinals in 2003 and 2004, withdrew in 2005, and failed to advance to the semifinals in 2006 after a 1–2 round-robin record). Roddick finished the year by helping the U.S. defeat Russia and win the 2007 Davis Cup, its 32nd Davis Cup victory, but first since 1995. Roddick won his rubber against Dmitry Tursunov.
=== 2008: Series of injuries ===
Roddick beat Ivan Ljubičić, Safin and Marcos Baghdatis to win the AAMI Kooyong Classic for the third consecutive year. Roddick At the Australian Open he beat Lukáš Dlouhý and Michael Berrer and lost to the 29th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round in five sets. Despite losing, Roddick served a career-high of 42 aces in the match. Roddick won his 24th career title and his third title of the year at the SAP Open in San Jose, California, defeating Radek Štěpánek in straight sets. At the Dubai Tennis Championships he made it to the semifinals beating No. 2 Rafael Nadal, his first victory over Nadal since the second round of the 2004 US Open. The win also marked Roddick's first victory over a player ranked in the top two since June 2003. He beat No. 3 and 2008 Australian Open singles champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinal. In the final he defeated Feliciano López to win his 25th career title. He never lost his serve during the entire tournament.
Following Roddick's quarterfinal match in Dubai, he announced that he had split with his coach of two years, Jimmy Connors. Connors had resigned a week earlier, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. Roddick would continue to be coached by his brother, John Roddick. He then fell to No. 2 Tommy Haas at the Pacific Life Open in the second round. At the 2008 Sony Ericsson Open, Roddick advanced to the semifinals after defeating No. 1 Roger Federer an hour after proposing to Brooklyn Decker, bringing his head-to-head record against Federer to 2–15. Roddick improved to 3–0 against top-3 players in 2008. Roddick lost in the semifinals to Nikolay Davydenko. Roddick reached the semifinals at Rome, where he retired against Stanislas Wawrinka in the pair's first encounter, due to a back injury.
Roddick was forced to pull out of the French Open due to a shoulder injury (later diagnosed as an inflammation of the rotator cuff). His first tournament after the shoulder injury was the Artois Championship, where he was the defending champion. Roddick defeated Mardy Fish and Andy Murray, before losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. At Wimbledon, Roddick was beaten by Janko Tipsarević in the second round. This was his earliest exit at Wimbledon. Roddick was beaten at the Rogers Cup in the third round by Marin Čilić. He was then forced to pull out of the Cincinnati Masters following a neck injury, which he said may have been caused by a poor sleeping posture. At Los Angeles, Roddick lost to Juan Martín del Potro in the final. At the US Open, Roddick defeated Fabrice Santoro, Ernests Gulbis, Andreas Seppi, and Fernando González. In the quarterfinals, Roddick lost to No. 3 Novak Djokovic, bringing his head-to-head record with Djokovic to 1–2.
Roddick captured his 26th ATP title in Beijing at the China Open in September, beating Dudi Sela in the final. In the third round of the Madrid Masters, he lost to Gaël Monfils in three sets. Two weeks later, Roddick reached the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters by defeating Gilles Simon, before losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Due to his performance in the tournament, Roddick qualified for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup. At the Masters Cup in Shanghai, he played Andy Murray in his first round-robin match and lost. He was then scheduled to play Roger Federer, but retired due to an ankle injury and was replaced by Radek Štěpánek.
=== 2009: Longest Wimbledon final ===
Roddick hired Larry Stefanki as his new coach and started working with him on December 1, 2008. Stefanki had previously trained John McEnroe, Marcelo Ríos, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Fernando González, and Tim Henman. Roddick began official tournament competition at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. He defeated Gaël Monfils in the semifinals, before losing to Andy Murray in the final. At the 2009 Australian Open, Djokovic retired in the fourth set in the quarters while trailing, which allowed Roddick to reach the fourth Australian Open semifinal of his career. Roddick was defeated there by eventual runner-up Roger Federer in straight sets.
At SAP Open, he beat Tommy Haas in the quarterfinals and lost in semifinals to Radek Štěpánek. At the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, Roddick beat Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinals and Štěpánek in the final. Roddick chose not to defend his Dubai title, with prize money of $2 million, to protest the refusal of the United Arab Emirates to grant Israeli Shahar Pe'er a visa for the Women's Tennis Association event. "I really didn't agree with what went on over there", Roddick said. At BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells he defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals before losing to world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. However, he won the doubles title with partner Mardy Fish. It was his fourth doubles title overall and his second partnering Fish. At the Miami Masters, Roddick beat Gaël Monfils in the fourth round but lost to Roger Federer in the quarterfinals.
After a break from tournament tennis to get married, Roddick returned to action at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court event in Madrid. In his first match, Roddick survived two match points in the second-set tiebreaker to defeat Tommy Haas. In the quarterfinals, Roddick again lost to Federer. Roddick had his career-best result at the French Open, when he defeated Marc Gicquel in the third round. He lost in the fourth round to Monfils.
A twisted ankle forced Roddick to retire from his semifinal against James Blake at 4–4 during the Aegon Championships. At Wimbledon, Roddick defeated Lleyton Hewitt in the quarterfinals, serving a career-high of 43 aces, and third-seeded Andy Murray in the semifinals. He then lost to Federer for the third time in a Wimbledon final with a fifth set reaching 14–16, and he was praised for his performance. Even though Roddick lost this match, he set a record for number of games won in a Wimbledon final at 39. This was his fourth meeting with Federer in a Grand Slam final, all won by Federer. The match set records for the longest men's Grand Slam final in history at 77 games and fifth set in a men's Grand Slam final. Following the match, when asked to elaborate on his marathon performance, Roddick replied, "I lost." On the strength of his Wimbledon performance, Roddick returned to the top five on July 13, 2009.
At the Legg Mason Tennis Classic he lost in the final to defending champion Juan Martín del Potro, despite saving three match points. At Rogers Cup, he defeated No. 4 Novak Djokovic in the quarter finals, improving his career record against Djokovic to 4–2 (3–0 in 2009). He then lost to Juan Martín del Potro in the semifinals, despite having a match point. The loss dropped his career record against del Potro to 0–3. At Cincinnati, he lost to Sam Querrey in his first match. Roddick entered the US Open as the fifth seed. He defeated Björn Phau and Marc Gicquel before losing to John Isner in the third round. He lost his serve only once during the match, as was the case in the Wimbledon final.
At China Open in Beijing, he was defeated in the first round by qualifier and No. 143 Łukasz Kubot. He and Mark Knowles reached the doubles final, losing to Bob and Mike Bryan. Roddick retired from his first-round match at the 2009 Shanghai Masters against Stanislas Wawrinka while leading 4–3. It was later announced that Roddick would return to the United States to seek medical advice on a left-knee injury. He qualified for the Year-End Masters in London, securing the sixth spot. However, Roddick withdrew from the 2009 Valencia Open 500, the 2009 BNP Paribas Masters, and the 2009 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals due to the injury he suffered at the Shanghai Masters. He finished 2009 as the No. 7 in the world.
=== 2010: Fifth Masters title ===
At the Brisbane Roddick beat Radek Štěpánek for his first ATP Tour title since February 2009, and making 2010 his tenth consecutive season with at least one ATP singles title. Roddick teamed with James Blake in the men's doubles and lost in the semis to Jérémy Chardy and Marc Gicquel. At the Australian Open he lost in the quarterfinals to Marin Čilić, despite coming back from two sets down while battling an apparent shoulder injury.
In SAP Open, he beat Sam Querrey in the semifinals before losing the final to Fernando Verdasco. At Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, he lost in the quarterfinals in a rematch of the San Jose semifinals to Sam Querrey. At Indian Wells Roddick beat Robin Söderling, before losing to Ivan Ljubičić in the final. This was Roddick's first Masters Series final since the 2006 Cincinnati Masters. In the Sony Ericsson Open, Roddick defeated Igor Andreev, Sergiy Stakhovsky, Benjamin Becker, Nicolás Almagro and Rafael Nadal to reach his fourth final of the year. In the final, Roddick won his second Sony Ericsson Open title, after defeating Tomáš Berdych in straight sets. This was Roddick's 29th title in 49 finals, fifth ATP Masters 1000 title, and first Masters 1000 title since 2006.
Roddick did not fare well during the clay-court season, withdrawing from Rome due for personal reasons and from Madrid due to a stomach virus. He then lost in the third round of the French Open to Teymuraz Gabashvili in straight sets. Roddick suffered his earliest ever exit in the 2010 Aegon Championships, a grass-court Wimbledon tune-up event. He was beaten by Dudi Sela in the third round. At Wimbledon, Roddick was seeded fifth, two spots higher than his ATP ranking of seven. He was defeated in the fourth round by No. 82 Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan in five sets. Like his final match with Roger Federer the previous year, his serve was broken only once during the match, in the fifth set.
At Atlanta, he was eliminated in the semifinals by eventual champion Mardy Fish. At Legg Mason Tennis Classic, he lost in the round of 16 to Gilles Simon. He dropped out of the top 10 and for the first time since the inception of the ATP world rankings, there was no American man in the top 10. On August 14, 2010, Roddick revealed that he had been diagnosed with mononucleosis, although he said his doctor believed it was in its later stages and he would make a complete recovery soon. At the Cincinnati Masters, he beat No. 5 Robin Söderling to reach the quarterfinals, where he defeated second seed Novak Djokovic. The win was Roddick's fourth consecutive over Djokovic, raising his career head-to-head record against Djokovic to 5–2 and ensuring Roddick's return to the top 10. In the semifinals, Roddick lost to Mardy Fish, failing to serve out the match at 5–3 in the second set. In the second round of the US Open, Roddick was beaten by Janko Tipsarević in four sets.
At the Japan Open, Roddick lost in the semifinals to Gaël Monfils. At Shanghai Masters, Roddick beat Philipp Kohlschreiber after Kohlschreiber retired in the second set and then Roddick himself retired in the second set against Guillermo García-López, after suffering a groin injury. At the Basel, he beat Sam Querrey, Andrey Golubev, and David Nalbandian, before losing to Roger Federer in straight sets.
At the BNP Paribas Masters, Roddick beat Jarkko Nieminen and Ernests Gulbis before losing to Robin Söderling in the quarterfinals. With Fernando Verdasco failing to reach the final, Roddick automatically qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the eighth consecutive year. Though he had dropped out of the top 10 in the ATP rankings after his early exit from the US Open, his victory over Gulbis in Paris assured his return to the top 10 at year end, making him and Federer the only players to maintain year-end top-10 ATP rankings from 2002 through 2010. Roddick played his final tournament of the year at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Roddick lost all his round-robin matches to Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Tomáš Berdych. Roddick ended the year No. 8, his ninth consecutive season finishing in the top 10.
=== 2011: Drop out of top 10 ===
At Brisbane, Roddick was defeated by Robin Söderling in the final. At the Australian Open, Roddick lost to Stanislas Wawrinka in round four in straight sets. He then won the 2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, defeating Ričardas Berankis, Janko Tipsarević, Lleyton Hewitt, Juan Martín del Potro and Milos Raonic. Roddick began his Davis Cup campaign for the United States against Chile. He beat Nicolás Massú in four sets and beat Paul Capdeville in four sets to clinch the victory for the U.S. Roddick improved his record to 12–0 in Davis Cup clinchers.
At the BNP Paribas Open, he was beaten by Richard Gasquet in the fourth round. In the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, as the defending champion, Roddick was upset by Pablo Cuevas in the second round. This loss dropped Roddick to No. 12 in the rankings and the second-ranked American behind compatriot Mardy Fish. Roddick then began his clay-court season at the Mutua Madrid Open, but he was upset in the first round by qualifier Flavio Cipolla in three sets. At Internazionali BNL d'Italia he lost in the first round for the second straight tournament to Gilles Simon. He teamed with Mardy Fish to play doubles in Rome, and they went to the final before Roddick had to withdraw because of a shoulder injury. Roddick also withdrew from the Nice Open in France and pulled out of the 2011 French Open, after failing to recover.
At the Aegon Championships, Roddick lost to Andy Murray in the semi finals, their first meeting since the Wimbledon 2009 semifinals. Roddick was seeded eighth for Wimbledon, and lost in the third round in straight sets to Feliciano López. Roddick had failed to reach the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam since the 2010 Australian open. This was the longest Roddick had ever gone in his career without reaching the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam. In the Davis Cup quarterfinals match against Spain, Roddick drew David Ferrer first, but lost in three tight sets (Spain won the tie).
Roddick withdrew from the Legg Masson Tennis Classic, and Rogers Cup, after partially tearing his oblique muscle while practicing. At the Western & Southern Open, he lost in the first round to Philipp Kohlschreiber. This loss made him drop out of the top 20 for the first time since August 2001. After suffering an early exit at Cincinnati, Roddick played at the Winston-Salem Open in North Carolina, where he lost in the semifinals to John Isner. Roddick was seeded 21st at the U.S. Open. He beat Michael Russell, Jack Sock, Julien Benneteau and David Ferrer to advance to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2010 Australian Open, where he lost to No. 2 Rafael Nadal.
At the China Open, he lost to Kevin Anderson. At Shanghai Rolex Masters, he lost to David Ferrer in the quarterfinals. After this, he played at the Swiss Indoors Basel, where he lost to Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. At Paris, he had a third-round loss to Andy Murray. This loss ended Roddick's 2011 season, which left him out of the top 10, after being there for nine consecutive years.
=== 2012: Retirement ===
At the Australian Open, Roddick beat Robin Haase in straight sets, but he retired against Lleyton Hewitt while trailing, due to a hamstring injury. At San Jose he beat Denis Kudla in the round of 16, but lost in the quarterfinals to Denis Istomin. At Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, his title defense was short-lived, as he lost his first-round match to Xavier Malisse. At Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, he defeated Philipp Petzschner and Istomin in the first and second rounds, respectively, before falling to Kevin Anderson.
In March, at Indian Wells, Roddick beat Łukasz Kubot in the second round, but then lost in the next round to Tomáš Berdych. Later in the month, at Sony Ericsson Open, Roddick faced No. 3 Federer, this being the first time they played each other before the quarterfinals of any tournament. Roddick defeated Federer for only the third time in his career to reach the fourth round, but then lost to Juan Mónaco. Roddick then elected not to play in the final three clay-court Masters events leading up to the French Open. At French Open, he fell to Nicolas Mahut in the first round in four sets. After this, Roddick played at Aegon Championships, where he lost in the second round to Édouard Roger-Vasselin, despite having a match point in the third set.
At the Aegon International, he received a wild card into the main draw as the sixth seed. He beat Sam Querrey, Jérémy Chardy, Fabio Fognini, Steve Darcis and defending champion Andreas Seppi in the final for his 31st career title and first of 2012. He thus became the only male tennis player besides Roger Federer to have won at least one title every year in the past 12 years. At Wimbledon he beat Jamie Baker and Björn Phau, but lost to David Ferrer in the third round in four sets.
At the BB&T Atlanta Open he beat Nicolas Mahut, Michael Russell in the quarterfinals, John Isner in the semifinals and Gilles Müller in the final. Roddick's London Olympics campaign began with a victory over Martin Kližan. In the second round, Roddick lost to No. 2 Novak Djokovic. After the Olympics, Roddick decided not to play in Toronto and went straight to Cincinnati, where he lost in the first round to Frenchman Jérémy Chardy.
In the US Open, Roddick began his campaign with a victory over his countryman Rhyne Williams. On August 30, 2012, which was his thirtieth birthday, Roddick announced that he would retire after the tournament. After announcing his retirement, Roddick defeated Bernard Tomic and Fabio Fognini before his final match on September 5, 2012, where he lost to Juan Martín del Potro in four sets in the fourth round. Four days after his loss, Roddick was honored in a special ceremony in Arthur Ashe Stadium on his retirement, in which Andre Agassi participated. Due to his retirement, he ended the year at No. 39, the lowest he had been since 2000, the year he turned professional, when he only played five events.
=== 2015 ===
Roddick played one tournament on tour, the 2015 BB&T Atlanta Open, where he competed in the men's doubles event with Mardy Fish. They lost in the quarterfinals.
=== 2017: Hall of Fame induction ===
Roddick was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on July 22, 2017, alongside Kim Clijsters of Belgium.
== Nicknames and on-court behavior ==
Roddick is often called "A-Rod", a play on the nickname of New York Yankees baseball star Alex Rodriguez, referring to his first initial and the first syllable of his last name.
Roddick made frequent outbursts against umpires and linesmen on the court. At the 2001 US Open, Roddick angrily disputed a ball that landed wide at a crucial point in the fifth set of his quarter-final match against Lleyton Hewitt (he was serving at *4–5), calling umpire Jorge Dias "a moron" and copping a code violation for audible obscenity. During his third-round match at the Australian Open in 2008, he abused umpire Emmanuel Joseph saying, "You're an idiot! Stay in school, kids or you'll end up being an umpire."
Roddick lost his temper again at the 2010 Australian Open after a ball that he did not play was called out on match point, but ruled to be in after a video review. He continued arguing with the umpire after the conclusion of the match but later said that he was wrong. Later again that year, he launched into a tirade at an official over a foot-fault call at the 2010 US Open, a match he eventually lost to Serbia's Janko Tipsarević. In 2011, Roddick snapped at the chair umpire at Indian Wells on his way to lose to France's Richard Gasquet.
In a second-round match against Philipp Kohlschreiber at the 2011 Cincinnati Masters, Roddick was given a penalty point, which resulted in a critical break of serve in favor of his opponent. The penalty point was given due to ball-abuse, when Roddick smashed a ball into the stands in frustration after he had already been warned earlier in the match by umpire Carlos Bernardes for an episode of racquet abuse. This triggered another series of altercations with the umpire, with Roddick expressing his displeasure at the umpire's call. Roddick lost the match.
== Endorsements ==
From 2000 to 2005, Roddick wore Reebok apparel. After Reebok announced it would not renew its contract with Roddick, Roddick signed a five-year, $25 million endorsement deal with Lacoste in April 2005. In November, he signed an agreement to endorse Lacoste eyewear for four years worth between $750,000 and $1 million. In 2011, Lacoste introduced the Andy Roddick collection which included polos, jackets, tennis shorts and track pants. In June 2013, Roddick became an investor and brand ambassador to TravisMathew Apparel.
In 2005, Roddick signed a multiyear worldwide endorsement deal with carmaker Lexus. His other endorsement deals include American Express, Rolex, Powerade in 2002, Parlux Fragrances, Arizona Beverage Company in 2009, Microsoft Xbox and Sega.
== Playing style ==
Roddick's serve was known for its power, usually travelling at 130–150 mph (209~242 km/h) and often unreturnable. He once held the record for fastest serve at 155 mph (249 km/h). Roddick's favorite shot is his off-forehand, which he used in combination with his kicker out wide. Roddick used to play his off-forehand frequently but later adjusted and used it to create points. He usually targeted the two corners to win aces. As for his second serve, he usually employed a heavy kick serve, then used a variety of spins, slices, and angles in the rally to throw off his opponent. He was noted for using heavy topspin on both his serves and his twist serve was particularly high kicking.
Roddick also occasionally used the serve-and-volley tactic on both first and second services to surprise his opponent, though he generally remained near the baseline after a serve. He later developed a more all-court playing style compared to the aggressive baseline style he played with for most of his early career. Although Roddick's backhand was a weakness throughout his career, it improved somewhat in 2009 under Stefanki's guidance.
== Media appearances ==
On April 5, 2002, Roddick guest-starred on the television show Sabrina the Teenage Witch as himself. In the episode, Sabrina summoned him so he could give her tennis lessons.
Roddick appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn in 2002 and 2003, Late Show with David Letterman in 2003 and 2009, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and Live with Regis and Kelly in 2003, Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2004 and 2005, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2005 and 2007, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2006. Roddick also appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in 2007 and 2010.
Roddick hosted Saturday Night Live on November 8, 2003, becoming the second professional tennis player to host (Chris Evert being the first during the show's 15th season) and the first (and, as of September 2023, only) male tennis player to host.
Pre-Wimbledon, Roddick appeared on an episode of the British version of The Weakest Link, which was broadcast on 18 June 2004.
Roddick was in an advertisement for This is SportsCenter, with Stuart Scott, in which he confronts the Sports Center anchor about the anchors not calling him "A-Rod", and asks him "Did Alex Rodriguez put you up to this?" Scott replies "Who?" Roddick says "A-Rod!" Scott gets a sneaky look on his face, and Roddick leaves disgusted.
The June/July issue of Men's Fitness magazine carried an article on Roddick. The cover shot featured the tennis ace in a T-shirt, straining to contain massive, pumped-up biceps and hulking shoulder and chest muscles. The image set off widespread online speculation that the magazine had altered Roddick's likeness, a suspicion echoed by Roddick himself. Roddick has quipped that he saw the photo, and that "Nadal wanted his arms back."
In March 2009, Roddick appeared in the "Speed Feels Better" music video for singer-songwriter Michael Tolcher. Other athletes in the video included Amanda Beard, Barry Sanders, Kimmie Meissner, and Rick Ankiel.
Roddick played tennis using a frying pan instead of a racquet for the book Andy Roddick Beat Me With a Frying Pan by Todd Gallagher.
In 2011, Roddick made a cameo at the end of the film Just Go With It, as the new lover of the film's jilted bride, played by Decker.
In 2011 Roddick co-hosted a radio show for one day on Fox Sports Radio with his friend Bobby Bones on the latter's eponymous program. Due to the success of that one-time show, Fox Sports Radio offered Roddick and Bones a nationally syndicated sports radio show. The show debuted on January 7, 2012, and could be heard nationally on Saturdays from 12 to 3 PM CST. It was a mix of sports, pop culture and entertainment. On February 16, 2012, Roddick interviewed his wife, Brooklyn, on the radio show and during that interview he first revealed his plans on retiring and turning the radio show into a daily show and into his new career.
At the 2013 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Roddick played his first professional golf tournament (as an amateur) where he teamed up with professional golfer, John Mallinger. Although Roddick's team missed the cut to get the final round, he and Mallinger ended with a combined score of 16 under par (with Roddick individually hitting at a 6 handicap).
In 2013, Roddick was hired by Fox Sports 1 as co-host for the network's flagship program Fox Sports Live.
In 2015, Roddick joined the BBC as pundit and commentator for the 2015 Wimbledon Championships.
In 2017, Roddick's wife revealed that he discarded most of his tennis trophies except the US Open trophy.
In 2019, Roddick appeared on Celebrity Family Feud with his wife and the rest of the Decker family, competing against Bobby Bones and his family.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Roddick tweeted Tennis Channel requesting a "job." This led him to become a temporary contributor to the channel.
On April 2, 2023, Roddick participated with Michael Chang, Andre Agassi and John McEnroe in the first live airing of Pickleball on ESPN in the Million dollar Pickleball Slam at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
In 2024, Roddick began a weekly podcast series for Tennis Channel named "Served with Andy Roddick".
== Personal life ==
From 2003 to 2004, Roddick dated actress and singer Mandy Moore.
It was while Roddick was watching a show on the CNN/Sports Illustrated website called She Says Z Says that he first noticed Brooklyn Decker, to whom he is now married. According to Decker in an interview with David Letterman, Roddick had his agent contact her agent to arrange an initial meeting. The two began dating in 2007, and on March 31, 2008, Roddick announced on his website that they had become engaged. The couple were married on April 17, 2009, in Austin, Texas. Decker gave birth to the couple's first child on September 30, 2015. She gave birth to their second child, a daughter, on November 27, 2017.
== Awards and records ==
In 2004, Roddick produced what was then the fastest serve in professional tennis: 249.4 km/h (155.0 mph) during a Davis Cup semifinal match with Vladimir Voltchkov on hard court in Charleston, South Carolina. Roddick's record serve has since been superseded by Ivo Karlović, who served at 251 km/h (156 mph) playing at the Davis Cup in March 2011. Roddick also had the fastest serve in U.S. Open history: 244 km/h (152 mph) against American Scoville Jenkins, and against future No. 1 Rafael Nadal. Roddick also won the 2004 ESPY Award for Best Male Tennis Player.
That same year he won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award of the Year because of his charity efforts, which included: raising money for the survivors of the tsunami following 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake through Serving for Tsunami Relief and other efforts; auctioning off several rackets and autographs to raise money for UNICEF; and creating the Andy Roddick Foundation to help at-risk youth.
In 2007, Roddick and the Andy Roddick Foundation were awarded by the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. Roddick was the first male tennis player ever to receive the award.
Serve records since 1991:
Fastest serve in Australian Open: 148 mph.
Fastest serve in Dubai: 150 mph.
Fastest average in first serve: 134 mph.
Fastest serve in Beijing: 148 mph.
Fastest serve in San Jose: 150 mph.
Fastest serve in Madrid: 151 mph.
Fastest serve in Washington: 151 mph.
Fastest serve in Queens: 153 mph.
Fastest serve in Lyon: 142 mph.
Fastest serve in US Open: 152 mph.
Fastest serve at Roland Garros: 144 mph (2006–2010).
Fastest serve at Queens: 151 mph.
Fastest serve at Wimbledon: 143 mph (2011).
Fastest serve on record (Davis Cup): 155 mph (2004–2011).
== Career statistics ==
=== Grand Slam tournaments ===
==== Performance timeline ====
==== Finals: 5 (1 title, 4 runner-ups) ====
=== Masters Series ===
==== Finals: 9 (5 titles, 4 runner-ups) ====
=== Records ===
These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.
=== Filmography ===
In 2011, Roddick made a cameo appearance in the Adam Sandler comedy film Just Go with It with his real-life wife Brooklyn Decker. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathmullan | Rathmullan | Rathmullan (Irish: Ráth Maoláin, meaning 'Maolán's ringfort') is a seaside village and townland on the Fanad Peninsula in County Donegal, Ireland. It is situated on the western shore of Lough Swilly, 11 kilometres (7 mi) north-east of Ramelton and 12 km (7 mi) east of Milford. Rathmullan was the point of departure during the Flight of the Earls in 1607, a major turning point in Irish history.
== History ==
Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes court tomb and ringfort sites in the neighbouring townlands of Crevary Upper and Rathmullan and Ballyboe.
Within Rathmullan village is a ruined Carmelite friary, dating to 1516, which was built by Eoghan Rua MacSweeney. The friary was sacked by the English garrison from Sligo in 1595. In 1617, the friary was occupied by the Protestant Bishop of Raphoe, Andrew Knox. A subsequent Bishop of Raphoe turned it into a fortified house in anticipation of a possible French invasion during the Napoleonic Wars.
On 14 September 1607, 99 aristocrats of the Gaelic Order, including of Clan Ó Néill and Clan Ó Domhnaill, left Rathmullan for the European continent, an episode known as the Flight of the Earls. On 14 September 2007, president Mary McAleese visited the village to mark the 400th anniversary of the event. She unveiled a sculpture by John Behan that represents the plight of the men who were led by the Gaelic aristocrats.
There are the remains of a Martello tower or battery in the village which serves as a heritage centre. The fortification was one of six originally built c. 1813 by the British as part of a defence along Lough Swilly against feared Napoleonic invasion. These batteries were manned up until the end of the World War I to protect British warships that were moored in Lough Swilly.
== Amenities ==
There are three churches in Rathmullan: St. Joseph's Catholic Church, St. Columb's Church of Ireland (Parish of Killygarvan), and the Rathmullan Presbyterian Church.
Other facilities in Rathmullan include shops, a resource centre, a spa, a wedding venue (Drumhalla House), and a hotel.
== Events ==
The annual Lough Swilly Deep Sea Fishing Festival is held locally in June. The 2007 festival took place on Saturday 2 June and Sunday 3 June.
== Literature ==
Rathmullan is the setting for Australian/British author Brand King's novel An Irish Winter, published in 2020. A number of features of the village are described in the novel, including the local beach. The traditional New Year's Day cold water swim also features, while a number of scenes are set in the Beachcomber Bar and An Bonnan Bui Cafe.
== Notable people ==
Ian Anderson (1925–2005), former President of the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man.
Hugh Law (1818–1883), Lord Chancellor of Ireland, died here in 1883.
Mary McAlister (1896–1976), Irish-born Scottish nurse who became an MP for the UK Labour Party. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zack_Wheat# | Zack Wheat# | Zachariah Davis Wheat (May 23, 1888 – March 11, 1972), nicknamed "Buck", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left fielder from 1909 to 1927, most notably as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers who were known as the Robins at that time. After 18 seasons in Brooklyn, he played his final season with the Philadelphia Athletics.
Although Wheat spent the first part of his career playing in the Dead ball era, he hit over .300 in 13 seasons and won the National League batting championship in 1918. He ended his career with a .317 career batting average and remains the Dodgers all-time franchise leader in games, at bats, plate appearances, hits, doubles, triples, and total bases. Wheat was also known as a stylish and graceful outfielder, leading National League left fielders in putouts seven times and fielding percentage twice.
Wheat was unanimously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1959. His brother McKinley "Mack" Wheat also played in the major leagues, and the two were teammates in Brooklyn for five seasons.
== Early life ==
Born in Hamilton, Missouri, he was the son of Basil and Julia Wheat. His father was of English descent. For many years, it was believed that Wheat was at least partially of Cherokee descent but, according to the Society for American Baseball Research, this was likely untrue.
== Career ==
Wheat began his professional baseball career in 1906 for Enterprise in the Kansas League, followed by Wichita in 1907, the Shreveport Pirates of the Texas League in 1908, and the Mobile Sea Gulls of the Southern Association in 1909. It was during that 1909 season that the Brooklyn Superbas of the National League purchased Wheat for $1,200, and he made his major league debut in September. Wheat batted with a corkscrew type of swing, and held his hands down near the end of the bat, unlike most hitters during his time, a time noted as the "Dead Ball Era". Along with his consistently high levels of hitting, he was also noted for his graceful and stylish defense.
Wheat played his first full season in 1910. He played every game for the Superbas that season as the regular left fielder, leading the league in games played. He batted .284 that season, the second-lowest average of his career, which led the team, and was among the league leaders in hits, doubles, and triples. It was in 1911 that his reputation as a slugger began to take hold. Along with hitting .287, Wheat finished eighth in the league with 13 triples and slugged five home runs. In an era when players rarely hit double-digit home runs for a season, five was enough for people to take notice.
Wheat continued his steady and consistent climb up the batting charts in 1912, hitting .305 and finishing the season among the league leaders in home runs and slugging percentage. Over the next four seasons, he continued to be among the leaders in many offensive categories, including home runs, batting average, slugging average, hits, doubles, triples, and RBI. It was during the 1912 season that Wheat married Daisy Kerr Forsman. His wife quickly became his de facto agent, encouraging him to hold out for a better contract each season. Each time Wheat held out, he received more money, the club not wanting to lose one of its best hitters and the team's most popular player. This tactic of threatening to hold out served him well during throughout his career, including during the World War I era, when he raised and sold mules to the United States Army as pack animals. Wheat claimed that he was making so much money from his business that he wouldn't need to play baseball at all. The team, fearing that they might lose a great player during the prime of his career, succumbed to his demands every year.
In 1916, Wheat topped off a string of seasons with a finish in the top ten in all the above categories, topping the league in total bases and slugging. He also had a career-high hitting streak, which reached 29 games. The Brooklyn Robins won the National League pennant that season. In the World Series, they faced the Boston Red Sox, who had the formidable pitching rotation of Ernie Shore, Dutch Leonard, Carl Mays, and Babe Ruth. The Red Sox won the series four games to one, holding the Robins to a .200 batting average and Wheat to a paltry .211.
During the 1917 and 1918 seasons, Wheat hit well, but missed many games due to injuries. He had tiny feet, around size 5, and this is believed to be the cause of the many nagging ankle injuries that caused to miss many games in his career. However, Wheat led the league in batting average for the only time in his career with a .335 batting average, his highest average up to that point. Despite being known as a slugger and consistently placing in the top ten in home runs, Wheat hit no home runs that season and had hit just one the season prior. Not until Rod Carew in 1972 would another player win a batting title without hitting a home run during the season.
Starting in 1919, Wheat returned to the league slugging leaders once again as the baseball began to become livelier. The Robins made their second World Series appearance in 1920, this time facing off against the Cleveland Indians. The Robins lost this series as well, 5 games to 2, although Wheat's series average was .333. Wheat's statistics climbed during this new live era of baseball, reaching double-digit home runs for the first time with 14 in 1921, and again three more times in the next four years. Wheat hit .320 or higher every season from 1920 through 1925, topping out with .375 in consecutive seasons. He failed to lead the league in hitting those two seasons, not getting enough at bats in 1923 to qualify, and Hornsby topped the league with .384, and in 1924, his .375 was a distant second to Hornsby's .424.
A subtle but longstanding friction existed between Wheat and his manager, Wilbert Robinson. The friction reportedly stemmed from Robinson's belief that Wheat pursued the manager's job behind his back. When owner Charles Ebbets died in 1925, new team president Ed McKeever reassigned Robinson into the front office and named Wheat as player-manager. Newspapers confirm that he managed the Dodgers for two weeks. McKeever caught pneumonia at Ebbets' funeral, and died soon afterward, and Robinson quickly returned to the manager's position. As it turned out, Wheat never again managed in the majors, much to his disappointment. Moreover, Wheat's 1925 managerial stint never made it into the official records. In 1931, Steve McKeever, Ed's brother, hired Wheat as a coach, leading to widespread speculation that he was being groomed for the manager's spot, threatening Robinson's job for a second time in seven years, and he treated his former star as coldly as ever.
Wheat was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics after his release from Brooklyn in 1927. After the season, he was released again; this time he signed and played for the minor league Minneapolis Millers of the American Association. Wheat played very little that season due to a heel injury, and retired from playing following the season. He still holds the Dodger franchise records for hits, doubles, triples and total bases.
== Career statistics ==
In 2,410 games over 19 seasons, Wheat posted a .317 batting average (2,884-for-9,106) with 1,289 runs, 476 doubles, 172 triples, 132 home runs, 1,248 RBI, 205 stolen bases, 650 bases on balls, .367 on-base percentage and .450 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .966 fielding percentage as a left fielder. In 12 World Series games (1916,1920), he batted .283 (13-for-46) with 4 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 RBI and 3 walks.
== Post-career ==
After Wheat retired from baseball, he moved back to his 160-acre (0.65 km2) farm in Polo, Missouri, until the Great Depression forced him to sell it in 1932. He moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he operated a bowling alley with Cotton Tierney. Wheat later became a police officer. During his duties as an officer in 1936, he crashed his vehicle while pursuing a felon, and nearly died. Following five months in hospital after the accident, he moved his family to Sunrise Beach, Missouri, a resort town on the Lake of the Ozarks, where he opened a 46-acre (190,000 m2) hunting and fishing resort.
Wheat was first voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1957, but could not be inducted because he had not been retired for the required 30 years. The committee unanimously elected him in 1959. In 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. In 2006, the stretch of Route 13 that runs through Caldwell County, Missouri was named the Zach Wheat Memorial Highway.
Due to the long-held belief about his supposed Cherokee ancestry, Wheat was featured in "Baseball's League of Nations: A Tribute to Native Americans in Baseball", a 2008 exhibit at the Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, N.Y.
Wheat died of a heart attack on March 11, 1972.
== Legacy ==
The American Legion Post in Sunrise Beach, Missouri, where Wheat lived following his retirement, is named "Zachariah (Zack) Davis Wheat Post 624 American Legion, Sunrise Beach, Missouri" in his honor. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flin_Flon_Bombers | Flin Flon Bombers | The Flin Flon Bombers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in Flin Flon, a city located on the Manitoba–Saskatchewan provincial border. The Bombers are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), which is a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League, and they play home games at the Whitney Forum on the Manitoba side of the city. The team's history dates back to 1927 and includes a decade-long run in the major junior Western Hockey League in the late 1960s and 1970s. The team has won two national championships, including the 1957 Memorial Cup and the 1969 James Piggott National Championship. The team has a tradition of throwing a moose leg onto the ice after every home-game win.
== History ==
=== Early years ===
The Bombers date back to 1927. Their trademark colours are maroon and white. The team originally played at the Flin Flon Community Club Arena until the construction of the Whitney Forum, known locally as "the zoo", in the 1950s. The Bombers originated as a senior team, and they competed in the Northern Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League and the Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League between 1937 and 1948.
=== SJHL dynasty ===
In the postwar period, the Bombers became charter members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). The team quickly established a dynasty, winning seven league titles in a nine-year span between 1952 and 1960. The team's biggest success during this period came in the 1956–57 season. The Bombers lost only five games in the regular season. In the playoffs, the Bombers beat the Humboldt Indians four games to none in the semifinals, then won the final over the Prince Albert Mintos four games to two. As SJHL champions, the Bombers then advanced to the Abbott Cup to determine the champion for Western Canada. They defeated the Edmonton Oil Kings, a team of junior-aged players competing in the senior Central Alberta Hockey League, four games to two, then the Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League's Fort William Canadiens in four games to win the Abbott Cup and advance to the Memorial Cup national tournament.
As per Memorial Cup rules, the Bombers were permitted to add three players to their roster for the 1957 national playoffs, picking up goalie Lynn Davis and defenceman Jean Gauthier from the Fort William Canadiens and centre Orland Kurtenbach from Prince Albert Mintos. There, they faced the Eastern Canadian champion Ottawa Canadiens, coached by Sam Pollock and assistant Scotty Bowman. The first three games were in Flin Flon, with the remaining games played in Regina, Saskatchewan with Pollock drawing the ire of Flin Flon residents for criticizing the remoteness and size of the community. The Bombers won the series four games to three to claim the Memorial Cup championship. The win by the Bombers was considered a considerable upset over the favoured Canadiens. The team was greeted by 4,000 people when they returned to Flin Flon after the series.
The 1956–57 Bombers were inducted into both the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (1999) and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (2009), as well as the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.
The Bombers played in the SJHL until 1966, when the launch of the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League (CMJHL) led the SJHL to fold with several of its teams joining the new league. The Bombers spent the 1966–67 season in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) instead. Led by coach Paddy Ginnell and star players Reggie Leach and Bobby Clarke, who won the league scoring title, the Bombers dominated the MJHL and won the Turnbull Cup as league champions, before losing the Abbott Cup final to Port Arthur. Clarke recorded 71 goals and 183 points in 45 games, while Leach recorded 67 goals and 113 points. Ginnell was credited with turning the Bombers into a hard-working and physically tough team. The arrangement with the MJHL would last just one season, with the Bombers leaving the league in 1967.
=== Western Canada Hockey League ===
After its inaugural season, the CMJHL was renamed the Western Canada Junior Hockey League, which was then simplified to the Western Canada Hockey league one year later. After their one season in the MJHL, the Bombers joined the WCHL, now the top level of junior hockey in Western Canada, for the 1967–68 season, and they immediately built on their previous success.
The Clarke-led Bombers continued to dominate, finishing in first place for the 1967–68 regular season before losing in the President's Cup finals to the Estevan Bruins. The Bombers again finished in first place in the 1968–69 season, going on to win that season's playoffs to become President's Cup champions, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings. Clarke led the league in scoring both seasons, while Leach recorded 87 goals in 1967–68. As 1969 WCHL champion, the Bombers proceeded to win a national championship in 1969 by defeating the St. Thomas Barons of the Western Ontario Junior A Hockey League; the best-of-seven series was unsanctioned by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA), which at the time had barred the WCHL from competing for the Memorial Cup. The short-lived Canadian Hockey Association organized an alternate championship; despite being a best-of-seven, St. Thomas withdrew from the series during the fourth game, trailing the game and the series two games to one, protesting the Bombers' violent play style—the Bombers were awarded the title. After the series, Flin Flon challenged the Memorial Cup-champion Montreal Junior Canadiens to a showdown, but the Montreal club declined. The following season, with Clarke having graduated to the professional ranks, the Bombers repeated as league champions, again defeating Edmonton, with Leach leading the league in scoring. Due to the controversy surrounding the previous years series against St. Thomas, there was no national series in 1970.
The growing financial demands of major junior hockey, including extensive travel, became a strain for the Bombers, who played in one of the league's smallest and most remote communities; not only was the travel difficult for the Bombers, but for any team visiting Flin Flon, which had also developed a reputation as a particularly violent team. The franchise departed Flin Flon after the 1977–78 season. The franchise played three and a half seasons after leaving Flin Flon with iterations as the Edmonton Oil Kings—after the original Oil Kings departed Edmonton in 1976 due to pressure from the Edmonton Oilers—for the 1978–79 season, the Great Falls Americans for part of 1979–80 before suspending operations, and the Spokane Flyers for 1980–81 and start of the 1981–82 season before folding in December 1981.
=== Return to Junior A ===
In 1977, the WCHL Bombers had formed an affiliate Junior B team. The Jr. B Bombers would win the 1977–78 Baldy Northcott Trophy as Manitoba Provincial Champions. When the WCHL Bombers departed to Edmonton, the Bombers' ownership retained the Junior B Bombers. The Flin Flon ownership, along with the owners of the Thompson King Miners, banded together with people from The Pas and Snow Lake, Manitoba to create the NorMan Junior Hockey League (NJHL), a rival to the Manitoba Junior League; the following year, the NJHL—along with the Bombers—would be promoted to Junior A status and the right to compete for a national Junior A championship. Flin Flon won NJHL titles in 1979, 1982, and 1984.
For the 1984–85 season, the Bombers were granted expansion into the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), which had been revived in 1968 following the 1966 demise of the original SJHL. For two seasons, due to SJHL rules requiring teams to be located in Saskatchewan, the team was re-named the Creighton Bombers after the adjacent community of Creighton, Saskatchewan, despite Flin Flon straddling the provincial border. After two seasons, the league allowed the team to re-adopt the Flin Flon moniker.
== Notable alumni ==
== Season-by-season record ==
=== Playoff record ===
Northern Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League, 1937–1938
1937
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Prince Albert Mintos 2 games to 0
Final: North Battleford Beavers defeated Bombers 3 games to 1
1938
Semifinal: Bombers received a bye to the league final
Final: Bombers defeated Saskatoon Quakers 4 games to 3 (Won NSSHL Championship)
Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League, 1939–1944
1939
Semifinal: Moose Jaw Millers defeated Bombers 3 games to 1 (1 tie)
1940 Did not qualify
1941
Semifinal: Regina Rangers defeated Bombers 3 games to 0
1942
Semifinal: Saskatoon Quakers defeated Bombers 3 games to 0
1943
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Saskatoon RCAF Flyers 3 games to 0
Final: Regina Army Capitals defeated Bombers 4 games to 2
1944
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Moose Jaw Victorias 2 games to 0
Final: Bombers defeated Saskatoon Navy 3 games to 1 (Won SSHL Championship)
New Westminster CPA Lodestars defeated Bombers 3 games to 1 in Allan Cup playoffs
1945 to 1948: No information available
North Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, 1949–50
1949
Semifinal: Prince Albert Mintos defeated Bombers 2 games to 1
1950
Semifinal: Prince Albert Mintos defeated Bombers 3 games to 1
Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, 1951–1966
1951
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Humboldt Indians 3 games to 0 (1 tie)
Final: Prince Albert Mintos defeated Bombers 3 games to 0
1952
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Saskatoon Wesleys 4 games to 1
Final: Bombers defeated Humboldt Indians 3 games to 2 (Won SJHL Championship)
Regina Pats defeated Bombers 4 games to 0 in Western Canada Memorial Cup playoffs
1953
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Prince Albert Mintos 4 games to 2
Final: Bombers defeated Humboldt Indians 4 games to 1 (Won SJHL Championship)
Lethbridge Native Sons defeated Bombers 4 games to 0 in Western Canada Memorial Cup playoffs
1954
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Saskatoon Wesleys 4 games to 3
Final: Bombers defeated Prince Albert Mintos 5 games to 4 (1 tie) (Won SJHL Championship)
Edmonton Oil Kings defeated Bombers 4 games to 0 in Western Canada Memorial Cup playoffs
1955
Semifinal: Prince Albert Mintos defeated Bombers 4 games to 1
1956
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Humboldt–Melfort Indians 4 games to 1
Final: Bombers defeated Prince Albert Mintos 3 games to 2 (2 ties) (Won SJHL Championship)
Regina Pats defeated Bombers 4 games to 3 in Western Canada Memorial Cup playoffs
1957
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Humboldt–Melfort Indians 4 games to 0
Final: Bombers defeated Prince Albert Mintos 4 games to 2 (Won SJHL Championship)
Bombers defeated Edmonton Oil Kings 4 games to 2 in the Western Canada Memorial Cup semifinal
Bombers defeated Fort William Canadiens 4 games to 0 (Won Abbott Cup)
Bombers defeated Ottawa-Hull Canadiens 4 games to 3 (Won Memorial Cup)
1958
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Prince Albert Mintos 3 games to 1 (2 ties)
Final: Regina Pats defeated Bombers 4 games to 2
1959
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Saskatoon Quakers 4 games to 1
Final: Bombers defeated Estevan Bruins 4 games to 2 (Won SJHL Championship)
Bombers defeated Edmonton Oil Kings 4 games to 0 in the Western Canada Memorial Cup semifinal
Winnipeg Braves defeated Bombers 4 games to 2 in Western Canada Memorial Cup final
1960
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Saskatoon Quakers 4 games to 2 (1 tie)
Final: Bombers defeated Regina Pats 4 games to 1 (1 tie) (Won SJHL Championship)
Edmonton Oil Kings defeated Bombers 4 games to 2 in Western Canada Memorial Cup semifinal
1961 Did not qualify
1962
Bombers placed 5th place of 6 (2–8–0) in round robin
1963 Did not qualify
1964
Quarterfinal: Saskatoon Blades defeated Bombers 4 games to 3
1965
Quarterfinal:Weyburn Red Wings defeated Bombers 4 games to 1
1966 Did not qualify
Manitoba Junior Hockey League, 1967
1967
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Winnipeg Monarchs 3 games to 0
Final: Bombers defeated Brandon Wheat Kings 3 games to 2 (Won Turnbull Cup)
Port Arthur Marrs defeated Bombers 4 games to 2 in Western Memorial Cup final
Western Canada Hockey League, 1968–1978
1968
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Regina Pats 4 games to 0
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Edmonton Oil Kings 4 games to 1 (1 tie)
Final: Estevan Bruins defeated Bombers 4 games to 0 (1 tie)
1969
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Winnipeg Jets 4 games to 2 (1 tie)
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Estevan Bruins 4 games to 0 (1 tie)
Final: Bombers defeated Edmonton Oil Kings 4 games to 2 (Won WCHL Championship)
Bombers defeated St. Thomas Barons 2 games to 1† (Won James Piggott National Championship)
†Series forfeited by St. Thomas while down two games to one, and losing 4–0 at 10:10 of the second period of the fourth game
1970
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Brandon Wheat Kings 5 games to 0
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Winnipeg Jets 5 games to 4
Final: Bombers defeated Edmonton Oil Kings 4 games to 0 (Won WCHL Championship)
1971
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Regina Pats 4 games to 1 (1 tie)
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Winnipeg 5 games to 2
Final: Edmonton Oil Kings defeated Bombers 4 games to 1 (1 tie)
1972
Quarterfinal: Regina Pats defeated Bombers 3 games to 2 (2 ties)
1973
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Regina Pats 4 games to 0
Semifinal: Saskatoon Blades defeated Bombers 4 games to 1
1974
Quarterfinal: Swift Current Broncos defeated Bombers 4 games to 3
1975 Did not qualify
1976 Did not qualify
1977 Did not qualify
1978
Bombers advanced in Division round robin to Semifinal (4–4)
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Regina Pats 4 games to 1
Bombers eliminated in semifinal round robin (0–4)
NorMan Junior Hockey League, 1979–1984
1979
Final: Bombers defeated Thompson Nickel Knights (Won NJHL Championship)
Baldy Northcott Trophy: Transcona Railers defeated Bombers
1980
Semifinal: Bombers defeated The Pas Lumber Kings 3 games to 0
Final: Thompson King Miners defeated Bombers 3 games to 1
1981
Semifinal: Bombers defeated The Pas Lumber Kings
Final: Thompson King Miners defeated Bombers 4 games to 2
1982
Final: Bombers defeated Thompson King Miners 4 games to 0 (Won NJHL Championship)
Turnbull Cup: Winnipeg South Blues defeated Bombers 3 games to 0
1983
Final: The Pas Huskies defeated Bombers
1984
Final: Bombers defeated Thompson King Miners 4 games to 2 (Won NJHL Championship)
Turnbull Cup: Selkirk Steelers defeated Bombers 4 games to 1
Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, 1985–present
1985
Quarterfinal: Weyburn Red Wings defeated Bombers 4 games to 0
1986 Did not qualify
1987 Did not qualify
1988
Quarterfinal: Nipawin Hawks defeated Bombers 4 games to 0
1989
Quarterfinal: Yorkton Terriers defeated Bombers 4 games to 0
1990
Quarterfinal: Nipawin Hawks defeated Bombers 4 games to 0
1991 Did not qualify
1992
Quarterfinal: Humboldt Broncos defeated Bombers 4 games to 1
1993
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Humboldt Broncos 4 games to 1
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Nipawin Hawks 4 games to 1
Final: Bombers defeated Melville Millionaires 4 games to 3 (Won Hanbridge Cup)
Anavet Cup: Bombers defeated Dauphin Kings 4 games to 2 (Won Anavet Cup)
Centennial Cup round robin: Bombers placed fifth in 1993 Centennial Cup round robin (0–4)
1994
Preliminary round: Nipawin Hawks defeated Bombers 2 games to 0
1995 Did not qualify
1996
Preliminary round: Humboldt Broncos defeated Bombers 2 games to 0
1997 Did not qualify
1998 Did not qualify
1999
Preliminary round: Battlefords North Stars defeated Bombers 2 games to 0
2000
Quarterfinal: Humboldt Broncos defeated Bombers 4 games to 0
2001
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Humboldt Broncos 4 games to 1
Semifinal: Nipawin Hawks defeated Bombers 4 games to 1
RBC Cup Round Robin†: Third in 2001 Royal Bank Cup round robin (2–2)
Semi-Final: Bombers defeated Weyburn Red Wings 4–0
RBC Final: Camrose Kodiaks defeated Bombers 5–0
†Qualified for RBC Cup as hosts
2002 Did not qualify
2003 Did not qualify
2004 Did not qualify
2005 Did not qualify
2006
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Melfort Mustangs 4 games to 3
Semifinal: Battlefords North Stars defeated Bombers 4 games to 1
2007 Did not qualify
2008
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Melfort Mustangs 4 games to 2
Semifinal: Humboldt Broncos defeated 4 games to 0
2009
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Melfort Mustangs 4 games to 0
Semifinal: Humboldt Broncos defeated Bombers 4 games to 0
2010
Quarterfinal: La Ronge Ice Wolves defeated Bombers 4 games to 2
2011
Survivor Series: Bombers defeated Battlefords North Stars 3 games to 1
Quarterfinal: La Ronge Ice Wolves defeated Bombers 4 games to 1
2012
Survivor Series: La Ronge Ice Wolves defeated Bombers 3 games to 0
2013
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Nipawin Hawks 4 games to 2
Semifinal: Humboldt Broncos defeated Bombers 4 games to 1
2014
Wildcard Series: Estevan Bruins defeated Bombers 3 games to 2
2015
Quarterfinal: Notre Dame Hounds defeated Bombers 4 games to 3
2016
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Weyburn Red Wings 4 games to 1
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Battlefords North Stars 4 games to 1
Final: Melfort Mustangs defeated Bombers 4 games to 2
2017
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Notre Dame Hounds 4 games to 1
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Nipawin Hawks 4 games to 3
Final: Battlefords North Stars defeated Bombers 4 games to 0
2018
Wildcard Series: Bombers defeated Notre Dame Hounds 2 games to 1
Quarterfinal: Nipawin Hawks defeated Bombers 4 games to 1
2019
Wildcard Series: Bombers defeated Weyburn Red Wings 2 games to 0
Quarterfinal: Battlefords North Stars defeated Bombers 4 games to 3
2020
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Humboldt Broncos 4 games to 0
Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Battlefords North Stars 4 games to 2
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Humboldt Broncos 4 games to 1
Final: Estevan Bruins defeated Bombers 4 games to 3
Centennial Cup round robin†: Bombers advanced to playoff round
Centennial Cup quarterfinal: Pickering Panthers defeated Bombers 3 to 2 (2OT)
†Qualified for Centennial Cup due to Estevan's host status
2023
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Estevan Bruins 4 games to 3
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Humboldt Broncos 4 games to 1
Final: Battlefords North Stars defeated Bombers 4 games to 0
2024
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Kindersley Klippers 4 games to 0
Semifinal: Bombers defeated Battlefords North Stars 4 games to 0
Final: Melfort Mustangs defeated Bombers 4 games to 2
2025
Quarterfinal: Bombers defeated Humboldt Broncos 4 games to 2
Semifinal: Weyburn Red Wings defeated Bombers 4 games to 2
== Player awards ==
1957 Memorial Cup Champions
Harvey Fleming, Carl Forster, Cliff Lennartz, Barry Beatty, Mike Kardash, Duane Rupp, George Konik, Mel Pearson, Ken Willey, Rod Lee, Wayne Sproxton, Ted Hampson (captain), George Wood, Lynn Davis, Jean Gauthier, Ron Hutchinson, Orland Kurtenbach, Pat Ginnell, Doug Dawson (manager), Bobby Kirk (coach), Hec McCaig (trainer), Jim Wardle (executive), Pinkie Davie (executive), Ken Cunningham (stickboy), Rees Jones (stickboy), and Dan McCaig (mascot) were with the team through the SJHL and Abbott Cup championships, and were joined by Lynn Davis, Jean Gauthier, and Orland Kurtenbach for the Memorial Cup national championship.
Scoring champions
Most Valuable Player
Player of the Year
Goaltender of the Year
Defenceman of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ace_Ventura:_Pet_Detective | Ace Ventura: Pet Detective | Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is a 1994 American comedy film starring Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura, an animal detective who is tasked with finding the abducted dolphin mascot of the Miami Dolphins football team. The film is directed by Tom Shadyac, who wrote the screenplay with Jack Bernstein and Carrey. The film co-stars Courteney Cox, Tone Loc, Sean Young, and then–Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and features a cameo appearance from death metal band Cannibal Corpse.
Morgan Creek Productions produced the film on a budget of $15 million, and Warner Bros. released the film on February 4, 1994. It grossed $72.2 million in the United States and Canada and $35 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $107.2 million. It received generally unfavorable reviews from critics. However, Carrey's performance led to the film having a cult following among male adolescents. In addition to launching Carrey's film career, it started a franchise, spawning the sequel film Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), the animated television series Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1995–2000), and later, standalone made-for-television sequel Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective (2009).
== Plot ==
Ace Ventura, an eccentric and offbeat private detective in Miami, is known for rescuing tame or captive animals and is frequently subjected to mockery from the Miami Police Department. After a Bottlenose dolphin named Snowflake is stolen from Joe Robbie Stadium, Ventura is hired by Melissa Robinson, the Miami Dolphins' beautiful publicist, to find the team's mascot before the upcoming Super Bowl.
Ace's investigation leads him to billionaire Ronald Camp, a famed collector of exotic animals. While attending a social gala at Camp's mansion with Melissa, Ace searches for the dolphin and instead finds a dangerous man-eating shark. Upon leaving, Ventura notices Camp wearing a 1984 AFC Championship ring with an amber stone similar to one he found earlier in Snowflake's tank. He theorizes that a member of the 1984 Dolphins is the culprit, but after spying on the recipients in public spaces and shower rooms, he discovers all the rings have their stones intact.
When Roger Podacter, the Dolphins' head of operations, falls mysteriously to his death from his apartment balcony, the police declare it a suicide. But Ventura proves it was murder and mocks all the officers on site, including chief lieutenant Lois Einhorn. As he and Melissa investigate further, they discover another member of the 1984 team that wasn't added until midseason, a former placekicker named Ray Finkle, who missed a 26-yard field goal in the final seconds of Super Bowl XIX, costing the Dolphins the game and ending his career in disgrace.
Realizing that Finkle may be after Melissa next, Ace takes her back to his apartment for protection and they wind up having sex four times as Ace's pets watch.
The next morning, Ace travels to Finkle's hometown of Collier County and learns from his parents that Ray lost his mind and blamed quarterback Dan Marino for holding the ball with the laces in prior to the kick. Finkle was committed to a psych ward shortly after being released by the Dolphins, only to escape years later with no clue to his whereabouts. When Marino is subsequently kidnapped as Ace races back to Miami, he suspects Finkle is behind it.
Ace and Melissa visit the psychiatric facility where Finkle escaped, and Ventura discovers a newspaper clipping among Finkle's belongings about a missing hiker coincidentally named Lois Einhorn. He informs his police detective friend Emilio, who snoops around Einhorn's desk and finds a love letter from Podacter. Ventura realizes that Einhorn is actually Finkle disguised as a woman, which causes him to vomit uncontrollably since she kissed him days earlier.
On the day of the game, Ventura shadows Einhorn to a yacht storage facility where Marino and Snowflake are being held hostage. As he attempts to free Marino, Einhorn corners him at gunpoint and declares that she will kill both of them and frame Ace for the kidnapping. After Ace pleads with Einhorn to shoot Marino instead of him, he disarms her in a fierce struggle, but she regains the upper hand just as other officers arrive on the scene. Einhorn orders them to shoot Ace as the kidnapper, but he exposes Einhorn's hidden genitals, causing all the other officers to vomit uncontrollably.
Einhorn is arrested while Marino and Snowflake return to the Super Bowl in time for the second half. Ace begins a relationship with Melissa and is hailed a hero on the jumbotron. The event is capped off by Ventura beating up the Philadelphia Eagles mascot Swoop after it chases away a rare albino pigeon he was searching for, earning him a standing ovation from the crowd.
== Cast ==
== Production ==
The chairman and CEO of Morgan Creek Productions, James G. Robinson, in the early 1990s, sought to produce a comedy that would have wide appeal. Gag writer Tom Shadyac pitched a rewrite of the script to Robinson and was hired as director for what was his directorial debut. Filmmakers first approached Rick Moranis to play Ace Ventura, but Moranis declined the role. They then considered casting Judd Nelson or Alan Rickman, and they also considered changing Ace Ventura to be female and casting Whoopi Goldberg as the pet detective. David Alan Grier also turned down the offer to play Ace Ventura. Grier later said he thought the script was bad and faulted himself for not seeing the potential to do whatever he wanted with it like Carrey ultimately did. Ultimately Robinson noticed Jim Carrey's performance in the sketch comedy show In Living Color and cast him as Ace Ventura. Lauren Holly turned down the role of Melissa Robinson, which eventually went to Courteney Cox.
Carrey helped rewrite the script, and filmmakers allowed him to improvise on set. Carrey said of his approach, "I knew this movie was going to either be something that people really went for, or it was going to ruin me completely. From the beginning of my involvement, I said that the character had to be rock 'n' roll. He had to be the 007 of pet detectives. I wanted to be unstoppably ridiculous, and they let me go wild." He said he sought comedic moments that would be unappealing to some, "I wanted to keep the action unreal and over the top. When it came time to do my reaction to kissing a man, I wanted it to be the biggest, most obnoxious, homophobic reaction ever recorded. It's so ridiculous it can't be taken seriously—even though it guarantees that somebody's going to be offended."
The death metal band Cannibal Corpse performed their song "Hammer Smashed Face" in the film at the request of Jim Carrey, who personally selected the band for the film; the band originally had scheduling conflicts with a European tour, but the crew adjusted their filming schedule to accommodate the band to be able to participate in the film. Their appearance in the film significantly increased their visibility, attracting a broader audience beyond their typical fan base.
The filming took place in Miami, Florida in the second quarter of 1993. The film was produced on a budget of $15 million.
== Music ==
The film score was composed by Ira Newborn. The soundtrack, produced by Morgan Creek Records, included a variety of songs by other musicians.
== Release ==
Warner Bros. released Ace Ventura: Pet Detective in 1,750 theaters in the United States and Canada on February 4, 1994. The film grossed $12.1 million on its opening weekend, ranking first at the box office and outperforming other new releases My Father the Hero and I'll Do Anything. Opening-weekend audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on a scale of A to F. For its second weekend, it grossed $9.7 million and ranked first at the box office again, outperforming newcomers The Getaway, Blank Check, and My Girl 2. Variety reported of Ace Ventura's second weekend in box office performance, "The goofball comedy defied dire predictions by trackers, slipping just 20% for a three-day average of $5,075 and $24.6 million in 10 days." The Los Angeles Times reported, "Audiences are responding enthusiastically to Carrey's frenzied antics... [The film] is especially a hit with the 10- to 20-year-old age group it was originally targeted for. Box-office grosses indicate that many fans are going back to see the film again." It grossed $72.2 million in the United States and Canada and $35 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $107.2 million. The film's US box office performance led Variety to label it a "sleeper hit". Its best performance overseas was in Italy. On home video, Ace Ventura sold 4.2 million home videos in its first three weeks, which Los Angeles Times called "just as powerful a draw" as its theatrical run.
Carrey also starred in The Mask and Dumb and Dumber later in the year. The three films had a total box office gross of $550 million, which ranked Carrey as the second highest-grossing box office star in 1994, behind Tom Hanks.
The Hollywood Reporter said before Ace Ventura, Jim Carrey was "seen mainly as TV talent" and that the film's success "firmly [established] him as a big-screen presence". The film's success also led Morgan Creek Productions to produce the 1995 sequel Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls with Carrey reprising his role. Author Victoria Flanagan wrote that Carrey's performance "generated cult success for the film among adolescent male viewers". The Hollywood Reporter wrote that it "gained a loyal cult following through frequent TV airings". NME wrote in retrospect that the film was a "cult 1990s comedy".
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective was released on VHS on June 14, 1994, on DVD on August 26, 1997, and Blu-ray on September 3, 2013, by Warner Home Video. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray in a 25th Anniversary Edition in April 2019. Shout! Studios released the film on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on July 29, 2025.
== Critical reception ==
The Los Angeles Times reported at the time, "Not many critics have been charmed by Ace Ventura's exploits, and several have charged that the film's humor is mean-spirited, needlessly raunchy and homophobic." A biography of Carrey wrote that "the fans loved him and the critics hated him". Ace Ventura: Pet Detective received "generally unfavorable" reviews from contemporary critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic, which assessed 14 reviews and categorized six as negative, five as positive, and three as mixed. It gave the film an overall score of 37 out of 100. The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes assessed a sample of 65 contemporary and retrospective reviews as positive or negative and said 48% of the critics gave positive reviews with an average rating of 4.9/10. In 2019, Rotten Tomatoes wrote of the consensus, "Jim Carrey's twitchy antics and gross-out humor are on full, bombastic display in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, which is great news for fans of his particular brand of comedy but likely unsatisfying for anyone else."
Roger Ebert, reviewing for the Chicago Sun-Times, said, "I found the movie a long, unfunny slog through an impenetrable plot." Ebert described the lead role, "Carrey plays Ace as if he's being clocked on an Energy-O-Meter, and paid by the calories expended. He's a hyper goon who likes to screw his mouth into strange shapes while playing variations on the language." The New York Times film critic Stephen Holden said, "The comic actor Jim Carrey gives one of the most hyperactive performances ever brought to the screen... Only a child could love Mr. Carrey's character, but that may be the point. The movie has the metabolism, logic, and attention span of a peevish 6-year-old." He said of Ace Ventura's animals, "The few scenes of Ace communicating with his animals hint at an endearing wackiness that is abruptly undercut by the movie's ridiculous plot."
The Washington Post's film critics Rita Kempley and Desson Howe reviewed the film positively. Kempley said, "A riot from start to finish, Carrey's first feature comedy is as cheerfully bawdy as it is idiotically inventive." She added, "A spoof of detective movies, the story touches all the bases." Howe said that the film "is a mindless stretch of nonsense" and highlighted multiple "Carreyisms along the way". Howe concluded, "There are some unfortunate elements that were unnecessary—a big strain of homophobic jokes for one, profane and sexual situations that rule out the kiddie audience for another. But essentially, Ace is an unsophisticated opportunity to laugh at the mischief Carrey's body parts can get up to."
James Berardinelli said, "The comic momentum sputters long before the running time has elapsed." Berardinelli said of Carrey that he "uses his rubber features and goofy personae" that succeeds for a short time but after that, "Carrey's act gradually grows less humorous and more tiresome, and the laughter in the audience seems forced." The critic said the film has "its moments" of humor but considered there to be "a lot of dead screen time" in between.
While Michael MacCambridge of Austin American-Statesman named it as an honorable mention of his list of the best films of 1994, Rocky Mountain News's Rober Denerstein listed it as the second worst of the year.
== Accolades ==
== Transgender portrayal ==
In the film, the male ex-football player Finkle disguises himself over an extended period of time as the female police lieutenant Einhorn. Based on Ace Ventura's reaction to, and outing of, Einhorn as Finkle, the film has been criticized for the way it portrays transgender people. New Vistas outlined the negative portrayal: "the transgender character was the villain of the film and her body/being attracted to her, made characters physically ill. Additionally, the film showed transphobic behaviours by the main character who ridiculed, humiliated, misgendered, and exposed the body of the trans female character without her consent."
Alexandra Gonzenbach Perkins wrote in Representing Queer and Transgender Identity that mainstream representation of transgender identity at the turn of the 21st century was limited, observing that "the representations that did exist tended to pathologize transgender people as mentally unstable". Perkins said Ace Ventura, along with The Crying Game (1992), depicted "transgender characters as murderous villains". In the book Reclaiming Genders, in a chapter focusing on transgender identity, Gordene O. Mackenzie references Ace Ventura as an example of turn-of-the-century films that "illustrate the transphobia implicit in many popular US films". Mackenzie describes the scene in which Ace Ventura retches in the bathroom, following the revelation that the woman he had kissed is trans, as "one of the most memorable and blatantly transphobic/homophobic scenes". In The New York Times in 2016, Farhad Manjoo also wrote about this scene, "There was little culturally suspect then about playing gender identity for laughs. Instead, as in many fictional depictions of transgender people in that era, the scene’s prevailing emotion is of nose-holding disgust."
Lucy J. Miller, in the book Distancing Representations in Transgender Film: Identification, Affect, and the Audience, analyzed Ace Ventura: Pet Detective's parody of The Crying Game. Miller noted that the film reproduces The Crying Game's infamous "reveal" sequence, in which a character reacts with disgust upon learning of a partner's transgender identity. In Ace Ventura, the scene is extended for comic effect, with Ventura brushing his teeth, pouring toothpaste down his throat, using a plunger on his lips, burning his clothes, and sobbing in the shower. The parody is repeated later when Ventura exposes Einhorn's body, leading to a collective gesture of disgust from the surrounding police officers. Miller argued that the length and intensity of Ventura's reaction implies that the disgust expressed in The Crying Game was inadequate, reinforcing the message that audiences should regard transgender bodies with revulsion.
== Future ==
In October 2017, Morgan Creek Entertainment announced plans to reboot several films from its library, including Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Its president David Robinson said Morgan Creek's plan was not to simply remake the film but to do a follow-up in which Ace Ventura passes the mantle to a new character, such as a long-lost son or daughter. In 2018, according to Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls co-star Tommy Davidson, Carrey displayed a lack of interest in participating.
By March 2021, a sequel film was in development at Amazon Studios with the screenwriters of the 2020 film Sonic the Hedgehog, Pat Casey and Josh Miller, attached. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grease_2 | Grease 2 | Grease 2 is a 1982 American musical romantic comedy film and a standalone sequel to the 1978 film Grease, adapted from the 1971 musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Originally titled More Grease, the film was produced by Allan Carr and Robert Stigwood, and directed and choreographed by Patricia Birch, who choreographed the original stage production and prior film. The plot returns to Rydell High School two years after the original film's graduation, with a largely new cast, led by Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer in her first starring role.
The film was released in United States theaters on June 11, 1982 by Paramount Pictures, and grossed $15 million against a production budget of $11 million, a far cry from its predecessor's $132 million domestic box office. Despite breakthrough roles for Pfeiffer, Adrian Zmed, and Christopher McDonald, the film received mostly mixed reviews from critics; however, Grease 2 maintains a devoted fan base decades after its release. The film is now regarded as a cult classic.
== Plot ==
In September 1961, three years after the events of the prior film ("Alma Mater" from the original stage musical), Principal McGee and her secretary Blanche react in horror as students arrive at Rydell High to start a new academic year ("Back to School Again"). Among them are the trendy "bad-girl" Pink Ladies and the laid-back, motorcycle-riding ruffian T-Birds. Stephanie Zinone, the new leader of the Pink Ladies, feels she has "outgrown" her relationship with ex-boyfriend Johnny Nogerelli, the arrogant, chauvinistic and rather immature bully leader of the T-Birds.
Clean-cut British student Michael Carrington (a cousin of Sandy Olsson from the previous film) is introduced to the atmosphere by former Pink Lady Frenchy, who offers to orientate him. She has returned to Rydell to obtain her diploma so she can start her own cosmetics company (as preluded with "Beauty School Dropout" in the previous film). Michael eventually meets Stephanie, and quickly becomes smitten with her.
At the local bowling alley, a game between both cliques ("Score Tonight") turns hostile between Johnny and Stephanie, culminating in him kissing her friend Paulette Rebchuck. In retaliation, Stephanie kisses the next man who walks in the door, who happens to be Michael. Bemused by the unexpected kiss, Michael asks her out the next day at an audition for the upcoming school talent show, but learns she has standards for her ideal suitor ("Cool Rider"). Attempting to appropriately attain her affection, Michael starts covertly selling completed homework assignments and term papers to the academically-challenged T-Birds to save enough money for a motorcycle. Meanwhile, substitute teacher Mr. Stuart leads a rousing biology lesson ("Reproduction").
Rival motorcycle gang the Cycle Lords, led by Leo "Craterface" Balmudo, surprises the T-Birds at the bowling alley. Before a fight ensues, a lone, mysterious "Cool Rider" arrives, defeats the enemy gang, and disappears into the night ("Who's That Guy?"), astounding Stephanie. Meanwhile, T-Bird Louis DiMucci attempts to trick his sweetheart, Pink Lady Sharon Cooper, into losing her virginity to him by taking her to a fallout shelter and faking a nuclear attack ("Let's Do It for Our Country").
While Stephanie is working at her after-school job as an automobile mechanic at her family's gas station/auto garage, the Cool Rider surprises her with a romantic twilight motorcycle ride to a hilltop. Before he can reveal his identity, the T-Birds and Pink Ladies interrupt them, and he vows to reunite with her at the talent show. Johnny, enraged by Stephanie's new romance, threatens physical violence towards the Cool Rider if her new relationship continues. The Pink Ladies depart haughtily, ignoring the T-Birds' self-confidence ("Prowlin'").
At school, Stephanie's dismal grades in English lead her to accept Michael's offer of help. Johnny, having witnessed their encounter, demands that Stephanie denounce her association with the Pink Ladies to preserve his honor. Although she is still enchanted by the mysterious Cool Rider, her romantic interactions with Michael pressure him into questioning his facade ("Charades").
Stephanie and the Cool Rider reunite at the talent show but the T-Birds abruptly ambush them and pursue him to a closed-off construction site on their respective motorcycles, with the Pink Ladies following in a car. The site conceals a deadly drop, and the biker's absence suggests that he has gone over the edge and perished, devastating Stephanie. Prior to "Prowlin'", the T-Birds sabotage the competing Preptones by tying them to a shower pole in the boys' locker room. During the Pink Ladies' performance ("Girl for All Seasons"), an emotional Stephanie obliviously enters a dreamlike, fantasy world, where she reunites with her mystery biker ("(Love Will) Turn Back the Hands of Time"). She is named winner of the contest, and she and Johnny crowned Queen and King of the upcoming graduation luau.
The Cycle Lords gatecrash the luau the following day ("Rock-a-Hula Luau (Summer Is Coming)"), but the Cool Rider reappears, overpowers them, and reveals himself as Michael. Initially shocked, Johnny subsequently presents him with a T-Birds jacket, officially welcoming him into the gang, and Michael and an overjoyed Stephanie cement their relationship with a passionate kiss. All the couples pair-off happily, and after the senior class graduates ("We'll Be Together"), the credits roll in yearbook-style, as in the original film ("Back to School Again").
== Cast ==
=== Principal cast ===
==== Lead roles ====
Maxwell Caulfield as Michael Carrington
Michelle Pfeiffer as Stephanie Zinone
==== The T-Birds ====
Adrian Zmed as Johnny Nogerelli
Christopher McDonald as Goose McKenzie
Peter Frechette as Louis DiMucci
Leif Green as Davey Jaworski
==== The Pink Ladies ====
Maureen Teefy as Sharon Cooper
Lorna Luft as Paulette Rebchuck
Alison Price as Rhonda Ritter
Pamela Segall as Dolores Rebchuck
=== Reprising roles from Grease ===
Didi Conn as Frenchy
Eve Arden as Principal McGee
Sid Caesar as Coach Calhoun
Dody Goodman as Blanche Hodel
Eddie Deezen as Eugene Felsnick
=== Playing different roles from Grease ===
Dennis Stewart as Balmudo
Dick Patterson as Mr. Spears
=== Supporting cast ===
Tab Hunter as Mr. Stuart
Connie Stevens as Miss Mason
Jean and Liz Sagal as the Sorority / Cheerleader Twins
Matt Lattanzi as Brad
Donna King as Girl Greaser (lead dancer)
Lucinda Dickey as Girl Greaser
Ivy Austin as Girl Greaser 'Francine'
Andy Tennant as Boy Greaser 'Artie' (Arnold in Grease)
Tom Villard as Boy Greaser 'Willie' (performs "Cry" at the talent show)
Vernon Scott as Henry Dickey, one of the Prep-Tones
Tom Willett as bowling alley manager (uncredited)
Janet Jones as the girl who missed her last two periods (uncredited)
== Production ==
=== Development ===
Grease co-producer Allan Carr had a deal with Paramount Pictures to be paid $5 million to produce a sequel, with production beginning within three years of the original film. Carr decided to hire Patricia Birch as director for the sequel, as she had previously served as the choreographer for the stage and film versions of Grease. Birch was initially hesitant to accept after learning that neither composers Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey nor John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John would be involved in the film. Bronte Woodard, the writer who adapted the original stage material for the original film, had died in 1980, and Canadian comic Ken Finkleman (who was also writing and directing Airplane II at the same time) was tasked with penning a new script mostly from scratch. The total budget for the production was $11.2 million, almost double the budget of the original. Birch's approach to the material was to hew closer to the original, grittier stage productions from which Grease came; she had resisted changes made to the original film (largely made at Newton-John's behest) but was overruled.
Grease 2 was intended to be the second film (and first sequel) in a proposed Grease franchise of four films and a television series. (The third and fourth films were to take place in the 1960s and during the counterculture era.) However, the projects were scrapped due to the underwhelming box office performance of Grease 2. Maxwell Caulfield was unhappy with the film's "drab" title, and unsuccessfully lobbied to change it to Son of Grease.
=== Casting ===
Birch proposed an idea to feature Travolta and Newton-John reprising their characters as a now married couple running a gas station near the end of the film, with Travolta to sing a new number "Gas Pump Jockey;" this did not come to fruition. Newton John rejected the offer to return, as she was more interested in doing Xanadu. Paramount tried to get Jeff Conaway and Stockard Channing from the first film to do cameos but this did not happen (Channing, by then 37 years old, had left Hollywood for a time in the early 1980s to focus on her stage career). Early plans for Grease 2 had Conaway and Channing's characters, Kenickie and Rizzo, as main characters while they attended summer school, which would have culminated in the two getting married.
Andy Gibb was screen tested to play the male lead but this proved unsatisfactory. At one stage Timothy Hutton was announced as the male lead, and Carr later claimed after Grease 2 was released "Hutton came, sang, and danced in my living room. He had done Guys and Dolls in college, and that’s who I wanted and preferred. But they didn’t consider him sexy enough.”
Maxwell Caulfield was cast after impressing producers off-Broadway in Entertaining Mr. Sloane. Having seen his performances, Allan Carr offered Caulfield the role of Michael over thousands of applicants.
“They were all in love with Maxwell,” said Patricia Birch. “Robert and Allan saw him onstage without his clothes."
Unlike co-star Pfeiffer, Caulfield's career following Grease 2 was damaged by the film's failure. He has been quoted as saying: "Before Grease 2 came out, I was being hailed as the next Richard Gere or John Travolta. However, when Grease 2 flopped, nobody would touch me. It felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown in my face. It took me 10 years to get over Grease 2."
With only a few television roles and small film appearances, Michelle Pfeiffer, then aged 23, was a relatively unknown actress when she attended the casting call audition for the role of Stephanie. Other actresses considered for the part included Lisa Hartman, Kristy McNichol, Andrea McArdle, and singer Pat Benatar. Pfeiffer was a wild card choice, but according to Birch, she won the part because she "has a quirky quality you don't expect." She later commented on being cast:
That was really weird for me. I'd been taking singing lessons and I had taken dance, because I loved to dance, but I had never considered myself a professional at all. I went on this audition as a fluke, and somehow, through the process of going back and dancing, and then going back and singing, I ended up getting the part. I went crazy with that movie. I came to New York and the paparazzi were waiting at the hotel. I know the producers put them up to it. I am basically very private, and I'm really nervous about doing publicity. Every time I set up an interview, I say, "That's it, this is my last one. I'll do this because I committed to doing it, but I'm never doing another one." It was insane.
Lorna Luft was the last star cast. The part played by Connie Stevens was originally meant for Annette Funicello but she was unable to appear because her schedule as Skippy peanut butter spokeswoman did not allow her time to film the scene.
Adrian Zmed had previously played the role of Danny Zuko in the stage version of Grease, a role he would later reprise in the 1990s.
=== Filming ===
Scenes at Rydell High School were filmed at Excelsior High School, a recently closed high school in Norwalk, California. Filming took place throughout a 58-day shooting schedule during the autumn of 1981. According to director Birch, the script was still incomplete when filming commenced. Sequences that were filmed but cut during post-production include scenes in which Frenchy helps Michael become a motorcycle rider, and a sequence at the end of the film showing Michael and Stephanie flying off into the sky on a motorcycle.
In the film, after Stephanie wins the contest, it goes on to show the luau in the final scene. Originally, there were a few minutes dedicated to a scene in which Michael (believed to be dead in his alter ego, by Stephanie) comes out on stage as Stephanie is exiting the stage, unbeknownst to her that he is the cool rider and he is alive. He attempts to ask her what's wrong and she storms past him and runs off crying, then it cuts to the luau. There was a scene within the "Who's that Guy?" number in which Goose accidentally smashes Rhonda's nose at the Bowl-A-Rama door. None of these scenes have been shown since the film's release.
== Music ==
"Back to School Again" – Cast and The Four Tops (verses by the Pink Ladies are absent from the soundtrack)
"Score Tonight" – T-Birds, Pink Ladies, Cast
"Brad" – Noreen and Doreen
"Cool Rider" – Stephanie
"Reproduction" – Mr. Stuart and Students
"Who's That Guy?" – Michael, T-Birds, Pink Ladies, Cycle Lords, and Cast
"Do It for Our Country" – Louis and Sharon (Sharon's part is absent from the soundtrack)
"Prowlin'" – Johnny and T-Birds
"Charades" – Michael
"Girl for All Seasons" – Sharon, Paulette, Rhonda, and Stephanie
"(Love Will) Turn Back the Hands of Time" – Stephanie and Michael
"Rock-a-Hula Luau (Summer Is Coming)" – Cast
"We'll Be Together" – Michael, Stephanie, Johnny, Paulette, and Cast
Featured as background music at Rydell Sport Field:
"Moon River" (The Spirit of Troy- University of Southern California Marching Band)
Featured as background music at the bowling alley:
"Our Day Will Come" – Ruby & The Romantics (Grease 2 takes place in 1961–62 and "Our Day Will Come" did not come out until 1963)
"Rebel Walk" – Duane Eddy (this was the B-side of his biggest hit "Because They're Young")
Featured at the beginning:
"Alma Mater" – Instrumental (this song was played at the beginning when Principal McGee and Blanche put up the 1961 Rydell flag)
== Release ==
=== Box office ===
The sequel took in just over $15 million after coming at fifth on opening weekend behind E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Rocky III, and Poltergeist.
Caulfield explained the film's contemporaneous commercial underperformance: "Basically we just got blown off the map by that little movie by Spielberg..., what was it called?, something like E.T. or something."
=== Critical response ===
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film had an approval rating of 37% based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The site's consensus reads, "Grease 2 is undeniably stocked with solid songs and well-choreographed dance sequences, but there's no getting around the fact that it's a blatant retread of its far more entertaining predecessor." As of August 2025, on Metacritic it had a score of 52% based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Janet Maslin of The New York Times condemned the film as "dizzy and slight, with an even more negligible plot than its predecessor had. This time the story can't even masquerade as an excuse for stringing the songs together. Songs? What songs? The numbers in Grease 2 are so hopelessly insubstantial that the cast is forced to burst into melody about pastimes like bowling."
Variety commended the staging of the musical numbers, writing that Patricia Birch has come up with some unusual settings (a bowling alley, a bomb shelter) for some of the scenes, and employs some sharp montage to give most of the songs and dances a fair amount of punch."
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2 stars out of 4, saying: "This movie just recycles Grease, without the stars, without the energy, without the freshness and without the grease."
Pfeiffer received positive notices for her first major role. The New York Times review cited her performance as the "one improvement" on the original film: "Miss Pfeiffer is as gorgeous as any cover girl, and she has a sullen quality that's more fitting to a Grease character than Miss Newton-John's sunniness was." Variety wrote that she was "all anyone could ask for in the looks department, and she fills Olivia Newton-John's shoes and tight pants very well." Pfeiffer told the Los Angeles Times three years later:
That film was a good experience for me. It taught me a valuable lesson. Before it even came out the hype had started. Maxwell and I were being thrust down the public's throat in huge full page advertisements. There was no way we could live up to any of that and we didn't. So the crash was very loud. But it did teach me not to have expectations.
Barry Diller of Paramount said that the film "on no level is as good as the first. The quality isn't there."
Jim Jacobs described it at the time as "awful ... the pits." In an interview 27 years later, Jacobs noted that Grease 2 "still brings a brief frown to his face."
During an appearance for Rotten Tomatoes to promote the film Tick, Tick... Boom!, actor Andrew Garfield cited the film as one of his five favorite musicals, calling it "great".
=== Accolades ===
Pfeiffer was nominated for a 1982 Young Artist Award in the category of Best Young Motion Picture Actress. Grease 2 was nominated for a 1982 Young Artist Award in the cateogry for Best Family Feature: Animated, Musical or Fantasy.
The film was nominated for a Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for Worst Picture. Later on, the Stinkers would unveil their picks for the 100 worst films of the 20th century with their "100 Years, 100 Stinkers" list. Grease 2 ranked in the listed bottom 20 at #13.
The film was given a special screening at the 2021 online TCM Festival.
== Home media ==
Grease 2 was released in the US on VHS and Betamax by Paramount Home Video in November 3, 1982, 1990 (Double Box Set of Grease and Grease 2), December 7, 1992, 1993, the last VHS release was on June 23, 1998 the same day Grease had it's 20th Anniversary Edition released.
The film was released also on RCA Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED) in 1983 by Paramount Home Video and
Laserdisc Extended Play by Paramount Home Video.
On September 17, 2002 it was released on DVD for the first time. June 10, 2003 (Widescreen Collection) it was re-released on DVD in Widescreen Letterbox format for the first time, 2004, November 6, 2006, August 5, 2008 (I Love the 80's Edition with changed artwork for Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer on the cover), January 1, 2023, by Paramount Home Media Distribution. On March 12, 2013, Grease and Grease 2 were packaged together in a double feature DVD set from Warner Home Video.
In 2018 Grease 2 was released on Blu-ray for the first time. In connection with the film's 40th anniversary of Grease, Paramount released Grease on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on April 24, 2018. along with Grease 2 and Grease Live! in Collectors Steelbox Edition.
On June 7, 2022 in connection with the film's 40th anniversary of Grease 2, Paramont released Grease 2 in Steelbox Edition by Paramount Home Entertainment.
== Remakes ==
The film's screenplay was adapted in the Kannada (India) feature film Premaloka, starring Ravichandran and Juhi Chawla, released in 1987, which went on to become a blockbuster.
== Plans for a third film ==
In 2003, Olivia Newton-John confirmed that a second sequel was being developed. "They're writing it, and we'll see what happens. If the script looks good, I'll do it. But I haven't seen the script, and it has to be cleverly done." Newton-John died in 2022 before any such script was completed.
In 2008, it was reported that Paramount was planning a new sequel to Grease that would debut straight to DVD. However, the project never came to fruition.
In 2019, it was announced that a prequel to the original film entitled Summer Lovin' with John August attached to write the screenplay was in the works at Paramount.
== Stage musical ==
The film was later adapted into a musical, Cool Rider, with the script re-written and modified for the stage. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_Mustang | Shelby Mustang | The Shelby Mustang is a high-performance variant of the Ford Mustang built by Shelby American from 1965 to 1967 and by the Ford Motor Company from 1968 to 1970.
In 2005, Ford revived the Shelby nameplate for a high-performance model of the fifth-generation Ford Mustang.
== 1st generation (1965–1970) ==
=== 1965–1966 Shelby GT350 ===
The GT350 made its debut in the "sportsroof" fastback model of the first generation Ford Mustang in 1965. Produced through 1966, these were the smallest and lightest of the GT 350 models. Work started at Shelby American when its Ford-powered AC Ace-based, two-seat, 289 AC Cobra sports car production was wrapping up, and the 427 cu in variant was beginning. Both the AC and the Shelby Mustang use the Cobra emblem, a similar paint scheme, and the optional "Cobra" valve covers installed on many GT350s that were part of a marketing tie-in by Shelby, as well as one of his iconic symbols. All 1965–66 cars had the Windsor 289 cu in (4.7 L) HiPo K-Code 271 hp (202 kW; 275 PS) V8 engine, modified with a large 4-barrel Holley 725 CFM carburetor to produce 306 bhp (310 PS; 228 kW) at 6,000 rpm and 329 lb⋅ft (446 N⋅m) of torque at 4,200 rpm. Marketing literature referred to this engine as the "Cobra hi-riser" due to its high-rise intake manifold. Beginning as a stock Mustang with a 4-speed manual transmission and 9-inch live rear axle, the cars were shipped to Shelby American, where they received the high-rise manifolds, Tri-Y headers, and were given larger Ford Galaxie rear drum brakes with metallic-linings and Kelsey-Hayes front disc brakes.
The 1965 GT350 was built for the race track, not comfort or ease of driving. A total of 34 race-spec "GT350R" cars were built specifically for competition use under SCCA rules, and the model was the B-Production champion for three straight years. The 1966 GT350 was more comfortable for casual drivers, including a rear seat, optional colors, and an optional automatic transmission. This trend for more options and luxuries continued in the following years, with the cars becoming progressively larger, heavier, and more comfortable, at the cost of their competitiveness. By 1969 Carroll Shelby was no longer involved in the Shelby GT program, and the design was done in-house by Ford, with the 1969 GT350s and GT500s reduced to being largely styling modifications to a stock Mustang.
The 1965 and 1966 GT350s were delivered from Ford's San Jose Assembly Plant for modification by Shelby, originally in Venice Beach and later at Los Angeles International Airport. San Jose cars carried an "R" in the Ford VIN denoting that facility. The only year that Shelby Mustangs from the 1960s came from another plant was 1968, where they came from New Jersey, "T" in the VIN, and were modified by A.O. Smith.
==== 1965 GT350 ====
All 1965 GT350s were painted in Wimbledon White with Guardsman Blue rocker stripes. Approximately 28% of the 562 1965 cars built were delivered to the dealer with the optional Le Mans stripes, a pair of broad matching blue stripes that run the length of the entire car from the hood through the roof and the tail. Today, it is difficult to find a GT350 without them.. In subsequent years white stripes were also used with dark colored body paint.
Many early 1965 cars had the battery relocated to the trunk, which was changed mid-year due to complaints of fumes, and had over-rider traction bars, relocated A-arms, as well as other modifications. A 4-speed Borg-Warner T10 manual was the only transmission available. Dual exhausts exited out the sides via glasspack mufflers (with fourteen cars being equipped with rear-exiting exhausts to meet state regulations for sales in certain areas). For this one year, the GT350 also had special 130 mph (210 km/h)-rated Goodyear "Blue Dot" tires, named for the prominent blue dot on each sidewall. The 1965 GT350 had a full-size spare tire mounted in place of rear seats, making it a 2-seat-only vehicle (to qualify as a "sports car" under SCCA regulations), and rode on either silver-painted steel wheels or special cast-magnesium center "Cragar Shelby" 15-inch rims with chromed center caps marked with a stylized "CS". Total 1965 model year production was 562 units.
==== 1966 GT350 ====
For 1966, the GT350 lost its Mustang tag and was marketed simply as the Shelby GT350. The new model year also saw the introduction of non-white colors, including blue, red, green, and black. Other changes included special rear quarter-panel windows replacing the factory extractor vents, functional brake scoops on each side, and optional SelectShift 3-speed automatic, as well as an optional Paxton supercharger. The battery was no longer relocated to the trunk for 1966, and the over-rider traction bars were discontinued. The normal factory fold-down rear seat was optional. While early 1965 cars had black engine blocks, 1966 and later engines were painted regular factory Ford dark blue. The 1966 models came with a dual-exhaust exiting in the rear.
The first 252 GT350s for 1966 began as 1965 Mustang K-Code Fastbacks that had been specifically ordered by Shelby American for conversion into 1966 GT350s; these all had 1965 bodies. They were received in blocks of cars; thus Shelby VINs do not correspond in numerical order to Ford factory VINs.
As a promotional move, Ford leveraged its role as the major shareholder of Hertz to persuade the rental car giant to purchase 1,003 fastbacks, including two prototypes. Four "experimental" GT350 convertibles were also built for test purposes in anticipation of a 1967-1/2 convertible offering. A small number of the consumer sales 1966 models were factory fitted with Paxton superchargers, but not the No-Spin limited slip differential, for an additional $670, (~$6,648 in 2025) the engine was rated at 440 hp (328 kW). Total production for 1966 was 2,378 units, including two prototypes and four drag cars, with 1,372 sold to the general public.
==== 1966 Hertz Shelby GT350 ====
The sales arrangement with Hertz for ~1,000 GT350s to be added to its rental fleet included the proviso that after their rental lives were finished the cars would be returned to Ford, refurbished, and sold to the public as "GT350H" models. Most Hertz cars were black with gold racing stripes and rocker panel stripes, although a few were white with blue stripes. The first 85 Hertz cars were available with four-speed manual transmissions and Hertz advertised them as "Rent-a-Racer" cars. During rental, these cars were sometimes used as production class cars at SCCA events, and were rumored to have been returned to Hertz with evidence of roll bars being welded in.
Ford provided another 800 models to Hertz with black paint, gold stripes and black interior, as well as automatic transmissions.
When the Hertz cars were returned to Ford to be prepared for sale to the public, high-performance racing parts were often "lost" before final sale.
=== 1967–1968 Shelby GT350 / GT500 ===
For 1967, the GT350 carried over the K-Code high performance 289 with a 'COBRA' aluminum valve cover. The GT500 was added to the lineup, equipped with a 428 cu in (7.0 L) Interceptor V8 engine with two 600 CFM Holley four-barrel carburetors mated to a mid-rise aluminum intake manifold.
Documented plans to introduce a convertible mid-production year were shelved due to supply, production and financial problems that happened as soon as the first cars started to arrive at Shelby's Los Angeles facility in September. By October 1966, Ford took control of engineering and purchasing. A.O. Smith was tapped to fix the fitting of fiberglass components. In May 1967 the decision was made to terminate the California-based Shelby operation. On August 18, 1967, a small carryover Shelby staff, along with the remaining engineering cars, was sent to Ionia, Michigan; Shelby personnel had substantially less involvement after this time.
Notable cars for 1967 include 0100, 0131 and 0139, the first big block Shelby GT cars ordered and built:
0100, the first GT500.
0131, the only Shelby GT coupe built ("Little Red'), which was the precursor to the '68 California Special. The original GT500 "L'il Red" was rediscovered in a Texas farm field in March 2018
0139, the only Shelby GT500 convertible built (in 1967).
One 1967 Fastback was updated to a GT500 equipped with a 427 FE GT40 racing engine producing 650 hp (485 kW), and was known as the "Super Snake" The car was capable of speeds over 150 mph (241 km/h); hitting 170 mph (274 km/h) during a demonstration (by Shelby himself) of Goodyear's Thunderbolt tires. No cars other than the prototype were built due to limited interest. The car sold at Mecum's 2013 Indianapolis auction for $1.3 million.
In 1967 Shelby American built 26 K-code Mustang Coupes to the FIA's Group 2 specification. This allowed the cars to race in the SCCA A-Sedan class and the Trans Am series. The 1967 Mustang notchback Group II sedan was Shelby American's competition model for 1967. The same rule that allowed the 1965 GT350 to compete in SCCA's B Production class - no rear seats - effectively kept the Shelby Mustangs out of the Trans-Am series.
For 1968, the Cobra name was applied to both models, which were marketed as the Shelby Cobra GT350 and the Shelby Cobra GT 500. The solid lifter K-code engine was discontinued by Ford, so Shelby used the hydraulic lifter 230 hp 302. It produced 250 HP with the high rise intake but was not equipped with Shelby headers in order to make room for power steering. The early 1968 GT500 used the Shelby installed 428 Police Interceptor with a single four-barrel carburetor rated at 360 HP.
==== 1967 Shelby GT350 and 1968 Cobra GT350 ====
The 1967 redesign made for a heavier Mustang, along with a longer, fiberglass hood, and new front and rear fascias. The design of the original 1965 version was evident, but these styling upgrades gave the car a more aggressive appearance and achieved Carroll Shelby's goal of differentiating his car from the Mustang on which it was based. The separate high-beam headlamps in the grille added more character, while a thin, chrome front bumper sat below a mesh grille with the classic "Shelby GT350" logo in place (except for the very early cars). The small hood scoop was there to deliver fresh air to the engine. Shelby also included new, horizontal sequential taillights (sourced from a '67 Cougar in 1967 and a '65 Thunderbird in 1968) and an integrated Kamm-type rear spoiler. Functional rear brake-cooling scoops adorned the rear quarter panels. Ten-spoke, fifteen-inch, cast-aluminum rims were the wheel choice with Goodyear white-lettered radials.
The GT350 was available with air conditioning and an AM/FM radio. The steering wheel was a wood-rimmed and satin-trimmed design with the classic Shelby logo in the center. Behind this wheel was a very classy-looking set of gauges. A 140-mph speedometer and a 8,000-rpm tachometer were joined along with a smaller analog clock, fuel level, water temperature, and oil pressure gauges.
The 1967 GT350 came with an iron-block, 289-cubic-inch (4.7-liter) V-8 rated at 306 horsepower and 329 lb-foot of torque. For a pushrod design, the GT350 revved relatively high, with the horsepower peak not in full swing until the 6,000-rpm redline. 1967 was well before modern fuel injection came about, and the car used a single Holley four-barrel carburetor. The true dual-exhaust with H-shaped crossover system came standard with low restriction mufflers and chrome exhaust tips. Power was routed to the ground through a sturdy, four-speed manual transmission with a single, dry-disc clutch. A three-speed automatic was made available as an option. Rear-end ratios were 3.89-to-1 for the four-speed manual and 3.50-to-1 for the automatic. Acceleration was impressive, with a 0-to-60 time of around seven seconds and a top speed of 140 miles per hour (230 km/h).
Braking duties were handled by 11.3-inch discs up front and drums in the rear. Power assist was standard. The front suspension consisted of unequal-length control arms, coil springs, adjustable tube arms, and an anti-sway bar. Out back was a live axle, with multi-leaf, semi-elliptical springs and tube shocks. The steering was a power-assisted recirculating ball design.
In 1968 the 289ci V8 was replaced with a factory 302 V8 using an aluminum Cobra intake manifold and Holley 600 cfm carb. The 302 had less racing parts than the 289 and was rated at 250 hp. A Paxton Supercharger was available.
==== 1967 Shelby GT500 and 1968 Cobra GT500 ====
The 1967 Shelby G.T. 500 was the first model built in the Shelby G.T. 500 range. It is based on the 1967 Mustang and is equipped with a FE 428 cu in (7.0 L) Police-Interceptor V8 engine topped with an aluminum mid-rise intake and 2X4-barrel 600 CFM Holley carburetors producing 355 bhp (360 PS; 265 kW) at 5,400 rpm and 420 lb⋅ft (569 N⋅m) at 3200 rpm of torque. Two thousand forty eight were produced in 1967.
Several body parts of the G.T. were made of fiberglass including the front-end, hood, rear tail light panel, deck lid, quarter panel extension, and side scoops.
==== 1968 GT500KR ====
Beginning in April 1968, Ford began factory installing a version of the 428 engine known as the Cobra Jet. This new engine featured a unique, 16-bolt exhaust flange. The GT500 was subsequently known as The Cobra GT500 KR. The initials KR stood for "King of the Road." Ford rated the Cobra jet at 335 hp (250 kW), but with 440 lb⋅ft (597 N⋅m) of torque at 3,400 rpm, although the horsepower was considered significantly underreported. Shelby's KR engine was left stock adding die-cast aluminum valve covers with "Cobra Lemans" to note Ford's FE engine family victory over Ferrari at Le Mans in 1966 and 1967.
=== 1969–1970 GT350 / GT500 ===
The GTs lost their Cobra tag for 1969, and once again were marketed simply as the Shelby GT350 and Shelby GT500. The GT350 and GT500 for the 1969 model year received an extensive face lift, the body alone increasing in length by 4 inches (100 mm) with some reaching 10 inches (250 mm). Ford was involved with design and style decisions, with Shelby having little input. The GT350 was now equipped with a 351 cubic-inch V8. Carroll Shelby terminated his agreement with Ford in the summer of 1969. It was designed by John Chun.
No production of 1970 Shelby GT350 and 500 models was undertaken; however, unsold 1969 models were given 1970 vehicle identification numbers under FBI supervision. The 1970 models had two cosmetic changes, a front chin spoiler and two black hood stripes. The rest of the changes had to do with emissions. The GT500 had the carburetor modified and marked "ed" (edited) on tag. The distributor in both the GT 350 and GT500 was changed to a 1970 version. A total of 789 were re-VIN'd.
=== 1971 Shelby Europa ===
Although production of Shelby GTs in the USA had ceased, a total of nine 1971 "Shelby Europa" GT-350 and GT-500 Mustangs were produced under license by Belgian dealer Claude Dubois for the European market. Seven Fastbacks (Ford used the term Sportsroof) and two convertibles were produced; of which seven were M-code and one H-code cars. One 429SCJ J-code Fastback was produced, though its whereabouts today are unknown. Both convertibles and one fastback were modified to GT-500 with 351-HO. Both convertibles are located in Finland. All 1971 Shelby Europas were based on 1971 Mustang. Previously it was believed that 14 cars were produced, but the total production number of nine cars was confirmed in 2014 by cross-check of Claude Dubois' files and Ford Factory Mustang production data.
== 2nd generation 2005–2009 (S-197 I) ==
=== Shelby CS6/8 ===
Shelby, along with Paxton, also designed a new variant based on the V6 Mustang. Modifications include a supercharged motor producing 350 hp (261 kW), 20-inch wheels bearing the Shelby name and the Cobra badge on each side and the decklid, a 2-inch drop in suspension, Baer/Shelby 14-inch front and rear brakes, an aggressive front fascia and a dual exhaust. Shelby also created the CS8, a 4.6-liter V8 variant of the CS6. The Shelby CS6/8 was not available as a factory release. However, Shelby had made the CS6/8 kit available for purchase. But then the contract with Hertz GT-H came, and only a handful of CS6/8' were built, making them one of the rarest cars ever built by Shelby.
=== 2006–2007 Ford Shelby GT-H ===
Ford introduced the Shelby GT-H version of the Mustang at the 2006 New York Auto Show. Like the original GT350H from 1966, the GT-H had gold-on-black paint and was only available at the Hertz car rental agency.
Ford Racing Performance Group provided Shelby its FR1 Power Pack to add 25 horsepower to the existing Mustang GT powertrain with an additional 10 ft-lb of torque. The package included a 90mm cold air kit, muffler kit, a new X-pipe and Ford Racing "GTA" axle-back mufflers. The Ford Shelby GT-H also had the Ford Racing Handling Pack (FR3) which included specially tuned dampers, lowering springs, sway bars, strut tower brace, and a Ford Racing 3.55:1 ratio rear axle assembly.
A total of 500 cars were built to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original Shelby GT350H.
For 2007, a convertible version of the GT-H was offered for rental at Hertz. This time the convertibles came with a custom light bar reminiscent of the 1968 Shelby Mustang convertibles.
=== 2007–2008 Ford Shelby GT ===
The 4.6 liter, 281-cubic-inch, 319 hp (238 kW) Ford Shelby GT slotted between the 300 hp (220 kW) Mustang GT and the Ford Shelby GT500. It is essentially a retail sale version of the Hertz rental-only Ford Shelby GT-H, except a manual transmission is available. The Shelby GT was a unique model in that, just like the Shelby Mustangs of the 60s, the Shelby GT's manufacturing was completed at Shelby Automobiles Inc. in Las Vegas, Nevada after being shipped directly there by Ford Motor Company. Shelby GT's were then sold pre-title to customers. By comparison, GT500 models were manufactured solely by Ford Motor Company in Flat Rock, Michigan.
Production of the Shelby GT began in December 2006 and the car went on sale in January 2007. It was originally planned that a limited number of up to 6,000 cars would be built. The Shelby GT's include the deletion of the rear spoiler, a retro Shelby hood scoop, a cold air induction system with performance tuning resulting in a power output of 319 hp (238 kW), a Ford Racing suspension package consisting of upgraded dampers, springs which lowered the vehicle 1.5 inches and sway bars, a high performance exhaust system, interior Shelby sill plates and badges and silver stripes, with the car available in either white or black in 2007 and Vista Blue, Grabber Orange, or Black with red stripes for 2008. Following the 2007 Shelby GT-H convertible rental car, Shelby offered the 2008 Shelby GT as a Vista Blue coupe or convertible also in limited numbers. The Vista Blue models were available as a coupe or convertible
==== 2008 Shelby GT-C (Southern California) ====
The southern California Ford/Shelby dealers requested a California - Shelby GT, These grabber orange only cars were sold in California and some western states. Only 215 of these Carroll Shelby signed GT-C cars were sold. MSRP averaged $42,097. Only available as a coupe, these cars were optioned like the Hertz GT-H. These cars had Shelby serial numbers ranging from #08SGT0003 to #0217 and they were the first cars of the GT production run for 2008. #0001 and #0002 were reserved for Shelby Automotive and were not used.
==== 2008 Barrett-Jackson Shelby GT ====
A total of 100 units of Shelby GT coupe and convertible were named after the Barrett-Jackson auction. They included black exterior with "Barrett-Jackson Red" LeMans Hood and Side Stripes, Barrett Jackson Edition door sill plates, black interior with the Shelby GT serial number plate, special gas cap insert, autographed photo of Carroll Shelby, Craig Jackson, Amy Boylan, and Steve Davis.
The vehicle was unveiled at the Arizona International Auto Show. Production versions were sold in Arizona Region Ford dealers with an MSRP of US$38,980 (including $250 donation to the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation).
One hundred Barrett Jackson Shelby GTs were built in 2008 that were black with red stripes, also available in coupe or convertible. The Barrett Jackson Shelby GTs were sold exclusively in Arizona. Ford dealers and customers asked for a version of the Shelby GT-H. Like the GT-H, the Shelby GT is modified at Shelby Automotive's factory in Las Vegas, Nevada, while the GT500s are produced entirely by AutoAlliance International.
==== Modifications ====
At the request of owners, a number of Shelby GTs were modified in various ways by Shelby Automobiles in Las Vegas. One of these modifications results in a model known as the Shelby GT/SC (Supercharged). A large number of add-ons could be had including the "Super Snake" brakes, as well as larger wheels and tires which were necessary to accommodate these brakes. Additionally there were three different available superchargers, again installed by Shelby Automobiles or authorized Shelby Mod Shop, that can increase rated horsepower to 550* max H.P.. These include the Ford Racing Whipple and the rare Paxton superchargers. *Superchargers were limited because the 4.6 engine did not have forged internal crankshaft and pistons.
=== 2007–2009 Shelby Terlingua ===
The Terlingua is a V6 Ford Mustang fitted with a Racing Team package that includes performance enhancements and modified cosmetic details by Shelby. The package is applied by Shelby Automobiles in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Terlingua features improvements to the handling with Ford Racing components, and improved braking capabilities that included Baer brakes. The optional supercharger was a Paxton/Vortech blower in either polished or raw. This model also features a deep draw hood designed by Chief R&D at Shelby Vince LaViolette, 20-inch anthracite "Razor" wheels and a comprehensive styling changes including a logo with the Terlingua rabbit on the hood.
==== Specifications ====
Horsepower: 375 hp (280 kW) @ 5,300 rpm
Torque: 240 lb⋅ft (325 N⋅m) @ 3,500 rpm
0–60 mph: 5.5 seconds
Top speed: 170 mph (274 km/h)
== 2nd generation 2011–2014 (S-197 II) ==
=== 2011–2014 Shelby GTS ===
The Shelby GTS was unveiled at the 2011 New York Auto Show, a new upgrade kit designed to be highly optioned and attainable to the masses. It was available in both V6 and V8 form configurations. "It's a car that reaches a younger buyer while acknowledging the economic realities of our times," said Shelby American president John Luft at the time. Customers could have their car shipped directly to Shelby's Las Vegas facility to be converted or they could deliver the car themselves.
The basic GTS kit includes new front and rear fascias, a "deep draw" fiberglass hood, black billet grille, Shelby lettering on the trunk lid, the signature "Le Mans" dual stripes over the top and triple stripes with GTS lettering on the side, upgraded Baer brakes, a Borla exhaust system, new springs, shocks, and anti-roll bars. Additional options included a supercharger kit, even larger Baer brakes, adjustable camber/caster plates, a short-throw shifter, and BFGoodrich G-Force R1 race-compound tires. Shelby also added a serial number plaque and Shelby-badged floor mats.
==== 50th Anniversary Edition ====
To celebrate the foundation of Shelby American, Shelby American made a 50th Anniversary Edition of the Shelby GTS available. The car was based on the 2012 Mustang (both V6 and V8 form configurations), and was only available in two exterior colors, Black and Performance White. Production was limited to 100 units with 50 being Black and 50 Performance White units.
=== 2011–2014 Shelby GT350 ===
Coinciding with the 45th anniversary of the original 1965 Shelby GT350, Shelby American unveiled an all new GT350 Mustang at the opening night gala of the 2010 Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, AZ. Presented in concept form, the new GT350 had a supercharged version of the brand new 5.0-liter V8 engine in the 2011 Mustang GT as well as performance upgrades from Ford Racing, Borla, Cragar, Baer and more.
==== 2011 Shelby GT350 ====
The production GT350 was a post-title upgrade available from Shelby. Customers could have their 2011 Mustangs shipped directly to Shelby's Las Vegas facility to be converted or they could deliver the car themselves. Automatic transmission cars were available for conversion with a naturally aspirated engine, producing up to 430 hp (321 kW). Manual transmission cars were given the option of a naturally aspirated or a supercharged engine fitted with a Ford Racing supercharger to produce 525 hp (391 kW), or at the expense of the warranty, a supercharger set at 624 hp (465 kW). Other parts added include a Ford Racing suspension system (The first 100 cars were fitted with the Eibach suspension carried over from the GT500 Supersnake), Baer brakes in front and optional in rear, a Custom Borla exhaust system, 19-inch Cragar wheels, and more. For the exterior, Shelby installed a new front fascia, front splitter, functional hood scoop, functional brake cooling ducts, tail light trim, rear deck lid filler panel, and a rear fascia with center exhaust exit, and 45th Anniversary badges. Performance White with Guardsman Blue Le Mans racing stripes were the only available color combination for 2011 models. 2012 models were available in other colors, but lost the 45th Anniversary badge of the 2011.
Initial road tests of the GT350 by Motor Trend show the 2011 Shelby GT350 is capable of accelerating from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.7 seconds, compared to the 412 horsepower 2011 Mustang GT's time of 4.4 seconds. It is also faster than the 2011 GT500, which needs 4.2 seconds to get to 60 mph (97 km/h) as well as the Shelby Super Snake with 750 hp (559 kW), which takes 4.1 seconds. Weight difference isn't a factor to blame for the better performance than the GT500, considering the GT350 is only 24 lb (11 kg) lighter than the newly lightened GT500.
The GT350's quarter mile time is 12 seconds at 121.4 mph (195.4 km/h).
==== NASCAR pace cars ====
Two GT350s (badged as 2011 cars) were used to pace the 2010 NASCAR race in Las Vegas. They had the prototype front fascia and are now displayed at the Shelby Heritage Museum, being a mainstay for promotional materials and posters.
==== 2012 Shelby GT350 ====
After being revealed at Barrett Jackson in 2010 as a celebration of the original Shelby GT350's 45th anniversary, the 2012 GT350 had its world debut at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show.
A convertible version was offered for 2012, the first convertible GT350 since 1970. The extensive body kit upgrades included a revised front fascia, side rockers with brake ducts, rear bumper, decklid, new taillights and custom Shelby GT350 badges. The serialized dash plate with individual numbering for each GT350 produced was also included. The 2012 Shelby GT350 delivers the same performance numbers as the 2011 model, retaining the same combined engine and transmission options. The 2012 GT350 now included a new upgraded suspension system designed by Shelby to give the Mustang reduced body roll and better customization to create custom track setups. Custom Baer brake rotors and 6-piston brakes were also included in the package. The 2011 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350 was previously offered only in Performance White with Guardsman Blue Le Mans racing stripes running the length of the vehicle, but the 2012 model year saw two new colors in Race Red with White Le Mans stripes and Kona Blue with White Le Mans stripes. These paint schemes are unique because they are not factory paint jobs from Ford.
==== 2013 Shelby GT350 ====
Revealed in 2013 as another upgrade kit for the Mustang GT, the Shelby GT350 was built in limited numbers and was offered in both coupe and convertible versions. For the 2013 model year, the GT350 received new color options, visual styling cues, and a revised set of optional performance enhancements. The 2013 Shelby GT350 is powered by the same 5.0 liter V8 engine, offered in naturally aspirated or supercharged versions. The naturally aspirated version had a default power output of 430 hp (321 kW) and could be optionally upgraded to 450 hp (336 kW), the supercharged version had a default power output of 525 hp (391 kW) and could be optionally upgraded to 624 hp (465 kW). Much like the previous years, the supercharged engine was only available with a manual gearbox with a short throw shifter as standard, an automatic transmission for the naturally aspirated engines did exist as an option.
The 2011 Ford Mustang GT from Shelby was previously only offered in a Performance White exterior color with Guardsman Blue Le Mans racing stripes running the length of the vehicle, and the 2012 model saw the addition of two new colors; Race Red with White Le Mans stripes and Kona Blue with White Le Mans stripes. The 2013 model year added even more color options in the form of Grabber Blue, Sterling Gray Metallic, "Gotta Have It" Green, Candy Red Tint Coat Metallic, Ingot Silver Metallic, "Deep Impact" Blue Metallic (replacing Kona Blue), Race Red, Performance White, and Black. These new colors could be combined with Satin Black or Gloss White stripes and a new set of wheels in Satin Black or Bright Silver Metallic. Other styling cues for 2013 included a glass roof option, Recaro Seats, and a modified custom rear valance.
Changes for the 2013 model year also included a one piece drive shaft, more powerful brakes, cooling enhancements, and a color coordinated billet aluminum engine cap set.
==== 2013 Prototype Demonstrator ====
A prototype of the 2013 GT350 was used as a track demonstrator vehicle, which ended up not being used as much as anticipated. It had a 624 hp (465 kW) supercharged V8 engine, premium interior with Recaro seats, gauges, and 6 piston Wilwood brakes in the front and 4 piston calipers in the rear. It was in the 2013 sales literature and is one of the Heritage Center show cars.
==== 2014 Shelby GT350 ====
Production was slimmed in anticipation for the next generation of Mustang, 87 GT350s were made in 2014. This included 73 coupes and 14 convertibles.
=== 2014 Shelby GT, Shelby GT/SC ===
The Shelby American version of Shelby GT was based on the 2014 Ford Mustang GT. It was unveiled at the LA Auto Show.
Shelby offered a unique set of modifications for the exterior. On the base GT, it got a front splitter conversion with a GT500 rear spoiler and quarter glass covers. The hood was made of fiberglass to save weight and the Le Mans stripes added some style. A separate wide body conversion with the option of rear-only or full all-around wide body wheel arches was also available to spice up the exterior of the 2014 Shelby GT. Among other accessories, Shelby GT front fascia, carbon laminated hood louvers, billet upper grille with Ford running pony emblem and "Powered by Ford" badges on the sides completed the exterior package.
The interior of the 2014 Shelby GT had been overhauled to keep up with the latest trends. Unique touches to the interior included an A-pillar gauge pod with boost, and fuel and oil pressure gauges. This modification was only available on the GT/SC conversion. Even the standard GT conversion got the Shelby headrest covers, special GT dash plaque and engine plate. Leather upholstery in black was standard along with electrically adjustable seats.
The "Shelby GT Standard" is the base pack with 430 horsepower. The slight bump in power was achieved by fitting a Borla performance exhaust as well as engine tuning. The standard package also included a Barton short shifter. The "Shelby GT/SC" gives 100 more horsepower over the base modification. Shelby Ford Racing Whipple Supercharger kit in either 525 hp or 624 hp configurations, Shelby cooling system and front splitter. Although Shelby did not independently confirm the performance figures, a 0–60 mph (97 km/h) of 3.7 seconds and a quarter-mile in an estimated mid 11-second range has been estimated.
The base upgrade package used 20-inch wheels, fitted with BFG G-Force Comp2 tires and a Panhard suspension bar to stiffen up the chassis. Apart from this, the standard upgrade did not offer much in terms of performance or improved handling. Of course, better tires did provide improved grip while the suspension brace resulted in better cornering.
Shelby had done a whole lot to improve the dynamics of the Shelby GT/SC starting with an aluminum driveshaft, employed to deliver power to the rear wheels in order to reduce the overall mass. Wilwood brakes — six-pot front and four-piston rear — for added braking performance.
The 20-inch rims on the GT/SC were painted black and were lined with Michelin Pilot Supersport tires. Eibach provided stiffer coil-over springs as well as a sway bar kit to improve handling.
== 3rd generation (2015–2017) ==
=== 2015–2016 Shelby GT ===
Shelby American launched the 2015 Shelby GT in 2015. It is a package available for the 2015 Ford Mustang GT and is available with either manual or automatic transmissions.
According to Shelby American, the upgrades for the 2015 Shelby GT include a more aggressive style with carbon fiber enhancements: hood, rockers, splitters, spoiler and diffuser. Shelby GT also features cold air intakes, custom 20" WELD Venice wheels with high-grip Michelin tires, Ford Performance supercharger, Wilwood brakes, adjustable rear control arms, dash-mounted 3-gauge pod for track boost, fuel and oil pressure, race seats, roll cage and harness.
==== Shelby GT Ecoboost ====
The Shelby GT350-Ecoboost is a Shelby GT package for Ford Mustang Ecoboost launched in 2015. The package is available in only in the United States.
The GT EcoBoost's exterior changes are extensive. Many of the upgrades are the same as the ones found on packages offered on Ford Mustang GT. This includes the extensive use of carbon fiber, notable in the front splitter, hood, rear spoiler and rocker panel.
The Shelby GT Ecoboost includes a Ford Performance handling pack upgraded suspension. Like the manual and automatic transmission V8 version, the GT-EcoBoost version of the car is far more than stripes and a badge. The car was refined with a Ford Performance handling pack upgrade, engine tune and a throatier Ford Performance exhaust. The result is over 335 hp (250 kW) on 91 octane fuel and significantly better handling.
=== 2015–2016 Shelby Super Snake ===
Shelby American launched the new Shelby Super Snake in 2015. Due to the discontinuation of Shelby GT500, the 2015 Super Snake lost its GT500 tag, but still have some people called it as GT500 Super Snake. Like the 2015 Shelby GT, it is also based on 2015 Ford Mustang GT. The 2015 Super Snake has a 5.0L V8 equipped with a Shelby/Ford Racing supercharger engine rated at 650+hp (750+hp via Shelby/Whipple Supercharger). According to Shelby, the test car produces 850 hp (634 kW). But the car's 12.3-second, 116 mph (187 km/h) quarter-mile during testing by Road and Track lead them to conclude that the power figure should be much lower.
In front is a carbon-fiber Super Snake hood, adorned with a forced-air scoop that rises above the central grille. The grille is also new, with a black anodized material used both in the upper and lower portions of the front intake.
Aerodynamically, Shelby added a carbon-fiber front diffuser, which is complemented in the rear by a larger carbon-fiber spoiler. Below the wing there's more carbon fiber used in the new rear diffuser, taillight panel, and rocker panels with side-skirt aero blades just in front of the rear wheels. The composite is also in place for the mirror covers. Finally, there's the requisite Super Snake racing stripes and external badging.
The Super Snake includes special CSM badging, Shelby floor mats, sill plates, a dash-mounted gauge pod made from carbon fiber and stuffed with AutoMeter gauges, Ford Performance short-throw shifter, an upholstery upgrade, racing seats, five-point racing harnesses, Shelby valve covers, and a carbon-fiber latch cover.
Routing the power are 3.73 gears and new half shafts, both from Ford Performance. The tires are Michelin Pilot Super Sport on 20-inch WELD Racing Super Snake wheels. For the first time, the Super Snake will be available with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. Under hood options include an upgraded intercooler and cooling kits for the differential and transmission.
Shelby American has for the first time provided right-hand drive version Super Snakes to the UK and Europe through official distributor Bill Shepherd Mustang, and also to Australia, introduced by Mustang Motorsport.
=== 2016 Shelby Terlingua ===
Shelby American offered a limited run of 50 Shelby Terlingua Racing Team Mustangs based on the 2015–16 Ford Mustang GT in 2016. The Shelby Terlingua is Shelby American's most track-inspired Mustang and is built as a tribute to the Terlingua Racing Team and their 1967 Trans Am Championship.
Modifications for the Terlingua include a Whipple supercharger mated to the new Mustang GT 5.0 L V8 engine producing over 750 hp (560 kW) and an exclusive Eibach sway bar and adjustable coilovers. The Terlingua also includes Ford Performance's upgrades like halfshafts, a short throw shifter and a Borla Exhaust with black tips. The car also added the Brembo big brake kit for race track proven performance, and with 20-inch WELD racing wheels, tons of Shelby-designed carbon fiber components and the distinct Terlingua Racing Team badging.
=== 2016 Ford Shelby GT-H ===
On the 50th anniversary of the Rent-a-Racer program, Ford, Hertz and Shelby introduced the 2016 Shelby GT-H. Based on the 5.0L V8 Mustang GT, Shelby enhanced the Mustang with Ford Performance components including suspension, exhaust and wheels, along with Shelby design cues like polycarbonate hood and stripes. Beginning Memorial Day, 140 2016 Shelby GT-H's are available for rent as modern-day "Rent-A-Racers" through the Hertz Adrenaline Collection at select U.S. airport locations.
There are several logos and emblems spread throughout the body. "GT-H" logos are on the grille, rear faux gas cap, and on the trunk lid. Shelby replaced the standard front splitter and rear spoiler with elements made of carbon-fiber. The hood is also specially crafted with vents and a big bulge at the center, the same as the Shelby GT. It has 19-inch aluminum wheels fitted with Michelin tires (255/40s at the front and 275/40s at the rear.
The interior of the new Ford Mustang Shelby GT-H is based on the standard Mustang GT. Only a few features sets the two models' interior styling apart. They include "GT-H" logos on the headrests, customized sill plates with "Hertz Shelby GT-H" lettering and a numbered plaque on the dash. The floor mats also have "GT-H" logos.
It also features a cat-back exhaust system from the Ford Performance. This specifically gives the model a throatier sound. A "Shelby-GT-H" engine plaque is also added as well as an engine cap kit. The chassis has also been updated via the Ford Racing Handling Pack which helps deliver a race-like driving experience. The package adds lowered springs, special-tuned dampers and revised sway bars.
=== 2017 Shelby Super Snake ===
==== 2017 50th Anniversary edition ====
In January 2017, Shelby American introduced the 50th Anniversary edition Shelby Super Snake based on the 2017 Mustang GT and having a limited production run of 500 units. The 50th anniversary edition has different fascia and wheels than that of the Mustang GT version, can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds along with having a quarter mile time of 10.9 seconds.
=== 2017 Shelby GTE ===
Shelby American introduced the Shelby GTE on August 2, 2016. Like the Shelby GT, the GTE (in which the E stands for "Enhanced") is also available with either the V8 or Ecoboost engine, and an automatic or manual transmission. The V8 version produces 456 hp (340 kW), 21 hp (16 kW) more than the standard Mustang GT. The power increases come in part from the Ford Performance catalog, with V8 models getting the factory-approved Power Pack. EcoBoost models, in contrast, get a Shelby-specific engine tune. GTEs also get the Ford Performance Handling Pack and Ford Performance Borla cat-back touring exhaust as well as Ford Performance 19-inch wheels with tires of Shelby's choosing. The GTE also gets its own specific hood, upper and lower front grille, splitter, rocker panels, and rear spoiler.
== SVT 1st generation GT500 2007–2009 (S-197 I) ==
=== 2007–2009 Ford Shelby GT500 ===
Shelby and Ford returned for the 2007 model year with the Shelby GT500. Introduced at the 2005 New York International Auto Show, the GT500 uses a supercharged and intercooled Modular 5.4 L; 330.0 cu in (5,408 cc) V8 engine rated at 500 hp (507 PS; 373 kW) at 6,000 rpm and 480 lb⋅ft (651 N⋅m) at 4,500 rpm of torque. Features include the Tremec TR-6060 6-speed manual transmission, suspension tuning, a body kit, and 18-inch wheels.
Deliveries of the Shelby GT500 began in May 2006.
A collaboration of Ford's SVT and Carroll Shelby, the GT500 was produced in limited quantity for three years (approximately 10,000 units per year) on the line at Ford's Flat Rock, Michigan (AutoAlliance) assembly facility.
In 2008, Shelby built a 5.4 L twin-turbocharged prototype from the GT500 under the name Code Red with the help of Nelson Racing Engines. The car had a power output of 1,000 bhp (750 kW), but didn't reach production due to its high cost and extreme nature.
==== 2008–2009 GT500KR ====
The Ford Shelby GT500KR, revealed at the 2007 New York International Auto Show, was released in the spring of 2008. The car is powered by a Modular 5,408 cc (5.4 L; 330.0 cu in) supercharged and intercooled version of the base GT500 V8 engine now upgraded to 540 bhp (547 PS; 403 kW) at 6,250 rpm and 510 lb⋅ft (691 N⋅m) at 4,500 rpm of torque with functional Cold Air Intake and unique calibration. SVT and Shelby announced that 1,000 40th Anniversary Editions would be built for the U.S. in 2008, with another 571 units in 2009. This 1,571 production run matches that of the original 1968 GT500KR. In total, 1,712 units were produced, with the remaining units going to Canada, export markets and military sales.
All KRs were built by AutoAlliance International on the normal Mustang production line and then shipped to Shelby Automobiles Incorporated (SAI) where final assembly was completed.
The Shelby GT500KR features a carbon fiber composite hood with functional scoops and vents, twist-lock hood pins modeled on the original 1968 KR, a unique carbon fiber splitter, carbon fiber mirror caps, and functional brake cooling ducts. The suspension was tuned by SVT with unique spring rates, dampers, stabilizer bars, and strut tower brace and was sourced from Ford Racing. Unique Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires were developed for the KR with a unique compound. With the same tread pattern as the Eagle F1 Supercar tire on the 2007–2009 GT500 they can only be identified by a unique Goodyear "Wingedfoot" emblem on the sidewall.
The 2008–09 GT500KR draws on styling cues from the classic 1968 "King of the Road" GT500KR model, and the 2008 model includes "40th Anniversary" badging; both years will have availability of standard GT500 colors with "LeMans" stripes, and Carroll Shelby signature embroidered seats. The GT500KR's starting price was $120,000.
The GT500KR features prominently in the Knight Rider television reboot on NBC. One of the main new characters of the show is KITT (voiced by Val Kilmer), an advanced artificial intelligence housed in a GT500KR that was colored black with dark gray stripes, using the GT500KR's hood scoops for its famous red scanner. KARR (once again voiced by Peter Cullen) KITT's evil prototype is also a Ford Mustang GT500KR, although its scanner is yellow, like its own original incarnation.
===== Other specifications =====
4 seating
Displacement 5,408 cc (5.4 L; 330.0 cu in)
Power: 540 bhp (547 PS; 403 kW) @ 6,250 rpm
Torque: 510 lb⋅ft (691 N⋅m) @ 4,500 rpm
3.73 differential ratio
18 × 9.5" Alcoa wheels with unique Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires (front: P255/45ZR18 rear: 285/40/ZR18)
==== 2007–2009 Shelby GT500 Super Snake ====
Starting in 2008, previous 2007 Shelby GT500 Mustangs could be sent to Carroll Shelby's Special Performance Plant in Las Vegas to be rebuilt into a Super Snake, for an additional cost of $27,995. The Super Snake will offer a 605 hp (451 kW) (at the engine) 5.4 L. A Kenne Bell twin-screw supercharged version with "over 725 hp" was also available, without warranty and offered a varied 0–60 mph acceleration time in 3.5 to 3.7 seconds. The Super Snake is inspired by the 1967 GT500 Super Snake, a car made by Carroll Shelby for Goodyear Tires.
The Super Snake also comes with a variety of other performance, handling and cosmetic changes. These include badging, new gauge pod, 20-inch Alcoa wheels, fibreglass ram-air Super Snake hood, stripes, carbon fiber front splitter and side skirts, larger 6-piston Baer brakes, front and rear brake cooling ducts, complete track setup suspension, aluminum driveshaft, 3.73 differential gears and cat-back exhaust system.
The Super Snake package was also available for 2005–2006 Ford Mustang.
==== Prudhomme Edition Super Snake (2009–2010) ====
The Prudhomme Edition Super Snake is a limited (100 units) drag racing package for the 2007–2010 Ford Shelby GT500 cars, named after Don Prudhomme. The engine is rated at 800 hp (597 kW) on race fuel or 750 hp (559 kW) on 93 octane pump gas. It includes a Kenne Bell supercharger, a modified air intake sticking out of the hood in the tilt front end, a five-point Impact safety harness, a Borla side exhaust system, front and rear adjustable BMR racing suspension and drag tires with optional street tires. The side lower rockers are incorporated.
The package has an MSRP of $100,000 (not including the car).
The Prudhomme concept car went on sale in 2009 Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas auction. The vehicle was sold with a winning bid price of $275,000 (before buyer premium).
== SVT 2nd generation GT500 2010–2014 (S-197 II) ==
=== 2010–2012 Ford Shelby GT500 ===
==== 2010 ====
For the 2010 model year, the Shelby Mustang GT500 was redesigned along with the base Ford Mustang. As with the 2007–09 GT500, the 2010 included unique front and rear fascias, hood with functional vents and unique rear spoiler. The rear spoiler included a functional Gurney flap. Along with new exterior colors, customers had the option of extending the exterior stripes onto the seats. Production was limited to 2000 units.
The 5.4 L engine's power output was increased to 540 hp (403 kW) and 510 lb⋅ft (691 N⋅m) of torque with the addition of a cold air intake similar to the 08/09 GT500KR and includes a knock sensor to protect the engine if lower octane fuel is used. The 2010 GT500's fuel efficiency increased by 2 miles per gallon.
SVT re-tuned the coupe's suspension and worked with Goodyear on 19" tires with new construction, compound and tread pattern. The coupe's 19-inch wheels are forged for a reduction in unsprung weight. The convertible retained the 18-inch wheels. The 2010 Shelby Mustang GT500 can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in 4.19 seconds and has a top speed of 180 mph (290 km/h). The 2010 GT500 can brake from 60–0 mph in 107.0 ft and has a lateral acceleration of 1.00 G.
==== 2011 and 2012 ====
Much like the 2011 V6 and GT Mustangs, the 2011 Shelby GT500 got an engine update with an all-new 5.4 L aluminum engine which was 102 lb (46 kg) lighter than the previous cast-iron engine and uses Ford-patented plasma-coating technology (Plasma transferred wire arc). The inventors of PTWA received the 2009 IPO National Inventor of the Year award. This technology was initially patented and developed by inventors from Flame-Spray. The technology was subsequently improved upon by Ford and Flamespray. With the engine updates, not only has performance improved to 550 bhp (558 PS; 410 kW) at 6,200 rpm and 510 lb⋅ft (691 N⋅m) at 4,500 rpm of torque, but the GT500's gas mileage has improved to 15 mpg‑US (16 L/100 km; 18 mpg‑imp) city and 23 mpg‑US (10 L/100 km; 28 mpg‑imp) highway, which was enough to eliminate the U.S. Gas Guzzler Tax. The final production number of the 2011 Shelby GT500 by the end of the year was 5100 units.
Ford also improved upon the handling characteristics of the GT500. The overall stance of the car has been lowered by 11 millimeters in front and 8 millimeters at the rear. The car also features Ford's new Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS) that improves torque build-up and road feel which delivers quicker and more precise steering, increased effort on the racetrack or winding roads, and reduced effort in low-speed parking maneuvers. The car also has Ford's AdvanceTrac stability control system, which features a sport mode when pressed twice consecutively while stopped with the brakes applied.
External improvements include an optional SVT Performance Package, which includes Goodyear EagleF1 SuperCar G: 2 tires, all-new lightweight 19-inch forged-aluminum wheels in front and 20-inch forged-aluminum wheels at the rear, a 3.73 rear axle ratio, and performance tuned front and rear shocks along with stiffer springs. The package includes a unique rear spoiler Gurney Flap for improved handling, slightly revised front and rear fascias, a new pedal box for improved clutch use, slotted brake dust shields for improved brake cooling, standard HID (high-intensity discharge) headlamps, MyKey programmable vehicle key, integrated spotter mirrors, and fold-down rear headrests. Optional is a glass top roof, previously available, starting in 2009, with the Mustang GT.
The improvements in handling and performance gives the 2011 Shelby GT500 a skidpad rating of 1.0g, and a Virginia International Raceway lap time of 2:58:48, making it as fast as, and sometimes faster than, cars such as the M3, Audi R8 V10, Dodge Viper SRT-10 and Porsche GT3 around this racetrack. Changes to the 2012 model year Shelby GT500 included a new Recaro seat option. The Sterling Gray color was no longer available.
=== 2011-12 GT500 Super Snake ===
Just like the 2011 Shelby GT500, born on the proving grounds of the drag strip and road course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Shelby American worked with companies like Ford Racing to create an even more aggressive suspension and engine package for the 2011 Super Snake. For the 2011 model year, more power, new anthracite wheels, white stripes and new side scoops are optional.
The 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake post title package includes:
Ford Racing handling pack including dynamic adjustable dampers, lowering springs, tuned stabilizer bars, and front strut tower brace
6-speed manual transmission with 3.73:1 rear axle ratio
Shelby/Ford Racing supercharger upgrade producing over 660 HP and 590 ft.-lbs. of torque
Either a Shelby/Ford Racing or Shelby/Kenne Bell supercharger kit producing 750 HP with upgraded drive shaft, billet twin 75mm throttle body and exclusive badges
Optional Shelby/Kenne Bell 800 horsepower tune on pump gas
Borla exhaust system
An optional Shelby / Eibach handling pack is also available
Shelby-designed Alcoa 20-inch wheels in durabright or anthracite
Short-throw shifter
Forged Shelby / Wilwood brakes with 6-piston calipers and cross drilled / vented rotors
Front brake cooling ducts and behind the door side scoop
Unique fiberglass hood featuring classic Shelby design and pins
Shelby signature Super Snake stripes in either matte black or matte white
"Shelby" lettering across the rear deck lid
"Super Snake" vehicle badges and official Shelby CSM interior plate
Optional two-tone leather interior
Shelby signature embroidered headrests, floor mats and other Shelby designed components
==== 2012 Limited Edition ====
Full details on the 2012 Shelby GT500 Super Snake were revealed at the New York Auto Show. The package included a unique fiberglass hood featuring the iconic Shelby design and pins, a new Borla exhaust system, the Shelby signature Super Snake stripes that come in either matte black or matte white, and "Super Snake" vehicle badges. An official Shelby CSM interior plate and "Shelby" lettering across the rear deck lid allowed the GT500 to be fully recognizable as a Shelby vehicle, while a set of Shelby designed 20-inch Alcoa wheels that came with a choice of either durabright or anthracite finished off the exterior look.
The interior also included Shelby signature embroidered headrests and floor mats, along with other Shelby designed components. These signatures could also be applied to optional two-tone leather.
The 2012 Limited Edition Super Snake produces 750 hp (559 kW) and 590 lb⋅ft (800 N⋅m) of torque from its 5.4 L supercharged V8 engine. The power can be taken up to 800 hp (597 kW) with the optional upgrade. The engine is mated to a six-speed manual transmission with 3.73:1 rear axle ratio and short-throw shifter. The car uses forged Shelby/Baer brakes with 6-piston calipers and cross drilled/vented rotors.
==== 2012 50th Anniversary Edition ====
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Shelby American, 50 black and gold Super Snakes were manufactured. The prototype was used as a promotional vehicle and is considered a highly sought-after car by collectors. The prototype had been reported as sold in 2015.
=== 2011/12 Shelby American Shelby 1000 ===
Unveiled at the 2012 New York International Auto Show, the Shelby 1000 is an upgrade to the 2012 Shelby GT500 and was available in two versions. The Street Legal version produces 920 hp (686 kW), while the Track version delivers 1,100 hp (820 kW). The chassis has been strengthened to handle the additional power. The rear end was replaced with a high performance 9-inch unit; the brakes included 6 pistons in front and 4 pistons out back. The driveshaft was a stronger unit while the suspension included new struts, sway bars and bushings. The hood, rear panel and splitter were functional pieces for performance.
=== 2013–2014 Ford Shelby GT500 ===
First unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2011, Ford Shelby GT500 was the most powerful Mustang at the time. The DOHC 4 valves per cylinder 5,812 cc (5.8 L; 354.7 cu in) supercharged and intercooled V8 engine is certified to produce 662 bhp (671 PS; 494 kW) at 6,500 rpm and 855 N⋅m (631 lb⋅ft) at 4,000 rpm of torque, with a claimed top speed of 202 mph (325 km/h). The new GT500 weighs 3,850 lb (1,746 kg), and was available from May 2012.
The 2013 models had various improvements and differences compared to the GT500 of 2012 including new front end sheet metal along with standard HID headlamps, along with a new LED tail light assembly. The new 2013 Shelby GT500 also had no grill, due to the massive amount of cooling required for the vehicle. Performance changes included twin fuel pumps (a Mustang GT's single supply pump, twice over), larger fuel injectors, a grippier and larger-diameter clutch, a larger fan, a three-row intercooler (the previous car used a double-row unit), a beefed-up Tremec TR-6060 six-speed manual transmission with an internal oil pump, and a single-piece carbon-fiber driveshaft. Larger Brembo front disc brakes with six-piston calipers, reinforced axle tubes, and aero tweaks to help the car reach 200 mph (320 km/h)+ safely. According to Ford, the changes have resulted in a 14-percent reduction in drag and a 66-percent increase in front-end downforce. Also new for 2013 was a larger front anti-roll bar and retuned springs. An rpm-adjustable electronic launch-control function was standard, as was a four-mode electronic stability control system.
A Performance package was also offered, adding two-mode adjustable Bilstein dampers and a Torsen limited-slip rear differential. In addition to the Performance package, a Track package for road racing could be ordered bringing a transmission cooler, a nose-mounted differential cooler for the Torsen limited-slip unit, and an air-to-oil engine-oil cooler.
A Motor Trend magazine May 2012 road test provided a 0–60 mph (97 km/h) acceleration time of 3.5 seconds and a quarter mile time of 11.6 seconds at 125.7 mph (202.3 km/h). By comparison, the '13 GT500 was faster than both the Camaro ZL1 and Corvette Z06.
Performance claims include a manufacturer's claim of 202 mph (325 km/h); Car and Driver: 189 mph (304 km/h)).
In February 2012, at the Chicago Auto Show, Shelby officially announced that a convertible version of the 2013 GT500 will reach production. The convertible had a limited top speed of 155 miles per hour (249 km/h).
No major changes from the previous year 2013 were made for the 2014 model year, however several colors had been discontinued and been made.
=== 2013–2014 Shelby GT500 Super Snake ===
At the Barrett-Jackson auction in 2012, Shelby American announced the release of the GT500 Super Snake. The Super Snake is offered in two supercharged engine packages which have power outputs of 662 hp (494 kW) and 850 hp (634 kW) respectively. The first fifty vehicles sold were available in limited edition colors, either in black with a triple gold stripe or white with a triple gold stripe.
The 2013 GT500 Super Snake marked the discontinuation of the Shelby "Alcoa" Super Snake Wheels. New, lightweight forged aluminum wheel were produced and used instead. These wheels were also used on any GT500 (even 2007–2012 models) that entered the Shelby American Facility to be converted into a Super Snake version. The 2013 Super Snake was also offered with a wide body option.
==== WELD Edition concept ====
The WELD edition Super Snake had new wheels designed specifically and exclusively for Shelby and will be used on the next generations of Shelby Mustangs. This car was in the Weld wheels SEMA show display. The hood of this WELD Super Snake is an all carbon fiber Super Snake hood. It also has carbon fiber trim parts, included side rocker panels, rear diffuser, spoiler and rear fenders. Parts that featured WELD are its vinyl strips and Recaro seats.
==== Wide Body Prototype ====
This car was the first of the latest generation wide body Super Snakes. CSM13SS0001P was one of the key development vehicles for the wide body program as well as the Super Snake program for 2013. It appeared on both the wide body and many of the Super Snake promotional materials and displays during this time period. It was previously shown at the Detroit Auto Show in 2013 and the New York Auto Show, as well as many other shows and events all over US. It was also in the Shelby Annual publication. This prototype is currently on display in the Shelby Museum.
==== Demonstrator Edition of Shelby American ====
This demonstrator of Shelby American was used as part of a ride-n-drive to help show drivers the primary difference
between the stock GT500 and the GT500 Super Snake. The conversion includes 850HP, courtesy of a 4.0L Whipple
Supercharger, and comes with the optional Watts link and upgraded interior.
=== 2013–2014 Shelby 1000 and 1000 S/C ===
The 2013 Shelby 1000 was officially unveiled at the New York International Auto Show, under once again a Street Package, and a Track Package (S/C).
The 2013/14 Shelby 1000 had the 5.8 L (1.3 imp gal; 1.5 US gal) V8 engine from the 2013/14 GT500. Upgrades included a full Engine Package using a performance 850 hp fuel system with 72 lb injectors, a Borla Custom 3-inch stainless-steel catback exhaust and new parts such as forged pistons, ported cylinder heads, titanium valve springs and titanium retainers. The engine breathes through a Kenne Bell 3.6L Supercharger using a 4.5-inch inlet pipe feeding an 1850cfm throttle body. A High Performance aluminum flywheel and a twin-clutch assembly is also used. The engine is estimated to produce over 1,200 hp (890 kW).
Like the 2012 Shelby 1000, the 2013/14 needed significant under-body and chassis strengthening modifications to handle the extra power from the engine. Driveshaft tunnel braces and billet-aluminium supports and suspension parts were used. A Custom 9" Wavetrac Differential is used to help put power down through the rear wheels.
The Exterior received the usual "Shelby 1000" decals and an overlay package with a functional carbon-fiber hood, front lip spoiler, rear bumper and side skirts. A Widebody Version of the car was also offered.
Since 2011, Shelby 1000 become a package for 2010-14's Ford Shelby GT500, due to the popularity of the package, Shelby American also received 2013–14 Ford Shelby GT500s to be converted into Shelby 1000s from customers.
== Ford Performance 3rd generation Shelby GT350 (2015–2020) ==
=== 2015 Ford Shelby GT350 ===
For 2015, the GT350 has a 5,163 cc (5.2 L; 315.1 cu in) flat-plane crank V8 engine, known as Voodoo producing 526 bhp (533 PS; 392 kW) at 7,500 rpm and 429 lb⋅ft (582 N⋅m) of torque at 4,750 rpm. The GT350 is more track focused than the GT500, and was benchmarked against the Chevrolet Corvette C7, Porsche 911 S and BMW M4. It has a track-focused chassis tuning, wider front fenders housing 295-width Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, significant aerodynamic changes to include lowering the hood around the engine, active-exhaust, six-piston Brembo brakes with semi-floating rotors, MagneRide damping option (the first MagneRide-equipped Ford), light weight Tremec six speed manual transmission, Recaro seats and various weight reduction efforts. Specifically, it has a carbon fiber reinforced polymer radiator support that directs cooling channels for various components.
The GT350 and GT350R were discontinued after model year 2020.
==== GT350R ====
At the 2015 North American International Auto Show a more track-focused, hardcore and limited production version of the GT350 was unveiled called the GT350R, benchmarked against the Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and Porsche 911 GT3. The GT350R retains the GT350's 5.2-liter flat plane crank V8 engine, producing the same power, but grip was significantly increased by the means of wider Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, Carbon Revolution carbon fiber wheels (the first ever fitted to a mass-production road car) each weigh approximately 15 pounds less than the aluminum wheels on the GT350, and significantly more downforce thanks to a larger splitter and carbon-fiber rear wing to keep the car stuck to the ground. Items like the air conditioning, stereo, trunk floorboard, all the carpeting, the rear seats, and the backup camera could be removed from the factory resulting in the GT350R weighing 130 lb (59 kg) less than the GT350.
Serial #001 was sold at the 2015 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction for US$1,000,000 (~$1.29 million in 2024) with the proceeds to benefit the JDRF.
The GT350R won Road & Track magazine's 2016 "Performance Car of the Year" (PCOTY) and Car and Driver magazine's "10 Best Cars" for 2016.
==== GT350R-C ====
As with previous production-based Mustang race cars, Multimatic Engineering was approached by Ford Performance to develop a complete race-only version of the S550 Shelby GT350R. The resulting competition derivative, the GT350R-C, has safety equipment and roll-over protection homologated to FIA and IMSA specifications; Bosch MS5.0 ECU and ABS controller; MoTeC instrumentation and datalogging; adjustable anti-roll bars; Multimatic DSSV spool-valve dampers and other competition upgrades.
Though delayed until the third race of the 2015 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, the GT350R-C was competitive right away: having earned pole position for its debut race, the GT350R-C won the next two rounds, and took three wins overall in its debut season.
Success continued into 2016 as privateer team C360R finished behind the sole entry of factory-supported team Multimatic Motorsports for a 1–2 GT350R-C finish in the season-opener at Daytona. The #15 Multimatic Motorsports Shelby GT350R-C driven by Billy Johnson and Scott Maxwell continued on to win 6 out of 10 races as well as the 2016 Team, Driver, and Manufacturers Championships.
=== 2019 Shelby GT350 ===
The GT350 was updated for the 2019 model year. The update includes new suspension, aerodynamics, and bespoke Michelin summer tires. The updated rear wing has an optional Gurney flap, helping downforce without adding too much drag. The other aerodynamics update is out front. The GT350 now gets the grille from the GT350R, which has fewer openings, creating less front-end drag. The GT350 also moved to the 5.2L engine block, cylinder head, and valve train from the GT500 to reduce overall costs.
In order to improve corner grip and braking, Ford commissioned a custom set of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires that have a model-specific tread pattern and compound. The tires are 295/35R19 front section and 305/35R19 rear section, the same as the previous model. The springs and shocks have been revised — 10 percent softer in the rear and 10 percent firmer in the front. The tuning for the Magneride system, ABS, and electronic power steering system have also been revised. The GT350R also receives the high-tail steering knuckle from the 2020 GT500 as well as a new steering rack.
The 2019 GT350 also gets updated in the interior and exterior. Power adjustable seats with faux-suede inserts are available, along with faux suede inserts on the doors. An optional 12-speaker Bang & Olufsen Play sound system is also available as the Tech Packages, which also includes puddle lamps, blind-spot monitoring, and cross-traffic alert The GT350 now comes standard with the 8-inch SYNC 3 touchscreen infotainment and dual-zone climate control. The new colors were also introduced: Velocity Blue and Ford Performance Blue. An exposed carbon fiber dashboard is an available option. The 2019 GT350 went on sale in early 2019.
=== 2020 Shelby GT350 ===
The GT350 only had minor updates for the 2020 model year. These upgrades include updated suspension tuning and new colors (Grabber Lime, Twister Orange (replacing Orange Fury), Iconic Silver, Rapid Red (replacing Ruby Red)). The 2020 also introduced a new option, the Heritage Edition Package celebrating 55 years of track focused Mustang Fastbacks, which includes Wimbledon White paint with Guardsman Blue Over-the-Top racing stripes, unique Guardsman Blue sides stripes not available on other GT350s.
=== 2020 Shelby GT350SE ===
To commemorate 55 years since the first Shelby Mustang, Shelby American created Carroll Shelby Signature Edition versions of the 2015–2020 Shelby GT350 and Shelby GT350R.
== Ford Performance 3rd generation Shelby GT500 (2020–2022) ==
=== 2020 Shelby GT500 ===
The 2020 GT500 was unveiled at the January 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It is powered by a hand-built 5.2-liter "Predator" aluminum-alloy V8 engine with a 2.65-liter roots-type supercharger. The Shelby GT500 produces 760 hp (567 kW; 771 PS) and 625 lb⋅ft (847 N⋅m) of torque. However, it will not arrive to the European market due to the V8 5.2 liter motor being unable to comply with European road regulations, therefore it will only focus on North America and Middle Eastern countries.
The Michelin PS4S tires are upgraded to Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 with the GT500 Carbon Fiber Track Pack.
In September 2021, the GT500 was introduced in the Philippines, featuring the same 5.2 liter supercharged V8 that produces 760 hp (567 kW) and 625 lbf⋅ft (847 N⋅m) of torque. It is mated to a seven-speed Tremec-sourced DCT.
=== 2020–2022 Shelby GT500 Signature Edition ===
Shelby American released the signature edition of GT500 with an additional 40 horsepower.
=== 2020–2022 Shelby GT500KR ===
On December 15, 2021, Shelby revealed the GT500KR on social media for their 60th Anniversary. The car is limited to 180 units worldwide.
=== 2020–2022 Shelby GT500 Code Red ===
The first experimental car from Shelby which found its way to production. The car has a high-performance 5.2 L V8 boosted by a twin-turbo system, which contributes to a final output of over 1,000 hp (750 kW) with 93-octane fuel and up to 1,300 hp (970 kW) while running on ethanol. Shelby will produce 10 cars per year.
== Other variants and replicas ==
=== Eleanor Mustang ===
The Eleanor is a customized Mustang appearing in two movies, Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) and Gone in 60 Seconds (2000). In the 1974 movie, it is a 1971 Ford Mustang that was redressed as 1973 model, while in the 2000 movie it was a custom Dupont Pepper Grey 1967 Mustang Fastback depicted as a Shelby GT500. The 2000 model had a nitrous oxide system.
== Controversies ==
=== Unique performance ===
In 2002, Carroll Shelby partnered with Unique Performance which was reported to have been mismanaged and performed poorly with numerous customer complaints regarding false claims as to specifications and parts, poor workmanship and failure to deliver.
On November 1, 2007, Unique Performance (constructing both Shelby and Chip Foose licensed Mustangs and Camaros) was raided by the Farmers Branch Police Department due to VIN irregularities (cars which have a number of VINs in various locations had VINs removed and moved illegally) and subsequently declared bankruptcy with all assets including numerous body shells and cars in construction auctioned off ending production.
=== Denice Halicki and Gone in 60 Seconds ===
The 2000 remake of the movie Gone in 60 Seconds had a custom 1967 Mustang 'Eleanor'. Carroll Shelby started to produce his own version of Eleanor, but Denice Halicki, widow of the original Eleanor's creator, filed suit against Carroll Shelby for infringing on the "Eleanor" trademark and copyrighted image. In 2008, Halicki won her case against Carroll Shelby.
In 2022, the Shelby Estate won a case against Halicki, where it was decided "Eleanor" is not a character deserving of copyright protection. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Series_champions | List of World Series champions | 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/Philadelphia_Waterdogs#Season_results | Philadelphia Waterdogs#Season results | The Philadelphia Waterdogs are a professional field lacrosse team based in the Greater Philadelphia area that competes in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The Waterdogs were the first PLL expansion team, beginning with the 2020 season. Players were selected through an expansion draft, new entry draft, and the college draft over the first few months of 2020. Andy Copelan was announced as the Club's first head coach on January 2, 2020. Owners of the club include Pardon My Take hosts, Dan "Big Cat" Katz & PFT Commenter. The Waterdogs won their first championship in 2022 against the Chaos. In March 2024 the Waterdogs hired Bill Tierney as Head Coach.
== Current coaching staff ==
Head coach – Bill Tierney
Assistant coach – Dylan Sheridan
Assistant coach – Louie Dedonatis
== Roster ==
*Indicates member of Holdout list
**Indicates player is on PUP list
(C) indicates captain
(R) indicates rookie
Source:
== Draft history ==
=== 2020 Expansion Draft ===
Source:
=== 2020 Player Pool Acquisitions ===
On March 21, Waterdogs announced they had signed the following players from the player pool:
Source:
== All time Draft Selections ==
2020 Entry Draft
The 2020 player entry draft occurred on March 16 for teams to select players arriving from rival Major League Lacrosse. On March 4, Paul Burmeister and NBCSN hosted an entry draft lottery for selection order. Out of 100 balls to select from, Waterdogs had 40, Chrome had 25, Atlas had 15, Archers had 10, Chaos had 6, Redwoods had 3, and the champion Whipsnakes had 1.
Rob Pannell was announced to be transferring to the PLL on March 9, followed by 15 other players the following day, which comprised the selection pool for the entry draft. A total of 14 players were selected in the entry draft with remaining new players entering the league player pool.
2020 College Draft
2021 Entry Draft
2021 College Draft
2022 College Draft
2023 College Draft
2024 College Draft
2025 College Draft
== Season results ==
== PLL Award Winners ==
Gait Brothers Midfielder of the Year
Zach Currier: 2021
Dick Edell Coach of the Year
Andy Copelan: 2021
== Head coaches ==
== All-time record vs. PLL Clubs == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitzer_Prize_for_Fiction | Pulitzer Prize for Fiction | The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during the preceding calendar year.
As the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel (awarded 1918–1947), it was one of the original Pulitzers; the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were awarded that year (no Novel prize was awarded in 1917, the first one having been granted in 1918).
The name was changed to the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948 and eligibility was expanded to the broader "distinguished fiction published in book form". The Advisory Board wanted to give the award to James A. Michener's Tales of the South Pacific, which required expanding the category criteria and lifting the ban on short stories.
Finalists have been announced since 1980, usually a total of three.
== Definition ==
As defined in the original Plan of Award, the prize was given "Annually, for the American novel published during the year which shall best present the wholesome atmosphere of American life, and the highest standard of American manners and manhood," although there was some struggle over whether the word wholesome should be used instead of whole, the word Pulitzer had written in his will. In 1927, the advisory board quietly instituted Pulitzer's word choice, replacing wholesome with whole.
A new consideration arose when the Pulitzer jury was unanimous in recommending Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey for the 1928 prize, although the book deals with Peruvians in Peru, not with Americans in America. The jury chair, Richard Burton of Columbia University, emphasized the moral value of the book in his report to the advisory board: "This piece of fiction is not only an admirable example of literary skill in the art of fiction, but also possesses a philosophic import and a spiritual elevation which greatly increases its literary value." Robert Morss Lovett disagreed, saying it would be "mere subterfuge to say that it has anything to do with the highest standard of American manners and manhood," but went along with the jury in finding "less literary merit" in the other novels under discussion. (Lovett rejected the runner-up Black April by Julia Peterkin, calling it "a rather unedifying picture of life in a primitive negro community" and "an ironical answer to the terms on which the prize is offered." Peterkin won nevertheless in 1929 for a similar novel, Scarlet Sister Mary.) Having settled on Bridge, the Advisory Board redefined the conditions from "whole atmosphere of American life, and the highest standard of American manners and manhood" to "preferably one which shall best present the whole atmosphere of American life," although this did not address the novel's setting. Further refinement into "the best novel published that year by an American author" removed any impediment to Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth in 1932, also with a foreign setting in its study of Chinese village life in Anhui, East China.
With 1929 came the first of several much more substantive changes. The board changed the wording to "preferably one which shall best present the whole atmosphere of American life" and deleted the insistence that the novel portray "the highest standard of American manners and manhood". In 1936, emphasis was changed again, with the award going to "a distinguished novel published during the year by an American author, preferably dealing with American life". In 1948, the advisory board widened the scope of the award with the wording "For distinguished fiction published in book form during the year by an American author, preferably dealing with American life." This change allowed the prize to go to a collection of short stories for the first time, James Michener's Tales of the South Pacific.
== Winners ==
In 31 years under the "Novel" name, the prize was awarded 27 times; in its first 76 years to 2024 under the "Fiction" name, 70 times. There have been 11 years during which no title received the award. It was shared by two authors for the first time in 2023. Since this category's inception in 1918, 31 women have won the prize. Four authors have won two prizes each in the Fiction category: Booth Tarkington, William Faulkner, John Updike, and Colson Whitehead.
Because the award is for books published in the preceding calendar year, the "Year" column links to the preceding year in literature.
=== 1910s to 1970s ===
=== 1980s to present ===
Winners (listed first) and finalists.
== Repeat winners ==
Four writers to date have won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction multiple times, one nominally in the novel category and two in the general fiction category. Ernest Hemingway was selected by the 1941 and 1953 juries, but the former was overturned with no award given that year.
Booth Tarkington, 1919, 1922
William Faulkner, 1955, 1963 (awarded posthumously)
John Updike, 1982, 1991
Colson Whitehead, 2017, 2020
== Authors with multiple nominations ==
4 nominations
Joyce Carol Oates
Philip Roth
3 nominations
Alice McDermott
Anne Tyler
Colson Whitehead
2 nominations
Russell Banks
Raymond Carver
Don DeLillo
Hernan Diaz
E. L. Doctorow
Louise Erdrich
Percival Everett
Richard Ford
Adam Haslett
Oscar Hijuelos
Ha Jin
Denis Johnson
Gayl Jones
Barbara Kingsolver
Richard Powers
Annie Proulx
Marilynne Robinson
Robert Stone
John Updike |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Records | Atlantic Records | Atlantic Recording Corporation is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recordings in January 1948, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most important American labels, specializing in jazz, R&B, and soul by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, Ruth Brown and Otis Redding. Its position was greatly improved by its distribution deal with Stax. In 1967, Atlantic became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, now the Warner Music Group, and expanded into rock and pop music with releases by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Led Zeppelin, and Yes.
In 2004, Atlantic and its sister label Elektra were merged into the Atlantic Music Group. Craig Kallman is the chairman of Atlantic. Ahmet Ertegun served as founding chairman until his death on December 14, 2006, at age 83.
== History ==
=== Founding and early history ===
In 1944, when their mother and sister returned to Turkey after the death of their father Munir Ertegun, Turkey's first ambassador to the U.S., brothers Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun remained in the United States. The brothers were fans of jazz and rhythm & blues, amassing a collection of over 15,000 78 rpm records. Ahmet stayed in Washington to undertake post-graduate music studies at Georgetown University, and immersed himself in the Washington music scene. He entered the record business, which was enjoying a resurgence after wartime restrictions on the shellac used in manufacture had been lifted. He convinced the family dentist, Vahdi Sabit, to invest $10,000 and hired Herb Abramson, a dentistry student.
Herb had worked as a part-time A&R manager/producer for Al Green at the jazz label National Records, signing Big Joe Turner and Billy Eckstine. He founded Jubilee in 1946 but had no interest in its most successful musicians. In September 1947, he sold his share in Jubilee to his partner, Jerry Blaine, and invested $2,500 in Atlantic.
Atlantic was incorporated in October 1947 and was run by Herb (president) and Ertegun (vice-president in charge of A&R, production, and promotion). Herb's wife Miriam Abramson ran the label's publishing company, Progressive Music. She did most office duties until 1949, when Atlantic hired its first employee, bookkeeper Francine Wakschal, who remained with the label for the next 49 years. Miriam gained a reputation for toughness. Staff engineer Tom Dowd recalled, "Tokyo Rose was the kindest name some people had for her" and Doc Pomus described her as "an extraordinarily vitriolic woman". When interviewed in 2009, she attributed her reputation to the company's chronic cash-flow shortage: "... most of the problems we had with artists were that they wanted advances, and that was very difficult for us ... we were undercapitalized for a long time". The label's office in the Ritz Hotel in Manhattan proved too expensive, so they moved to a room in the Hotel Jefferson. In the early fifties, Atlantic moved from the Hotel Jefferson to offices at 301 West 54th St and then to 356 West 56th St.
Atlantic's first recordings were issued in late January 1948 and included "That Old Black Magic" by Tiny Grimes and "The Spider" by Joe Morris. In its early years, Atlantic concentrated on modern jazz, although it released some country and western and spoken word recordings. Herb also produced "Magic Records", children's records with four grooves on each side. Each groove contained a different story, so the story played would be determined by the groove in which the stylus happened to land.
In late 1947, James Petrillo, head of the American Federation of Musicians, announced an indefinite ban on all recording activities by union musicians. This came into effect on January 1, 1948. The union action forced Atlantic to use almost all its capital to cut and stockpile enough recordings to last through the ban, which was expected to continue for at least a year.
Ertegun and Herb spent much of the late 1940s and early 1950s scouring nightclubs in search of talent. Ertegun composed songs under the alias "A. Nugetre", including Big Joe Turner's hit "Chains of Love", recording them in booths in Times Square, then giving them to an arranger or session musician. Early releases included music by Sidney Bechet, Barney Bigard, The Cardinals, The Clovers, Frank Culley, The Delta Rhythm Boys, Erroll Garner, Dizzy Gillespie, Tiny Grimes, Al Hibbler, Earl Hines, Johnny Hodges, Jackie & Roy, Lead Belly, Meade Lux Lewis, Professor Longhair, Shelly Manne, Howard McGhee, Mabel Mercer, James Moody, Joe Morris, Art Pepper, Django Reinhardt, Pete Rugolo, Pee Wee Russell, Bobby Short, Sylvia Syms, Billy Taylor, Sonny Terry, Big Joe Turner, Jimmy Yancey, Sarah Vaughan, Mal Waldron, and Mary Lou Williams.
=== First hits ===
In early 1949, a New Orleans distributor phoned Ertegun to obtain Stick McGhee's "Drinking Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee", which was unavailable due to the closing of McGhee's previous label, Harlem Records. Ertegun knew Stick's younger brother Brownie McGhee, with whom Stick happened to be staying, so he contacted the McGhee brothers and re-recorded the song. When released in February 1949, it became Atlantic's first hit, selling 400,000 copies, and reached No. 2 after spending almost six months on the Billboard R&B chart – although McGhee himself earned just $10 for the session. Atlantic recorded 187 songs in 1949, more than three times the amount from the previous two years, and received overtures for a manufacturing and distribution deal with Columbia, which would pay Atlantic a 3% royalty on every copy sold. Ertegun asked about artists' royalties, which he paid. This surprised Columbia executives, who did not, and the deal was scuttled.
On the recommendation of broadcaster Willis Conover, Ertegun and Herb visited Ruth Brown at the Crystal Caverns club in Washington and invited her to audition for Atlantic. She was injured in a car accident en route to New York City, but Atlantic supported her for nine months and then signed her. "So Long", her first record for the label, was recorded with Eddie Condon's band on May 25, 1949. The song reached No. 6 on the R&B chart. Brown recorded more than eighty songs for Atlantic, becoming its bestselling, most prolific musician of the period. Brown's success was so significant to Atlantic that the label became known colloquially as "The House That Ruth Built".
Joe Morris, one of the label's earliest signings, scored a hit with his October 1950 song "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere". It was the first Atlantic record issued in 45rpm format, which the company began pressing in January 1951. The Clovers' "Don't You Know I Love You" (composed by Ertegun) became the label's first R&B No. 1 in September 1951. A few weeks later, Brown's "Teardrops from My Eyes" became its first million-selling record. She hit No. 1 again in March–April 1952 with "5-10-15 Hours". "Daddy Daddy" reached No. 3 in September 1952, and "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean" with Connie Kay on drums reached No. 1 in February and March 1953. After Brown left the label in 1961, her career declined, and she worked as a cleaner and bus driver to support her children. In the 1980s she sued Atlantic for unpaid royalties; although Atlantic, which prided itself on treating artists fairly, had stopped paying royalties to some musicians. Ertegun denied this was intentional. Brown received a voluntary payment of $20,000 and founded the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1988 with a donation of $1.5 million from Ertegun.
In 1952 Atlantic signed Ray Charles, whose hits included "I Got a Woman", "What'd I Say", and "Hallelujah I Love Her So". Later that year The Clovers' "One Mint Julep" reached No. 2. In 1953, after learning that singer Clyde McPhatter had been fired from Billy Ward and His Dominoes and was forming The Drifters, Ertegun signed the group. Their single "Money Honey" became the biggest R&B hit of the year. Their records created some controversy: the suggestive "Such A Night" was banned by radio station WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan, and "Honey Love" was banned in Memphis, Tennessee but both reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart.
=== Tom Dowd ===
Recording engineer and producer Tom Dowd played a crucial role in Atlantic's success. He initially worked for Atlantic on a freelance basis, but within a few years he had been hired as the label's full-time staff engineer. His recordings for Atlantic and Stax influenced pop music.
Atlantic was one of the first independent labels to make recordings in stereo: Dowd used a portable stereo recorder which ran simultaneously with the studio's existing mono recorder. In 1953 (according to Billboard) Atlantic was the first label to issue commercial LPs recorded in the experimental stereo system called binaural recording. In this system, recordings were made using two microphones, spaced at approximately the distance between the human ears. Thd left and right channels were recorded as two separate, parallel grooves. Playing them back required a turntable with a special tone-arm fitted with dual needles; it was not until around 1958 that the single stylus microgroove system (in which the two stereo channels were cut into either side of a single groove) became the industry standard. By the late 1950s stereo LPs and turntables were being introduced. Atlantic's early stereo recordings included "Lover's Question" by Clyde McPhatter, "What Am I Living For" by Chuck Willis, "I Cried a Tear" by LaVern Baker, "Splish Splash" by Bobby Darin, "Yakety Yak" by the Coasters and "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles. Although these were primarily 45 rpm mono singles for much of the 1950s, Dowd stockpiled his "parallel" stereo takes for future release. In 1968 the label issued History of Rhythm and Blues, Volume 4 in stereo. Stereo versions of Ray Charles "What'd I Say" and "Night Time is the Right Time" were included on the Atlantic anthology The Birth of Soul: The Complete Atlantic Rhythm & Blues Recordings, 1952–1959.
Atlantic's New York studio was the first in America to install multitrack recording machines, developed by the Ampex company. Bobby Darin's "Splish, Splash" was the first song to be recorded on an 8-track recorder. It was not until the mid-1960s that multitrack recorders became the norm in English studios and EMI's Abbey Road Studios did not install 8-track facilities until 1968.
Atlantic entered the LP market early: its first was This Is My Beloved (March 1949), a 10-inch album of poetry by Walter Benton that was narrated by John Dall with music by Vernon Duke. In 1951, Atlantic was one of the first independent labels to press records in the 45 rpm single format. By 1956 the 45 had surpassed the 78 in sales for singles. In April of that year, Miriam (Abramson) Bienstock reported to Billboard that Atlantic was selling 75% of its singles as 45s. During the previous year, 78s had outsold 45s by a ratio of two to one.
=== Jerry Wexler ===
In February 1953, Herb Abramson was drafted into the U.S. Army. He moved to Germany, where he served in the Army Dental Corps, although he retained his post as president of Atlantic on full pay. Ertegun hired Billboard reporter Jerry Wexler in June 1953. Wexler is credited with coining the term "rhythm & blues" to replace "race music". He was appointed vice-president and purchased 13% of the company's stock. Wexler and Ertegun formed a close partnership which, in collaboration with Tom Dowd, produced thirty R&B hits.
Wexler's success for Atlantic was the result of going outside jazz to sign acts who combined jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues, such as Ray Charles, Joe Turner, and Aretha Franklin. Ertegun and Wexler realized many R&B recordings by black musicians were being covered by white performers, often with greater chart success. LaVern Baker had a No. 4 R&B hit with "Tweedlee Dee", but a rival version by Georgia Gibbs went to No. 2 on the pop chart. Big Joe Turner's April 1954 song "Shake, Rattle and Roll" was a No. 1 R&B hit, but it only reached No. 22 on the pop chart. Bill Haley & His Comets's version reached No. 7, selling over one million copies and becoming the bestselling song of the year for Decca. In July 1954, Wexler and Ertegun wrote a prescient article for Cash Box devoted to what they called "cat music"; the same month, Atlantic had its first major "crossover" hit on the Billboard pop chart when the "Sh-Boom" by The Chords reached No. 5 (although The Crew-Cuts' version went to No. 1). Atlantic missed an important signing in 1955 when Sun owner Sam Phillips sold Elvis Presley's recording contract in a bidding war between labels. Atlantic offered $25,000 which, Ertegun later noted, "was all the money we had then". But they were outbid by RCA's offer of $45,000. In 1990 Ertegun remarked, "The president of RCA at the time had been extensively quoted in Variety damning R&B music as immoral. He soon stopped when RCA signed Elvis Presley".
=== Nesuhi Ertegun ===
Ahmet's older brother Nesuhi was hired in January 1955. He had been living in Los Angeles for several years and had intermittent contact with his younger brother. But when Ahmet learned that Nesuhi had been offered a partnership in Atlantic's rival Imperial Records, he and Wexler convinced Nesuhi to join Atlantic instead. Nesuhi became head of artists and repertoire (A&R), led the label's jazz division, and built a roster that included Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, Herbie Mann, Les McCann, Charles Mingus, and John Coltrane. By 1958 Atlantic was America's second-largest independent jazz label.
Nesuhi was also in charge of LP production. He was credited with improving the production, packaging, and originality of Atlantic's LPs. He deleted the old '100' and '400' series of 10-inch albums and the earlier 12-inch albums in Atlantic's catalog, starting the '1200' series, which sold for $4.98, with Shorty Rogers' The Swingin' Mr Rogers. In 1956 he started the '8000' popular series (selling for $3.98) for the label's few R&B albums, reserving the 1200 series for jazz. Joel Dorn became Nesuhi's assistant after his successful production of Hubert Laws' album The Laws of Jazz.
=== Herb Abramson departs ===
When Herb returned from military service in 1955, he realized that he had been replaced by Wexler as Ahmet's partner. Herb did not get along with either Wexler or Nesuhi Ertegun, and he had returned from military service with a German girlfriend, which precipitated his divorce from Miriam, a minor stockholder and Atlantic's business and publishing manager.
By 1958, relations between Herb and his partners had broken down. In December 1958 a $300,000 buy-out was arranged. His stock was split between Nesuhi Ertegun and Herb's ex-wife Miriam, who had in the meantime remarried to music publisher Freddy Bienstock (later the owner of the Carlin Music / Chappell Music publishing empire). Herb's departure opened the way for Ahmet Ertegun to take over as president of the label. The roles of the other executives with Herb's departure were Wexler as executive vice-president and general manager, Nesuhi Ertegun as executive vice-president in charge of the LP department and Miriam Bienstock as vice-president and also president of Atlantic's music publishing arm Progressive Music. Wexler was also executive vice-president of Progressive, and the Ertegun brothers were vice-presidents.
=== Expansion ===
Atlantic played a major role in popularizing the genre that Jerry Wexler dubbed rhythm & blues, and it profited handsomely. The market for these records exploded during late 1953 and early 1954 as R&B hits crossed over to the mainstream (i.e. white) audience. In its tenth anniversary feature on Atlantic, Billboard noted, "... a very big R&B record might achieve 250,000 sales, but from this point on (1953–54), the industry began to see million sellers, one after the other, in the R&B field". Billboard said Atlantic's "fresh sound" and the quality of its recordings, arrangements, and musicians was a great advance from standard R&B records. For five years Atlantic "dominated the rhythm and blues chart with its roster of powerhouse artists".
Beginning in 1954, Atlantic created or acquired several subsidiary labels, the first being Cat Records. By the mid-1950s, Atlantic had an informal agreement with the French label Barclay, and the two companies regularly exchanged titles, usually jazz recordings. Atlantic also began to get recordings distributed in the United Kingdom, first through EMI on a 'one-off' basis. But in September 1955 Miriam Abramson traveled to the UK and signed a distribution deal with Decca. Miriam recalled, "I would deal with people there who were not really comfortable with women in business, so...we would do business very quickly and get it over with".
A subsidiary label, Atco, was established in 1955 to keep Herb involved. After a slow start, Atco had considerable success with Bobby Darin. His early releases were unsuccessful, and Herb planned to drop him. But when Ertegun offered him another chance, the result was "Splish Splash", which Darin had written in 12 minutes. The song sold 100,000 copies in the first month and became a million-seller. "Queen of the Hop" made the Top 10 on both the US pop and R&B charts and charted in the UK. "Dream Lover" reached No. 2 in the US and No. 1 in the UK and became a multi-million seller. "Mack the Knife" (1959) went to No. 1 in both the US and the UK, sold over 2 million copies, and won the 1960 Grammy Award for Record of the Year. "Beyond the Sea" became Darin's fourth consecutive Top 10 hit in the US and UK. He signed with Capitol and moved for Hollywood to attempt a movie career, but hits such as "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" and "Things" continued to benefit Atco through 1962. Darin returned to Atlantic in 1965. In 1965, Atlantic formed a budget label called Clarion Records. 21 albums were released simultaneously in 1965, all of them shown on the back cover of their releases. No further albums were issued as the label lasted less than a year.
=== Leiber and Stoller ===
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote "Smokey Joe's Cafe", which became a hit for The Robins. Their label Spark was bought by Atlantic, and they were hired as America's first independent record producers, free to produce for other labels. Two members of The Robins formed The Coasters and recorded hits for Atlantic, such as "Down in Mexico" and "Young Blood". "Yakety Yak" became Atlantic's first No. 1 pop hit. Leiber and Stoller also wrote the hit "Ruby Baby" for The Drifters.
Record producer Phil Spector moved to New York to work with Leiber and Stoller. He learned his trade at Trey Records, a label in California owned by Lester Sill and Lee Hazlewood and distributed by Atlantic. Sill recommended Spector to Leiber and Stoller, who assigned him to produce "Corrine, Corrina" by Ray Peterson and "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" by Curtis Lee. Both became hits, and Atlantic hired him as a staff producer. Ahmet Ertegun liked him, but Leiber said, "He wasn't likable. He was funny, he was amusing—but he wasn't nice". Wexler disliked him. Miriam Bienstock called him "a pain in the neck". When Spector criticized Bobby Darin's songwriting, Darin had him thrown out of the house.
Atlantic tolerated Spector, but with diminishing returns. He produced "Twist and Shout" for The Top Notes, and it flopped. Songwriter Bert Berns hated Spector's arrangement and thought it ruined the song, so Berns re-recorded it with The Isley Brothers and it became a hit. During his short time at Atlantic, Spector produced music for LaVern Baker, Ruth Brown, Jean DuShon, and Billy Storm. In 1961, he left the label, returned to Los Angeles, and founded Philles Records with Lester Sill. Spector became one of the most successful record producers of the 1960s.
Although Leiber and Stoller wrote many popular songs for Atlantic, their relationship with the label was deteriorating in 1962. The breaking point came when they asked for a producer's royalty. It was granted informally, but their accountant insisted on a written contract and an audit of Atlantic's accounts. The audit revealed Leiber and Stoller had been underpaid by $18,000. Although Leiber considered dropping the matter, Stoller pressed Atlantic for payment. Wexler replied that the payment would mean the end of their relationship with the label. Leiber and Stoller backed down, but the relationship ended anyway. Their assignment to work on The Drifter's next recording was given to Phil Spector.
Leiber and Stoller worked briefly for United Artists, then started Red Bird with George Goldner. They had hits with "Chapel of Love" by The Dixie Cups and "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las, but Red Bird's finances were precarious. In 1964 they approached Jerry Wexler and proposed a merger with Atlantic. When interviewed in 1990 for Ertegun's biography, Wexler declined to discuss the matter, but Ertegun claimed these negotiations were a plan to buy him out. In September 1964, the Ertegun brothers and Wexler were in the process of buying out the company's other two shareholders, Sabit and Bienstock, and it was proposed that Leiber and Stoller buy Sabit's shares. Leiber, Stoller, Goldner, and Wexler suggested their plan to Ertegun at a lunch meeting at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Leiber and Stoller told Ertegun they had no intention of buying him out, but Ertegun was aggravated by Goldner's attitude and was convinced Wexler was conspiring with them. Wexler told Ertegun if he refused, the deal would be done without him. But the Ertegun brothers held the majority of stock while Wexler controlled about 20 percent. Ertegun started lifelong grudges against Leiber and Stoller, and his relationship with Wexler was damaged.
=== Stax ===
Atlantic was doing so well in early 1959 that some scheduled releases were held back. The company enjoyed two successive months of gross sales of over $1 million that summer, thanks to hits by The Coasters, The Drifters, LaVern Baker, Ray Charles, Bobby Darin, and Clyde McPhatter. Months later the company was reeling from the successive loss of its two biggest artists, Bobby Darin and Ray Charles, who together accounted for one-third of sales. Darin moved to Los Angeles and signed with Capitol. Charles signed a contract with ABC-Paramount that included higher royalties, a production deal, profit-sharing, and eventual ownership of his master tapes. "I thought we were going to die", Wexler recalled. In 1990 he and Ertegun disputed the content of Charles's contract, which caused a rift. Ertegun remained friendly with Bobby Darin, who returned to Atlantic in 1966. Ray Charles returned to Atlantic in 1977.
In 1960, Atlantic's Memphis distributor Buster Williams contacted Wexler and told him he was pressing large quantities of "Cause I Love You", a duet between Carla Thomas and her father Rufus which was released by the small label Satellite. Wexler contacted the co-owner of Satellite, Jim Stewart, who agreed to lease the record to Atlantic for $1000 plus a small royalty—the first money the label had ever made. The deal included a $5000 payment against a five-year option on all other records. Satellite was renamed Stax after the owners, Stewart and Axton. The deal marked the start of a successful eight-year association between the two labels, giving Stax access to Atlantic's promotions and distribution. Wexler recalled, "We didn't pay for the masters...Jim paid for the masters and then he would send us a finished tape and we would put it out. Our costs began at the production level—the pressing, and distribution, and promotion, and advertising".
The deal to distribute Satellite's "Last Night" by The Mar-Keys on the Satellite label marked the first time Atlantic began marketing outside tracks on a non-Atlantic label.
Atlantic began pressing and distributing Stax records. Wexler sent Tom Dowd to upgrade Stax's recording equipment and facilities. Wexler was impressed by the cooperative atmosphere at the Stax studios and by its racially integrated house band, which he called "an unthinkably great band". He brought Atlantic musicians to Memphis to record. Stewart and Wexler hired Al Bell, a disk jockey at a radio station in Washington D.C., to take over promotion of Stax releases. Bell was the first African-American partner in the label.
An after-hours jam by members of the Stax house band resulted in "Green Onions". The single was issued in August 1962 and became the biggest instrumental hit of the year, reaching No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the pop chart, selling over one million copies. Over the next five years Stax and its subsidiary Volt provided Atlantic with many hits, such as "Respect" by Otis Redding, "Knock on Wood" by Eddie Floyd, "Hold On, I'm Comin'" by Sam and Dave, and "Mustang Sally" by Wilson Pickett.
=== Soul years ===
Aretha Franklin signed with Atlantic in 1966 after her contract with Columbia expired. Columbia tried to market her as a jazz singer. Jerry Wexler said, "we're gonna put her back in church". She rose to fame quickly and was called the Queen of Soul. Wexler oversaw production himself at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The result was seven consecutive singles that made both the US Pop and Soul Top 10: "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" (Soul No. 1, Pop No. 9), "Respect" (Soul and Pop No. 1), "Baby, I Love You" (Soul No. 1, Pop No. 4), "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Soul No. 2, Pop No. 8), "Chain of Fools" (Soul No. 1, Pop No. 2), "Since You've Been Gone" (Soul No. 1, Pop No. 5), and "Think" (Soul No. 1, Pop No. 7).
In late 1961, singer Solomon Burke arrived at Jerry Wexler's office unannounced. Wexler was a fan of Burke's and had long wanted to sign him, so when Burke told Wexler his contract with his former label had expired Wexler replied: "You're home. I'm signing you today". The first song Wexler produced with Burke was "Just Out of Reach", which became a big hit in September 1961. The soul/country & western crossover predated Ray Charles' similar venture by more than 6 months. Burke became a consistent big seller through the mid-1960s and scored hits on Atlantic into 1968. In 1962 folk music was booming and the label came very close to signing Peter, Paul & Mary. Wexler and Ertegun pursued them vigorously, but the deal fell through at the last minute. They later discovered music publisher Artie Mogull had introduced their manager Albert Grossman to Warner Bros. executive Herman Starr, who had made the trio an irresistible offer that gave them complete creative control over the recording and packaging of their music.
The mid-1960s British Invasion led Atlantic to change its British distributor. Decca had refused access to its British acts, who usually appeared in the US on the London subsidiary. In 1966, Atlantic signed a licensing deal with Polydor which included the band Cream, whose debut album was released by Atco in 1966. In 1967, the group traveled to Atlantic's studio in New York City to record Disraeli Gears with Tom Dowd; it became a Top 5 LP in both the US and the UK, with the single "Sunshine of Your Love" reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Wexler dismissed developments in pop music, dubbing the musicians "the rockoids". However, Atlantic profited from moving into rock music in the 1970s when it signed Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, and Yes.
=== Acquisition by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts ===
Despite the huge success Atlantic was enjoying with its own artists and through its deal with Stax, by 1967, Jerry Wexler was seriously concerned about the disintegration of the old order of independent record companies; fearing for the label's future, he began agitating for it to be sold to a larger company. Label President Ahmet Ertegun still had no desire to sell, but the balance of power had changed since the abortive takeover attempt of 1962; Atlantic's original investor Dr Vahdi Sabit and minority stockholder Miriam Bienstock had both been bought out in September 1964 and the other remaining partner, Nesuhi Ertegun, was eventually convinced to side with Wexler. Since they jointly held more stock, Ahmet was obliged to agree to the sale.
In October 1967, Atlantic was sold to Warner Bros.-Seven Arts for US$17.5 million, although all the partners later agreed that it was a poor deal that greatly undervalued Atlantic's true worth. Initially, Atlantic and Atco operated entirely separately from the group's other labels, Warner Bros. Records and Reprise Records, and management did not interfere with the music division, since their ailing movie division was losing money, while the Warner recording division was booming. By mid-1968 Warner's recording and publishing interests were generating 74% of the group's total profits.
The sale of Atlantic Records activated a clause in the distribution agreement with Stax Records calling for renegotiation of the distribution deal and at this point, the Stax partners discovered that the deal gave Atlantic ownership of all the Stax recordings Atlantic distributed. The new Warner owners refused to relinquish ownership of the Stax masters, so the distribution deal ended in May 1968. Atlantic continues to hold the rights to Stax recordings it distributed in the 1960s.
In the wake of the takeover, Jerry Wexler's influence in the company rapidly diminished; by his own admission, he and Ertegun had run Atlantic as "utmost despots" but in the new corporate structure, he found himself unwilling to accept the delegation of responsibility that his executive role dictated. He was also alienated from the "rockoid" white acts that were quickly becoming the label's most profitable commodities and dispirited by the rapidly waning fortunes of the black acts he had championed, such as Ben E. King and Solomon Burke. Wexler ultimately decided to leave New York and move to Florida. Following his departure, Ertegun—who had previously taken little interest in Atlantic's business affairs—took decisive control of the label and quickly became a major force in the expanding Warner music group.
During 1968, Atlantic established a new subsidiary label, Cotillion Records. The label was originally formed as an outlet for blues and deep Southern soul. Its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About A Mover", was an R&B hit. Cotillion's catalog quickly expanded to include progressive rock, folk-rock, gospel, jazz and comedy. In 1976, the label started focusing on disco and R&B. Among its acts were the post-Curtis Mayfield Impressions, Slave, Brook Benton, Jean Knight, Mass Production, Sister Sledge, The Velvet Underground, Stacy Lattisaw, Lou Donaldson, Mylon LeFevre, Stevie Woods, Johnny Gill, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Garland Green, The Dynamics, The Fabulous Counts, and The Fatback Band. Cotillion was also responsible for launching the career of Luther Vandross, who recorded for the label as part of the trio Luther. Cotillion also released the triple-albums soundtrack of the Woodstock festival film in 1970. From 1970 it also distributed Embryo Records, founded by jazz flautist Herbie Mann after his earlier Atlantic contract had expired.
In addition to establishing Cotillion, Atlantic began expanding its own roster to include rock, soul/rock, progressive rock, British bands and singer songwriters. Two female artists were personally signed by Wexler, with album releases in 1969, Dusty Springfield (Dusty in Memphis) and Lotti Golden (Motor-Cycle), although Golden also had a close working relationship with Ertegun, who was instrumental in her signing with the label. By 1969, the Atlantic 8000 series (1968–72) consisted of R&B, rock, soul/rock and psychedelic acts. Other releases that year include albums by Aretha Franklin (Soul '69), Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin), Don Covay (House of Blue Lights), Boz Scaggs (Boz Scaggs), Roberta Flack (First Take), Wilson Pickett (Hey Jude), Mott the Hoople (Mott the Hoople), and Black Pearl (Black Pearl).
In 1969, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts was taken over by the Kinney National Company, and in the early 1970s the group was rebadged as Warner Communications. After buying Elektra Records and its sister label Nonesuch Records in 1970, Kinney combined the operations of all of its record labels under a new holding company, WEA, and also known as Warner Music Group. WEA was also used as a label for distributing the company's artists outside North America. In January 1970, Ahmet Ertegun was successful in his executive battle against Warner Bros. Records President Mike Maitland to keep Atlantic Records autonomous. As a result, Maitland was fired by Kinney president Steve Ross. Ertegun recommended Mo Ostin to succeed Maitland as Warner Bros. Records president. With Ertegun's power at Warners now secure, Atlantic was able to maintain autonomy through the parent company reorganizations and continue to do their own marketing, while WEA handled distribution.
=== Rock era ===
Some acts on the Atlantic roster in this period were British (including Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Yes, Bad Company and Phil Collins) and this was largely due to Ertegun. According to Greenberg, Ertegun had long seen the UK as a source of untapped talent. At his urging, Greenberg visited the UK six or seven times every year in search of acts to sign to the label.
For much of its early history, Jerry Wexler had been manager of the label, while Ertegun had concentrated on A&R and had less interest in the business side. That changed after the sale to Warner. Although Ertegun had been forced into accepting the sale, he turned the situation to his advantage. He gained executive control of the label and influenced the Warner group. By contrast, Wexler was disenchanted by Atlantic's move into rock; he left in 1975. Wexler's protégé Jerry L. Greenberg replaced him and played a role in Atlantic's success during the 1970s.
In seven years, Greenberg went from personal assistant to president of the label. Wexler had hired Greenberg and acted as his mentor, teaching him the daily operations of the record business. He learned how to treat musicians from Ertegun.
=== Signing Led Zeppelin and CSN ===
In 1968, by Peter Grant flew to New York with tapes of the debut album by British rock band Led Zeppelin. Ertegun and Wexler knew of the group's leader, Jimmy Page, through The Yardbirds. Their favorable opinion was reinforced by Dusty Springfield, who recommended Atlantic sign the band. Atlantic signed the band to an exclusive five-year contract. Atlantic described it in a press release as one of the "most substantial deals" in the label's history. Zeppelin recorded for Atlantic from 1968 to 1973. After the contract expired, they founded their label Swan Song and signed a distribution deal with Atlantic after being turned down by other labels.
In 1969, Stephen Stills was still signed to Atlantic under the contract dating from his time with Buffalo Springfield. His agent David Geffen went to Wexler to ask for Stills to be released from his Atlantic contract because Geffen wanted Stills' new group to sign with Columbia. Wexler lost his temper and threw Geffen out of his office, but Geffen called Ahmet Ertegun the next day, and Ertegun persuaded Geffen to convince Clive Davis at Columbia to let Atlantic sign Crosby, Stills & Nash.
The trio was formed following a chance meeting between members of three leading 1960s pop groups – Stephen Stills, David Crosby of The Byrds and Graham Nash of The Hollies. Stills and Crosby had been friends since the early 1960s; Nash had first met Crosby in the mid-1960s when The Byrds toured the UK, and he renewed the friendship when The Hollies toured the US in mid-1968. By this time creative tensions within The Hollies were coming to a head, and Nash had already decided to leave the group. Nash reunited with Crosby and met Stephen Stills (ex-Buffalo Springfield) at a party at the Los Angeles home of Cass Elliott in July 1968, during the Hollies US tour. After Crosby and Stills sang Stills' new composition "You Don't Have To Cry" that evening, Nash asked them to repeat it, and chimed in with an impromptu third harmony part. The trio's unique vocal chemistry was instantly apparent, so when Nash quit the Hollies in August 1968 and relocated to Los Angeles, the three immediately formed a trio, Crosby, Stills & Nash. After failing their audition for Apple Records, thanks to Ertegun's intervention and negotiations with David Geffen, who represented Crosby and Nash, as well as Stills, they ultimately signed with Atlantic, who gave them virtually complete freedom to record their first album.
The signing was complicated by the fact that Nash was still under contract to Epic Records (The Hollies' US distributor), but Ertegun used his diplomatic prowess to overcome this by arranging a 'swap' – he released former Buffalo Springfield member Richie Furay from his Atlantic contract, allowing Furay's new group Poco to sign to Epic, and in exchange Columbia Records (the parent company of Epic) allowed Nash to sign to Atlantic. In the event, Ertegun and Atlantic were the clear winners. Poco achieved moderate success for Epic, but Crosby, Stills & Nash's self-titled debut album (released in May 1969) became a huge and enduring hit, reaching #6 on the Billboard album chart, spawning two US Top 40 singles, becoming a multi-platinum seller and eventually earning a place in the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Hot on the heels of the huge success of CSNY and Led Zeppelin, British band Yes rapidly established themselves as one of the leading groups in the burgeoning progressive rock genre. Their success played a significant part in establishing the primacy of the long-playing album as the major sales format for rock music in the 1970s. After several lineup changes during 1969–70, the band settled into its "classic" incarnation, with guitarist Steve Howe and keyboard player Rick Wakeman, who both joined during 1971. Although the extended length of much of their material made it somewhat difficult to promote the band with single releases, their live prowess gained them an avid following and their albums were hugely successful – their third LP The Yes Album (1971), which featured the debut of new guitarist Steve Howe, became their first big hit, reaching #4 in the UK and just scraping onto the chart in the US at #40. Beginning with their fourth album Fragile, each of the eleven albums they released between 1971 and 1991 (including the lavishly packaged live triple-album Yessongs) made the Top 20 in the US and the UK, and the double-LP Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973) and Going For The One (1977) both reached #1 in the UK.
Much of Atlantic's renewed success as a rock label in the late 1970s can be attributed to the efforts of renowned A&R manager John Kalodner. In 1974, the former photographer, record store manager and music critic joined Atlantic's New York publicity department. In 1975, Kalodner moved to the A&R department, rose rapidly through the ranks, and in 1976 he was promoted to become Atlantic's first West Coast director of A&R. Over the next four years he was instrumental in signing a string of major acts including Foreigner, AC/DC, Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins. Kalodner built his reputation by signing acts that other labels had turned down, and perhaps the most significant example of his achievements in this area was his championing of the Anglo-American band Foreigner.
The group was the brainchild of expatriate British musicians Mick Jones (ex Spooky Tooth) and Ian McDonald, one of the founding members of King Crimson. The demo tapes of the songs that eventually became their debut album (including the song "Feels Like The First Time") were famously rejected by almost every major label, including Atlantic – although their tenacious manager Bud Prager later revealed that, in retaliation for a previous bad deal, he deliberately did not approach CBS ("They had screwed me out of a lot of money, so I figured I would screw them out of Foreigner. The band was never even offered to them.")
Prager persisted with Atlantic, even though their A&R department and label President Jerry Greenberg repeatedly rejected Foreigner. Kalodner's belief in the group (and a live audition) finally convinced Greenberg to allow Kalodner to sign them and take them on as his personal project. Even then, Kalodner was turned down by twenty-six producers before he found someone willing to take on the project. Despite all the resistance, Foreigner was a success. Their 1976 debut single "Feels Like The First Time" reached #4 on the Billboard singles chart, their self-titled debut album sold more than 4 million copies, and the subsequent singles from the album kept the group in the US charts continuously for more than a year. In the years that followed, Foreigner became one of Atlantic's biggest successes, and one of the biggest-selling groups in history, scoring a string of international hits and selling more than 80 million albums worldwide, including 37.5 million albums in the US alone.
In 1978, Atlantic finally broke the leading UK progressive group Genesis as a major act in the US. Ahmet Ertegun had first seen them perform in the Midwest on one of their early American tours, and it was on this occasion that he also became an ardent fan of their drummer/vocalist, Phil Collins. Jerry Greenberg signed the group to Atlantic in the US in 1973 on Ertegun's advice, but although they were very successful in Europe, Genesis remained at best a "cult" act in America for most of the Seventies. In the meantime, original lead singer Peter Gabriel had left the group in 1975, followed in 1977 by lead guitarist Steve Hackett, reducing the group to a three-piece. Ertegun was directly involved in the recording of the band's 1978 album ...And Then There Were Three..., personally remixing the album's projected first single "Follow You, Follow Me". Although the group did not use this version, it guided them in their subsequent production. Collins later commented, "We didn't use his version, but we knew what he was getting at. He saw something more in there that wasn't coming out before". The released version of "Follow You, Follow Me" gave Genesis their first hit single in the US, the album became their first American gold record, and the experience resulted in Ertegun and Collins becoming close friends.
By 1979, Genesis drummer and singer Phil Collins was considering branching out into a solo career. Reacting to the breakup of his first marriage, he had begun writing and recording new songs at home, which were considerably different from the material he had been recording with Genesis. Although many in the industry reportedly discouraged him from going solo, Collins was strongly supported by Ertegun, who encouraged him to record an album after hearing the R&B-flavoured demo tapes Collins had recorded in his garage. Ertegun also insisted on changes to the song that became Collins' debut single. After hearing the song's sparsely arranged opening section, Ertegun said: "Where's the backbeat, man? The kids won't know where it is – you've got to put extra drums on it". Collins replied "The drums come later," to which Ertegun retorted "By that time the kids will have switched over to another radio station". Acceding to Ertegun's demand, Collins took the unusual step of overdubbing extra drums on the finished master tape, and he later commented, "He (Ertegun) was quite right".
By early 1980, when Collins was recording his solo album, the record industry was suffering greatly from the impact of the worldwide economic recession, and many labels were beginning to cull their rosters and drop acts that were not providing major returns. At this same time, Genesis' contract with Atlantic was up for renewal, and Collins was yet to sign as a solo artist. As part of the negotiations, Collins and his bandmates wanted their own 'vanity' label, Duke Records, but according to Kalodner, and despite Ertegun's personal interest, the group's demands, and their relatively modest performance in the US made Atlantic executives ambivalent about the deal. Kalodner was overseeing the recording of Collins' solo album while Atlantic were vacillating about signing the band and Collins, but it was at this point that Kalodner was abruptly dismissed from Atlantic, although he was almost immediately recruited to head the A&R division at the newly formed Geffen Records. Angered by his unceremonious ejection from Atlantic, he alerted Geffen to Collins' availability, but to his chagrin, neither Geffen nor any other US label showed interest. He then alerted Virgin Records boss Richard Branson, who immediately contacted Collins' manager Tony Stratton Smith and signed Collins to Virgin in the UK as a solo act.
Although Ertegun subsequently disputed Kalodner's account of the Genesis/Collins contract saga, he agreed that the loss of Gabriel was a big mistake, and his regret about his handling of the matter was only compounded by Gabriel's subsequent success with Geffen. Much of this was due to Kalodner, who later admitted that, as soon as Gabriel was dropped from Atlantic, he realized he had made a mistake. In order to make amends to Gabriel, he alerted both CBS and Geffen to the fact that Gabriel was available, and after a bidding war, Gabriel signed with Geffen. They released his fourth solo album (a.k.a. "Security") in 1982 to wide acclaim, and Gabriel scored a minor US hit with the single "Shock The Monkey". Gabriel achieved huge international success with his fifth album So (1986), which reached #1 in the UK and #2 in the US and sold more than 5 million copies in the US. He then scored a US #1 hit with the R&B-influenced single "Sledgehammer", which featured the legendary Memphis Horns, and which Gabriel later described as "my chance to sing like Otis Redding".
=== Long Branch warehouse fire ===
A fire destroyed most of Atlantic's tape archive in the early morning of February 8, 1978. It had been stored in a non-air-conditioned warehouse in Long Branch, New Jersey. The four-story warehouse, located at 199 Broadway, was the former location of Vogel's Department Store, before it closed down in March 1975. The building was purchased less than a week earlier and had been scheduled to reopen as a Nadler's Furniture Center, in an effort to revitalize the downtown area.
The building was owned by the family of Sheldon Vogel, the chief financial officer of Atlantic at the time. He had recommended moving the company's multitracks and unreleased recordings to the building after Ertegun had complained about the aforementioned tapes taking up too much space in the company's Manhattan offices in New York.
Although master tapes of the material in Atlantic's released back catalog survived due to being stored in New York, the fire destroyed or damaged an estimated 5,000–6,000 reels of tape, including virtually all of the company's unreleased master tapes, alternative takes, rehearsal tapes and session multi-tracks recorded between 1948 and 1969. Atlantic was one of the first labels to record in stereo; many of the tapes that were lost were stereo 'alternates' recorded in the late 1940s and 1950s (which Atlantic routinely taped simultaneously with the mono versions until the 1960s) as well as almost all of the 8-track multitrack masters recorded by Tom Dowd in the 1950s and 1960s. According to Billboard journalist Bill Holland, news of the fire was kept quiet, and one Atlantic staffer who spoke to Holland reported that he did not find out about it until a year later. Reissue producers and archivists subsequently located some tapes that were at first presumed 'lost', but which had survived because they had evidently been removed from the New Jersey archive years earlier and not returned. During the compilation of the Rhino-Atlantic John Coltrane boxed set, producer Joel Dorn located supposedly destroyed outtakes from Coltrane's seminal 1959 album Giant Steps, plus other tapes including Bobby Darin's original Atco demo of "Dream Lover" (with Fred Neil playing guitar). Atlantic archivists have since rediscovered other 'lost' material including unreleased masters, alternative takes and rehearsal tapes by Ray Charles, Vann "Piano Man" Walls, Ornette Coleman, Lennie Tristano and Lee Konitz.
=== 40th Anniversary concert ===
In May 1988, the label held a 40th Anniversary concert, broadcast on HBO. This concert, which was almost 13 hours in length, featured performances by a large number of their artists and included reunions of some rock legends like Led Zeppelin and Crosby, Stills, and Nash (being David Crosby's first full band performance since being released from prison).
=== 2000s ===
A country music division, which was founded in the 1980s, was closed in 2001.
Time Warner sold Warner Music Group to a group of investors for $2.6 billion in late 2003. The deal closed in early 2004, consolidating Elektra Records and Atlantic into one label operated in the eastern United States.
In 2006, the label denied "Weird Al" Yankovic permission to release "You're Pitiful", a parody of James Blunt's "You're Beautiful", despite Blunt's approval. Atlantic said it was too early in Blunt's career, and it did not want him to be a one-hit wonder. Although Yankovic could have made the parody anyway, claiming fair use, his record label, Volcano Entertainment, thought it best not to "go to war" with Atlantic. The parody was released online for free on June 7. He later recorded two more parodies, "White & Nerdy", and "Do I Creep You Out", both released September 26 to replace it. He wore T-shirts reading "Atlantic Records sucks" while performing live and, in the music video for "White & Nerdy", he defaces Atlantic's article on Wikipedia, replacing the page with "YOU SUCK!" in large type, which resulted in many repeat vandals.
In 2007, the label celebrated its 60th anniversary with the May 2 PBS broadcast of the American Masters documentary Atlantic Records: The House that Ahmet Built and the simultaneous Starbucks CD release of Atlantic 60th Anniversary: R&B Classics Chosen By Ahmet Ertegun.
That year also saw Atlantic reach a milestone for major record labels. According to the International Herald Tribune, "More than half of its music sales in the United States are now from digital products like downloads on iTunes and ring tones for cellphones", doing so "without seeing as steep of a decline in compact disc sales as the rest of the industry".
=== 2020s ===
In the early 2020s, Atlantic Records adopted new strategies to adapt to the changing media landscape. With new avenues for talent discovery, such as platforms like TikTok, the record company expanded its consideration for new talents to newly emerging artists on social media. Musical acts such as Flyana Boss, Efflo and Flawed Mangoes have subsequently been signed by the label as a result. In 2024, Atlantic Records signed New Zealand and South Korean singer Rosé, a member of the girl group Blackpink, for her solo career. In September 2025, it was announced Hilary Duff had signed with the label, with plans to release her first album in a decade, as well as a docu-series chronicling her return to music.
== Notable sublabels == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Chamber_of_Secrets | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a fantasy novel by British author J. K. Rowling. The second novel in the Harry Potter series, it chronicles Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After several residents of the school are attacked and magically immobilised, Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione investigate.
The book was published in the United Kingdom on 2 July 1998 by Bloomsbury and later in the United States on 2 June 1999 by Scholastic Inc. Although Rowling says she found it difficult to finish the book, it won high praise and awards from critics, young readers, and the book industry, although some critics thought the story was perhaps too frightening for younger children. Much like with other novels in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets triggered religious debates; some religious authorities have condemned its use of magical themes, whereas others have praised its emphasis on self-sacrifice and the way one's character is the result of one's choices.
Several commentators have noted that personal identity is a strong theme in the book and that it addresses issues of racism through the treatment of non-human, non-magical, and non-living people. Some commentators regard the story's diary that writes back as a warning against uncritical acceptance of information from sources whose motives and reliability cannot be checked. Institutional authority is portrayed as self-serving and incompetent.
The film adaptation of the novel, released in 2002, became (at the time) the fifth highest-grossing film ever and received generally favourable reviews. Video games loosely based on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets were also released for several platforms, and most obtained favourable reviews.
== Plot ==
While spending the summer with the Dursleys, the twelve-year-old Harry Potter is visited by Dobby, a house-elf. Dobby says Harry is in danger and must promise not to return to Hogwarts. When Harry refuses, Dobby uses magic to destroy a pudding made by Aunt Petunia. Believing that Harry created the mess, Uncle Vernon locks him in his room. The Ministry of Magic sends a notice accusing Harry of performing underage magic and threatening to expel him from Hogwarts.
The Weasley brothers Ron, Fred, and George arrive in their father's flying car and take Harry to their home. When Harry and the Weasleys go to Diagon Alley for school supplies, they meet Gilderoy Lockhart, a celebrity author who is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. At King's Cross station, Harry and Ron cannot enter Platform 9¾ to board the Hogwarts Express, so they fly to Hogwarts in the enchanted car.
During the school year, Harry hears a strange voice emanating from the castle walls. Argus Filch's cat is found magically immobilised, along with a warning scrawled on the wall: "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware". Harry learns that the Chamber supposedly houses a monster that attacks Muggle-born students, and which only the Heir of Slytherin can control. During a Quidditch match, a rogue Bludger strikes Harry, breaking his arm. Professor Lockhart botches an attempt to mend the injury, which sends Harry to the hospital wing. Dobby visits Harry and reveals that he jinxed the Bludger and sealed the portal at King's Cross. He also tells Harry that house-elves are bound to serve a master, and cannot be freed unless their master gives them clothing.
After another attack from the monster, students attend a defensive duelling class. During the class, Harry displays the rare ability to speak Parseltongue, the language of snakes. Moaning Myrtle, a ghost who haunts a bathroom, shows Harry and his friends a diary that was left in her stall. It belonged to Tom Riddle, a student who witnessed another student's death when the Chamber was last opened. During the next attack by the monster, Hermione Granger is immobilised.
Harry and Ron learn that the monster is a Basilisk, a gigantic snake that can kill victims with a direct gaze and immobilise them with an indirect gaze. Harry realizes the Basilisk is producing the voice that he hears in the walls. After Ron's sister Ginny is abducted and taken into the Chamber, Harry and Ron discover the Chamber entrance in Myrtle's bathroom. When they force Lockhart to enter with them, he confesses that the stories he told of his heroic adventures are fabrications. He attempts to erase the boys' memories, but his spell backfires and obliterates his own memory.
Harry finds Ginny unconscious in the Chamber. A manifestation of Tom Riddle appears and reveals that Riddle is Lord Voldemort and the Heir of Slytherin. After explaining that he opened the Chamber, Riddle summons the Basilisk to kill Harry. Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes arrives, bringing Harry the Sorting Hat. While Fawkes blinds the Basilisk, Harry pulls the Sword of Gryffindor from the Hat. He slays the serpent, then stabs the diary with a Basilisk fang, destroying it and the manifestation of Riddle. Later, Harry liberates Dobby by tricking his master, Lucius Malfoy, into giving him clothing. At the end of the novel, the immobilised students are cured and Gryffindor wins the House Cup.
== Publication and reception ==
=== Development ===
J. K. Rowling found it difficult to finish Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets because she was afraid it would not live up to the expectations raised by Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. After delivering the manuscript to Bloomsbury Publishing on schedule, she took it back for six weeks of revision.
In early drafts of the book, the ghost Nearly Headless Nick sang a self-composed song explaining his condition and the circumstances of his unknown death. This was cut because the book's editor did not care for the poem, which has been subsequently published as an extra on J. K. Rowling's official website. The family background of Dean Thomas was removed because Rowling and her publishers considered it an "unnecessary digression" and she considered Neville Longbottom's own journey of discovery "more important to the central plot".
Gilderoy Lockhart's character was inspired by an acquaintance of Rowling who was, in her words, "even more objectionable than his fictional counterpart" and "used to tell whopping great fibs about his past life, all of them designed to demonstrate what a wonderful, brave and brilliant person he was".
=== Publication ===
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999. It immediately took first place in UK bestseller lists, displacing popular authors such as John Grisham, Tom Clancy and Terry Pratchett, and making Rowling the first author to win the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year for two years in succession. In June 1999, it went straight to the top of three US bestseller lists, including in The New York Times.
First edition printings had several errors, which were fixed in subsequent reprints. Initially, Albus Dumbledore said Lord Voldemort was the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin instead of his descendant. Gilderoy Lockhart's book on werewolves is entitled Weekends with Werewolves at one point and Wanderings with Werewolves later in the book.
=== Critical response ===
In The Times, Deborah Loudon described it as a children's book that would be "re-read into adulthood" and highlighted its "strong plots, engaging characters, excellent jokes and a moral message which flows naturally from the story". Fantasy author Charles de Lint agreed, and considered the second Harry Potter book to be just as good as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, a rare achievement among series of books. Thomas Wagner regarded the plot as very similar to that of the first book, based on searching for a secret hidden under the school. However, he enjoyed the parody of celebrities and their fans that centres round Gilderoy Lockhart, and approved of the book's handling of racism. Tammy Nezol found the book more disturbing than its predecessor, particularly in the rash behaviour of Harry and his friends after Harry withholds information from Dumbledore, and in the human-like behaviour of the mandrakes used to make a potion that cures immobilisation. Nevertheless, she considered the second story as enjoyable as the first.
Mary Stuart thought the final conflict with Tom Riddle in the Chamber was almost as scary as in some of Stephen King's works, and perhaps too strong for young or timid children. She commented that "there are enough surprises and imaginative details thrown in as would normally fill five lesser books." Like other reviewers, she thought the book would give pleasure to both children and adult readers. According to Philip Nel, the early reviews gave unalloyed praise while the later ones included some criticisms, although they still agreed that the book was outstanding.
Writing after all seven books had been published, Graeme Davis regarded Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as the weakest of the series, and agreed that the plot structure is much the same as in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. He described Fawkes's appearance to arm Harry and then to heal him as a deus ex machina: he said that the book does not explain how Fawkes knew where to find Harry; and Fawkes's timing had to be very precise, as arriving earlier would probably have prevented the battle with the basilisk, while arriving later would have been fatal to Harry and Ginny.
=== Awards and honours ===
Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was the recipient of several awards. The American Library Association listed the novel among its 2000 Notable Children's Books,
as well as its Best Books for Young Adults. In 1999, Booklist named Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as one of its Editors' Choices, and as one of its Top Ten Fantasy Novels for Youth. The Cooperative Children's Book Center made the novel a CCBC Choice of 2000 in the "Fiction for Children" category. The novel also won Children's Book of the Year British Book Award, and was shortlisted for the 1998 Guardian Children's Award and the 1998 Carnegie Award.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize 1998 Gold Medal in the 9–11 years division. Rowling also won two other Nestlé Smarties Book Prizes for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The Scottish Arts Council awarded their first ever Children's Book Award to the novel in 1999, and it was also awarded Whitaker's Platinum Book Award in 2001. In 2003, the novel was listed at number 23 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.
== Main themes ==
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets continues to examine what makes a person who they are, which began in the first book. As well as maintaining that Harry's identity is shaped by his decisions rather than any aspect of his birth, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets provides contrasting characters who try to conceal their true personalities: as Tammy Nezol puts it, Gilderoy Lockhart "lacks any real identity" because he is nothing more than a charming liar. Riddle also complicates Harry's struggle to understand himself by pointing out the similarities between the two: "both half-bloods, orphans raised by Muggles, probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin."
Opposition to class, death and its impacts, experiencing adolescence, sacrifice, love, friendship, loyalty, prejudice, and racism are constant themes of the series. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry's consideration and respect for others extends to the lowly, non-human Dobby and the ghost Nearly Headless Nick. According to Marguerite Krause, achievements in the novel depend more on ingenuity and hard work than on natural talents.
Edward Duffy, associate professor at Marquette University, says that one of the central characters of Chamber of Secrets is Tom Riddle's enchanted diary, which takes control of Ginny Weasley – just as Riddle planned. Duffy suggests Rowling intended this as a warning against passively consuming information from sources that have their own agendas. Although Bronwyn Williams and Amy Zenger regard the diary as more like an instant messaging or chat room system, they agree about the dangers of relying too much on the written word, which can camouflage the author, and they highlight a comical example, Lockhart's self-promoting books.
Antonello Fabio Caterino, an Italian forensic linguist and philologist, stated that the conversations Harry and Voldemort had through the diary could be considered a "modern transposition" of Petrarca's Secretum, a text often compared to a diary, which details an imaginary dialogue between the writer and Augustine of Hippo. Caterino analysed similarities between themes found in both books, starting from the idea of a fragmented soul: Harry and Voldemort are both seeking Voldemort's Horcruxes, which are fragments of his soul, and Petrarca also focuses on the concept animae fragmenta, meaning soul's fragments.
Immorality and the portrayal of authority as negative are significant themes in the novel. Marguerite Krause states there are few absolute moral rules in Harry Potter's world, for example Harry prefers to tell the truth, but lies whenever he considers it necessary – very like his enemy Draco Malfoy. At the end of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore retracts his promise to punish Harry and Ron if they break any more school rules – after Professor McGonagall estimates they have broken over 100 – and lavishly rewards them for ending the threat from the Chamber of Secrets. Krause further states that authority figures and political institutions receive little respect from Rowling. William MacNeil of Griffith University, Queensland, Australia states that the Minister for Magic is presented as a mediocrity. In his article "Harry Potter and the Secular City", Ken Jacobson suggests the Ministry as a whole is portrayed as a tangle of bureaucratic empires, saying that "Ministry officials busy themselves with minutiae (e.g. standardising cauldron thicknesses) and coin politically correct euphemisms like 'non-magical community' (for Muggles) and 'memory modification' (for magical brainwashing)."
This novel implies it begins in 1992: the cake for Nearly-Headless Nick's 500th deathday party bears the words "Sir Nicholas De Mimsy Porpington died 31 October 1492".
=== Connection to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ===
Chamber of Secrets has many links with the sixth book of the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In fact, Half-Blood Prince was the working title of Chamber of Secrets and Rowling says she originally intended to present some "crucial pieces of information" in the second book, but ultimately felt "this information's proper home was book six". Some objects that play significant roles in Half-Blood Prince first appear in Chamber of Secrets: the Hand of Glory and the opal necklace that are on sale in Borgin and Burkes; a Vanishing Cabinet in Hogwarts that is damaged by Peeves the Poltergeist; and Tom Riddle's diary, which is later revealed to be a Horcrux. Additionally, these two novels are the ones with the most focus on Harry's relationship with Ginny Weasley.
== Adaptations ==
=== Film ===
The film version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was released in 2002. Chris Columbus directed the film, and the screenplay was written by Steve Kloves. It became the third film to exceed $600 million in international box office sales, preceded by Titanic, released in 1997, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, released in 2001. The film was nominated for a Saturn Award for the Best Fantasy Film, According to Metacritic, the film version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets received "generally favourable reviews" with an average score of 63%, and another aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes, gave it a score of 82%.
=== Video games ===
Five unique video games by different developers were released between 2002 and 2003 by Electronic Arts, loosely based on the book: |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barret_Wallace | Barret Wallace | Barret Wallace (Japanese: バレット・ウォーレス, Hepburn: Baretto Wōresu) is a character in Square Enix's role-playing video game Final Fantasy VII. He was created by character designer Tetsuya Nomura, and has since appeared in the CGI film sequel, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children as well as other games and media in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series. As of Advent Children, Barret is voiced by Masahiro Kobayashi and Masato Funaki in Japanese, while Beau Billingslea and John Eric Bentley voice him in English.
Barret is first introduced in Final Fantasy VII as an eco-terrorist, leading the group AVALANCHE to bomb Mako reactors in Midgar as to avenge the losses dealt him by the megacorporation Shinra Electric Power Company, the Planet's de facto world government, who operate under the pretense of saving the Planet. Over the course of the story, Barret re-examines his efforts and focuses on pursuing the villain Sephiroth in an effort to protect the planet and the future of his adopted daughter, Marlene. Elements of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII would later expand upon his character, detailing the character's history before and after the events of the original game.
The first black playable character in the Final Fantasy series, Barret's appearance and sometimes profane speech has been compared to that of Mr. T. He is also considered to be the first true father figure in the series, for his relationship with his adoptive daughter Marlene. His character arc is also considered a deconstruction of a revenge story, as a former coal miner seeking vengeance through eco-terrorism before eventually realizing revenge is not the right motivation. The character has earned praise, but also criticism and accusations of racism by some.
== Conception and design ==
Barret was designed by Tetsuya Nomura, and was present in Final Fantasy VII from its early development. Initially the game was to only have three characters: Barret, the protagonist Cloud Strife, and the heroine Aerith Gainsborough. During a phone call to project director Yoshinori Kitase, it was suggested that at some point in the game, one of the main characters should die. After much discussion as to whether it should be Barret or Aerith, the producers chose Aerith, as they felt Barret's death would be "too obvious".
Originally called Blow in the early planning stages of the game, Barret's name is based on the Japanese transliteration of the English word "bullet", and he was developed with the "Gunner" character class in mind. During an early demonstration of the game, Nomura felt his original design made Barret appear too short, and revised it. He stands at 6 feet 5 inches (196 cm) tall, and is the first black playable character in the series. He has a high and tight haircut and full beard, and wears an earring in his left ear. His attire consists of a jacket with torn sleeves, dark green pants, boots, a fingerless glove on his left hand, and metal bands surrounding his abdomen and left wrist. Nomura wanted to give each character in the game a striking feature on their character design, and in Barret's case it was the scars on his cheek.
Barret was a concept Nomura had wanted to introduce since the beginning of the game's development, a character with an arm replaced with a weapon. His right hand is replaced with a prosthetic gatling gun called a "Gimmick Arm", which he refers to as his "partner" in-game. When they were still planning out the technological aspects of the game's world however, early designs of his character had a bowgun on his arm instead. He was originally planned to have a medallion around his neck, but this was later changed to a set of dog tags.
=== Post-Final Fantasy VII ===
When developing Advent Children, Nomura stated that because of the comparisons between Barret's original design and Mr. T, they decided to take it in a different direction for the film, implementing co-director Takeshi Nozue's suggestion to give him cornrows for his hair, while Nomura designed his face. Artist Yusuke Naora also influenced the design, developing his attire, which originally consisted of white overalls, before instead having him wear him a down vest. Other aspects of his design included the removal of the metal bands around his body, a white sleeve extending from the middle of his right forearm to his elbow which is fastened by straps, a black band on his left forearm surrounded by a pink string and bow, and a fishnet shirt that ends in torn fibers below his waist. The dog tags were altered to a bullet and medallion supported by a chain around his neck, and three rings covered his left hand. His Gimmick Arm was modified into a robotic prosthetic hand, developed by Nomura, with the only guideline being "a huge, over-the-top gun that transforms in a huge, over-the-top way". Nozue stated that these specifics made it difficult to work with, and decided to conceal the hand's transformation sequence into the gun as much as possible. Barret's arm tattoo was changed as well, but retained the "skull and fire" motif of the original. It was redesigned by Brazilian tattoo artist and fashion designer Jun Matsui, featuring a stylized black skull surrounded by flames, meant to give a strong impression of "masculinity and power". While the skull was done in black, the flames were in red to represent his "hot-headed personality", and utilized a tribal pattern as they had become popular in Japan at the time to represent vitality.
For Final Fantasy VII Remake, Square wanted to show Barret as a mature person, contrasting him with the younger Cloud when interacting with others. While they originally planned to use his Advent Children design, the staff later decided to give every party member a new look. The team noted that his design was the one most significantly changed from the original game, but tried to keep aspects of his original design in mind to give him a strong and stalwart appearance. Main character modeler Dan Suzuki commented that they went through several drafts on Barret's face before modeling him. Barret's shoulders and the back of his neck were also changed halfway through development to help "bring out his dependable, fatherly nature". His gun arm also went through significant changes, adding a motor and mapping out the internals to invoke a sense of realism, but also the mental image of Barret being able to disassemble and maintenance the weapon after missions. His melee weapons were designed to reflect his "blunt, no-nonsense personality". In the English dub of Final Fantasy VII Remake, John Eric Bentley voiced Barret. During localization, Bentley did not know the exact media in which he would portray Barret, but figured it had to do with the remake. Bentley researched in order to portray Barret properly, and was aided by the translators for the Japanese version, who gave him the context of the scenes he had to record. For him, one of the biggest challenges in his work was "representation", and claimed that Barret was more than a one-dimensional character. In regards to the story's mission to destroy the Mako Reactor 5, Square aimed to show Barret as a fitting leader for AVALANCHE and show how his relationship with Cloud is improved.
== Appearances ==
=== Final Fantasy VII ===
In Final Fantasy VII, Barret is introduced as the leader of the eco-terrorist organization AVALANCHE, which is situated in the city of Midgar and opposes the ruling company, Shinra, and their use of "Mako" energy as a power source, believing it to be killing the Planet. To this end, AVALANCHE bombs their Mako reactors, with the specific goal of saving the Planet. At the game's beginning, they have hired the mercenary Cloud Strife at the behest of his childhood friend and AVALANCHE member Tifa Lockhart, nicknaming him "Spiky" in reference to his hairstyle. After the deaths of several AVALANCHE members, Barret follows Cloud out of Midgar in pursuit of the game's villain, Sephiroth.
Along the way, he encounters a former friend of his, Dyne, who is armed similarly to him and forces Barret to fight him. After Barret defeats Dyne, Dyne kills himself. Later flashbacks reveal that Shinra wanted to build a Mako reactor in his hometown of Corel, an idea Barret advocated for. However, due to an accident at the plant, Shinra razed the town, killing Barret's wife in the process and causing Barret and Dyne to flee with Dyne's daughter, Marlene. Cornered, Dyne slipped off a cliff; Barret grabbed his hand, but Shinra soldiers opened fire and destroyed Barret's and Dyne's right and left hands respectively, causing the latter to fall to his presumed death. Barret adopted Marlene as his own daughter, had an "adapter" graft to his arm to interface with prosthetic weapons to aid in his combat against Shinra, and founded AVALANCHE. Dyne's death causes him to admit his grudge with Shinra is solely for revenge, with his earlier claims of "saving the world" meant to convince himself he was fighting for the greater good. Barret eventually shifts his goal to wanting to save the Planet for Marlene's sake, and he helps Cloud and his allies defeat Sephiroth to prevent the Planet's destruction.
Early drafts of Barret's background featured subtle differences, such as Marlene being as Barret's biological daughter and his wife being executed in front of him by a then-undecided Shinra executive. The attack on Corel was initially written to be due to the discovery of Mako energy and Shinra's desire to keep its existence a secret. His reunion with Dyne was also different, being written to culminate in a duel between the two in Corel's ruins, while Cloud and the others fought to investigate Shinra soldiers.
=== Other appearances ===
Barret appears in Before Crisis, a 2005 mobile phone-based prequel which shows the events prior to Corel's destruction. He helps the game's protagonists, the Turks, defend the Mako reactor, believing it to be the town's future. It is revealed that the reactor is under attack by the original AVALANCHE group, who are the cause of Shinra's attack upon the town. Unaware of their involvement, Barret uses their ideals to form his own branch of the group. He was also one of the characters included in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, utilizing his classic appearance.
In 2005, Barret appeared in the CGI film Advent Children, which is set two years after the events of the game. Barret places Marlene in Tifa's care and travels the world to rebuild the planet's infrastructure and find alternate power sources to replace Mako. He returns later to assist in combating the film's villains, the Remnants, and fight the summon creature Bahamut SIN. He later appears in a minor role in the 2006 video game Dirge of Cerberus, which is set one year after Advent Children, where he helps the protagonist Vincent Valentine prevent Omega WEAPON from destroying the planet. When choosing a voice actor for the film, Nomura was initially unsure of whether to have Masahiro Kobayashi do the role of Barret or another character, Loz. Kobayashi described his performance as treating Barret as "unrefined [...] but also dependable and unique", trying to keep his "upbeat character and good outlook in mind". He tried to give him a booming, confident-sounding voice, though at times was instructed to "take it up a notch". For Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Mahito Funaki took over the role after Kobayashi retired from voice acting.
A novella entitled "Case of Barret" was released in 2007 exclusively for the "Limited Edition Collector's Set" DVD edition of Advent Children. Written by Kazushige Nojima as part of the On the Way to a Smile series, it details the events between Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children, examining Barret's reaction to his weapon and his belief that it made him a monster. At the conclusion of the story, Barret visits the creator of the adapter on his wrist and receives the prosthetic hand/gun combination seen in the film, reasoning that although he needs a hand, he also still needs a weapon to prevent others from having to fight. He then decides to return to Marlene. Barret was also added as a costume for the Mii "gunner"-class character and optional opponent in an update for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
== Critical reception ==
Prior to the game's North American release, initial reactions to the character were positive, for representing African Americans in a role-playing game, a genre where they were rarely represented. Following its North American release, Barret's comparisons to Mr. T in the media has resulted in both praise and criticism, with most of the criticism accusing the character of serving as a negative racial stereotype of African Americans. IGN argued in favor of this point, citing his use of "stilted slang" and stating that the character stands out amongst the cast because "his dialog is written as if it was run through a broken ebonic translator", further noting a trend in Japanese games to apply such dialogue to characters based on their skin color. Journalist Jeremy Parish and Next Generation reader Russell Merritt viewed the character as a racist representation, although both also argued that cultural gaps between Japan and the United States, plus the lack of American translators for Final Fantasy VII may have been contributing factors, highlighting that the localization of Barret's character presents him in a more stereotypical manner, drawing parallels to Mr. T. He felt this likeness could be seen as an effort to create a character that resonated with American audiences, given the popularity of the actor among Americans. Kotaku's Gita Jackson expressed concern over his portrayal in Final Fantasy VII Remake, expressing a desire to see the character's dialogue and voice modernized from what she saw as a negative stereotype, and cited fan and even fellow Kotaku contributor interest in the same.
However in contrast on 1UP, Parish argued in favor of Barret, noting that while on the surface he appeared to be the "worst kind of stereotype", he was a great character with complexity, having made "difficult decisions in his life, and agonized over his losses". Parish went further to describe Barret as the "first true father figure the [Final Fantasy] series had ever seen", through his relationship with his adopted daughter and how much he doted on her. RPGamer's content manager Shawn Bruckner took the discussion further, arguing that claims of Barret's presentation being racist was oversimplification of the character's portrayal, and stated that while he was in some aspects a stereotype, in others, such as his compassion towards his daughter or guilt regarding his past actions, he was not. He added that Barret "shows us that a black man speaking in 'ebonics' is not something to fear" and that his portrayal was not racist, but instead the opposite. Andron Smith in the same publication meanwhile praised his paternal role for not only his daughter but the other characters, with his advice often reaching "the realm of philosophy" with concepts such as "A good man who serves a great evil is not without sin".
His characterization in the remakes also received positive reception. Siliconera's Jenni Lada stated that while early on in Remake he came across having "only has one volume and he only sees one side of things", the agony over losing his friends and concern over his daughter, namely trying to cling to any hope of her survival, showed Barret's actual heart and made her excited to see more of his portrayal in the future. Ash Parrish for Kotaku also commented on him, stating that while she had conflicted feelings about his portrayal and citing Jackson's earlier article for the site, she praised the fact Barret went against the archetype of a father with a violent past, noting that similar characters routinely seemed incapable or unwilling to be gentle with their children. By comparison Parrish praised Barret's affection towards his daughter and his refusal to let his past or who he was affect his relationship with her, adding that "Barret did the reading from day one and said the inherited trauma stops with me". She further noted that Barret went against the myth of Black absentee fathers, being "utterly devoted to a child that wasn't even his own blood way back in 1997" and expressed disdain that his role as a father was commonly overlooked by other publications. Gen Gumachi of Inside Games praised Rebirth for expanding on his character, portraying him as considering the views of the other party members while still retaining his "manly" personality as someone they could depend on. He also noted Barret's reflection his shortcomings of a father, and it presented an interesting duality to Barret's character: someone that had the wisdom of age, while also being a novice when it came to parenthood.
Pat Holleman, in his book Reverse Design: Final Fantasy VII (2018), considers Barrett's story to be the clearest illustration of the game's central "theme of tragic survivorship" and "a deconstruction of a revenge story" in the sense that it "dismantles the idea of revenge in an insightful way". This is presented through Shinra's destruction of his coal mining hometown, Barrett seeking vengeance through militant environmentalism before eventually realizing revenge isn't the right motivation, and safeguarding a future for his adoptive daughter Marlene who is the only surviving connection to his past. William Hughes of The A.V. Club notes that Barret and his terrorist cell AVALANCHE are one of the few examples of "heroic pop culture terrorists" in video games, keeping the game politically relevant in a post-9/11 world. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastair_Galbraith | Alastair Galbraith | Alastair Galbraith (born 1965) is a New Zealand musician and sound artist from Dunedin.
== Career ==
Galbraith's first band was The Rip, which he formed with Robbie Muir, and Mathew Ransome and later Jeff Harford (of Bored Games). They released two EPs on the Flying Nun label. Later he formed Plagal Grind, with Robbie Muir, Jono Lonie, David Mitchell (of Goblin Mix and The 3Ds) and Peter Jefferies (of This Kind Of Punishment and Nocturnal Projections).
Galbraith's solo career has included numerous early cassettes and 7"s on Bruce Russell's (The Dead C) Xpressway label, as well as albums on labels such as Siltbreeze, Emperor Jones, Time Lag, Feel Good All Over and Table of the Elements. He has also recorded ten albums with Bruce Russell under the name A Handful of Dust.. During the 1990s, Galbraith frequently collaborated with the Mountain Goats, including co-releasing the 1995 joint EP Orange Raja, Blood Royal (with the Mountain Goats) and contributing violin and string arrangements to the Mountain Goats 1997 album Full Force Galesburg. In 1999, he began a collaboration with Matt De Gennaro when the two toured New Zealand Public Art Galleries converting them into giant soundboxes by stroking tensioned wires fixed to the buildings' structural supports.
In 2002, he designed and built a glass-tube fire organ, during an arts residency at the Sarjeant Gallery's Tylee Cottage Residency in Whanganui. His subsequent album Orb includes the track 'Tylee Cottage' and a photograph of the fire organ in Whanganui's Durie Hill Elevator tunnel.
In 2006, he released Waves and Particles a collaboration with Maxine Funke (The Snares) and Mike Dooley (The Enemy, Toy Love, Snapper) as The Hundred Dollar Band. There was also the release of Long Wires in Dark Museums, Vol. 2 and the reissue of his early albums Morse/Gaudylight and Talisman by U.S. label Table of the Elements.
Later that year he was awarded an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award and released Belsayer Time, a collaboration with Richard Youngs and Alex Neilson.
In 2007, Galbraith built a treadle-powered glass harmonium and released orb a solo album on his own Nextbestway label.
== Discography ==
The Rip:
1984 – A Timeless Peace EP (NZ Flying Nun Records)
1987 – Stormed Port EP (NZ Flying Nun Records)
Plagal Grind:
1990 – Plagal Grind EP (NZ Xpressway)
Solo:
Long Playing & Cassette
1987 – Hurry on Down cassette (Xpressway)
1992 – Morse (Siltbreeze)
1995 – Talisman (NZ, Next Best Way)
1998 – Mirrorwork (Emperor Jones)
2000 – Cry (Emperor Jones)
2007 – Orb (Next Best Way)
2010 – Mass (Siltbreeze) (with Amiel Balester, Michael Kohler and David Kilgour)
Singles & EPs
1989 – Timebomb – 7" with Graeme Jefferies – Xpressway – X/WAY 10
1991 – Gaudylight – EP 7" – Siltbreeze – SB07
1994 – Cluster – EP 7" – Ger. Raffmond – RAFF 006-7
1994 – Intro Version – EP 7" – Roof Bolt – RB001
1995 – Orange Raja, Blood Royal (with the Mountain Goats) – 7" – Walt Records – Walt 005
1995 – Tae Keening – EP 77" with Demarnia Lloyd – Roof Bolt – RB003
1996 – Split EP with Minimum Chips – 7" – Varispeed – VS02
1997 – Rivulets – EP 7" – Camera Obscura – CAM 004S
1998 – Wire Music – EP with Matt de Gennaro – Corpus Hermeticum – Hermes031
1998 – Black Forest – EP – with Robert Scott
1998 – Me & Gus – 7" – with Pip Proud – Emperor Jones – ej18
1999 – Orbital – 7" – Crawlspace Records – SPACE 007
1999 – Two Wires Violin Loop – EP – with Matt De Gennaro
2000 – Long Wires in Dark Museums, Vol. 1 – EP with Matt De Gennaro – Emperor Jones – ej39cd
2003 – Radiant (with Constantine Karlis) (Emperor Jones)
2006 – Long Wires in Dark Museums, Vol. 2 – EP with Matt De Gennaro – Xeric – XER-CD-103
2006 – Belsayer Time EP with Richard Youngs and Alex Neilson – Time-Lag – Time-Lag 034
2010 – Endless Black – EP – self-released
2010 – Dances for the Blind Owl – EP – La Station Radar – fake tape serie #15
2011 – Untitled 1–3 – 7" – Split EP with William Tyler
Compilations
1993 – Seely Girn – Feel Good All Over – fgao #14
A Handful of Dust
(with Bruce Russell and Peter Stapleton):
1993 – Concord LP (Twisted Village)
1994 – The Philosophick Mercury CD (Corpus Hermeticum) 1994 (reissued on CD by No Fun Productions, 2008)
1994 – The Eightness of Adam Qadmon TC (Corpus Hermeticum)
1994 – Musica Humana CD (Corpus Hermeticum)
1995 – From a Soundtrack to the Anabase of St.John Perse TC (Corpus Hermeticum) 1995 (reissued on LP by Bluesilver, 2000)
1996 – Now Gods, Stand Up For Bastards CD (Corpus Hermeticum) 1996 (reissued on CD by No Fun Productions, 2008)
1997 – Topology of a Phantom City TC (Corpus Hermeticum)
1997 – Spiritual Libertines CD (Crank Automotive)
1998 – Jerusalem, Street of Graves CD (Corpus Hermeticum)
2002 – For Patti Smith CD (FreewaySound)
2009 – Panegyric (Next Best Way)
The Hundred Dollar Band
(with Maxine Funke and Mike Dooley):
2006 – Waves and Particles (Emperor Jones)
Pure speculation
(with Jean-Jacques Palix and David Watson):
2013 – Pure speculation (La Station Radar - single sided LP) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999%E2%80%932000_Olympique_de_Marseille_season | 1999–2000 Olympique de Marseille season | Olympique de Marseille nearly crashed out of the French league following a chaotic season, in which all things that could go wrong, indeed went that way. Despite having several internationally respected players in the squad, only goal difference saved the team from being relegated. On the other hand, l'OM was only seven points behind Lens in fifth, suggesting that the league was the tightest ever.
== Squad ==
=== Goalkeepers ===
Stéphane Porato
Cédric Carrasso
Stéphane Trévisan
=== Defenders ===
William Gallas
Sébastien Pérez
Jacques Abardonado
Pierre Issa
Eduardo Berizzo
Loris Reina
Lilian Martin
Patrick Blondeau
Lamine Diatta
Jean-Pierre Cyprien
Franck Dumas
=== Midfielders ===
Daniel Montenegro
Robert Pires
Seydou Keita
Iván de la Peña
Frédéric Brando
Jérôme Leroy
Peter Luccin
Djamel Belmadi
Stéphane Dalmat
Arthur Moses
=== Attackers ===
Florian Maurice
Kaba Diawara
Ibrahima Bakayoko
Cyrille Pouget
Fabrizio Ravanelli
Christophe Dugarry
== Competitions ==
=== Division 1 ===
==== League table ====
==== Results summary ====
==== Results by round ====
==== Matches ====
==== Topscorers ====
Florian Maurice 8
Ibrahima Bakayoko 8
Fabrizio Ravanelli 6
Cyrille Pouget 5
Christophe Dugarry 3
=== Coupe de France ===
=== Coupe de la Ligue ===
=== UEFA Champions League ===
==== First group stage ====
==== Second group stage ====
== Sources ==
RSSSF - France 1999/2000 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_of_Stephen_Sondheim | Works of Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim was an American composer and lyricist whose most acclaimed works include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), and Into the Woods (1987). He is also notable as the lyricist for West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959).
== Major works ==
== Revues and anthologies ==
The following are revues of Sondheim's work as composer and lyricist, with songs performed in or cut from productions.
Jerome Robbins' Broadway features "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" from Gypsy, "Suite of Dances" from West Side Story and "Comedy Tonight" from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The 2010 revue Classic Moments, Hidden Treasures was conceived and directed by Tim McArthur, first produced at the Jermyn Street Theatre. Sondheim's "Pretty Women," "Don't Laugh," and "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" are featured in The Madwoman of Central Park West.
== Film and TV adaptations ==
== Other works ==
=== Theatre ===
=== Film and television ===
=== Unproduced works for theatre ===
=== Unproduced works for television ===
=== Unproduced works for film ===
=== Books ===
Sondheim's 2010 Finishing the Hat annotates his lyrics "from productions dating 1954–1981. In addition to published and unpublished lyrics from West Side Story, Follies and Company, the tome finds Sondheim discussing his relationship with Oscar Hammerstein II and his collaborations with composers, actors and directors throughout his lengthy career". The book, first of a two-part series, is named after a song from Sunday in the Park With George. Sondheim said, "It's going to be long. I'm not, by nature, a prose writer, but I'm literate, and I have a couple of people who are vetting it for me, whom I trust, who are excellent prose writers". Finishing the Hat was published in October 2010. According to a New York Times review, "The lyrics under consideration here, written during a 27-year period, aren't presented as fixed and sacred paradigms, carefully removed from tissue paper for our reverent inspection. They're living, evolving, flawed organisms, still being shaped and poked and talked to by the man who created them". The book was 11th on the New York Times' Hardcover Nonfiction list for November 5, 2010.
The sequel, Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981–2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany, was published on November 22, 2011. Continuing from Sunday in the Park With George, the book includes sections on Sondheim's work in film and television.
Musicologist and Library of Congress curator Mark Eden Horowitz conducted a series of in-depth interviews with Sondheim, published in 2003 as Sondheim on Music: Minor Details and Major Decisions. |
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Anastasia_Nikolaevna_of_Russia | Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia | Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (Russian: Анастасия Николаевна; 18 June [O.S. 5 June] 1901 – 17 July 1918) was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna.
Anastasia was the younger sister of Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, and Maria (commonly known together as the OTMA sisters) and was an elder sister of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia. She was murdered with her family by a group of Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg on 17 July 1918.
Persistent rumors of her possible escape circulated after her death, fueled by the fact that the location of her burial was unknown during the decades of communist rule. The abandoned mine serving as a mass grave near Yekaterinburg which held the acidified remains of the Tsar, his wife, and three of their daughters was revealed in 1991. These remains were put to rest at Peter and Paul Fortress in 1998. The bodies of Alexei and the remaining daughter—either Anastasia or her older sister Maria—were discovered in 2007. Her purported survival has been conclusively disproven. Scientific analysis including DNA testing confirmed that the remains are those of the imperial family, showing that Anastasia was killed alongside her family.
Several women falsely claimed to have been Anastasia; the best known impostor was Anna Anderson. Anderson's body was cremated upon her death in 1984; DNA testing in 1994 on pieces of Anderson's tissue and hair showed no relation to the Romanov family.
== Biography ==
=== Early years ===
Anastasia was born on 18 June 1901. She was the fourth daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra. When she was born, her parents and extended family were disappointed that she was a girl. They had hoped for a son who would have become heir apparent to the throne. Her father went for a long walk to compose himself before going to visit his wife and their newborn child for the first time. Her paternal aunt Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia said, "My God! What a disappointment!... a fourth girl!" Her first cousin twice removed Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich wrote, "Forgive us, Lord, if we all felt disappointment instead of joy. We were so hoping for a boy, and it's a daughter." The travel writer Burton Holmes wrote, "Nicholas would part with half his Empire in exchange for one Imperial boy."
Anastasia was named for the fourth-century martyr St. Anastasia. "Anastasia" is a Greek name (Αναστασία), meaning "of the resurrection", a fact often alluded to later in stories about her rumored survival. Anastasia's title is most precisely translated as "Grand Princess". "Grand Duchess" became the most widely used translation of the title into English from Russian.
The Tsar's children were raised as simply as possible. They slept on hard camp cots without pillows, except when they were ill, took cold baths in the morning, and were expected to tidy their rooms and do needlework to be sold at various charity events when they were not otherwise occupied. Most in the household, including the servants, generally called the Grand Duchess by her first name and patronym, "Anastasia Nikolaevna", and did not use her title or style. She was occasionally called by the French version of her name, "Anastasie", or by the Russian nicknames "Nastasya", "Nastya", "Nastas", or "Nastenka". Other family nicknames for Anastasia were "Malenkaya", meaning "little (one)" in Russian, or "Shvybzik", meaning "merry little one" or "little mischief" in German.
Anastasia and her older sister Maria were known within the family as "The Little Pair". The two girls shared a room, often wore variations of the same dress, and spent much of their time together. Their older sisters Olga and Tatiana also shared a room and were known as "The Big Pair". The four girls sometimes signed letters using the nickname OTMA, which derived from the first letters of their first names.
DNA testing on the remains of the imperial family proved conclusively in 2009 that Anastasia's younger brother, Alexei, suffered from Hemophilia B, a rare form of the disease. His mother and one sister, identified alternatively as Maria or Anastasia, were carriers. Symptomatic carriers of the gene, while not hemophiliacs themselves, can have symptoms of hemophilia including a lower than normal blood-clotting factor that can lead to heavy bleeding. If Anastasia lived to have children of her own, it is genetically probable that they would have been afflicted by the disease.
=== Appearance and personality ===
Anastasia was short and inclined to be chubby, and she had blue eyes and blonde hair. Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, her mother's lady-in-waiting, reflected that "her features were regular and finely cut. She had fair hair, fine eyes, with impish laughter in their depths, and dark eyebrows that nearly met." Buxhoeveden believed that Anastasia resembled her mother, saying that she "was more like her mother's than her father's family. She was rather short even at seventeen, and was, then decidedly fat, but it was the fatness of youth. She would have outgrown it, as had her sister Marie."
Anastasia was a vivacious and energetic child. Margaretta Eagar, a governess to the four grand duchesses, said one person commented that the toddler Anastasia had the greatest personal charm of any child she had ever seen.
While often described as gifted and bright, she was never interested in the restrictions of the school room, according to her tutors Pierre Gilliard and Sydney Gibbes. Gibbes, Gilliard, and ladies-in-waiting Lili Dehn and Anna Vyrubova described Anastasia as lively, mischievous, and a gifted actress. Her sharp, witty remarks sometimes hit sensitive spots. However, she was also very amusing: "Even as a baby she had entertained grave old men, who were her neighbors at table, with her astonishing remarks."
Anastasia's daring occasionally exceeded the limits of acceptable behavior. "She undoubtedly held the record for punishable deeds in her family, for in naughtiness she was a true genius", said Gleb Botkin, son of the court physician Yevgeny Botkin, who later died with the family at Yekaterinburg. Anastasia sometimes tripped the servants and played pranks on her tutors. As a child, she would climb trees and refuse to come down. Once, during a snowball fight at the family's Polish estate, Anastasia rolled a rock into a snowball and threw it at her older sister Tatiana, knocking her to the ground. A distant cousin, Princess Nina Georgievna, recalled that "Anastasia was nasty to the point of being evil", and would cheat, kick and scratch her playmates during games; she was affronted because the younger Nina was taller than she was. She was less concerned about her appearance than her sisters. Hallie Erminie Rives, a best-selling American author and wife of an American diplomat, described how 10-year-old Anastasia ate chocolates without bothering to remove her long, white opera gloves at the St. Petersburg opera house.
Despite her energy, Anastasia's physical health was sometimes poor. The Grand Duchess suffered from painful bunions, which affected both of her big toes. Anastasia had a weak muscle in her back and was prescribed a massage twice per week. She hid under the bed or in a cupboard to put off receiving the massage. Anastasia's older sister, Maria, reportedly hemorrhaged in December 1914 during an operation to remove her tonsils, according to her paternal aunt Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, who was interviewed later in her life. The doctor performing the operation was so unnerved that he had to be ordered to continue by Maria's mother. Olga Alexandrovna said she believed all four of her nieces bled more than was normal and believed they were carriers of the hemophilia gene, like their mother.
=== Association with Grigori Rasputin ===
Her mother relied on the counsel of Grigori Rasputin, a Russian peasant and wandering starets or "holy man," and credited his prayers with saving the ailing Tsarevich on numerous occasions. Anastasia and her siblings were taught to view Rasputin as "Our Friend" and to share confidences with him. In the autumn of 1907, Anastasia's aunt Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia was escorted to the nursery by the Tsar to meet Rasputin. Anastasia, her sisters and brother Alexei were all wearing their long white nightgowns. "All the children seemed to like him," Olga Alexandrovna recalled. "They were completely at ease with him." Rasputin's friendship with the imperial children was evident in some of the messages he sent to them. In February 1909, Rasputin sent the imperial children a telegram, advising them to "Love the whole of God's nature, the whole of His creation in particular this earth. The Mother of God was always occupied with flowers and needlework."
However, one of the girls' governesses, Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva, was horrified in 1910 that Rasputin was permitted access to the nursery when the four girls were in their nightgowns and wanted him barred. Nicholas asked Rasputin to avoid going to the nurseries in the future. The children were aware of the tension and feared that their mother would be angered by Tyutcheva's actions. "I am so afr(aid) that S.I. (governess Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva) can speak ... about our friend something bad," Anastasia's twelve-year-old sister Tatiana wrote to their mother on 8 March 1910. "I hope our nurse will be nice to our friend now."
Tyutcheva was eventually fired. She took her story to other members of the family. While Rasputin's visits to the children were, by all accounts, completely innocent in nature, the family was scandalized. Tyutcheva told Nicholas's sister, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia, that Rasputin visited the girls, talked with them while they were getting ready for bed, and hugged and patted them. Tyutcheva said the children had been taught not to discuss Rasputin with her and were careful to hide his visits from the nursery staff. Xenia wrote on 15 March 1910, that she could not understand "...the attitude of Alix and the children to that sinister Grigory (whom they consider to be almost a saint, when in fact he's only a khlyst!)"
In the spring of 1910, Maria Ivanovna Vishnyakova, a royal governess, claimed that Rasputin had raped her. Vishnyakova said the empress refused to believe her account of the assault, and insisted that "everything Rasputin does is holy." Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna was told that Vishnyakova's claim had been immediately investigated, but instead "they caught the young woman in bed with a Cossack of the Imperial Guard." Vishnyakova was kept from seeing Rasputin after she made her accusation and was eventually dismissed from her post in 1913.
However, rumors persisted and it was later whispered in society that Rasputin had seduced not only the Tsarina but also the four grand duchesses. This was followed by circulation of pornographic cartoons, which depicted Rasputin having relations with the Empress, her four daughters and Anna Vyrubova. After the scandal, Nicholas ordered Rasputin to leave St. Petersburg for a time, much to Alexandra's displeasure, and Rasputin went on a pilgrimage to Palestine. Despite the rumors, the imperial family's association with Rasputin continued until his murder on 17 December 1916. "Our Friend is so contented with our girlies, says they have gone through heavy 'courses' for their age and their souls have much developed", Alexandra wrote to Nicholas on 6 December 1916.
In his memoirs, A. A. Mordvinov reported that the four grand duchesses appeared "cold and visibly terribly upset" by Rasputin's death, and sat "huddled up closely together" on a sofa in one of their bedrooms on the night they received the news. Mordvinov recalled that the young women were in a gloomy mood and seemed to sense the political upheaval that was about to be unleashed. Rasputin was buried with an icon signed on its reverse by Anastasia, her mother and her sisters. She attended his funeral on 21 December 1916, and her family planned to build a church over the site of Rasputin's grave. After they were killed by the Bolsheviks, it was discovered Anastasia and her sisters were all wearing amulets bearing Rasputin's picture and a prayer.
=== Captivity during World War I and Russian Revolution ===
During World War I, Anastasia, along with her sister Maria, visited wounded soldiers at a private hospital in the grounds at Tsarskoye Selo. The two teenagers, too young to become Red Cross nurses like their mother and elder sisters, played games of checkers and billiards with the soldiers and tried to lift their spirits. Felix Dassel, who was treated at the hospital and knew Anastasia, recalled that the grand duchess had a "laugh like a squirrel", and walked rapidly "as though she tripped along."
In February 1917, Anastasia and her family were placed under house arrest at the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo during the Russian Revolution. Nicholas II abdicated on 15 March [O.S. 2 March] 1917. As the Bolsheviks approached, Alexander Kerensky of the Provisional Government had them moved to Tobolsk, Siberia, where they were housed in the Governor's Mansion. After the Bolsheviks seized majority control of Russia, Anastasia and her family were moved to the Ipatiev House, or House of Special Purpose, at Yekaterinburg.
The stress and uncertainty of captivity took their toll on Anastasia as well as her family. "Goodby [sic]", she wrote to a friend in the winter of 1917. "Don't forget us." At Tobolsk, she wrote a melancholy theme for her English tutor, filled with spelling mistakes, about "Evelyn Hope", a poem by Robert Browning about a girl:
"When she died she was only sixteen years old ... Ther(e) was a man who loved her without having seen her but (k)new her very well. And she he(a)rd of him also. He never could tell her that he loved her, and now she was dead. But still he thought that when he and she will live [their] next life whenever it will be that ...", she wrote.
Upon arriving in Yekaterinburg, Pierre Gilliard recalled his last sight of the children:
The sailor Nagorny, who attended to Alexei Nikolaevitch, passed my window carrying the sick boy in his arms, behind him came the Grand Duchesses loaded with valises and small personal belongings. I tried to get out, but was roughly pushed back into the carriage by the sentry. I came back to the window. Tatiana Nikolayevna came last carrying her little dog and struggling to drag a heavy brown valise. It was raining and I saw her feet sink into the mud at every step. Nagorny tried to come to her assistance; he was roughly pushed back by one of the commisars ...
Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden told of her sad last glimpse of Anastasia:
Once, standing on some steps at the door of a house close by, I saw a hand and a pink-sleeved arm opening the topmost pane. According to the blouse the hand must have belonged either to the Grand Duchess Marie or Anastasia. They could not see me through their windows, and this was to be the last glimpse that I was to have of any of them!
However, even in the last months of her life, she found ways to enjoy herself. She and other members of the household performed plays for the enjoyment of their parents and others in the spring of 1918. Anastasia's performance made everyone howl with laughter, according to her tutor Sydney Gibbes.
On 7 May 1918, in a letter from Tobolsk to her sister Maria in Yekaterinburg, Anastasia described a moment of joy despite her sadness and loneliness and worry for the sick Alexei:
We played on the swing, that was when I roared with laughter, the fall was so wonderful! Indeed! I told the sisters about it so many times yesterday that they got quite fed up, but I could go on telling it masses of times ... What weather we've had! One could simply shout with joy.
In his memoirs, one of the guards at the Ipatiev House, Alexander Strekotin, remembered Anastasia as "very friendly and full of fun", while another guard said Anastasia was "a very charming devil! She was mischievous and, I think, rarely tired. She was lively, and was fond of performing comic mimes with the dogs, as though they were performing in a circus." Yet another of the guards, however, called the youngest grand duchess "offensive and a terrorist" and complained that her occasionally provocative comments sometimes caused tension in the ranks. Anastasia and her sisters helped their maid darn stockings and assisted the cook in making bread and other kitchen chores while they were in captivity at the Ipatiev House.
In the summer, the privations of the captivity, including their closer confinement at the Ipatiev House negatively affected the family. On 14 July 1918, local priests at Yekaterinburg conducted a private church service for the family. They reported that Anastasia and her family, contrary to custom, fell on their knees during the prayer for the dead, and that the girls had become despondent and hopeless, and no longer sang the replies in the service. Noticing this dramatic change in their demeanor since his last visit, one priest told the other, "Something has happened to them in there." But the next day, on 15 July 1918, Anastasia and her sisters appeared in good spirits as they joked and helped move the beds in their shared bedroom so that cleaning women could clean the floors. They helped the women scrub the floors and whispered to them when the guards were not watching. Anastasia stuck her tongue out at Yakov Yurovsky, the head of the detachment, when he momentarily turned his back and left the room.
=== Death ===
After the Bolshevik revolution in October 1917, Russia quickly disintegrated into civil war. Negotiations for the release of the Romanovs between their Bolshevik (commonly referred to as 'Reds') captors and their extended family, many of whom were prominent members of the royal houses of Europe, stalled. As the Whites (anti-Bolshevik forces, although not necessarily supportive of the Tsar) advanced toward Yekaterinburg, the Reds were in a precarious situation. The Reds knew Yekaterinburg would fall to the better manned and equipped White Army. When the Whites reached Yekaterinburg, the imperial family had simply disappeared. The most widely accepted account was that the family had been murdered. This was due to an investigation by White Army investigator Nicholas Sokolov, who came to the conclusion based on items that had belonged to the family being found thrown down a mine shaft at Ganina Yama.
The "Yurovsky Note", an account of the event filed by Yurovsky to his Bolshevik superiors following the killings, was found in 1989 and detailed in Edvard Radzinsky's 1992 book, The Last Tsar. According to the note, on the night of the deaths, the family was awakened and told to dress. They were told they were being moved to a new location to ensure their safety in anticipation of the violence that might ensue when the White Army reached Yekaterinburg. Once dressed, the family and the small circle of servants who had remained with them were herded into a small room in the house's sub-basement and told to wait. Alexandra and Alexei sat in chairs provided by guards at the Empress's request.
After several minutes, the guards entered the room, led by Yurovsky, who quickly informed the Tsar and his family that they were to be executed. The Tsar had time to say only "What?" and turn to his family before he was killed by several bullets to the chest (not, as is commonly stated, to the head; his skull, recovered in 1991, bears no bullet wounds). The Tsarina and her daughter Olga tried to make the sign of the cross but were killed in the initial volley of bullets fired by the executioners. The rest of the Imperial retinue were shot in short order, with the exception of Anna Demidova, Alexandra's maid. Demidova survived the initial onslaught but was quickly stabbed to death against the back wall of the basement while trying to defend herself with a small pillow she had carried into the sub-basement that was filled with precious gems and jewels.
The "Yurovsky Note" further reported that once the thick smoke that had filled the room from so many weapons being fired in such close proximity cleared, it was discovered that the executioners' bullets had ricocheted off the corsets of two or three of the Grand Duchesses. The executioners later came to find out that this was because the family's crown jewels and diamonds had been sewn inside the linings of the corsets to hide them from their captors. The corsets thus served as a form of "armor" against the bullets. Anastasia and Maria were said to have crouched up against a wall, covering their heads in terror, until they were shot down by bullets, recalled Yurovsky. However, another guard, Peter Ermakov, told his wife that Anastasia had been finished off with bayonets. As the bodies were carried out, one or more of the girls cried out, and were clubbed on the back of the head, wrote Yurovsky.
== False reports of survival ==
Anastasia's supposed escape and possible survival was one of the most popular historical mysteries of the 20th century, provoking many books and films. At least ten women claimed to be her, offering varying stories as to how she had survived. Anna Anderson, the best known Anastasia impostor, first surfaced publicly between 1920 and 1922. She contended that she had feigned death among the bodies of her family and servants, and was able to make her escape with the help of a compassionate guard who noticed she was still breathing and took pity upon her. Her legal battle for recognition from 1938 to 1970 continued a lifelong controversy and was the longest running case ever heard by the German courts, where it was officially filed. The final decision of the court was that Anderson had not provided sufficient proof to claim the identity of the grand duchess.
Anderson died in 1984 and her body was cremated. DNA tests were conducted in 1994 on a tissue sample from Anderson located in a hospital and the blood of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a great-nephew of Empress Alexandra. According to Dr Gill who conducted the tests, "If you accept that these samples came from Anna Anderson, then Anna Anderson could not be related to Tsar Nicholas or Tsarina Alexandra." Anderson's mitochondrial DNA was a match with a great-nephew of Franziska Schanzkowska, a missing Polish factory worker. Some supporters of Anderson's claim acknowledged that the DNA tests proving she could not have been the Grand Duchess had "won the day".
Other lesser known claimants were Nadezhda Ivanovna Vasilyeva and Eugenia Smith. Two young women claiming to be Anastasia and her sister Maria were taken in by a priest in the Ural Mountains in 1919 where they lived as nuns until their deaths in 1964. They were buried under the names Anastasia and Maria Nikolaevna.
Rumors of Anastasia's survival were embellished with various contemporary reports of trains and houses being searched for "Anastasia Romanov" by Bolshevik soldiers and secret police. When she was briefly imprisoned at Perm in 1918, Princess Helena Petrovna, the wife of Anastasia's distant cousin, Prince John Constantinovich of Russia, reported that a guard brought a girl who called herself Anastasia Romanova to her cell and asked if the girl was the daughter of the Tsar. Helena Petrovna said she did not recognize the girl and the guard took her away. Although other witnesses in Perm later reported that they saw Anastasia, her mother and sisters in Perm after the murders, this story is now widely discredited. Rumors that they were alive were fueled by deliberate misinformation designed to hide the fact that the family was dead. A few days after they had been murdered, the German government sent several telegrams to Russia demanding "the safety of the princesses of German blood". Russia had recently signed a peace treaty with the Germans, and did not want to upset them by letting them know the women were dead, so they told them they had been moved to a safer location.
In another incident, eight witnesses reported the recapture of a young woman after an apparent escape attempt in September 1918 at a railway station at Siding 37, northwest of Perm. These witnesses were Maxim Grigoyev, Tatiana Sitnikova (and her son Fyodor Sitnikov), Ivan Kuklin and Matrina Kuklina, Vassily Ryabov, Ustinya Varankina, and Dr Pavel Utkin, a physician who treated the girl after the incident. Some of the witnesses identified the girl as Anastasia when they were shown photographs of the grand duchess by White Russian Army investigators. Utkin also told the White Russian Army investigators that the injured girl, whom he treated at Cheka headquarters in Perm, told him, "I am the daughter of the ruler, Anastasia." Utkin obtained a prescription from a pharmacy for a patient named "N" at the orders of the secret police. White Army investigators later independently located records for the prescription. During the same time period in mid-1918, there were several reports of young people in Russia passing themselves off as Romanov escapees. Boris Soloviev, the husband of Rasputin's daughter Maria, defrauded prominent Russian families by asking for money for a Romanov impostor to escape to China. Soloviev also found young women willing to masquerade as one of the grand duchesses to assist in deceiving the families he had defrauded.
Some biographers' accounts speculated that the opportunity for one or more of the guards to rescue a survivor existed. Yakov Yurovsky demanded that the guards come to his office and turn over items they had stolen following the murder. There was reportedly a span of time when the bodies of the victims were left largely unattended in the truck, in the basement and in the corridor of the house. Some guards who had not participated in the murders and had been sympathetic to the grand duchesses were reportedly left in the basement with the bodies.
== Romanov graves and DNA proof ==
In 1991, the presumed burial site of the imperial family and their servants was excavated in the woods outside Yekaterinburg. The grave had been found nearly a decade earlier, but was kept hidden by its discoverers from the Communists who were still ruling Russia at the time. The grave only held nine of the expected eleven sets of remains. DNA and skeletal analysis matched these remains to Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, and three of the four grand duchesses (Olga, Tatiana and presumably Maria). The other remains, with unrelated DNA, correspond to the family's doctor (Yevgeny Botkin), their valet (Alexei Trupp), their cook (Ivan Kharitonov), and Alexandra's maid (Anna Demidova). Forensic expert William R. Maples found that the Tsarevitch Alexei and Anastasia's bodies were missing from the family's grave. Russian scientists contested this conclusion, however, claiming it was the body of Maria that was missing. The Russians identified the body as that of Anastasia by using a computer program to compare photos of the youngest grand duchess with the skulls of the victims from the mass grave. They estimated the height and width of the skulls where pieces of bone were missing. American scientists found this method inexact.
American scientists thought the missing body to be Anastasia because none of the female skeletons showed the evidence of immaturity, such as an immature collarbone, undescended wisdom teeth, or immature vertebrae in the back, that they would have expected to find in a seventeen-year-old. In 1998, when the remains of the imperial family were finally interred, a body measuring approximately 170 centimetres (5 ft 7 in) was buried under the name of Anastasia. Photographs taken of her standing beside her three sisters up until six months before the murders demonstrate that Anastasia was several inches shorter than all of them. Her mother commented on sixteen-year-old Anastasia's short stature in a 15 December 1917 letter, written seven months before the murders. "Anastasia, to her despair, is now very fat, as Maria was, round and fat to the waist, with short legs. I do hope she will grow." Scientists considered it unlikely that the teenager could have grown so much in the last months of her life. Her actual height was approximately 157 centimetres (5 ft 2 in).
The account of the "Yurovsky Note" indicated that two of the bodies were removed from the main grave and cremated at an undisclosed area in order to further disguise the burials of the Tsar and his retinue if the remains were discovered by the Whites, since the body count would not be correct. Searches of the area in subsequent years failed to turn up a cremation site or the remains of the two missing Romanov children.
On 23 August 2007, a Russian archaeologist announced the discovery of two burned, partial skeletons at a bonfire site near Yekaterinburg that appeared to match the site described in Yurovsky's memoirs. The archaeologists said the bones were from a boy who was roughly between the ages of twelve and fifteen years at the time of his death and of a young woman who was roughly between the ages of fifteen and nineteen years old. Anastasia was seventeen years and one month old at the time of the assassination, while her sister Maria was nineteen years, one month old and her brother Alexei was two weeks shy of his fourteenth birthday. Anastasia's elder sisters Olga and Tatiana were twenty-two and twenty-one years old respectively at the time of the assassination. Along with the remains of the two bodies, archaeologists found "shards of a container of sulfuric acid, nails, metal strips from a wooden box, and bullets of various caliber". The site was initially found with metal detectors and by using metal rods as probes.
DNA testing by multiple international laboratories including the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and Innsbruck Medical University confirmed that the remains belong to the Tsarevich Alexei and to one of his sisters, proving conclusively that all family members, including Anastasia, died in 1918. The parents and all five children are now accounted for, and each has his or her own unique DNA profile. While the tests have confirmed that all the Romanov bodies have been found, one of the studies was still unsure which body from the two graves was Maria's and which was Anastasia's:
a well publicized debate over which daughter, Maria (according to Russian experts) or Anastasia (according to US experts), has been recovered from the second grave cannot be settled based upon the DNA results reported here. In the absence of a DNA reference from each sister, we can only conclusively identify Alexei – the only son of Nicholas and Alexandra.
== Sainthood ==
In 2000, Anastasia and her family were canonized as passion bearers by the Russian Orthodox Church. The family had previously been canonized in 1981 by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad as holy martyrs. The bodies of Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, and three of their daughters were finally interred in the St. Catherine Chapel at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, St Petersburg on 17 July 1998, eighty years after they were murdered. As of 2018 the bones of Alexei and Maria (or possibly Anastasia) were still being held by the Orthodox Church.
== Depictions in art, media, and literature ==
The purported survival of Anastasia has been the subject of cinema (such as the 1997 animated film and the 1956 film that inspired it starring Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner), made-for-television films, and a Broadway musical based on the 1997 animated film. The earliest, made in 1928, was called Clothes Make the Woman. The story followed a woman who turns up to play the part of a rescued Anastasia for a Hollywood film, and ends up being recognized by the Russian soldier who originally rescued her from her would-be assassins. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Philip%27s_College_(United_States) | St. Philip's College (United States) | St. Philip's College is a public historically black community college in San Antonio, Texas. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and part of the Alamo Colleges District. The college currently serves more than 21,000 students in over 70 different academic and technical disciplines. It is the westernmost historically black college or university in the United States and is located in the East Side, the historic home of the city's African American community.
== History ==
James Steptoe Johnston, the Second Bishop of West Texas for the Episcopal Church, founded St. Philip’s Normal and Industrial School to educate and train the daughters and granddaughters of emancipated slaves. Opening March 1, 1898, the school began as a weekend sewing class for six black girls, taught by Miss Alice G. Cowan, a missionary with the Episcopal Church.
In 1900, Mrs. Mary E. E. (Snowden) Walker, the daughter of John Baptist Snowden, came from Baltimore to serve as the school administrator. She left after two years.
In 1902, Artemisia Bowden, daughter of a former slave, joined the school as administrator and teacher. Miss Bowden served St. Philip’s for 52 years. Under her supervision, the school grew from an industrial school for girls into a high school and later, a junior college.
In 1942, the school, retaining the St. Philip’s Junior College name, affiliated with San Antonio College and the San Antonio Independent School District, marking the end of the college’s era as a private institution. This union resulted in what is known today as Alamo Colleges District.
In December 2023, the college was approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to offer its first bachelor's degree, the Bachelor of Applied Technology Degree in Cybersecurity (BAT).
== Campus ==
St. Philip's College operates two major campuses and several subsidiary locations. The main campus is located on the east side of San Antonio, three miles from Downtown. The Southwest Campus, formerly part of Kelly Air Force Base, is located on the southwest side of San Antonio and serves as a hub for technical training programs. Courses are also conducted at local military installations, hospitals, and high schools.
During the last 30 years, multimillion-dollar capital expansions added a state-of-the-art theater, an on-site cyber range, and a health sciences building to the main campus. The Southwest Campus recently added the Welding and Auto Collision Center, which resulted in a major expansion of program offerings.
The opening of the Northeast Learning Center (Converse, Texas) in 1996 resulted in the establishment of Northeast Lakeview College, a sister institution, and one of five colleges that make up the Alamo Colleges District. The Learning and Leadership Development Center, built in 1997 in collaboration with the City of San Antonio is undergoing renovations and will reopen in 2024. In 2009, SPC expanded to include a new multipurpose facility, library, and welcome center, and in 2018, the Good Samaritan Veterans Outreach and Transition Center, formerly an old hospital, opened on the same day as the renovated E.L. Turbon Student Center.
In 2022, the college opened four buildings during a one-day event—Saint Artemisia Bowden Center of Excellence; Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Arts Center of Excellence; Clarence Windzell Norris Building; and William Allen Hudgins Health and Wellness Building.
== Academics ==
St. Philip’s College offers open admission. Admission requires completion of a student data form and submission of high school graduation transcript or GED certificate.
The college's academics are divided into three divisions: Arts and Sciences, Applied Science and Technology, and Health Professions. Students may earn an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Associate of Arts in Teaching, or Associate of Applied Science degree. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_Congregation_Keneseth_Israel_(Philadelphia) | Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel (Philadelphia) | Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel (KI) is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.
The congregation was founded in Philadelphia in 1847 and is recognized as the sixth-oldest Reform congregation in the country. By 1900, it had become one of the largest Reform congregations in the United States.
The synagogue occupied several locations in Philadelphia before constructing a building on North Broad Street in 1891. In 1956, the congregation relocated to its current site in Elkins Park.
Since appointing its first rabbi in 1861, the congregation has been led by eight rabbis, including David Einhorn, Joseph Krauskopf, Bertram Korn, and Simeon Maslin, who served as president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis from 1995 to 1997. The current senior rabbi is Lance J. Sussman.
Notable members of the congregation have included Arlin Adams, Edward R. Becker, Jan E. DuBois, Horace Stern, members of the Gimbel family, Lessing J. Rosenwald, William S. Paley, Simon Guggenheim, and Walter Annenberg. Albert Einstein accepted honorary membership in 1934.
== Philadelphia's fourth synagogue, 1847-1855 ==
In 1847, Julius Stern led the establishment of Keneseth Israel as an Orthodox German-Jewish congregation. Stern and 47 other men separated from Congregation Rodeph Shalom to form the new synagogue. Until the 1880s, business meetings were conducted in German, and services were held in both German and Hebrew.
At its founding, the congregation employed a lay reader, B. H. Gotthelf, rented meeting space, and arranged for burial plots in a local cemetery. In 1849, Keneseth Israel established its first religious school, enrolling approximately 75 children for instruction in Hebrew and Jewish ritual.
In 1852, the congregation began including sermons in its services, marking a shift from traditional Orthodox practice and reflecting aspects of American Protestant worship. Around the same time, it adopted the recently published Hamburg Prayer Book, which was associated with Reform Judaism in Germany. In 1854, the congregation acquired its first building, a former church on New Market Street, which was rededicated and consecrated as a synagogue.
== German reform, 1855-1887 ==
After relocating to its new building, Keneseth Israel purchased an organ, signifying a further transition away from Orthodox Judaism, which does not include instrumental music or choirs in worship services. In 1856, the congregation formally affiliated with the Reform movement and adopted the name Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel. That same year, it published its first book, Gesänge zum Gebrauche beim Gottesdeinst der Reform-Gemeinde "Keneseth Israel" zu Philadelphia ("Hymnal for the Order of Worship for the Reform Community Keneseth Israel of Philadelphia").
In 1857, the congregation appointed Solomon Deutsch, a Reform leader from Posen, Germany to officiate at services. Although not an ordained rabbi, Deutsch advanced the congregation’s adoption of Reform practices, including the abolition of separate seating for men and women. He was dismissed in 1860, and in 1861 the congregation appointed David Einhorn, an ordained rabbi.
=== Einhorn ===
In 1856, Einhorn had published a 64-page prayer pamphlet for use on Shabbat and the Biblical festivals—Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot. In 1858, Einhorn released Olat Tamid: Gebetbuch für israelitische Reform-Gemeinden, the first Reform prayer book published in the United States. The work had a significant influence on American Reform Judaism. Olat Tamid eventually served as a foundation for the Union Prayer Book.
Einhorn was an outspoken critic of slavery. In January 1861, Rabbi Morris Jacob Raphall of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York City delivered and published a sermon titled "The Bible View of Slavery", which defended slavery on biblical grounds. In response, Einhorn delivered a sermon in German condemning Raphall’s argument and later published an English translation in his monthly journal Sinai.
Einhorn’s public opposition to slavery provoked hostility in Baltimore. On April 19, 1861, a mob threatened to attack him, and he fled under guard to Philadelphia, where Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel soon appointed him as its first ordained rabbi. While at Keneseth Israel, Einhorn continued publishing Sinai and, in 1862, issued a second edition of Olat Tamid with financial support from the congregation. In 1866, he relocated to New York City to serve as rabbi of Congregation Adath Yeshurun.
Einhorn’s views and publications reflected a broader moral and social awareness shared by his congregation. In 1857, Keneseth Israel protested a treaty between the United States and Switzerland that allowed certain Swiss cantons to discriminate against American Jews despite nominal guarantees of equal rights. In 1860, the congregation sent financial aid to Jews facing persecution in Morocco. During the Civil War, members of the congregation supported the Union cause through donations and military service. Among them was Isaac Snellenberg, who enlisted at age 16 and died in the Peninsula Campaign in 1862, and Colonel Max Einstein, who later joined Keneseth Israel after commanding a Pennsylvania regiment at the First Battle of Bull Run.
=== Hirsch ===
After David Einhorn’s departure for New York City, Keneseth Israel extended a lifetime contract to Rabbi Samuel Hirsch. Upon assuming leadership in Philadelphia, Hirsch guided the congregation toward further assimilation into American life. Hirsch introduced Sunday sermons, eliminated the use of kippot during worship, and instituted an egalitarian marriage ceremony in which both partners exchanged vows. These changes reflected his broader goal of removing practices he viewed as barriers to Jewish participation in American civic life.
Beyond liturgical reform, Hirsch promoted social engagement and community welfare.
In 1878, under Hirsch’s leadership, Keneseth Israel joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. In 1886, Hirsch was pressured by the congregation to retire. He subsequently moved to Chicago, where his son, Rabbi Emil G. Hirsch, led Chicago Sinai Congregation. Emil Hirsch was married to Mathilda Einhorn, daughter of Keneseth Israel’s first ordained rabbi, David Einhorn.
== American classical reform, 1887-1949 ==
=== Krauskopf ===
Following the departure of Rabbi Samuel Hirsch, Keneseth Israel conducted a national search for a new rabbi and, in 1887, hired Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf of Kansas City. Krauskopf served as the congregation’s rabbi from 1887 until his death in 1923.
Before arriving in Philadelphia, Krauskopf was widely admired in Kansas City, where his public lectures attracted large audiences beyond the Jewish community and several were later published as books. Under his leadership, KI transitioned from usingGerman to English. He reinstated Sunday services (which had waned in the last years under Hirsch), established confirmation ceremonies at age sixteen, and discontinued the traditional bar mitzvah at age thirteen.
In 1892, Krauskopf founded a congregational library. He also encouraged the hiring of an assistant rabbi to serve the expanding membership. When Krauskopf began his tenure, Keneseth Israel had about 250 members; within several years, membership had risen to more than 400 families. That same year, the congregation dedicated a new synagogue building on North Broad Street with seating for 1,600 worshippers. By the early 1900s, membership exceeded 1,000 families, and the religious school enrolled more than 500 students, making Keneseth Israel one of the largest synagogues in the United States.
Throughout his ministry, Krauskopf delivered weekly Sunday lectures to large audiences, many of which were later distributed as pamphlets—more than a thousand in total during his career. Shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia, he helped found the Jewish Publication Society in 1888, with early institutional support from Keneseth Israel.
Krauskopf was an early visitor to Jewish agricultural settlements in Palestine and expressed support for Zionism as a means of resettling European Jews there. At the same time, he emphasized his belief in the full civic loyalty of American Jews and spoke frequently about patriotism and American identity. Krauskopf was friends with Theodore Roosevelt and following Roosevelt’s death, Krauskopf commissioned a large stained-glass window in his memory, which remains in the entrance foyer of Keneseth Israel’s Elkins Park synagogue.
During World War I, Krauskopf and the congregation organized programs for servicemen stationed in or passing through Philadelphia. In 1917, Assistant Rabbi James G. Heller took a leave of absence to serve as a U.S. Army chaplain.
In 1923, the congregation honored Krauskopf with the title of rabbi for life, at full salary. He died shortly after the appointment.
=== Fineshriber ===
Rabbi William H. Fineshriber served as senior rabbi of Keneseth Israel from 1923 to 1949. Following the death of Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf in June 1923, Associate Rabbi Abraham J. Feldman officiated while the congregation conducted a search for new leadership. Later that year, the synagogue appointed William H. Fineshriber, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and Hebrew Union College, as senior rabbi.
Fineshriber’s tenure was marked by social engagement, public advocacy, and liturgical evolution. Continuing his record of social activism, he invited prominent public figures to address the congregation, including Margaret Sanger. He also conferred honorary membership on physicist Albert Einstein, who later spoke at Keneseth Israel’s 90th anniversary celebration. Nationally, Fineshriber participated in efforts to promote censorship and conservative moral standards in the film industry, working with Hollywood leaders to develop the Hays Code.
Reflecting the mainstream position of the Reform movement during the interwar period, Fineshriber supported Jewish emigration from Eastern Europe to Mandatory Palestine and opposed the establishment of a Jewish state. He maintained that Jews constituted a religious community rather than a nationality and affirmed the Reform movement’s stance—articulated by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations—of complete disassociation from Zionism.
During the 1930s, some members of Keneseth Israel, including Gil and Eleanor Kraus, participated in Holocaust rescue efforts, notably bringing at least fifty German-Jewish children to safety before the outbreak of World War II.
Fineshriber reinstated bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies, reintroduced Torah readings on Saturdays and during the High Holidays, restored the role of cantor, and incorporated string instruments such as violin and cello into services. During his tenure, the congregation adopted the Union Prayer Book, which replaced the Sunday service manual and hymnal created under Rabbi Krauskopf.
Malcolm H. Stern served as an assistant rabbi at Keneseth Israel in the 1940s.
== Neo-reform, 1949-2001 ==
=== Korn ===
Rabbi Bertram Korn served as senior rabbi of Keneseth Israel from 1949 until his death in 1979.
In the 1950s, under Korn’s leadership, Keneseth Israel undertook the process of relocating from its long-time synagogue on North Broad Street in Philadelphia to a new suburban campus in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. In 1951, the congregation agreed to sell the Broad Street building and adjacent properties to Temple University. The move was completed in 1957, when the congregation dedicated its new synagogue complex in Elkins Park. The building incorporated many of the stained-glass windows from the Broad Street sanctuary. It also featured a new series of windows designed by artist Jacob Landau.
The relocation reflected broader postwar demographic shifts among American Jews, including suburbanization and white flight. As members became more geographically dispersed, Korn introduced radio broadcasts of Keneseth Israel services to enable members who could not travel to Elkins Park.
During the 1970s, Rabbi Korn led the congregation in supporting the movement for Soviet Jewry movement.
In 1978, Korn announced plans to retire in 1980, but he died unexpectedly the following year. Membership peaked at 1,800 families under his tenure.
=== Maslin ===
Rabbi Simeon J. Maslin served as senior rabbi of Keneseth Israel from 1979 to 1997. During his tenure, Maslin was an influential voice in debates over rabbinic officiation at interfaith weddings—a topic that generated significant discussion and disagreement within Reform Judaism.
Maslin emphasized the preservation and revitalization of traditional ritual. He increased the use of Hebrew in worship services and reinstated the custom of men wearing kippot during prayer. A committed Zionist, he established the practice of sending confirmation classes to Israel. He was an outspoken critic of the State of Israel’s limited recognition of Reform Judaism.
Rabbi Maslin authored Gates of Mitzvah: Shaarei Mitzvah: A Guide to the Jewish Life Cycle (1986), a comprehensive guide to Jewish rituals and life-cycle events, and What We Believe ... What We Do ... A Pocket Guide for Reform Jews (1998).
In 1982–1983, the nearby Temple Judea congregation, also located in Elkins Park, merged with Keneseth Israel. Temple Judea maintained a museum that included Judaica, synagogue artifacts, historical materials, and photographs. Keneseth Israel had previously established its own museum in the early 1960s to house its art and ceremonial collections. In 1984, the two museums combined to form the Temple Judea Museum, incorporating the holdings of both congregations.
== 21st century ==
=== Sussman ===
Lance J. Sussman has served as rabbi since 2001. He has participated in interfaith organizations in Philadelphia. Similar to Rabbis Krauskopf and Korn, Sussman was involved in the Soviet Jewry movement and later participated in initiatives engaging the Jewish community in Cuba. During his tenure, KI established youth exchange programs between KI teenagers and their counterparts in Germany.
== Notable members ==
Elliot Abrams
Arlin Adams, President of KI Congregation (1955-1957)
Walter Hubert Annenberg
Edward R. Becker
Norman Fell
Samuel S. Fleisher
Gimbel Brothers, founders of the eponymous department store, and their associated families
Albert M. Greenfield
Guggenheim Family including Simon Guggenheim (1792-1869), Meyer, Benjamin, and Simon
Joseph L. Kun
William S. Paley
Lessing Rosenwald
Snellenburg family
Horace Stern
Andrew Weil, confirmed at KI in 1958 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jeep_vehicles | List of Jeep vehicles | Jeep, a former American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis, has produced numerous vehicles since its inception in 1943.
== Current models ==
== CJ ==
CJ-2A (1945–1949)
The first Civilian Jeep put into production by Willys, marketed as the "Universal Jeep". 212,402 units were produced.
CJ-3A (1949–1953)
A refined CJ-2A, the CJ-3A featured a redesigned one-piece windshield with air vents below the glass. 131,843 units were produced. Derived from it was the first post-war military jeep: the M38.
CJ-3B (1953–1968)
Essentially a CJ-3A fitted with a taller hood (the CJ-3B is also known as the "high-hood" Jeep) to accommodate the Willys Hurricane engine. 155,494 were built over its 15-year lifespan. Most later ones were M606 military jeeps shipped to South America.
CJ-5 (1955–1983)
Introduced in late 1954 as a 1955 model, the CJ-5 was a civilian version of the M38A1 military Jeep used in the Korean War. The most noticeable addition was the new rounded hood, designed specifically to accommodate the Hurricane engine. 603,303 were built over nearly 30 years, making it the longest-lived and most popular "Universal".
CJ-5A "Tuxedo Park" (1964–1967)
The Tuxedo Park had been an option package on the CJ-5 from 1961 to 1963, and by 1964 it was given its own model designation code. It featured more standard equipment (from 1965 onward standard equipment included the Dauntless V6 engine and bucket seats), but the Tuxedo Park never garnered a large customer base due to the higher base price. Only 7,394 CJ-5As were produced.
CJ-6 (1955–1975)
Mechanically, the CJ-6 was nothing more than a CJ-5 with a 20 in. longer wheelbase. This addressed the most common customer complaint: lack of rear seat room. Despite ceding to consumer demand sales were modest, with only 50,172 units manufactured over 20 years.
CJ-6A "Tuxedo Park" (1964–1967)
Similar to the CJ-5A, the CJ-6A was a "Tuxedo Park" version of the CJ-6. Like the CJ-5A it was not popular, with only 459 units produced, making it the rarest CJ.
CJ-7 (1976–1986)
The CJ-7 was introduced in 1976 as a longer alternative to the CJ-5, as a compromise between the CJ-5 and CJ-6's wheelbase length. 379,299 were built. This was the first model to lack the "Universal Jeep" designation.
CJ-8 "Scrambler" (1981–1985)
Once again consumers complained of too little room in the CJ-7. Like the CJ-6 before it, the Scrambler was an extended version of a smaller CJ, in this case the more modern CJ-7.
CJ-10 (1981–1985)
The Jeep CJ-10 was a CJ-bodied pickup truck based on a heavily modified Jeep J10 pickup truck. Produced from 1981 to 1985, it was sold and designed for export markets; Australia in particular.
CJ-10A (1984–1986)
The Jeep CJ-10A was a CJ-10-based flightline aircraft tug. Produced in Mexico from 1984 to 1986.
== Willys Wagon and Willys Pickup ==
The Willys Wagon (1946–1965) and Willys Pickup (1947–1965) were full-size trucks featuring a wagon and pickup bodystyle respectively.
== VJ ==
Willys Jeepster (1948–1951)
The Willys Jeepster was a roadster designed to appeal to consumers who would not otherwise purchase a utilitarian CJ. Most of its parts were shared with the Jeep Wagon and Jeep Pickup. Unfortunately it proved to be unpopular, with its production life cut to only four years.
== DJ ==
DJ-3A (1955–1964)
The first of the Dispatcher Jeeps, the DJ-3A was essentially a two wheel drive version of the CJ-3A, designed for lighter-duty work not requiring four wheel drive.
DJ-5 "Dispatcher 100" (1965–1967)
Like the DJ-3A, the DJ-5 was a two wheel drive version of the CJ-5.
DJ-5A (1968–1970)
The DJ-5A was an offshoot of the DJ-5 featuring a specialized hardtop body and right hand drive steering, designed for use as a mail truck. It was also powered by a 153 in³ Chevrolet four-cylinder engine.
DJ-5B (1970–1972)
Nearly identical to the DJ-5A, the DJ-5B was differentiated by its powertrain: a 232 in³ AMC six-cylinder engine.
DJ-5C (1973–1974)
Nearly identical to the DJ-5B.
DJ-5D (1975–1976)
Nearly identical to the DJ-5B.
DJ-5E "Electruck" (1976)
A special electric version of the Dispatcher featuring an electric motor and battery pack in place of the original internal combustion engine.
DJ-5F (1977–1978)
Nearly identical to the DJ-5B. The DJ-5F was also available with the AMC 258 engine.
DJ-5G (1979)
Nearly identical to the DJ-5B. The DJ-5G was powered by a 2.0 L Volkswagen/Audi four-cylinder engine.
DJ-5L (1982)
Nearly identical to the DJ-5B. The DJ-5L was powered by the Pontiac 2.5 L "Iron Duke" engine.
== FC ==
FC-150 (1956–1965)
The Forward Control trucks were essentially CJ-5s with a pickup bed and a flat-faced cab mounted on top of the engine. The FC-150 was mechanically nearly identical to the CJ-5.
FC-170 (1957–1965)
The FC-150 was joined by a longer FC-170 model, equipped with the Willys Super Hurricane engine.
== FJ ==
The FJ (1961–1965) was a DJ-3A fitted with a van body with a redesigned steering and seating arrangement similar to the Forward Control trucks. The Fleetvan Jeeps were designed specifically for moving cargo. The FJ-3 (easily distinguishable by horizontal grille slots) was offered specifically as a postal truck, while a longer FJ-3A was offered for other fleet purposes.
== SJ ==
Wagoneer (1963–1983)
The Wagoneer was designed to replace the Jeep Wagon, which had been produced relatively unchanged since 1946. It was leaps and bounds more sophisticated than its predecessor and competitors, offering modern amenities and car-like attributes such as an independent front suspension and a SOHC engine.
J-series (1963–1988)
The Wagoneer's SJ chassis was also designed for a pickup truck bed, replacing the Willys Jeep Pickup. Originally named Gladiator, the truck underwent several name changes. Originally the Gladiator models were distinguished by a three-digit model code signifying wheelbase and gross vehicle weight rating. For 1965 the model codes were changed to four digits. The Gladiator name was dropped for 1972. In 1974, the model codes were changed for the final time to a two-digit code signifying GVWR. The sporty Honcho package was a popular option on half-ton J-10s.
Super Wagoneer (1966–1969)
The Super Wagoneer was a special luxury version of the Wagoneer, featuring amenities such as air conditioning, an automatic transmission and a V8 engine as standard equipment. All of this was years prior to the existence of the Range Rover, considered by many to be the "original luxury SUV".
Cherokee (1974–1983)
The Cherokee was added to the Jeep lineup as a sporty two-door model in 1974. A four-door body was later added in 1977.
Grand Wagoneer (1984–1991)
The Wagoneer and Cherokee were replaced for 1984 by the smaller XJ Cherokee and Wagoneer. The SJ continued on as the Grand Wagoneer, the most opulent Jeep in the range.
== C101 ==
Jeepster Commando (1966–1971)
The Jeepster Commando was introduced in 1966 to appeal to consumers seeking a less utilitarian vehicle than the CJ. Based heavily upon the CJ-5, the Jeepster Commando was available in many body styles, including a convertible and pickup.
== C104 ==
Commando (1972–1973)
The C101 Jeepster Commando was redesigned in 1972 by AMC in order to accommodate AMC engines under its hood. The result was the new C104 Commando (Jeepster having been dropped from the name). The new front fascia, reminiscent of the Ford Bronco, was very unpopular, and Commando was dropped after its second year.
== XJ ==
Cherokee (1984–2001)
The most ambitious Jeep ever undertaken, the XJ (said to mean eXperimental Jeep, although the veracity of this is not well substantiated) was revolutionary in design: it was the first SUV to use a bespoke unibody chassis for more car-like performance and design attributes. The "UniFrame" chassis made the XJ light and maneuverable, while the QuadraLink front suspension gave it excellent off-road ability. The XJ Cherokee increased Jeep sales to levels never seen before, and proved to be the single most popular Jeep of all time, with over 2.8 million units sold.
Wagoneer Limited (1984–1990)
The Wagoneer was offered alongside the Cherokee as a more luxurious model. Exterior changes were the only discernible differences, with a different grille and optional (plastic) wood panelling. Not to be confused with Grand Wagoneer SJ model.
== MJ ==
Comanche (1986–1992)
The Comanche was offered as a pickup version of the Cherokee. It is unique in that it is one of few unibody pickup trucks ever produced.
== YJ ==
Wrangler (1987–1995) (No Wrangler produced in 1996 as they revamped the design for the new TJ's in 1997)
The Wrangler, distinguished by its square headlamps, replaced the long-lived CJ. This model carried wider track axles and a stronger frame. It had more creature comforts and later on, had the benefit of the more efficient, fuel injected engines. The last model year of the YJ included galvanized bodies and larger U-joints.
== ZJ ==
Grand Cherokee (1993–1998)
Originally designed as the XJ's replacement, the ZJ was instead moved upmarket as the Grand Cherokee.
Grand Wagoneer (1993)
A top-of-the-line Grand Cherokee featuring more standard equipment, such as a 5.2L Magnum V8. It was dropped after one year.
== TJ ==
Wrangler (1997–2006)
The YJ's replacement, the TJ, has been the most bold evolution of the "Universal" yet, with coil springs at all four wheels (it also returned to the circular headlights of the CJ). Halfway through the 2004 model year a long-wheelbase version of the TJ was released as the Wrangler Unlimited. The Wrangler Unlimited is unofficially referred to as the LJ to differentiate between the standard- and long-wheelbase models.
== LJ ==
Wrangler (2004-2006)
Unlimited Sport Edition: Came standard with 4.0 L and the Dana 44 rear limited slip axle with 3.73 gear ratio and the command-Trac NV231 transfer case. The LJ has all the sport options but with a 10 inch (250 mm) longer wheelbase aka the LWB or LJ model. The LJ Unlimited has 2 more inches of rear seat legroom and 13 inches more cargo storage. The LJ also came with 3500 lbs towing capacity compared to the 2000 lbs towing capacity of the TJ.
== WJ ==
Grand Cherokee (1999–2004)
An evolution of the ZJ, available in a straight 6 or V8. The 4.7 L Powertech V8 signalled a return to SOHC engines: it was the first in a new Jeep since the Kaiser Tornado engine was dropped from the lineup in 1965.
== KJ ==
Liberty (2002–2007)
The first new Jeep to feature an independent suspension since the 1963 Wagoneer, the Liberty (as it is known in North America; it goes by the name Cherokee in all other markets) replaced the XJ Cherokee in 2002. The Liberty comes with a 3.7 liter V6 engine, but was also available in the US in 2005–2006 with a 2.8L 4cylinder common rail diesel (CRD) engine.
== WK ==
Grand Cherokee (2005–2010)
Using the WJ and KJ as a springboard, the most recent WK Grand Cherokee has a greater blend of car-like ride and handling with traditional offroad capability. Grand Cherokee has been completely redone for 2011.
== XK ==
Commander (2006–2010)
With an exterior design reminiscent of the XJ, the Commander was the first seven-passenger Jeep, pushing the brand into market waters never before trodden. The Commander was discontinued due to the fact that the 2011 Dodge Durango is going to be Chrysler's 7 passenger SUV offering. It is rumored that the Commander may still be built overseas for certain markets.
== JK ==
Wrangler (2007–early 2018)
The new JK Wrangler includes a 3-piece hardtop roof. 2007–2011 used Chrysler's 3.8 L V6 engine. For 2012+, the Wrangler uses Chrysler's 3.6L Pentastar V6.
== JKU ==
4 Door Wrangler (2007–2018)
Designation of the 4 door body style JK Wrangler.
== MK ==
Compass/Patriot (2007–2017)
The product of a Chrysler to bring 4x4 and fuel economy into the crossover market.
== MP ==
Compass (2017–2025)
A completely redesigned compact crossover developed by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
== KK ==
Liberty (2008–2012)
3.7 liters V6 210hp, some engines can run on E-85 fuel. Replaced the KJ.
== WK2 ==
Grand Cherokee (2011–2022)
3.6 Liter Pentastar V6, 5.7 Liter Hemi V8, 3.0 Liter EcoDiesel V6. 4x2 or 4x4 options. RWD platform. Replaced the WK.
== KL ==
Cherokee (2014–2023)
The new KL is the return of the Cherokee designation in a compact-wide body featuring a distinctive new front end and sporting a 2.4L Tigershark Inline 4, a 2.0L Hurricane turbo 4, or a 3.2L Pentastar V-6 mated with a 9-speed 948TE automatic transmission. The trailrated edition of the KL is referred to as the Cherokee Trailhawk.
== BU/B1/BQ ==
Renegade (2015–present)
The BU is Jeeps new 4x4 capable compact SUV based on the Fiat small-wide platform. Sporting a 2.4L Tigershark Inline 4-cylinder engine mated with a 9-speed automatic transmission or a 1.4L Turbo mated with a 6 speed manual. The TrailRated edition of the BU is referred to as the Renegade Trailhawk.
== JL ==
Wrangler (2018–present)
The JL utilized many of the same features as the JK, however modifications were done to incorporate an All Wheel Drive feature (full-time 4WD) and front axle disconnects for improved fuel mileage.
== K8 ==
Grand Commander (2018–2022)
== JT ==
Gladiator (2019–present)
Based on the Jeep Wrangler (JL) Unlimited
== H1/H6 ==
Commander (2021–present)
Meridian (2021–present)
== WL ==
Grand Cherokee L (2021–present)
Grand Cherokee (2022–present)
== WS ==
Wagoneer (2021–2025)
Grand Wagoneer (2021–present)
Wagoneer L (2023–2025)
Grand Wagoneer L (2023–present)
== JJ ==
Avenger (2023–present)
== J4U ==
Compass (2025–present)
== KM ==
Cherokee (2026–present) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Kelce | Travis Kelce | Travis Michael Kelce ( KEL-see; born October 5, 1989) is an American professional football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft and later won Super Bowls LIV, LVII, and LVIII with the team. He played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Considered one of the greatest tight ends in history, Kelce is an eleven-time Pro Bowler and a seven-time All-Pro, with four first-team and three second-team selections. He holds the NFL records for most consecutive and most overall seasons with 1,000 receiving yards by a tight end: seven. He holds the record for most receiving yards by a tight end in a single season with 1,416 in 2020, despite playing in only 15 games.
During the 2022 season, Kelce became the fifth NFL tight end to reach 10,000 career receiving yards and reached the milestone faster than any tight end in NFL history. Kelce was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. During the 2023 season, he surpassed Jerry Rice in career playoff receptions en route to winning Super Bowl LVIII, his fourth Super Bowl appearance in five seasons.
Outside of football, Kelce has appeared in advertisements and on reality and scripted television, including being the namesake of the dating show Catching Kelce (2016) on E! and hosting a 2023 episode of Saturday Night Live. He co-hosts a podcast, New Heights, with his brother Jason in which they cover topics from football to popular culture. The show was ranked as the 8th most popular podcast in the United States on Apple Podcasts in 2024. Kelce's relationship with and subsequent engagement to singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has drawn massive media coverage and stimulated viewership and revenue for his team and the NFL.
== Early life ==
Kelce was born on October 5, 1989, in Westlake, Ohio. His father, Ed Kelce, is a former sales representative in the steel industry, and his mother, Donna, is a former bank executive. Travis's older brother is Jason Kelce, who played center for the Philadelphia Eagles for 13 seasons.
He is of Croatian descent through his mother, whose ancestors were from Brod Moravice and Velike Drage in the Gorski Kotar region, near the Slovenian border.
Kelce attended Cleveland Heights High School in his hometown of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He was a three-year letter winner as quarterback for the Tigers. As a senior in 2007, he ran for 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns and threw for 1,523 yards, 21 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. His 2,539 yards of total offense garnered him All-Lake Erie League honors.
== College career ==
Considered a two-star recruit by Rivals.com, Kelce accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Cincinnati over offers from Akron, Eastern Michigan, and Miami (OH). He joined his brother, Jason Kelce, who was the starting left guard for the Bearcats. After redshirting in 2008, he appeared in 11 games in 2009, playing at tight end and quarterback out of the wildcat formation. He tallied eight rushes for 47 yards and two touchdowns and had one reception for three yards. He was suspended for the 2010 season after testing positive for marijuana, a violation of team rules. Returning for the 2011 season, he played tight end, recording 13 catches totaling 150 yards and two touchdowns. In 2012, his last collegiate season, he set personal season highs in receptions (45), receiving yards (722), yards per receptions (16.0), and receiving touchdowns (8). Kelce earned first-team all-conference honors and in March 2013, was named the College Football Performance Awards Tight End of the Year. Kelce graduated in 2022 with a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree, he received his diploma during an April 2024 podcast event at the Fifth Third Arena with his brother Jason.
== Professional career ==
=== 2013 season ===
Kelce was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round (63rd pick overall) of the 2013 NFL draft. The Chiefs had hired Andy Reid as their new head coach during the off-season. Reid was familiar with Kelce, having drafted and coached his brother, Jason Kelce, in 2011 during his time as the head coach of the Eagles. Reid believed Kelce to be a first round talent but had reservations due to his suspension in college; Jason spoke with Reid and vouched that Travis would stay out of trouble if drafted. On June 6, 2013, the Chiefs signed Kelce to a four-year, $3.12 million rookie contract that also included a signing bonus of $703,304.
Kelce injured his knee in the preseason. The injury was later diagnosed as a bone bruise. After being limited the first two weeks of the season due to the injury and being inactive the next three games, Kelce was placed on injured reserve on October 12, 2013, after having a microfracture surgery performed on his knee. He only played one snap, on special teams in the Chiefs' Week 2 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
=== 2014 season ===
During Week 3 against the Miami Dolphins, Kelce recorded his first NFL touchdown on a 20-yard reception from quarterback Alex Smith. On November 30, he was fined $11,025 for "unsportsmanlike conduct" during a 29–16 loss to the Denver Broncos. Kelce made an inappropriate hand gesture and motion at Broncos linebacker Von Miller. Chiefs' head coach Andy Reid later called this "immature". In the next game against the Arizona Cardinals, Kelce had seven receptions for 110 yards for his first NFL game with over 100 receiving yards. In the regular-season finale against the San Diego Chargers, he had an offensive fumble recovery for a touchdown in the 19–7 victory. Kelce was the Chiefs' leading receiver during the 2014 season, totaling 862 yards off 67 receptions.
=== 2015 season ===
Kelce began the 2015 season with his first NFL multiple touchdown game, with six receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns in the 27–20 victory over the Houston Texans. It was his only 100-plus-yard game, but he had at least one reception in all 16 games, and was ranked a top-five tight end by ESPN. He started all 16 regular season games and recorded 72 catches for 875 yards and five touchdowns, earning his way to his first Pro Bowl. The Chiefs finished the regular season with an 11–5 record and made the playoffs. In his first NFL playoff game, Kelce had eight receptions for 128 yards in a 30–0 Wild Card Round victory over the Texans. In the Divisional Round against the New England Patriots, Kelce had six receptions for 23 yards as the Chiefs lost 27–20. He was ranked 91st by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.
=== 2016 season ===
On January 29, 2016, Kelce signed a five-year, $46 million contract extension. He was ranked 91st by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.
During Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts, Kelce had seven receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown. In the next game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was ejected after receiving two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after arguing with two officials over not having a pass interference penalty called. The second resulted from him sarcastically throwing his towel at field judge Mike Weatherford in a flagging motion due to being upset about the first penalty. He was later fined $24,309 for his outburst. During Week 13 against the Atlanta Falcons, he had eight receptions for 140 yards. In the next game, Kelce recorded 101 receiving yards against the Oakland Raiders, his fourth consecutive game topping 100. He joined Jimmy Graham and former Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez as the only NFL tight ends ever to do so. In a Christmas Day win over the Broncos, Kelce had career bests of 11 receptions for 160 yards and a career-long 80-yard touchdown on a screen pass. He finished the season with career highs in yards (1,125) and receptions (85). His 1,125 receiving yards led the league among tight ends and his 85 receptions were second among tight ends behind Dennis Pitta of the Baltimore Ravens. Kelce's 634 yards after the catch also led all NFL tight ends. He was named as a starter in his second career Pro Bowl, held on December 20, 2016. He was also named First-team All-Pro. He was ranked 26th by his fellow players, and second among tight ends, on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.
The Chiefs finished atop the AFC West with a 12–4 record and earned a first-round bye in the playoffs. In the Divisional Round against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kelce had five receptions for 77 yards in the 18–16 loss.
=== 2017 season ===
During Week 2 against the Eagles, Kelce had eight receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown in the 27–20 victory. After just one reception for one yard in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Kelce recorded seven receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown in Week 4 against the Washington Redskins followed by eight for 98 in Week 5 against the Texans. During Week 8, Kelce had seven receptions for 133 yards to pass Zach Ertz as the NFL's leading tight end in both categories, along with a touchdown. During Week 13 against the New York Jets, Kelce opened the game with spectacular fashion, scoring two receiving touchdowns on 90 receiving yards in the first 2 minutes and 46 seconds of regulation. He finished the game with 94 receiving yards on four receptions in the 38–31 loss. On December 19, 2017, Kelce was named to his third straight Pro Bowl. Kelce finished the season with a career-high eight receiving touchdowns. He finished second among tight ends with 1,038 receiving yards, only trailing Gronkowski's 1,084 receiving yards. He was ranked 24th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.
The 10–6 Chiefs entered the Wild Card Round of the playoffs against the Tennessee Titans, where Kelce finished with four receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown in the 21–22 defeat. He was not able to finish the game as he suffered a concussion in the first half on a hit to his helmet.
=== 2018 season ===
In the 2018 season, Kelce benefited from the rise of new quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was named NFL MVP at the end of the season. After being held to a lone reception for six yards in the season opener against the Chargers, he rebounded with seven receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 2 road victory over the Steelers. In two of the next three games, he was able to reach 100 receiving yards against the San Francisco 49ers and the Jaguars. He added 99 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 9 win over the Cleveland Browns, and went into the Week 12 bye with 10 receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown in an offensively spectacular 54–51 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. In the Week 13 win over the Raiders, Kelce had career-bests of 12 receptions and 168 yards, including two short touchdowns in the first half. At this point, he was well on his way to an NFL record, but his production tapered off; over the final four weeks, Kelce averaged six receptions for 63.5 yards and had only one touchdown reception. In Week 17, Kelce indeed broke the NFL record for most receiving yards by a tight end in a single season, but 49ers tight end George Kittle passed him to claim the record less than an hour later. Kelce ended the regular season at 10th in the NFL in receptions with 103 and receiving yards with 1,336, and sixth in receiving touchdowns with 10. He was named to the 2018 Pro Bowl and was named first-team All-Pro.
The Chiefs finished atop the AFC West with a 12–4 record and earned a first-round bye. In the Divisional Round against the Colts, he had seven receptions for 108 yards in the 31–13 victory. In the AFC Championship against the Patriots, he had three receptions for 23 yards and a receiving touchdown in the 37–31 overtime loss. He was ranked 21st by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.
=== 2019 season: First Super Bowl win ===
During Week 2 against the Raiders, Kelce caught seven passes for 107 yards and a touchdown of the season as the Chiefs won by a score of 28–10. Despite injuries to Patrick Mahomes and just two touchdowns, at the midpoint of the season Kelce led all tight ends and Chiefs players in receiving yards with 604. During Week 11 against the Chargers on Monday Night Football in Mexico, Kelce caught seven passes for 92 yards and a touchdown in the 24–17 win. During Week 14 against the Patriots, Kelce caught seven passes for 66 yards and rushed the ball once for a one-yard touchdown during the 23–16 road victory. In the next game against the Broncos, Kelce finished with 11 catches for 142 receiving yards as the Chiefs won 23–3. In the next game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football, he caught eight passes for 74 yards and a touchdown in the 26–3 win. During the game, he became the fastest tight end in NFL history to record 500 career receptions.
Kelce finished the 2019 season with 97 receptions for 1,229 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns to go along with his one rushing touchdown. Kelce became the first tight end in NFL history to record four consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards. He was named to his fifth Pro Bowl for his 2019 season.
In the Divisional Round against the Texans, the Chiefs began the game with a 24–0 deficit. The Chiefs then went on a 51–7 run, including 41 unanswered points, to win 51–31. After a drop on third down on the Chiefs first drive that would have been a first down if it had been caught, Kelce caught 10 passes for 134 yards and three touchdowns (all in the second quarter) as he helped lead the Chiefs to their second consecutive conference championship game. In the AFC Championship Game against the Titans, Kelce caught three passes for 30 yards during the 35–24 win. In Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers, Kelce caught six passes for 43 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown and had one carry for two rushing yards during the 31–20 win. He was ranked 18th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.
=== 2020 season ===
Following the release of long-time Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt in the offseason, Kelce became tied with Anthony Sherman and fellow 2013 draftee Eric Fisher as the team's longest tenured members. On August 14, 2020, Kelce signed a four-year, $57 million contract extension with the Chiefs through the 2025 season. In Week 6, he caught two touchdowns in a 26–17 victory over the Buffalo Bills. In Week 8 against the Jets, Kelce dunked the ball through the goal posts after scoring a touchdown, paying homage to former Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez. He was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and was fined $12,500. In Week 9, against the Carolina Panthers, he had ten receptions for 159 receiving yards in the 33–31 victory.
In Week 11 against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday Night Football, Kelce recorded eight catches for 127 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown in a 35–31 win.
In Week 13 against the Broncos on Sunday Night Football, he caught eight passes for 136 yards and a touchdown during the 22–16 win. In the following game against the Dolphins, he again posted eight catches for 136 yards and a touchdown in a 33–27 victory. In Week 16, Kelce became the first tight end with two 100-catch seasons. Kelce caught seven passes, giving him a career-high 105 for the season. Kelce set the single-season yardage record for a tight end with 1,416, topping George Kittle's 1,377 in 2018. His yardage ranked second overall in the 2020 NFL season (behind Stefon Diggs' 1,535), while his total receptions ranked fifth in the NFL and second among tight ends (behind Darren Waller's 107). He was named to his sixth Pro Bowl and earned First-team All-Pro honors.
In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Browns, Kelce caught eight passes for 109 yards and a touchdown during the 22–17 win. In the AFC Championship against the Bills, Kelce recorded 13 catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns in a 38–24 win to advance to Super Bowl LV. In the Super Bowl, he caught 10 passes for 133 yards—a record for receiving yards by a tight end in the championship game—but the Chiefs did not score a touchdown in the 31–9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was ranked fifth by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021.
=== 2021 season ===
After Fisher was released and Sherman retired in the offseason, Kelce became the longest-tenured member of the Chiefs. In the Chiefs' second game of the season, against the Ravens, he became the fastest tight end in NFL history to record 8,000 career yards, surpassing Rob Gronkowski's record in 113 games. In the Chiefs' week-15 game against the Chargers, Kelce set a career high for receiving yards in a game with 191 yards. He also caught two touchdowns, including the game-winning 34-yard touchdown in overtime. Kelce was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. The game also put him over 1,000 yards for the season, his NFL record (among tight ends) extending sixth consecutive 1,000-yard season. It also extended Kelce's record for most 1,000-yard seasons by a tight end with six. He was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on December 20, 2021. Kelce was activated on December 25, 2021. However, due to NFL protocols for COVID-19, since he tested positive for the virus and did not test negative before the day of the game, he was ruled out for the Chiefs' week 16 game against the Steelers. It was the first game Kelce had missed due to injury or illness since his rookie season. In the regular season-ending game against the Broncos, Kelce became the fastest tight end in NFL history to reach 9,000 career yards in just 127 games, a record also previously held by Gronkowski with 140 games. He finished the season with 92 receptions for 1,125 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. He was named Second-Team All-Pro by the AP, his sixth overall All-Pro selection. He was also named to his seventh consecutive Pro Bowl.
In the Wild Card Round against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kelce had five receptions for 108 yards and a receiving touchdown to go along with a two-yard touchdown pass to Byron Pringle in the 42–21 victory. In the Divisional Round against the Bills, he had eight receptions for 96 yards and the game-winning touchdown in the 42–36 overtime victory. Kelce was wearing an NFL Films microphone for the game, and audio footage from the two offensive plays of the 13-second drive revealed that Kelce instructed Tyreek Hill to run the route which led to the success of the first completion, and revealed him suggesting to Mahomes that he might improvise his own route on the second offensive play if the Bills' defensive scheme didn't change. Prior to the snap, Mahomes realized Kelce's suggested improvised route would work and shouted "Do it, Kelce!", before finding his tight-end for a completion of 25 yards.
In the AFC Championship against the Cincinnati Bengals, he had 10 receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown in the 27–24 overtime loss. He was ranked tenth by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.
=== 2022 season: Second Super Bowl win ===
In Week 5, Kelce had four receiving touchdowns in the 30–29 victory over the Raiders. Kelce tied the franchise record for receiving touchdowns in a game. In the Chiefs' Week 11 game against the Chargers, he recorded his NFL record-breaking (among tight ends) 33rd 100-yard receiving game with 115 yards. He also scored three touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown, his second straight season recording a game-winning touchdown against the Chargers. In Week 14 against the Broncos, he became the fifth tight end in NFL history to have 10,000 receiving yards. He also officially recorded his seventh consecutive 1,000-yard season, extending his records (among tight ends) of consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and most overall 1,000 seasons. He finished the 2022 season with 110 receptions for 1,338 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns.
Kelce set a single-game NFL postseason record for a tight end with 14 receptions in a 27–20 victory over the Jaguars in the Divisional Round. He scored two receiving touchdowns in the game. Kelce and the Chiefs appeared in Super Bowl LVII against the Eagles. Kelce's brother Jason played for the Eagles, making it the first Super Bowl to feature two brothers as players on opposing teams. Kelce caught six passes for 81 yards and a touchdown as the Chiefs beat the Eagles 38–35 to win his second Super Bowl. He was ranked fifth by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.
=== 2023 season: Third Super Bowl win ===
Kelce was inactive for the Chiefs' game against the Detroit Lions due to a knee injury he suffered earlier in the week. It was his first game missed due to an injury since his rookie season. Kelce made his season debut the following week against the Jaguars. In the Chiefs' week 7 game against the Chargers, Kelce tied a career high with 12 receptions. He also had 179 receiving yards, the second highest of his career. In the Chiefs' Week 9 game against the Dolphins, he broke the Chiefs franchise record for career receiving yards. Kelce finished the regular season with 984 receiving yards on 93 receptions and five touchdowns. He elected to not play in the Chiefs' Week 18 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, ending his NFL-record streak of seven consecutive seasons to finish with 1,000 receiving yards.
In the Divisional Round victory over the Bills, Kelce had two receiving touchdowns. Kelce, along with Mahomes, broke the record for most career touchdowns in the playoffs for a quarterback/receiver duo. In the AFC Championship Game victory against the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens, Kelce caught 11 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, surpassing Jerry Rice for most playoff receptions and tying Rice for first in 100+ receiving yard games. The victory marked Kelce's fourth Super Bowl appearance in five seasons.
During Super Bowl LVIII, Kelce had nine receptions for 93 yards and was the leading yards receiver for the game. The Chiefs would win 25–22 in just the second Super Bowl in history to go to overtime, earning Kelce his third Super Bowl win. The Chiefs became the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champions since the New England Patriots accomplished the feat in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. During the game, following a fumble by Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco when Kelce was not on the field, he was shown screaming at the Chiefs' head coach Andy Reid. The incident drew criticism, for which Kelce later apologized through his podcast. He was ranked ninth by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2024.
=== 2024 season ===
On April 29, 2024, Kelce signed a two-year extension with the Chiefs for a reported $34.25 million, making him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL. Kelce started the season slow with just eight catches for 69 yards in the team's first three games. In Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Kelce recorded a season-high seven receptions for 89 yards. During the game, Kelce became the Chiefs' leader in career receptions, surpassing Tony Gonzalez's previous record of 916 catches. On December 8, Kelce reached 12,000 career receiving yards in a 19–17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. He became the fastest tight end in NFL history to achieve this, doing so in 172 games. On Christmas Day against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kelce achieved his 1,000th career reception and became the Chiefs' leader in receiving touchdowns, surpassing the previous record set by Tony Gonzalez of 77. In the 2024 season, Kelce finished with 97 receptions for 823 yards and three touchdowns.
In the Divisional Round against the Texans, he had seven receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown in the 23–14 win. In the AFC Championship, Kelce finished with two catches for 19 yards, but received a $11,255 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct. In Super Bowl LIX against the Philadelphia Eagles, Kelce had four catches for 39 yards; in doing so, Kelce set a new NFL record for most career Super Bowl receptions with 35, eclipsing the previous record of 33 held by Jerry Rice. However, the Chiefs lost to the Eagles by a score of 40–22, denying Kelce and the team a third consecutive championship. After Super Bowl LIX, Kelce stated that he would "take some time" and decide whether or not he would retire or continue playing football.
=== 2025 season ===
Kelce announced on February 27, 2025, that he would play in the 2025 season in his final year under contract with Kansas City.
On October 25, 2025, in a game against the Denver Broncos, Kelce broke the franchise record for total touchdowns with his eighty-fourth overall, putting the Chiefs ahead before they lost on a last-second field goal by Will Lutz. He had nine total catches for 91 yards in the game. He finished the 2025 season with 76 receptions for 851 yards and five touchdowns.
=== 2026 season ===
On March 9, 2026, Kelce agreed to a one-year contract worth $12 million with a maximum value of $15 million. Other teams were interested in signing Kelce, but he voiced his preference to return to the Chiefs now that the team re-hired Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator as well as his longtime familiarity with the franchise.
== Career statistics ==
=== NFL ===
==== Regular season ====
==== Postseason ====
=== College ===
== Career highlights ==
=== Awards and honors ===
NFL
3× Super Bowl champion (LIV, LVII, LVIII)
4× First-team All-Pro (2016, 2018, 2020, 2022)
3× Second-team All-Pro (2017, 2019, 2021)
11× Pro Bowl (2015–2025)
NFL 2010s All-Decade Team
NCAA
First-team All-Big East (2012)
Non-football awards
People's Choice Awards – Athlete of the Year (2024)
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards – Favorite Male Sports Star (2024)
IHeartRadio Music Awards – Favorite Surprise Guest w/ Taylor Swift (2025)
=== Records ===
==== NFL record (any position) ====
Career postseason receptions: 172
Career postseason 100-yard games: 9
Career Super Bowl receptions: 35
==== NFL records (among tight ends) ====
Consecutive 1,000-plus-yard seasons (7, 2016–2022)
1,000-yard seasons (7, 2016–2022)
Receiving yards in a season (1,416, 2020)
Career postseason receiving yards (1,903)
100+ reception seasons (3)
Fewest games to 10,000 career receiving yards (140)
100 receiving yard games (37)
Career postseason receiving touchdowns: 20
Career postseason games started: 23
==== Chiefs franchise records (any position) ====
100-plus-yard receiving games (37)
Receiving touchdowns in a game (tied, 4)
Career receiving yards (12,878)
Career receptions (1,064)
Career touchdown receptions (82)
Career total touchdowns (85)
== Other ventures ==
=== Philanthropy ===
Noted for being generous with his time and resources, Kelce has received several awards for his philanthropic efforts. He received the Chiefs' Ed Block Courage Award in 2014. In 2020, the Chiefs nominated him for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. That same year, fans voted him the winner of the NFL's Charity Challenge Award.
In 2015, Kelce created a foundation called Eighty-Seven & Running in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, with the goal of "empowering underprivileged youth". The foundation organizes an annual fundraising event in Kansas City, including an auto show and a fashion show, to raise money for various causes there and in Cleveland. Some of its other activities have included:
2018: With Operation Breakthrough, a Kansas City-based nonprofit, opened a Robotics Lab accessible to nearly 300 elementary to high school students.
2020: Gave $500,000 to buy and transform a Kansas City building into a coworking space to help disadvantaged children explore careers in STEM under a workforce development program called "Ignition Lab".
2020: Gave $140,000 to Operation Breakthrough and the Heights Schools Foundation in Ohio to help them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021: Created the "Catching for a Cause" initiative which pledges to donate money for every catch and touchdown that Kelce makes during the football season.
2022: Endowed a Health and Wellness fund that supports the University of Cincinnati's Sports Psychology and Counseling Department and the school's 450 athletes.
2024: Donated 25,000 breakfast meals to students from Operation Breakthrough.
2024: Helped an elderly former athlete by paying for repairs to her Kansas City home of 56 years.
Kelce supports various non-profit organizations and initiatives, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Read Across America Day, and has donated autographed items to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Kelce has made several appearances at Kansas City hospitals and schools to support local charities. In 2019, he hosted a meet and dance event to raise funds for the "Rose Brooks Center", a Kansas City-based organization that provides shelter to women, children, and their pets in situations of domestic violence. He and his brother Jason have also donated to the Heights Schools Foundation to buy equipment and fund afterschool activities. In 2019, Kelce participated in a charity celebrity softball game to raise funds for the Lake Health Foundation. In 2024, he donated $100,000 to the family of two children who were seriously wounded in the 2024 Kansas City parade shooting. Kelce is among the Kansas City celebrities who have hosted the Big Slick charity event and gala, which benefits the Cancer Center at Children's Mercy Hospital; in 2024, Kelce and teammate Mahomes contributed game-worn Chiefs jerseys to a lot of NFL items that went for $250,000 at the charity auction.
=== Activism ===
Kelce has been a vocal advocate for social justice. In 2017, he became one of the highest-profile white NFL players to kneel during the national anthem in protest against police brutality, racism, and social inequalities in America. After the shooting of Jacob Blake by police officer Rusten Sheskey, Kelce, along with teammate Patrick Mahomes, spoke publicly in support of social justice. He has pledged support for the Black Lives Matter movement including in Kansas City. In 2019, Kelce and other NFL players joined students in virtual class discussions around the U.S. to discuss Black Boys, a Malcolm Jenkins-produced documentary that examines social and emotional effects of racism against Black men.
Kelce has also shown support to the LGBT community. In 2021, he called for more acceptance of homosexuality in American football, saying, "Anybody in this world [can play]."
=== Entertainment ===
In January 2016, Kelce starred in the E! Entertainment Television dating show Catching Kelce, choosing Maya Benberry as the winner. In 2020, Kelce appeared as a fictionalized version of himself in the first episode of the comedy series Moonbase 8. Kelce was featured in Kelce, a feature-length documentary about his brother Jason's football career and private life that was released on Amazon Prime on September 11, 2023. Within 24 hours, it was the most-watched movie among U.S. subscribers to the streaming service. In May 2023, he signed with Creative Artists Agency for off-the-field representation while keeping his agent for his NFL representation. Kelce hosted Saturday Night Live on March 4, 2023, and appeared in a sketch with his brother Jason and SNL cast members Heidi Gardner and Chloe Fineman. He also made a cameo appearance on the October 14, 2023, episode. In 2024, it was announced that Kelce will host a reboot for the game show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? on Amazon Prime Video. The show will be titled Are You Smarter than a Celebrity? with a 20-episode season.
In 2023, Kelce became an executive producer of the war comedy-drama film My Dead Friend Zoe (2024) and of the documentary King Pleasure about the life of American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Kelce was cast in his first major acting role in Ryan Murphy's FX horror series Grotesquerie where he will star opposite Niecy Nash-Betts, Courtney B. Vance, and Lesley Manville.
Through his Super Bowl runs with the Chiefs, Kelce became known for reciting the chorus from the Beastie Boys' 1986 song "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" during team celebrations, first after the 2019 AFC Championship Game then again at the parade in Kansas City after clinching Super Bowl LIV. The Chiefs responded by making "Fight for Your Right" its touchdown song during games at Arrowhead Stadium. In 2023, Kelce performed the song with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show.
Kelce was featured, with his brother Jason, on the cover of "Fairytale of New York" (1987) by the Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl, titled "Fairytale of Philadelphia", which appeared on the 2023 album A Philly Special Christmas Special; proceeds from the album benefit various charity institutions in Philadelphia. "Fairytale of Philadelphia" topped the US iTunes chart, following which the brothers thanked the Swifties. The song further debuted at number five on the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart and number two on Billboard Rock Digital Song Sales with 6,000 downloads sold in the first week. The song climbed to number one on both charts on its second week of release, making the brothers Billboard-charting artists. He returned in 2024 to contribute vocals to the song "It's Christmas Time (In Cleveland Heights) on A Philly Special Christmas Party.
In April 2023, Kelce announced the launch of his own annual music festival called Kelce Jam. The first edition of the event, held in Bonner Springs, Kansas during the 2023 NFL draft weekend, featured artists including Machine Gun Kelly, Rick Ross, Loud Luxury and Tech N9ne. The festival sold its first 10,000 tickets in 20 minutes, and was eventually sold out with 18,000 people in attendance. The second edition of the festival in 2024, saw an attendance of 20,000 fans with headlining performances from 2 Chainz, Diplo and Lil Wayne.
=== New Heights podcast ===
In September 2022, Kelce and his brother Jason launched a weekly sports podcast called New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce, produced with Wave Sports + Entertainment. The name is a nod to the brothers' upbringing in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. During the podcast, the brothers discuss NFL news, rumors, and sports headlines as well as each other's games. New Heights features special guests including NFL players, celebrities, and members of their family. The brothers record the podcast before cameras; it is broadcast live on YouTube and released in video and audio forms.
Within weeks of its launch, the podcast was the most-listened-to sports podcast on Spotify and the third-most listened to on Apple Podcast sports charts. In February 2023, the podcast experienced a rise in popularity when Travis and Jason faced off in Super Bowl LVII, it marked the first time two brothers played against each other. It reached the No. 1 in Apple sports podcasts, No. 2 among all podcasts on Apple, and No. 3 on Spotify in all podcast categories. The podcast is regularly highlighted on Monday Night Football on ESPN and Sunday Night Football on NBC. In 2022, it was named the Sports Podcast of the Year by Sports Illustrated. After the premiere of the second season in September 2023, New Heights became the No. 1 sports podcast in the U.S. and the No. 1 sports podcast globally on Spotify as well as No. 1 among all podcasts on Apple. In March 2025, New Heights won the Best Sports Podcast award at the IHeartRadio podcast awards.
=== Business ventures ===
Kelce has appeared in print, television and online advertisements for brands such as Dick's Sporting Goods, LG, McDonald's, Nike, Papa John's, Bud Light, Old Spice, Walgreens, Pfizer, State Farm, DirecTV, Experian, Lowe's, and Campbell's Soup among others. In August 2022, Hy-Vee began manufacturing "Kelce's Krunch", a limited-edition frosted cornflakes breakfast cereal named after and endorsed by Kelce. A portion of proceeds from the sale of the cereal was donated to Kelce's charity foundation. In 2023, Business Insider estimated that Kelce makes $5 million a year in off-the-field earnings and stated that "he was one of football's most successful endorsers."
In 2019, Kelce founded his own health brand, Hilo Nutrition, which sells gummy supplements for performance nutrition and other health benefits. In January 2020, Kelce launched his own clothing brand, Tru Kolors. It became the first brand by an NFL player to launch an official merchandise collaboration with an NFL franchise: the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022. In 2021, Kelce released a signature sneaker collection as part of a deal with Nike. The collection was called Nike x Kelce Blazer Mid '77 Vintage and included six shoes inspired by facets of Kelce's life, including his brand and his team's colors. Kelce is co-owner of a car wash chain named Club Car Wash that operates in 109 locations in eight states in the central U.S. In October 2023, Kelce and Walmart launched Travis Kelce's Kitchen, a line of seven barbecue products inspired by the flavors of Kansas City.
In 2019, Kelce invested in the private equity firm L Catterton's purchase of the condiment brand Cholula Hot Sauce. He earned four times his investment when McCormick & Company acquired the brand for $800 million in 2020. Kelce is also an angel investor in several companies, including the tequila brand Casa Azul, the whole-grain pancake and waffle mixes Kodiak Cakes, and the made-to-measure menswear retailer Indochino. In 2023, Kelce joined a group of investors, including actor Ryan Reynolds and teammate Mahomes, to buy a stake in Alpine, a UK-based French Formula One team. The exact amount or stake was not disclosed. In 2024, Kelce teamed up with his brother Jason as significant owners and operators of the light beer company Garage Beer. In 2025, Mahomes and Kelce opened a steak house called 1587 Prime at the Loews Hotel Kansas City. In August 2025, Kelce launched a design collaboration with American Eagle Outfitters. In October 2025, Kelce partnered with activist investment firm Jana Partners to push American theme park company Six Flags to improve its marketing and guest experiences; he became the company's brand ambassador in 2026.
== Personal life ==
Kelce and Maya Benberry, the winner of his dating show, started dating after the show ended in April 2016. In January 2017, Benberry confirmed that they had broken up. From 2017 to 2022, Kelce was in a relationship with social media influencer Kayla Nicole Brown.
Kelce began dating the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift in 2023, and the pair have since been frequently described in the media as a "supercouple." In June 2024, Kelce joined Swift onstage at her Wembley Stadium concert from the Eras Tour during her performance of "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart". In August 2025, Swift announced details of her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl on New Heights. The couple became engaged later that month. Their engagement announcement became one of Instagram's top 10 most-liked and reposted posts.
Their highly publicized relationship and Swift's attendance at games stimulated interest in the Chiefs and the NFL during the 2023 NFL season, breaking viewership, ticket sales, and merchandise sales records: a Chiefs–Chicago Bears game drew the most television viewers of the weekend; a Chiefs–New York Jets game averaged 27 million viewers, making it the most-watched Sunday-night television show since Super Bowl LVII; and a Chiefs–Buffalo Bills game on January 21, 2024, became the most-watched NFL divisional playoff game ever and the most-watched program on any network since Super Bowl LVII. The Chiefs–Baltimore Ravens AFC Conference Championship Game was the most watched AFC Championship game of all time. One widely cited estimate by a sports marketing company said the Kelce–Swift relationship had so stimulated ticket sales, viewership, and merchandising that in just six months the Chiefs franchise had gained $331.4 million in value.
Kelce plays golf during the offseason. He has participated in several celebrity tournaments, including the American Century Championship, at which he won the long drive contest in the 2023 edition. In 2023, he participated in The Match VIII, teaming up with his Chiefs teammate Patrick Mahomes against Golden State Warriors teammates Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Mahomes and Kelce won. Kelce owns homes in the Kansas City area and a condo in Baldwin Park, Florida. He is also an avid car collector.
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Return_of_the_King | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay he wrote with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. It is based on 1955's The Return of the King, the third volume of the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The sequel to 2002's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the film is the final instalment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It has an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Karl Urban, John Noble, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm, and Sean Bean. Continuing the plot of the previous film, Frodo and Sam follow Gollum towards Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring, unaware of Gollum's intentions to betray the duo to take the Ring for himself, while Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and their allies join forces against Sauron and his legions from Mordor.
The Return of the King was financed and distributed by American studio New Line Cinema, but filmed and edited entirely in Jackson's native New Zealand, concurrently with the other two parts of the trilogy. It premiered on 1 December 2003 at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington and was then released on 17 December 2003 in the United States and 18 December 2003 in New Zealand. The film was acclaimed by critics and audiences, who considered it a landmark in filmmaking and the fantasy film genre, and a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, with praise for the visual effects, performances, action sequences, direction, screenplay, musical score, costume design, emotional depth, scope, and story. It grossed $1.1 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2003, the second-highest-grossing film of all time during its run, Jackson's highest-grossing film, and the highest-grossing film ever released by New Line Cinema.
Like the previous films in the trilogy, The Return of the King is widely recognised as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. The film received numerous accolades; at the 76th Academy Awards, it won all 11 awards for which it was nominated, including Best Picture, the first fantasy film to do so and tying with 1959's Ben-Hur and 1997's Titanic as the movie with the most Academy Award wins. It also became the second film series whose entries have all won Best Visual Effects, after the original Star Wars trilogy.
== Plot ==
The hobbit Déagol discovers the One Ring in a river while fishing with his cousin Sméagol. The Ring immediately ensnares Sméagol's mind, and he kills his cousin for it. Corrupted physically and mentally, he retreats into caves below the Misty Mountains and becomes known as Gollum.
Centuries later, during the War of the Ring, Gandalf leads Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and King Théoden of Rohan to Isengard, where they reunite with Merry and Pippin. Gandalf retrieves Saruman's palantír, and the group returns to Edoras to celebrate their victory at Helm's Deep. Pippin looks into the palantír, seeing Sauron and a burning tree. Gandalf deduces that the enemy plans to attack Gondor's capital Minas Tirith; he rides there with Pippin to warn Gondor's corrupt steward, Denethor. On Gandalf's instruction, Pippin triggers the lighting of the beacons to call for help from Rohan.
Frodo, who carries the Ring, and Sam continue their journey towards Mordor, unaware that Gollum, now their guide, plans to betray them and take the Ring for himself. The trio witness the Witch-king of Angmar, lord of the nine Nazgûl, setting off towards Gondor with his army of Orcs. Gollum frames Sam for eating food supplies and desiring the Ring; Frodo is deceived and orders Sam to go home.
As Théoden gathers his army, Elrond tells Aragorn that Arwen is dying, having refused to leave Middle-earth. Elrond gives Aragorn Andúril, reforged from the shards of King Elendil's sword Narsil, and urges him to claim Gondor's throne, to which he is heir. Aragorn travels the Paths of the Dead with Legolas and Gimli and pledges to release the ghosts there from their curse should they come to Gondor's aid.
Gollum tricks Frodo into the giant spider Shelob's lair alone. Frodo narrowly escapes and confronts Gollum, who falls down a chasm after a scuffle. Shelob discovers, paralyses, and binds Frodo but is wounded and driven away by a returning Sam. Sam mourns Frodo's apparent death and takes the Ring to finish the quest himself, but then realises his mistake when Orcs take Frodo captive. He rescues Frodo within Mordor, and the two continue towards Mount Doom.
Denethor sends his younger son, Faramir, on a suicide charge. Faramir returns gravely wounded; believing him dead, Denethor falls into madness. Gandalf marshals the defenders, but the enormous Orc army breaks into the city. Denethor attempts to burn himself and Faramir on a pyre, but Pippin alerts Gandalf, and they rescue Faramir; Denethor, set ablaze, jumps to his death.
Théoden arrives and leads his army against the Orcs. Despite initial success in the ensuing battle, they are repulsed by the Oliphaunt-riding Haradrim, and the Witch-king of Angmar mortally wounds Théoden; his niece Éowyn, disguised in male clothing, slays the Witch-king with Merry's help, before Théoden dies in her arms. Aragorn arrives with his Army of the Dead, who overcome Sauron's forces. Their oath fulfilled, the Dead are released from their curse.
Aragorn marches on Mordor to distract Sauron from Frodo and Sam's journey to Mount Doom, drawing all remaining forces to confront him. Gollum, having survived his fall, pursues Frodo and Sam, but Sam holds him back as Frodo enters the mountain. Frodo succumbs to the Ring's power and puts it on, but Gollum bites off his finger and reclaims the Ring, leading to a struggle before they tumble off the ledge. Sam saves Frodo while Gollum falls into the lava with the Ring, destroying it and Sauron forever. The lands of Mordor collapse, annihilating the Orc army. Frodo and Sam narrowly escape the erupting Mount Doom, before Gandalf and the eagles rescue them.
The surviving Fellowship members reunite in Minas Tirith. Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor and marries Arwen; everyone bows to the hobbits. The hobbits return to the Shire, where Sam marries Rosie Cotton. Four years later, Frodo, still suffering from trauma and a wound inflicted by the Witch-king, leaves Middle-earth for the Undying Lands with Bilbo, Gandalf, and the remaining Elves. He gives Sam the Red Book of Westmarch, detailing their adventures, bids farewell to Sam, Merry, and Pippin, and departs. A saddened Sam then returns home where he is comforted by his wife and two children.
== Cast ==
Like the preceding films in the trilogy, The Return of the King has an ensemble cast, and some of the cast and their respective characters include:
Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins: A young hobbit who continues his quest to destroy the Ring, which continues to weaken and tempt him.
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn: A Dúnedain ranger who must finally face his destiny as King of Gondor.
Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee: Better known as Sam, Frodo's loyal hobbit gardener and companion.
Andy Serkis as Sméagol / Gollum: A wretched and treacherous creature who was once one of the river-folk (an extinct race of hobbits) and now guides Frodo and Sam into Mordor while seeking the Ring. The first scenes in the film portray him in his former life as Sméagol as well as his deterioration into Gollum.
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the White: An Istari wizard who travels to aid the Men of Gondor, acting as a general at the Siege of Gondor.
John Rhys-Davies as Gimli: A dwarf warrior and companion to Aragorn along with Legolas.
Rhys-Davies also voices Treebeard: the ent leader.
Orlando Bloom as Legolas: An elven prince of Mirkwood and skilled archer who aids Aragorn in his quest to reclaim the throne.
Billy Boyd as Peregrin Took: Better known as Pippin, a hobbit who looks into the palantír and later becomes an esquire of Gondor.
Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc Brandybuck: Better known as Merry, a cousin of Frodo's who becomes an esquire of Rohan.
Bernard Hill as Théoden: The King of Rohan who, after triumphing at Helm's Deep, is preparing his troops for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Miranda Otto as Éowyn: Théoden's niece, who wishes to prove herself in battle and has fallen in love with Aragorn, who does not return her love. In the extended cut of the film, she finds love with Faramir when they are both residing in the Houses of Healing.
David Wenham as Faramir: A son of the Stewards of Gondor and head of the Gondorian Rangers defending Osgiliath, who seeks his father's love in vain.
Karl Urban as Éomer: Éowyn's brother, who serves as Chief Marshal of the Riders of Rohan and heir to his uncle's throne.
Hugo Weaving as Elrond: The Lord of Rivendell who must convince Aragorn to take up the throne.
Liv Tyler as Arwen: Elrond's daughter and Aragorn's true love, who gives up her immortal life to be with Aragorn.
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel: The Elven-Queen of Lothlórien who is aware the time of the elves is at an end.
John Noble as Denethor: The corrupt Steward of Gondor and father of Boromir and Faramir, whose grief over Boromir's death and despair over Mordor's superior numbers drive him into madness during the Siege of Gondor.
Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins: Frodo's elderly uncle, who has rapidly aged after giving away the Ring.
Sean Bean as Boromir: Faramir's older brother and a fallen companion of Aragorn, who appears in a flashback of his death at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and in the extended cut when his father has a hallucination.
Marton Csokas as Celeborn the Wise: The Elven-King of Lothlórien.
Lawrence Makoare as the Witch-king of Angmar: The lord of the Nazgûl, who leads Mordor's assault on Minas Tirith.
Makoare also plays Gothmog: An Orc commander, who is voiced by Craig Parker.
Thomas Robins as Déagol: Sméagol's cousin, who is killed by Sméagol, when the former finds the One Ring in the river they are fishing in.
The Extended Edition has in addition:
Christopher Lee as Saruman the White: An Istari wizard, formerly the head of the Istari Order and its White Council, who is now trapped by Treebeard until he is killed by his own servant, Gríma.
Brad Dourif as Gríma Wormtongue: Saruman's sycophantic, treacherous servant, who is shot by Legolas after stabbing his own master.
Bruce Spence as the Mouth of Sauron: Sauron's ambassador at the Black Gate.
There are cameos from Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, Gino Acevedo, Rick Porras and Andrew Lesnie on the Corsair ship, although all of them but Jackson appear only in the Extended Edition. Jackson also has another unofficial cameo, as Sam's hand stepping into view when he confronts Shelob. Sean Astin's daughter played Sam and Rosie's older daughter Elanor in the last scene of the film; in the same scene, Sarah McLeod's daughter plays their younger son. Jackson's children also cameo as Gondorian extras, while Christian Rivers played a Gondorian soldier guarding the Beacon Pippin lights, and is later seen wounded. Royd Tolkien cameos as a Ranger in Osgiliath, while in the Extended Edition Howard Shore appears as a celebrating soldier at Edoras. Additionally, four of the designers of The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game are featured as Rohirrim at the Pelennor. At the end of the film, during the closing credits, each cast member gets a sketched portrait morphed with the real photograph beside their name, which were sketched by Alan Lee, an idea suggested by Ian McKellen.
== Comparison to the source material ==
As with all of Peter Jackson's film adaptions of The Lord of the Rings, many events, timelines, and geographic distances are compressed or simplified. Most major events from the books are included, though some are significantly altered. Some events and details seen in the film are not found in the books.
The film version of The Return of the King contains major scenes from the middle of Tolkien's The Two Towers, such as the attack by Shelob and the palantír subplot, as Jackson realigned events of the film to fit the timeline from the book's Appendices, rather than the interlaced order of the main narrative. However, the plot of the second half of Book III is either completely omitted (chapter "The Road to Isengard") or only shown in one scene (chapter "The Voice of Saruman"). Saruman's murder by Gríma (seen only in the Extended Edition) is moved into the Isengard visit because of the cutting of the Scouring of the Shire.
The basis of Elrond and Arwen's subplot arguing about Arwen's fate is derived from the Appendices, but it is largely extended in the film, as is Arwen and Elrond's relevance to the story.
In the film, overwhelming grief over Boromir's death has driven Denethor to despair, and he has given up any hope of defeating Sauron before Gandalf arrives in Minas Tirith. Thus, the muster of Gondor is absent from the film. In the book, he has already ordered the lighting of the beacons before Gandalf's arrival, while he refuses to light them in the film, and the sequence where Pippin secretly lights them was invented for the movie. The film only hints at Denethor's use of the palantír which drives him mad, whereas the book makes this explicit. The film's version of the pyre scene includes Shadowfax and is more violent than the book. Aware of the long distance WingNut Films Rath Dínen and the front of the out-thrust battlement, Jackson has Denethor jump off the Citadel in addition to burning himself on the pyre, one of the earliest changes.
The muster of Rohan, and the subplot in which the Rohirrim are aided by the primitive Drúedain during their journey to the besieged Gondor are excised from the film. The Red Arrow brought by a messenger from Gondor to ask for Rohan's aid is absent. Éowyn's presence on the battlefield is unknown to the reader until she takes off her helmet, but in the film the audience is aware, as it would have been difficult to disguise Miranda Otto during extended battle sequences. When hope seems lost, Gandalf comforts Pippin by telling him of the Undying Lands, based on a descriptive passage in the book's final chapter.
The film alters the circumstances of Théoden's death; his death speech, in which he names Éomer the new king in the book, is trimmed and delivered to Éowyn instead of Merry, with an earlier scene in the Extended Edition implying that Éomer is next in line for the throne. Théoden's rallying speech ("To death!") before the initial charge in the film is spoken by Éomer in the book when he believes that both Théoden and Éowyn have been killed in combat with the Witch King.
The Extended Edition presents shortened scenes from the book's chapters in the Houses of Healing: The Warden, the talk of Athelas, the comical conversation with the herb-master, the woman Ioreth and her saying about a King's healing hands and the subsequent realising of Aragorn's true identity are left out altogether. The romance that develops between Éowyn and Faramir during their recoveries in the Houses of Healing is largely cut, presumably to keep the focus on Aragorn and Arwen; the subplot is briefly referenced in the Extended Edition, with a scene where the two hold hands.
Gollum's fall into the lava of Mount Doom was rewritten for the film, as the writers felt that simply having Gollum slip and fall was anticlimactic. Originally, an even greater deviation was planned: Frodo would heroically push Gollum over the ledge to destroy him and the Ring, but the production team realised that that would make it look as if Frodo was murdering Gollum. Instead, they had Frodo and Gollum struggle for possession of the Ring.
In addition to the absent footage from the film are the other major attacks by Sauron on various regions of Middle-earth, referenced only briefly in the main text of The Return of the King, and expanded upon in the Appendices; the invasion of Rohan by the Orcs of Moria, the attacks on Lothlórien and the Woodland Realm of Thranduil by the forces of Dol Guldur, and the attack on Dale and the Lonely Mountain by a force of Easterlings, events hinted at in a comment by Legolas in the book.
There are several changes in the Battle of the Black Gate: Merry is not present there in the book, Pippin does not kill a troll as he does in the novel (instead, Aragorn fights one), the eagles fight and defeat some of the mounted Nazgûl, and Aragorn kills the Mouth of Sauron in the extended edition of the film but not in the book.
Although the film runs for another approximately 20 minutes after the climactic downfall of Barad-dûr, many subsequent events from the book are omitted or altered in the film. Aragorn's coronation takes place in form of a great ceremony in the Citadel of Minas Tirith, opposed to the book, where Aragorn is crowned in his tent on the Pelennor Fields before entering the city. Omitted entirely are the camp at the Field of Cormallen; Aragorn's business in Minas Tirith; Aragorn and Arwen's wedding; Galadriel and Celeborn being present at the ceremonies and their subsequent travelling along with the company; Théoden's funeral at Edoras; the complete journey back to the Shire, with stops at Rivendell and Bree; Gandalf's mention of Tom Bombadil; and the Scouring of the Shire, which was seen by the screenwriters as anticlimactic.
The film also leaves out character epilogues described by Tolkien in The Return of the King's Appendix A:
Samwise Gamgee stays in the Shire when Gandalf and Frodo go to Valinor. During this time, he makes changes and additions to the Red Book of Westmarch. One of these additions, titled "Herb Lore of The Shire", is a section on Pipeweed, the plant Hobbits and other inhabitants of Middle Earth smoke through pipes. Sam also adds various poems to the Red Book. Shortly after this, he serves seven consecutive seven-year terms as mayor of the Shire, during which he has children with Rosie Cotton. These children take the last name "Gardner," after their father's planting of the Mallorn Tree which replaced the Party Tree, destroyed during the Scouring. Sam, as a brief Ringbearer, goes to Valinor after Rosie dies. Before he departs, he gives the Red Book to Elanor, one of his daughters.
The book also expands on Aragorn's time as king of Gondor and Arnor post-reuniting, and reveals that Arwen accepts a mortal life, and dies shortly after Aragorn.
Merry and Pippin also return to the Shire but, unlike Sam and Frodo, do not eventually journey to Valinor. Merry inherits his father's title, "Master of Buckland," and, despite the perils he and Pippin endured, still retains his adventurous spirit. He also reviews many gifts from Éomer and Éowyn, and helps the hobbits learn more about lands beyond the Shire through scholarly articles. He returns to Rivendell multiple times. He and Pippin later spend time in Rohan together, before returning to Minas Tirith in their final days. They are buried beside Aragorn in the White City.
Legolas and Gimli make and keep promises in the books to show the other important places to them after the War of the Ring: first, Gimli shows Legolas the caverns of Aglarond, which Legolas is stunned by, then they walk in Fangorn Forest. They then journey to Isengard where they bid farewell to the Fellowship before returning to their own lands. Gimli founds a Dwarven colony in the Glittering Caves; Legolas brings Silvan Elves south and dwells with them in Ithilien, which prospers. They reunite to help with the rebuilding and improving of Minas Tirith. After Aragorn's death, Legolas builds a ship and sails for Valinor, bringing Gimli with him.
Lastly, following the War of the Ring and Scouring of the Shire (but prior to his leaving for Valinor), Frodo serves as Deputy Mayor of the Shire. The wound from the Witch-king's attack on Weathertop flares up annually on the anniversary of said stabbing, forcing him to resign.
== Production ==
The production of The Lord of the Rings series was the first where three separate entries were written and shot simultaneously (excluding pick up shoots). Peter Jackson found The Return of the King the easiest of the films to make, because it contained the climax of the story. The Return of the King was originally the second of two planned films under Miramax Films from January 1997 to August 1998, and more or less in its finished structure as the first film was to end with the Battle of Helm's Deep in The Two Towers. Filming took place under multiple units across New Zealand, between 11 October 1999 and 22 December 2000, with pick up shoots for six weeks in 2003 before the film's release.
=== Design ===
Jackson's Middle-earth was primarily designed by Alan Lee and John Howe, who had earlier illustrated editions of Tolkien's books. It was created by Weta Workshop, who handled all the trilogy's weapons, armour, miniatures, prosthetics, and creatures; the Art Department built the sets. Richard Taylor headed Weta, while Grant Major and Dan Hennah organised the planning and building.
The city of Minas Tirith, glimpsed briefly in both the previous two films, is seen fully in this film, and with it the Gondorian civilisation. The enormous soundstage was built at Dry Creek Quarry, outside Wellington, from the Helm's Deep set. That set's gate became Minas Tirith's second, while the Hornburg exterior became that of the Extended Edition's scene where Gandalf confronts the Witch-king. New structures included the 8m tall Gate, with broken and unbroken versions, with a working opening and closing mechanism, with its engravings inspired by the Baptistry of San Giovanni. There were also four levels of streets with heraldic motifs for every house, as inspired by Siena.
The Citadel's exterior was in the Stone Street Studios backlot, using forced perspective. It contained the withered White Tree, built from polystyrene by Brian Massey and the Greens Department with real branches, influenced by ancient and gnarled Lebanese olive trees. The interior was within a three-storey former factory in Wellington, its colours influenced by Charlemagne's Chapel, with a throne for Denethor carved from stone, and polystyrene statues of past kings. The Gondorian armour is designed to represent an evolution from the Númenóreans of the first film's prologue, with a simplified sea bird motif. 16th-century Italian and German armour served as inspiration, while civilians wear silver and blacks as designed by Ngila Dickson, continuing an ancient/medieval Mediterranean Basin look.
Minas Morgul, the Staircase and Tower of Cirith Ungol as well as Shelob's Lair were designed by Howe, with the Morgul road using forced perspective into a bluescreened miniature. Howe's design of Minas Morgul was inspired from the experience of having a wisdom tooth pulled out: in the same way, the Orcs have put their twisted designs on to a former Gondorian city. Cirith Ungol was based on Tolkien's design, but when Richard Taylor felt it as "boring", it was redesigned with more tipping angles. The interior set, like Minas Tirith, was built as a few multiple levels that numerous camera takes would suggest a larger structure.
The third film introduces the enormous spider Shelob. Shelob was designed in 1999, with the body based on a tunnelweb spider and the head with numerous growths selected by Peter Jackson's children from one of many sculpts. Jackson himself took great joy in planning the sequence, being an arachnophobe himself. Shelob's Lair was inspired by sandstone and sculpted from the existing Caverns of Isengard set.
The Return of the King also brings into focus the Dead Men of Dunharrow and the evil Haradrim from the south of Middle-earth, men who ride the mûmakil. The Dead Men have a Celtic influence, as well as lines and symmetry to reflect their morbid state, while their underground city is influenced by Petra. The Haradrim were highly influenced by African culture, until Philippa Boyens expressed concern over the possibility of offensiveness, so the finished characters instead bear influence from Kiribati, in terms of weaving armour from bamboo, and the Aztecs, in use of jewellery. Also built was a single dead mûmak. Other minor cultures include the Corsairs, with an exotic, swarthy look, and the Grey Havens, Elven structures adapted to stone, with influence from J. M. W. Turner paintings.
=== Principal photography ===
The Return of the King was shot during 2000, though Astin's coverage from Gollum's attempt to separate Frodo and Sam was filmed on 24 November 1999, when floods in Queenstown interrupted the focus on The Fellowship of the Ring. Some of the earliest scenes shot for the film were in fact shot last. Hobbiton, home of the Hobbits, was shot in January 2000 with early scenes from The Fellowship of the Ring, with the exterior shot at a Matamata farm, while interior scenes were shot at Stone Street Studios in Wellington, shared with the Grey Havens sequence. Due to the high emotions of filming the scene, the cast were in despair when they were required to shoot it three times, due to a continuity flaw in Astin's costume, and then negatives producing out-of-focus reels. Also shared with the previous films was the Rivendell interior in May.
The Battle of the Black Gate was filmed in April at the Rangipo Desert, a former minefield. New Zealand soldiers were hired as extras while guides were on the lookout for unexploded mines. Also a cause for concern were Monaghan and Boyd's scale doubles during a charge sequence. In the meantime, Wood, Astin and Serkis filmed at Mount Ruapehu for the Mount Doom exteriors. In particular, they spent two hours shooting Sam lifting Frodo on to his back with cross-camera coverage.
Scenes shot in June were the Paths of the Dead across various locations, including Pūtangirua Pinnacles. In July the crew shot some Shelob scenes, and in August and September time was spent on the scenes in Isengard. Monaghan and Boyd tried numerous takes of their entrance, stressing the word "weed" as they smoked pipe-weed. Christopher Lee spent his part of his scene mostly alone, though McKellen and Hill arrived on the first day for a few lines to help.
Edoras exteriors were shot in October. The Ride of the Rohirrim, where Théoden leads the charge into the Orc army, was filmed in Twizel with 150 extras on horseback. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields has more extensive use of computer-generated imagery, in contrast to the more extensive use of live action in the Battle of Helm's Deep in the second film. Also filmed were the attempts by Faramir to recapture Osgiliath, as were scenes in the city itself. At this point production was very hectic, with Jackson moving around ten units per day, and production finally wrapped on the Minas Tirith sets, as well as second units shooting parts of the siege. Just as the Hobbit actors' first scene was hiding from a Ringwraith under a tree, their last scene was the bluescreened reaction shot of the inhabitants of Minas Tirith bowing to them.
=== Pick-ups ===
The 2003 pick-ups were filmed in the Wellington studio car park, with many parts of sets and blue-screens used to finish off scenes, which the design team had to work 24 hours to get the right sets ready for a particular day. The shoot continued for two months, and became an emotional time of farewells for the cast and crew. The film has the most extensive list of re-shoots given for the trilogy. Jackson took his time to re-shoot Aragorn's coronation, rushed into a single day under the supervision of second unit director Geoff Murphy on 21 December 2000. Jackson also re-shot scenes in and around Mount Doom, and Théoden's death, right after Bernard Hill was meant to wrap.
There was also the new character of Gothmog. This was a major new design addition for the film, as Jackson felt the Mordor Orcs were "pathetic" compared to the Uruk-hai of the second film after watching assembly cuts, and thus Weta Workshop created grotesque new "über Orcs" as antagonists for the audience to focus on. Rivers redesigned the Witch-king; all his scenes were re-shot, because of confusion from non-readers over whether or not Sauron was on the battlefield.
With the positive response to Bloom, Legolas was given a fight with a mûmak, and Shore appeared in a cameo during Legolas and Gimli's drinking game at Edoras. The final scenes shot were Aragorn escaping the Skull avalanche, and Frodo finishing his book. The cast also received various props associated with their characters, although John Rhys-Davies burned his final Gimli prosthetic. Viggo Mortensen headbutted the stunt team goodbye. Pick-ups ended on 27 June 2003.
Scenes shot afterwards included various live-action shots of Riders for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and a reaction shot of Serkis as Gollum finally realises Frodo intends to destroy the Ring, shot in Jackson's house. For the Extended DVD, in March 2004 Jackson created a few shots of skulls rolling over for the avalanche scene; this was the final piece of footage ever shot for the trilogy, and Jackson noted that it must be the first time a director had shot scenes for a film after it had already won the Oscar.
=== Editing ===
Post-production began in November 2002, with the completion of the 4½ hour assembly cut of the film that Annie Collins had been completing over 2001 and 2002, from 4-hour dailies. For example, Théoden leading the charge went from 150 minutes of takes to a finished 90 seconds. Jackson reunited with longtime collaborator Jamie Selkirk to edit the final film. Like The Two Towers, they would have to deal with multiple storylines, and Jackson paid attention to each storyline at a time before deciding where to intercut. Most importantly they spent three weeks working on the last 45 minutes of the film, for appropriate intercutting and leaving out scenes such as the Mouth of Sauron, and the fates of characters like Legolas, Gimli, Éowyn and Faramir. The film inherited scenes originally planned to go into the second film, including the reforging of Narsil, Gollum's backstory, and Saruman's exit. But the Saruman scene posed a structural problem: killing off the second film's villain when the plot has Sauron as the main villain. Despite pick-ups and dubs, the scene was cut, causing controversy with fans and Saruman actor Christopher Lee, as well as a petition to restore the scene. Lee nonetheless contributed to the DVDs and was at the Copenhagen premiere, although he said he would never understand the reason for the cut and his relationship with Jackson was chilly. They would, however, later reconcile upon Lee's casting in Jackson's Hobbit films. Jackson only had a lock on 5 out of 10 reels, and had to churn out 3 reels in 3 weeks to help finish the film. It was finally completed on 12 November 2003. Jackson never had a chance to view the film in full due to the hectic schedule, and only saw the film from beginning to end on 1 December at the Wellington premiere; according to Elijah Wood, his response was "yup, it's good, pretty good".
=== Visual effects ===
The Return of the King contains 1,489 visual effect shots, nearly three times the number from the first film and almost twice that of the second. As with the two previous films, Jim Rygiel served as the visual effects supervisor. Visual effects work began with Alan Lee and Mark Lewis compositing various photographs of New Zealand landscape to create the digital arena of the Pelennor Fields in November 2002. Jackson and Rivers used computers to plan the enormous battle up until February 2003, when the shots were shown to Weta Digital. To their astonishment, 60 planned shots had gone up to 250, and 50,000 characters were now 200,000. Nevertheless, they pressed on, soon delivering 100 shots a week, 20 a day, and as the deadline neared within the last two months, often working until 2 am.
For the battle, they recorded 450 motions for the MASSIVE digital horses (though deaths were animated), and also had to deal with late additions in the film, such as Trolls bursting through Minas Tirith's gates as well as the creatures that pull Grond to the gate, and redoing a shot of two mûmakil Éomer takes down that had originally taken six months in two days. On a similar note of digital creatures, Shelob's head sculpture was scanned by a Canadian company for 10 times more detail than Weta had previously been able to capture.
Like the previous films, there are also extensive morphs between digital doubles for the actors. This time, there was Sam falling off Shelob, where the morph takes place as Astin hits the ground. Legolas attacking a mûmak required numerous transitions to and fro, and Gollum's shots of him having recovered the One Ring and falling into the Crack of Doom were fully animated. For the latter scene, as well as the scene in which Mount Doom erupts and Frodo and Sam escape from the volcano, the help of the company Next Limit Technologies and their software RealFlow was required to simulate the lava. The King of the Dead is played by an actor in prosthetics, and his head occasionally morphs to a more skull-like digital version, depending on the character's mood. The Mouth of Sauron also had his mouth enlarged 200% for unsettling effect.
The Return of the King also has practical effects. In the Pyre of Denethor sequence, as the Steward of Gondor throws Pippin out of the Tomb, John Noble threw a size double named Fon onto a prostrate Billy Boyd, who immediately pushed his head into camera to complete the illusion. A few burning torches were also reflected off a plate of glass and into the camera for when Gandalf's horse Shadowfax kicks Denethor onto the pyre. Because of Jackson's requirement for complete representation of his fantasy world, numerous miniatures were built, such as 1:72 scale miniature of Minas Tirith, which rises 7m high and is 6.5m in diameter. 1:14 scale sections of the city were also required, and the Extended Edition scene of the collapsing City of the Dead has 80,000 small skulls, amounting in total to a single cubic meter. The miniatures team concluded in November with the Black Gate, after 1000 days of shooting, and the final digital effects shot done was the Ring's destruction, on 25 November.
=== Sound effects ===
The Sound department spent the early part of the year searching for the right sounds. A Tasmanian devil was used to create Shelob's shriek, which in turn gave inspiration for Weta's animators, while the mûmakil sound is the beginning and end of a lion roar. Human screams and a donkey screech were mixed into Sauron's fall and broken glass was used for the collapsing sounds. For missile trading during Minas Tirith's siege, construction workers dropped actual 2 ton stone blocks previously lifted by a construction crane. Mixing began at a new studio on 15 August, although unfinished building work caused some annoyances. The mixers finished on 15 November, after three months of non-stop work.
=== Score ===
The music, as for the rest of the trilogy, was composed by Shore. He watched the assembly cut of the film, and had to write seven minutes of music per day to keep up with the schedule. The score sees the full introduction of the Gondor theme, originally heard during Boromir's speeches at the Council of Elrond in The Fellowship of the Ring and at Osgiliath in The Two Towers' Extended Edition. Shore also used the Gondor theme with the new ascending coda (which is unique to this film) in his score for the trailer of the film.
The score features the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Voices, the London Oratory School Schola and featured vocal soloists. The score is the most expansive of the three: scoring effectively the entire movie length, not including additional music written for the trailer and various alternate versions released to the public. It also uses the biggest forces in the series: sections of the score call for two sets of timpani, eight trumpets (and possibly a similar increase in the size of the horn, trombone and tuba section, as well), 85 singers in the mixed choir with additional players for all-male and all-female sections, over fifty in the boy choir and many instrumentalist "bands" playing Celtic and eastern instruments such as tin whistle or pan flute, on stage or off of it. One piece of music required an instrument invented and crafted especially for the film: a fiddle with four pairs of strings instead of single strings.
Actors Billy Boyd, Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler also contributed to the film's music. Boyd sings on screen as Faramir charges towards Osgiliath, Mortensen sings on screen as he is crowned King, and in the Extended Edition Tyler sings as Aragorn heals Éowyn. Renée Fleming, Ben Del Maestro, Sissel Kyrkjebø and James Galway contribute to the soundtrack as featured soloists. Fleming sings as Arwen has a vision of her son, and when Gollum recovers the One Ring. Del Maestro sings when Gandalf lights his staff to save fleeing Gondorian soldiers from Osgiliath as the Nazgûl attack and as the eagles arrive at the Black Gates. Galway plays the flute and whistle as Frodo and Sam climb Mount Doom and as they return to the shire. Sissel sings "Asea Aranion", which was originally meant to score the Houses of Healing scene. The end title song, "Into the West", was composed by Shore with lyrics by Fran Walsh. Annie Lennox (formerly of Eurythmics) performed it and also received songwriting credit. The song was partially inspired by the premature death from cancer of a young New Zealand filmmaker named Cameron Duncan who had befriended Peter Jackson.
== Release ==
=== Theatrical ===
After two years of attention and acclaim since the release of The Fellowship of the Ring, audience and critical anticipation for the final entry was extremely high. The world premiere was held in Wellington's Embassy Theatre, on 1 December 2003, and was attended by the director and many of the stars. It was estimated that over 100,000 people lined the streets, more than a quarter of the city's population.
=== Home media ===
The theatrical edition of the film was released on VHS and DVD on 25 May 2004 by New Line Home Entertainment. The DVD was a 2-disc set with extras on the second disc. The theatrical DVD sets for the two previous films were released eight months after the films were released, but Return of the King's set was completed in five because it did not have to market a sequel (the previous films had to wait for footage of their sequels to become available for a ten-minute preview). However, it contained a seven-minute trailer of the entire trilogy.
The Return of the King followed the precedent set by its predecessors by releasing an Extended Edition (252 minutes) on 14 December 2004 in the UK and US, with new editing and added special effects and music, along with four commentaries and six hours of supplementary material. The final 11 minutes comprises a listing of the charter members of the official fan club who had paid for three-year charter membership. As with The Fellowship of the Ring, and The Two Towers, the Extended Edition was made available on both DVD and VHS.
A collectors' box set was also released, which included the Extended Set plus a sculpture of Minas Tirith and a bonus 50-minute music documentary DVD, Howard Shore: Creating The Lord of the Rings Symphony: A Composer's Journey Through Middle-earth. The DVD has a DTS-ES soundtrack. The DVD also features two humorous Easter Eggs, one where Dominic Monaghan plays a German interviewer with Elijah Wood via satellite and another where Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller attempt to convince Jackson to make a sequel, originally shown at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards. Both can be accessed via a Ring icon on the last page of both Disc 1 and 2's scene indexes. In August 2006, a Limited Edition of The Return of the King was released. This Limited Edition contains two discs; the first is a two-sided DVD containing both the Theatrical and Extended editions of the film. The second disc is a bonus disc that contains a new behind-the-scenes documentary.
The theatrical Blu-ray release was released in the United States on the sixth of April 2010, though only as part of the complete trilogy release disc. The individual Blu-ray disc of The Return of the King was released on the fourteenth of September 2010 with the same special features as the complete trilogy release, except there was no digital copy. The Extended Edition was released in the United States in June 2011. It has a runtime of 263 minutes.
The Return of the King was released in Ultra HD Blu-ray on 30 November 2020 in the United Kingdom and on 1 December 2020 in the United States, along with the other films of the trilogy, including both the theatrical and the extended editions of the films.
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
The Return of the King earned $377 million in the United States and Canada and $741.9 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $1.118 billion in its initial release. In the weekend of 20–22 February 2004, the film crossed the $1 billion mark, making it the second film in history to do so, after Titanic in 1998. Worldwide, it is the 27th highest-grossing film of all time when not adjusted for inflation, the highest-grossing film of 2003, the second highest-grossing film of the 2000s, the highest-grossing entry in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the highest-grossing film ever to be released by New Line Cinema. It held the record as Time Warner's highest-grossing film worldwide for eight years until it was surpassed by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in 2011. Box Office Mojo estimates that the film had sold over 61 million tickets in the US in its initial theatrical run.
In the US and Canada, it is the 27th highest-grossing film, the highest-grossing 2003 film, and the highest-grossing entry in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The film set an opening Wednesday record with $34 million. This record was first surpassed by Spider-Man 2 in 2004 and ranks as the seventh largest Wednesday opening. Additionally, it was ranked as the highest December opening day, holding that record for less than a decade before getting dethroned by The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 2012. The film opened a day earlier for a midnight showing and accounted for about $8 million. This was nearly twice the first-day total of The Fellowship of the Ring — which earned $18.2 million on its opening day in 2001 — as well as a significant increase over The Two Towers — which earned $26.1 million on its debut in 2002. Part of the grosses came from the Trilogy Tuesday event, in which the Extended Editions of the two previous films were played on 16 December before the first midnight screening. For two years, The Return of the King would hold the record for having the highest midnight screenings gross until 2005 when it was given to Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. The film went on to make an opening weekend of $72.6 million making it the second-highest opening weekend for a New Line Cinema film, behind Austin Powers in Goldmember. In addition, it had the third largest opening weekend of that year, after The Matrix Reloaded and X2. With a total gross of $125.1 million, the film had the biggest five-day Wednesday opening of all time, surpassing the previous record held by Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The next year, this record would be beaten by Shrek 2. Its Friday-Sunday opening weekend was a record-high for December (first surpassed by I Am Legend). The film also set single-day records for Christmas Day and New Year's Day (both first surpassed by Meet the Fockers).
Outside the US and Canada, it is the 17th highest-grossing film, the highest-grossing 2003 film and the highest-grossing film of the series. On its first day (Wednesday, 17 December 2003), the film earned $23.5 million from 19 countries and it set an opening-weekend record outside the US and Canada with $125.9 million during the five-day weekend as a whole. The combined total gross increased to $250.1 million, making it the highest worldwide opening weekend at the time, knocking out The Matrix Revolutions. It set opening-day records in thirteen of them, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Scandinavia (as well as separately in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark), Mexico, Chile and Puerto Rico. It set opening-weekend records in the United Kingdom ($26.5 million in five days), Germany, Spain, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland. In Singapore, it surpassed Finding Nemo to become the country's top-grossing film. In New Zealand, where filming took place, the film set opening day, opening weekend, single-day, Friday gross, Saturday gross and Sunday gross records with $1.7 million in four days.
The substantial increase in initial box office totals caused optimistic studio executives to forecast that The Return of the King would surpass The Two Towers in total earnings. If this proved to be true, then this would be the first blockbuster trilogy for each successive film to earn more at the box office than its predecessor, when all three films were blockbuster successes. The Return of the King has helped The Lord of the Rings franchise to become the highest-grossing motion picture trilogy worldwide of all time with over $2.9 billion, beating other notable series such as the original Star Wars Trilogy, and became New Line's highest grossing release.
Following subsequent reissues, the film has grossed $387 million in the United States and Canada and $761 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $1.148 billion.
These figures do not include income from DVD sales, TV rights, etc. It has been estimated that the gross income from non-box office sales and merchandise has been at least equal to the box office for all three films. If this is so, the total gross income for the trilogy would be in the region of $6 billion following an investment of $300 million ($426 million including marketing costs).
=== Critical response ===
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, The Return of the King holds an approval rating of 94% based on 304 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Visually breathtaking and emotionally powerful, The Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King is a moving and satisfying conclusion to a great trilogy." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gives the film a score of 94 out of 100 based on 41 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, the highest grade in the trilogy.
Alan Morrison of Empire gave the film a perfect score of five stars. In his review, he called the film "the resounding climax to a landmark in cinema history" and praised how Peter Jackson had "kept the momentum of the series rolling on and on through the traditionally 'difficult' middle part and 'weak' finale, delivering a climax to the story that's neater and more affecting than what Tolkien managed on the printed page." Morrison also mentioned how fans of the films "who have walked beside these heroes every step of the way on such a long journey deserve the emotional pay-off as well as the action peaks, and they will be genuinely touched as the final credits roll." Elvis Mitchell for The New York Times lauded the acting, the craft of the technical crew, and Jackson's direction, describing The Return of the King as "a meticulous and prodigious vision made by a director who was not hamstrung by heavy use of computer special-effects imagery." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying that it is "such a crowning achievement, such a visionary use of all the tools of special effects, such a pure spectacle, that it can be enjoyed even by those who have not seen the first two films." Talking about the whole trilogy, Ebert said that he admired it "more as a whole than in its parts", and that The Return of the King certified The Lord of the Rings as "a work of bold ambition in a time of cinematic timidity". In his review for The Times, James Christopher praised The Return of the King as "everything a Ring fan could possibly wish for, and much more", and described The Lord of the Rings as "the greatest film trilogy ever mounted, with some of the most amazing action sequences committed to celluloid". Nev Pierce for the BBC gave the film five stars out of five, judging it to be the best chapter of the trilogy, since it combined "the 'ooh' factor of Fellowship with the zippy action of Towers". Pierce described The Return of the King as "Majestic, moving, and immense", and "an astonishing piece of storytelling". Philip French, reviewing it for The Observer, lauded the narrative force, the battle scenes, the language, and the visual style of the film, which he related to "the swirling battle paintings of Albrecht Altdorfer" and "Claude Lorrain's elegiac paintings of maritime departures inspired by classical poets." French wrote about the whole trilogy "Jackson's Lord of the Rings is indeed a very fine achievement, moving, involving and, to many people, even inspiring. It redeems the debased cinematic notion of the epic."
In her review for Entertainment Weekly, Lisa Schwarzbaum gave the film an A grade, and wrote "The conclusion of Peter Jackson's masterwork is passionate and literate, detailed and expansive, and it's conceived with a risk-taking flair for old-fashioned movie magic at its most precious ... as he has done throughout, the director paces scenes of action, intimacy, and even panoramic, geographical grandeur ... with the control of a superb choreographer." Schwarzbaum also said of the whole series "I can't think of another film trilogy that ends in such glory, or another monumental work of sustained storytelling that surges ahead with so much inventiveness and ardor." Richard Corliss of Time named The Return of the King the best film of the year and described the whole trilogy as "The film event of the millennium". Joe Morgenstern, for The Wall Street Journal, wrote "Never has a filmmaker aimed higher, or achieved more. The third and last instalment of the screen epic based on J.R.R. Tolkien's literary classic redefines – steeply upward – the very notion of a major motion picture." Peter Bradshaw, who had been less enthusiastic about the first two chapters of the trilogy, gave The Return of the King four stars out of five in his review for The Guardian, commenting "I started the series an atheist and finished an agnostic". Bradshaw wrote of the film "Technically it really is superb", and commented "Hours after watching the film, I can close my eyes and see those incredible battle scenes pulsing and throbbing in my skull ... Maybe Kurosawa's battles will one day be described as proto-Jacksonian".
Some critics had negative opinions of the film. Tom Charity observes in Time Out, "Some story strands are crudely abbreviated; others fail to develop elements that were already well-established. Given the inordinate running time, it's hard to avoid the feeling that we've already been here, done this." Jonathan Romney noted in The Independent, "[T]here's something not quite palatable about all these intrepid, largely beautiful Europeans boldly fending off the nameless, numberless hordes from the other side of the world, legions of dark-skinned sans-culottes with tribal drums. ... Aside from this, there's plenty to be offended by on an aesthetic level: the film's self-important solemnity, its hyperbolic over-insistence. ... [T]here are no empty spaces, no gaps for thought, no real stimulus to the viewer's imagination. The film has no idea when to stop, either, with its multiple codas and final dying fall into beatific cosiness." And Antonia Quirke in the Evening Standard opined, "Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn is the good king of the title, and while the actor may look fetching in a crown and cloak, he doesn't have half of the gravitas of Sean Bean's Boromir in the first film. Director Peter Jackson has been all but deified for his work on this particular ring cycle, but there is not much personality behind the camera here, merely rampant enthusiasm."
The most common criticism of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was its running time, particularly the epilogue; even rave reviews for the film commented on its length. Joel Siegel of Good Morning America said in his review for the film (which he gave an 'A'): "If it didn't take forty-five minutes to end, it'd be my best picture of the year. As it is, it's just one of the great achievements in film history."
In February 2004, a few months following release, the film was voted eighth on Empire's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time, compiled from readers' top ten lists. This forced the magazine to abandon its policy of only allowing films being older than a year to be eligible. In 2007, Total Film named The Return of the King the third best film of the past decade (Total Film's publication time), behind The Matrix and Fight Club. In July 2025, it ranked number 15 on the "Readers' Choice" edition of The New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century."
=== Accolades ===
The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Make-up, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing. At the 76th Academy Awards in 2004, the film won all the categories for which it was nominated and it shares the record for highest Academy Award totals along with Titanic (which also starred Bernard Hill) and Ben-Hur, and holding the record for the highest clean sweep at the Oscars, surpassing the nine awards earned by both Gigi and The Last Emperor. It was the first fantasy film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It also was the last movie for 14 years to win the Academy Award for Best Picture without being chosen as one of the top ten films of the year by the National Board of Review, until the release of The Shape of Water in 2017.
The film won four Golden Globes (including Best Picture for Drama and Best Director), five BAFTAs, two MTV Movie Awards, two Grammy Awards, nine Saturn Awards, the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Picture, the Nebula Award for Best Script, and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/85th_Academy_Awards | 85th Academy Awards | The 85th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2012 and took place on February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time Zone (PST) / 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time Zone (EST). The ceremony was the first in the Academy's 85-year history to adopt the phrase "The Oscars" as the ceremony's official name during the broadcast and marketing. During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and directed by Don Mischer. Actor Seth MacFarlane hosted the show for the first time.
In related events, the Academy held its 4th annual Governors Awards ceremony at the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Center on December 1, 2012. On February 9, 2013, in a ceremony at The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by hosts Chris Pine and Zoe Saldaña.
Argo won three awards, including Best Picture, the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture without its director nominated since Driving Miss Daisy. Other winners included Life of Pi with four awards, Les Misérables with three, Django Unchained, Lincoln, and Skyfall with two, and Amour, Anna Karenina, Brave, Curfew, Inocente, Paperman, Searching for Sugar Man, Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty with one. The telecast garnered more than 40 million viewers in the United States.
== Winners and nominees ==
The nominees for the 85th Academy Awards were announced on January 10, 2013, at 5:38 a.m. PST (13:38 UTC) at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Seth MacFarlane, host of the ceremony, and actress Emma Stone. Lincoln received the most nominations with twelve total, and Life of Pi came in second with eleven.
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on February 24, 2013. Argo was the fourth film to win Best Picture without a directing nomination, following 1927's Wings, 1932's Grand Hotel, and 1989's Driving Miss Daisy. As co-producer of Argo, George Clooney became the third individual to win Oscars for both acting and producing. By virtue of his nomination for Best Original Song in Ted, host MacFarlane became the sixth person since James Franco, who was a co-host and a Best Actor nominee during the 83rd ceremony in 2011, to host the ceremony while receiving a nomination in the same year. Silver Linings Playbook was the fourteenth film to earn nominations in all four acting categories, and the first since Reds in 1981. At age 22, Best Actress winner Jennifer Lawrence became the second-youngest winner in that category. With his third win for Best Lead Actor, Daniel Day-Lewis became the first three-time winner in that category. He also was the sixth performer to win at least three acting Oscars. Amour was the fourth film nominated simultaneously for Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film in the same year. At age nine, Quvenzhané Wallis became the youngest nominee for Best Actress and the youngest female acting nominee overall. Meanwhile, Emmanuelle Riva (aged 85) was the oldest nominee for Best Actress. This marked the first time in Oscar history that all five nominees in an acting category (Best Supporting Actor) were all previous winners. Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty's joint win in the Best Sound Editing category was the sixth occurrence of a tie in Oscar history. Skyfall won the award for Best Original Song, becoming the first Bond song to win the award.
=== Awards ===
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).
=== Governors Awards ===
The Academy held its 4th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on December 1, 2012, during which the following awards were presented:
==== Honorary Awards ====
To Hal Needham, an innovator, mentor, and master technician who elevated his craft to an art and made the impossible look easy.
To D. A. Pennebaker, who redefined the language of film and taught a generation of filmmakers to look to reality for inspiration.
To George Stevens, Jr., a tireless champion of the arts in America and especially that most American of arts: the Hollywood film.
==== Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award ====
Jeffrey Katzenberg — who has led our community in enlightened philanthropy by his extraordinary example.
=== Films with multiple nominations and awards ===
== Presenters and performers ==
The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.
=== Presenters ===
=== Performers ===
== Ceremony information ==
Due to declining interest and viewership in recent ceremonies, the Academy hired a new production team in an attempt to improve ratings and revive interest in the ceremony. Reports surfaced that Academy then-president Tom Sherak approached television producer Lorne Michaels for producing duties with actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon as host. However, the telecast's broadcaster ABC objected to these selections, and both men declined afterward. With newly elected Academy president Hawk Koch assuming leadership duties, the Academy hired Neil Meron and Craig Zadan in August 2012 to produce the ceremony. Two months later, the Academy announced that actor, director, animator, singer, and comedian Seth MacFarlane would host the telecast. MacFarlane expressed that it was truly an honor and a thrill to be asked to host Academy Awards commenting, "It's truly an overwhelming privilege to be asked to host the Oscars. My thoughts upon hearing the news were, one, I will do my utmost to live up to the high standards set forth by my predecessors; and two, I hope they don't find out I hosted the Charlie Sheen Roast." In an unusual break from previous years, producers Meron and Zadan announced that the on-air telecast of the ceremony would be simply referred to as "The Oscars" instead of "The 85th Annual Academy Awards".
As evident by the numerous musical numbers featured throughout the telecast, the ceremony was billed as a salute to music and the movies. In keeping with the theme of the evening, numerous film scores from various motion pictures were played intermittently throughout the ceremony; most notable was John Williams' theme music from Jaws, which was used to goad winners off the stage if their acceptance speeches were overly long. In a departure from having the orchestra perform in the same theatre, composer Williams Ross conducted the orchestra from a studio inside the Capitol Records Building a mile away.
Several other people were involved with the telecast and its promotion. Tony Award-winning art director Derek McLane designed a new set and stage design for the ceremony. Rob Ashford served as choreographer for several musical numbers during the event. Comedians Ben Gleib and Annie Greenup served as correspondents and hosts of "Oscar Road Trip", a nationwide bus tour promoting the ceremony in eleven major cities across the United States. Six young film students from colleges across the country, who were selected from a contest conducted by AMPAS and MtvU, were recruited to appear onstage to deliver Oscar statuettes to the presenters during the gala.
=== Introduction of electronic voting system ===
In January 2012, AMPAS announced that it would create electronic voting system starting with the 2013 ceremony as another method for members to select the nominees and winners during the process. According to AMPAS Chief Operating Officer Ric Robertson, the implementation of the digital ballot was designed to increase participation among members in the voting process and to provide an alternative method of voting in case of emergency. Despite several Academy officials denying such reasons, some industry insiders speculated that the introduction of electronic voting was another move toward moving future awards galas to January. The deadline to submit nomination ballots was originally scheduled for January 3, but technological errors and glitches prompted the Academy to move the deadline one day later.
=== Box office performance of nominated films ===
None of the nine Best Picture nominees were among the top ten releases in box office during the nominations. However, four of those films had already earned $100 million in American and Canadian ticket sales. At the time of the announcement of nominations on January 10, Lincoln was the highest-grossing film among the Best Picture nominees with $144 million in domestic box office receipts. The other three films to earn $100 million prior to nominations were Django Unchained with $112 million, Argo with $110 million, and Les Misérables with $103 million. Among the five remaining Best Picture nominees, Life of Pi was the next highest-grossing film with $91.8 million followed by Silver Linings Playbook ($35.7 million), Beasts of the Southern Wild ($11.2 million), Zero Dark Thirty ($4.4 million), and finally Amour ($311,247).[B] The combined gross of the nine Best Picture nominees when the Oscars were announced was $620 million with an average gross of $68.9 million per film.
Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 61 nominations went to 15 films on the list. Only Brave (8th), Wreck-It Ralph (13th), Lincoln (17th), Django Unchained (23rd), Argo (26th), Les Misérables (27th), Flight (30th), and Life of Pi (31st) were nominated for Best Picture, Best Animated Feature, or any of the directing, acting, or screenwriting awards. The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations were Marvel's The Avengers (1st), Skyfall (4th), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (6th), Ted (13th), Snow White and the Huntsman (15th), Prometheus (20th), and Mirror Mirror (44th).
=== "We Saw Your Boobs" controversy ===
During the opening monologue, MacFarlane is told by James T. Kirk (William Shatner) (Captain Kirk set in the next day) about how he was going to ruin the telecast, Captain Kirk then shows him a music video where MacFarlane sings We Saw Your Boobs. Its lyrics lists out movies that featured scenes of actresses' disrobing.
The song has mixed reviews. On the positive side, The Guardian reported, "MacFarlane was employed partly to puncture the event's pomposity, which he did by lightheartedly pointing out that some of the world's most self-important people regularly get their kit off for money". SheKnows wondered if the live reaction of some of the actresses were indeed acting as the "pre-recorded spoof apparently looked real enough for social media to worry about it". On the negative side, actress Jane Fonda stated, "if they want to stoop to that, why not list all the penises we've seen? Better yet, remember that this is a telecast seen around the world watched by families with their children and to many this is neither appropriate or funny." California assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal and state senator Hannah-Beth Jackson expressed their disappointment at MacFarlane, ABC, and AMPAS in a press release reading, "there was a disturbing theme about violence against women being acceptable and funny. From topical jabs about domestic violence to singing about 'boobs' during a film's rape scene, Seth MacFarlane crossed the line from humor to misogyny." Amy Davidson of The New Yorker interpreted the song as hostile to women.
In a press release statement, the Academy defended MacFarlane for expressing his artistic freedom, "If the Oscars are about anything, they're about creative freedom. We think the show's producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and host Seth MacFarlane did a great job and we hope our worldwide audience found the show entertaining."
=== Critical reviews ===
The show received a mixed reception from media publications. Some media outlets were more critical of the show. Columnist Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly commented "By calling constant attention to the naughty factor", MacFarlane created "an echo chamber of outrage, working a little too hard to top himself with faux-scandalous gags about race, Jews in Hollywood, and the killing of Abraham Lincoln." The Washington Post television critic Hank Stuever bemoaned, "There was nothing notably terrible about the show, and nothing particularly enthralling." Regarding MacFarlane's performance as host, Stuever noted, "What you got was a combination of sicko and retro, an Oscar show hosted by someone who waited until Oscar night to discover that he's only so-so at stand-up comedy." Television editor Alan Sepinwall of HitFix lamented that the ceremony made for a "frequently messy, but occasionally surprising and/or entertaining evening." He added that MacFarlane "had some funny moments here and there, but he missed way more than he hit, and Frat Boy Seth quickly assumed dominance as the evening went along."
Other media outlets received the broadcast and more positively. Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter praised MacFarlane's performance saying that he did "impressively better than one would have wagered." He also noted that he added "plenty of niceties with a little bit of the Ricky Gervais bite-the-hand-that-feeds-you thing and worked the juxtaposition rather nicely. Chicago Tribune television critic Nina Metz lauded MacFarlane for keeping "a solid handle on the proceedings." She also remarked that the host "opened with a series of jokes that were bona fide winners, landing on just the right tone: confident but not cocksure". Associated Press critic Frazier Moore extolled MacFarlane observing that he "seized the camera Sunday as host of ABC's Oscarcast and proved to its vast audience that he's a ridiculously versatile entertainer, a guy who can be as charming as he is famously irreverent, even polarizing."
=== Ratings and reception ===
The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 40.38 million people over its length, which was a 3% increase from the previous year's ceremony. An estimated 77.92 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards. The show also drew higher Nielsen ratings compared to the two previous ceremonies with 24.47% of households watching over a 35.65 share. In addition, the program scored its highest key demo ratings in six years with a 13.71 rating over a 33.45 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.
In July 2013, the ceremony presentation received nine nominations for the 65th Primetime Emmys. The following month, the ceremony didn't win any of the nominations.
== In Memoriam ==
The annual In Memoriam segment was presented by actor/producer/director George Clooney. The montage featured an excerpt of the main title from Out of Africa by composer John Barry. At the end of the tribute, singer Barbra Streisand sang "The Way We Were" from the film of the same name in tribute to composer Marvin Hamlisch. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Katy_Perry#Awards_and_nominations | List of awards and nominations received by Katy Perry#Awards and nominations | The American singer Katy Perry has received hundreds of awards and nominations throughout her career. Among other accolades, she is the recipient of five American Music Awards, 16 ASCAP Pop Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, 20 Guinness World Records, seven MTV Video Music Awards (including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award), 14 People's Choice Awards, a Juno Award, a Brit Award, two Myx Music Awards, four NRJ Music Awards, two Shorty Awards, and 12 Webby Awards. Perry has also been nominated for a Swiss Music Award, two ARIA Music Awards, 8 MTV Italian Music Awards, 13 Grammy Awards, two Channel V Thailand Music Video Awards, two Q Awards, and two Danish Music Awards.
Perry's second studio album One of the Boys was released in 2008 and received the 2009 NRJ Music Award for International Album of the Year. Two singles from the album—"I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold"—were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The former's music video received five MTV Video Music Award nominations and the MTV Video Music Award Japan for Best Pop Video. Perry received multiple Best New Artist nominations, including one at the Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2008, and won the 2008 MTV Europe Music Award for Best New Act and also won the 2009 Brit Award for International Female Solo Artist. Her third album, Teenage Dream, became the first by a female artist to produce five number-one US Billboard Hot 100 songs—"California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", "E.T.", and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)". For the feat, she received a 2011 honorary American Music Award and an entry in the 2013 edition of Guinness World Records. The album was nominated for six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for "Firework", and won the Juno Award for International Album of the Year.
Perry received ten nominations at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, winning Video of the Year for "Firework" along with Best Collaboration and Best Visual Effects for "E.T.". She became the first artist to be nominated for four different videos at a single ceremony. Her single "Wide Awake" from Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection—a reissue of Teenage Dream—was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance. In 2012, Billboard magazine declared her the "Woman of the Year" for her contributions to music. Perry's fourth album, Prism, released in 2013, contained the singles "Roar" and "Dark Horse". The former was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. At the following ceremony, the album received a Best Pop Vocal Album nomination while "Dark Horse" was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. "Dark Horse" won Single of the Year at the 2014 American Music Awards.
Perry additionally received the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award from UNICEF in 2016, and won "Latin Pop/Urban Song of the Year" from the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards for a remix of "Con Calma" with Daddy Yankee and Snow. Her tenure as a judge alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan on American Idol won Outstanding Judging Panel at the American Reality Television Awards in 2021. During the 2023 PETA's Libby Awards, a shoe line of hers titled Katy Perry Collections won Favorite Celeb Vegan Brand. At the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, she received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. The following year, Perry received the Brit Billion Award from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for reaching one billion cumulative streams in the United Kingdom.
== Awards and nominations ==
== State and cultural honors == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_indigenous_peoples_of_Brazil | List of indigenous peoples of Brazil | |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Pedretti | Victoria Pedretti | Victoria Pedretti (born March 23, 1995) is an American actress. She gained wide recognition for starring in the Netflix horror series The Haunting of Hill House (2018) and The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), which established her as a scream queen. She earned further recognition for playing Love Quinn in the Netflix thriller series You (2019–2021; 2023). For these roles, she received a MTV Award and nominations at the Critics' Choice and Saturn Awards.
Pedretti's made her feature film debut as Leslie Van Houten in the comedy drama Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). She has since appeared in the biographical drama Origin (2023) and the thriller Ponyboi (2024). She made her stage debut in a Broadway revival of An Enemy of the People (2024).
== Early life and education ==
Victoria Pedretti was born on March 23, 1995, in Philadelphia. She is of part Italian ancestry. She was raised Jewish, and had a bat mitzvah. She was diagnosed with ADHD when she was seven years old. She first expressed an interest in musical theatre while attending Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, where she said her professors advised her not to pursue acting.
== Career ==
Pedretti began acting in 2014, having roles in two short films: Sole where she played the female protagonist, and Uncovering Eden where she played Edie.
In 2017, Pedretti was cast in Mike Flanagan's Netflix supernatural horror drama series The Haunting of Hill House, in which she played Eleanor "Nell" Crain. It was released in 2018 to critical acclaim, and became Pedretti's breakthrough role. Chad Collins of Dread Central called her the "soul of The Haunting of Hill House", and Lucy Mangan of The Guardian called her "scene-stealing". Dakota Moss of MovieWeb wrote: "Pedretti's emotions to the role add a horrifying realism to the character, and viewers can feel all of Nell's pain and anguish to the very end. This is one of the defining roles for Victoria Pedretti, and she's only getting started." She received Saturn Award and MTV Award nominations for the role and was established as a scream queen.
Pedretti auditioned for the role of Guinevere Beck on the Netflix thriller series You but did not land the part. The directors later cast her as Love Quinn in the show's second and third seasons after seeing her previous acting work and chemistry with her co-star Penn Badgley. While filming during the COVID-19 pandemic, the intimate scenes posed a challenge for Pedretti to film as "it took months to figure out how to do it safely. [...] We played a couple before, but it didn't just immediately come back after being in a global pandemic." The second and third seasons were released in 2019 and 2021, respectively, to critical acclaim. For season two, writers at Elle said Pedretti "delivered the perfect amount of spook and smolder to keep us on the edge of our seats for all ten episodes." She was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.
In 2019, Pedretti played Leslie Van Houten in Quentin Tarantino's comedy-drama film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which was her first role in a feature film and a commercial success. She followed this starring as Evelyn Porter in the 2020 pilot episode of the anthology series Amazing Stories. She also appeared in the short film This is Not a Love Letter and played Katherine in the biographical-drama film Shirley.
A follow up series to The Haunting of Hill House was announced in 2019 with Pedretti cast in the leading role; it was released as The Haunting of Bly Manor in 2020 and saw Pedretti playing Danielle "Dani" Clayton. Alan Sepinwall of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "Her appealing vulnerability, and her talent for making the supernatural feel like something painfully real to Dani, do a lot of the heavy lifting this time around. Katerina Daley of Screen Rant said that her performance "has absolutely been a star-making one..." Angelica Jade Bastién of Vulture magazine said Pedretti "has proven herself to be one of the most exciting young actors to watch". She was nominated for a Critics' Choice Super Award and won Best Frightened Performance at the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards.
In 2021, Pedretti appeared in singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves' Star-Crossed: The Film, a companion feature to Musgraves' album of the same name, in a cameo role as a woman participating in a heist. A clip from the film featuring Pedretti later served as the music video for Musgraves' song "Simple Times". Also in 2021, she was announced to star in the film Lucky, based on the memoir of the same name, in which she would be portraying writer Alice Sebold during her freshman year at Syracuse University. However, the film was cancelled after losing its financing.
Pedretti was announced in 2022 to be headlining the Hulu original series Saint X, but she reportedly left the series due to creative differences, with Alycia Debnam-Carey replacing her in the lead role.
In 2023, Pedretti played Irma Eckler in Ava DuVernay's acclaimed biographical drama film Origin. She also reprised the role of Love Quinn in the fourth season of You as a cameo appearance. Michelle Boyar of Screen Rant opined that, because she appears briefly and has few lines, "You season 4 wasted Love’s cameo."
In 2024, Pedretti starred as Angel in the thriller-drama film Ponyboi, which was described as the "queer breakout" of that year's Sundance Film Festival. On accepting the role, Pedretti said that "I think the most important films to be made are the ones that deal with subject matters that people aren't well-versed in and with characters they haven't seen before. This was an incredible opportunity for that to happen." She also starred in the short films Fall Risk and Merci, Poppy as Dylan and Poppy respectively. That same year, she made her Broadway debut in the Sam Gold directed adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen play, An Enemy of the People, at the Circle in the Square Theatre. Gold said of her casting that "She worked really hard in auditions and won the part for proving herself a really strong state actor who could take direction and take [it] all on her shoulders..." Greg Evans of Deadline Hollywood believed Pedretti "is ready-made for her strong-willed, occasionally fretful, role". She next headlined an Off-Broadway production of the Philip Ridley play Tender Napalm.
Pedretti will next star in If She Burns written and directed by Alex Wolff, The Non-Actor written and directed by Eliza Callahan, and The Last Day directed by Rachel Rose. The lattermost is inspired by Virginia Woolf's 1925 novel Mrs Dalloway.
== Artistry ==
Pedretti has said her experience with The Haunting of Hill House made her comfortable with playing darker roles in the horror and thriller genres, and that she has "got a knack for" them. Laura Studarus of Shondaland says that Pedretti "carved out a niche in the horror and suspense genre" and also opined that she can be versatile. For her performance in The Haunting of Bly Manor, she cites Timothée Chalamet's acting in the film Call Me by Your Name (2017) as an inspiration. After her Broadway debut, Pedretti expressed an interest in continuing stage work, telling Interview that "doing theater, it’s very ideal. I’d love to keep doing this."
== Personal life ==
Pedretti currently resides in New York. She briefly dated her You co-star Dylan Arnold in 2021, and Fred Hechinger in 2024. In 2025, she announced that she was engaged to photographer Ethan Delorenzo.
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
=== Stage ===
=== Music videos ===
"Simple Times" (2021) – Kacey Musgraves
== Awards and nominations == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_F9F_Panther | Grumman F9F Panther | The Grumman F9F Panther is an early carrier-based jet fighter designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Grumman. It was the first jet-powered fighter aircraft to see air-to-air combat with the United States Navy as well as being Grumman’s first jet fighter.
Development of the Panther commenced in the final months of World War II to harness the recent innovation of the jet engine. Grumman designed a single-engined, straight-winged day fighter that was armed with four 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons and could also carry a wide assortment of air-to-ground munitions. Production aircraft were typically powered by a single Allison J33 or Pratt & Whitney J48-P-2 turbojet engine. On 21 November 1947, the prototype performed its maiden flight, powered by an imported Rolls-Royce Nene engine. During September 1949, the F9F was cleared for flight from aircraft carriers.
The Panther was used extensively by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in the Korean War. On 3 July 1950, a F9F-3 recorded the first U.S. Navy air victory of the conflict, having shot down a propeller-powered Yak-9. In the Korean theatre, Panther pilots cumulatively claimed the shooting down of seven Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s. During 1956, the type was withdrawn from front-line combat service, but remained in secondary roles, such as for training and with U.S. Naval Air Reserve and U.S. Marine Air Reserve units, until 1958. The Panther was also the first jet aircraft used by the Blue Angels aerobatics demonstration team, being flown in this capacity from 1949 through to late 1954. Future astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn both flew the F9F extensively during the Korean War.
While Australia was interested in the Panther during the late 1940s, the nation ultimately opted for the Gloster Meteor F.8 and the CAC Sabre instead. The aircraft's only export customer was Argentina, where it became the first jet aircraft to be operated by the Argentine Naval Aviation. It was operated mainly from land, as the catapults of the aircraft carrier ARA Independencia lacked sufficient power to readily launch the F9F. Several Panthers participated in the 1963 Argentine Navy Revolt, firing upon Argentine Army forces sent to quell the revolt. During 1969, it was withdrawn from Argentine service due to a lack of spare parts.
Grumman would develop the F9F design in response to U.S. Navy interest, producing the swept wing Grumman F-9 Cougar.
== Design and development ==
=== Background ===
The origins of the Panther can be traced back to development studies performed by Grumman into jet-powered fighter aircraft near the end of World War II. The company was keen to capitalise on the emergence of the first practical jet engines by integrating them into a new aircraft design. This design, which was internally designated G-75, was submitted to a United States Navy competition that sought a jet-powered night fighter to equip its aircraft carriers with. However, on 3 April 1946, it was announced that the Douglas F3D Skyknight, a competing two-seat aircraft powered by four Westinghouse J30 turbojets, had been selected. On 11 April 1946, the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) issued a development contract to Grumman to produce a pair of G-75 prototypes, which were given the Navy designation XF9F-1, in case development of the Skyknight encountered severe problems.
Shortly thereafter, Grumman recognised that the G-75 did not have much potential for either performance or growth; the company had already undertaken work on a completely different single-engine day fighter, the G-79. In a bureaucratic maneuver, BuAer opted not to cancel the G-75 contract, but instead changed the wording to include three prototypes of the entirely different G-79. It was this design that became the Panther.
At that time, the few American engines that were available for use, such as the Allison J33 and Westinghouse J34, were not considered to be sufficiently reliable; thus, the Navy specified the imported Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet, which was also more powerful, at 5,000 lbf (22 kN) of thrust. Production aircraft were to also be powered by the Nene, built under license by Pratt & Whitney as the J42. Since there was insufficient space within the wings and fuselage to provide sufficient fuel for the thirsty jet engine, the design team opted to add permanently mounted wingtip fuel tanks, which had the incidental advantage of improving the fighter's rate of roll. The wings featured another innovation in the form of leading edge flaps that generated additional lift while landing; speed brakes were also present on the underside of the fuselage.
=== Flight testing ===
On 21 November 1947, the prototype Panther conducted its maiden flight, piloted by test pilot Corky Meyer. It was followed by the second prototype only five days later. Initial issues with directional and longitudinal stability were encountered, but were quickly rectified. During one early land-based arresting gear test, the detachable rear section of the aircraft unintentionally came off; remedial changes were made to avoid any future repetition.
During May 1949, carrier suitability trails commenced. In September 1949, the F9F was cleared for flight from aircraft carriers. During the development phase, Grumman decided to change the Panther's engine, selecting the Pratt & Whitney J48-P-2, a license built version of the Rolls-Royce RB.44 Tay. The other engine that had been tested was the Allison J33-A-16. The armament was a quartet of 20 mm guns, the Navy having already switched to this caliber (as opposed to the USAAF/USAF which continued to use .50 caliber M2/M3 guns). In addition, the Panther was soon armed with underwing air-to-ground rockets and up to 2,000 lb (910 kg) of bombs.
From 1946, interest in developing an aircraft that harnessed the increasingly popular swept wing grew and, following concerns that the Panther was inferior to its MiG opponents over the skies of Korea, Grumman launched work on a conversion project, known as Design 93. This effort resulted in a swept-wing derivative, the F9F Cougar, which retained the Panther's designation number. Later stage development work on the Panther continued, being largely focused on engine improvements, expanding fuel capacity, and the use of alternative munitions.
In 1949, the Panther was considered by the Australian government, as a possible locally-built replacement for the Mustang Mk 23 and De Havilland Vampire then operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The other designs considered initially were an Australian design, the CAC CA-23 (an unconventional, twin-jet all-weather fighter) and the Hawker P.1081. By mid-1950, however, RAAF Mustangs were in action in Korea and seen as highly vulnerable to the MiG-15. An immediately available stop-gap in the shape of the Gloster Meteor F.8 was operated by the RAAF in Korea from July 1951. (After its less-than-satisfactory performance against MiGs, the Meteor was replaced from 1954 by the CAC Sabre – an Australian-built, up-engined variant of the F-86.)
== Operational history ==
=== US Navy ===
The Panther was the primary jet fighter and ground-attack aircraft of both the US Navy and USMC during the Korean War. It was the widest used Navy jet fighter of the conflict, cumulatively flying 78,000 sorties. F9F-2s, F9F-3s and F9F-5s, as rugged attack aircraft, were able to sustain operations despite being frequently opposed by intense anti-aircraft fire. The pilots also appreciated the air conditioned cockpit, which made for a welcome change from the humid environment of piston-powered aircraft.
On 3 July 1950, Lieutenant, junior grade Leonard H. Plog, of VF-51, flying an F9F-3 scored the first US Navy air victory of the war by shooting down a propeller-powered Yak-9.
Despite their relatively low speed, Panther pilots also claimed seven Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s, for the loss of two F9Fs. The first MiG-15 was downed on 9 November 1950, by Lieutenant Commander William (Bill) Amen of VF-111 flying an F9F-2B, during a UN Command attack on the Sinuiju bridges, near the mouth of the Yalu River. Two more MiG-15s were downed on 18 November 1950.
On 18 November 1952, the American aircraft carrier USS Oriskany and three other carriers were operating in the Sea of Japan conducting air strikes against the North Korean city of Hoeryong. The group launched four F9F's for a combat patrol near the North Korean border with China. The group's leader suffered mechanical problems and returned to the carrier together with his wingman. Lt Royce Williams of VF-781, flying off USS Oriskany and his wingman continued on the mission. They then identified seven Soviet Naval Aviation MiGs heading towards the task force from the Russian mainland. The naval commanders therefore ordered the two F9Fs to position themselves between the MiGs and the carrier group.
During this maneuver, four Soviet MiG-15s opened fire, despite the fact that the countries were not at war. Williams opened fire on the tail MiG, which dropped out of formation, and was followed down by Williams's wingman. What followed was a 35-minute dogfight between Williams and six MiG-15s. The MiG-15 was a more capable plane, but Williams nevertheless succeeded in shooting down three more. He ascribed this to both sides doing as they were trained, but the Soviet pilots making mistakes. While heading back to the carriers, Williams was out of ammo, but still had one MiG on his tail. The re-appearance of his wingman on the MiG's tail then scared this one off. By that time Williams's plane was so damaged that he could not turn sideways anymore. Oriskany was therefore aligned with the plane, so he could land. After landing, his Panther was found to have 263 hits by cannon shells or fragments and was beyond repair. It was therefore pushed overboard.
The engagement is little-known for two reasons. The US feared that publication of the incident could increase tensions with the Soviet Union. Another reason was the involvement of the US National Security Agency (NSA) – the existence of which was then top secret – in planning the mission; the MiGs were intercepted as a result of intelligence provided by the NSA. The four MiGs that were shot down were flown by Soviet Naval Aviation pilots: Russian sources confirmed Williams's claims, 40 years later, stating the pilots lost were Captains Belyakov and Vandalov, and Lieutenants Pakhomkin and Tarshinov.
As the conflict progressed, Panthers became primarily tasked with ground attack missions. Attacks upon hostile anti-aircraft equipment were commonly conducted. This was a risky mission type, with numerous Panthers being damaged or even lost to fire from the same ground batteries that they were seeking to neutralize. Furthermore, the danger posed by these systems increased over time as more capable AA apparatus was supplied to the North Korean force. Panthers also routinely undertook aerial reconnaissance missions over Korea. Starting in 1952, the Panther began to be supplemented by the newer Cougar derivative in the theatre.
Future astronaut Neil Armstrong flew the F9F extensively during the Korean conflict, although he ejected from one of the aircraft after it was brought down by a wire strung across a valley in 1951. Future astronaut John Glenn and Boston Red Sox all-star baseball player Ted Williams also flew the F9F as Marine Corps pilots.
During 1956, the Panther was withdrawn from frontline combat service, having been displaced by new fighter aircraft, including its swept-wing Cougar derivative. However, the type remained active in secondary roles, such as for training and with U.S. Naval Air Reserve and U.S. Marine Air Reserve units, until 1958. The Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration team used the Panther for four years, beginning in 1951. The Panther was the Blue Angels' first jet. Some Panthers continued to serve in small numbers into the 1960s. From September 1962, surviving operational Panthers were designated F-9 within the new combined US tri-service designation system.
=== Argentine Navy ===
The only foreign buyer of the Panther was the Argentine Naval Aviation, which purchased 28 ex-USN F9F-2B aircraft during 1957; the first 10 arrived in 1958. Only 24 aircraft were put in service, as the remainder were used as spares. The first flight of an Argentine Panther was in December 1958, and the last aircraft entered into service during January 1961.
The catapult on the then only Argentine carrier, ARA Independencia, was not powerful enough to launch the F9F, so the aircraft were land-based. However, in July 1963, a Panther (serial 0453/3-A-119) landed on Independencia as part of trials, the first jet to land on an Argentine aircraft carrier; it was not then catapult-launched, but off-loaded by crane when the ship returned to port.
Argentine Navy F9F-2 Panthers were engaged in combat during the 1963 Argentine Navy Revolt. Several rebel-controlled aircraft flew bombing and strafing runs against a column of the Army 8th Tank Regiment which was advancing on the rebelling Punta Indio Naval Air Base. The attack destroyed several M4 Sherman tanks while one F9F Panther was shot down.
The Argentine Panthers were involved in the general mobilization during the 1965 border clash between Argentina and Chile, but no combat occurred. The type was removed from service during 1969 due to a lack of available spare parts; the service opted to replace them with Douglas A-4Q Skyhawks.
The Argentine Navy also operated the F-9 Cougar trainer version.
== Variants ==
XF9F-1
Four-engined night-fighter; contract converted to XF9F-2 before any built.
XF9F-2
Single-engined day fighter prototypes, two built.
F9F-2
First production version, powered by Pratt & Whitney J42 engine, 567 built.
F9F-2B
Version fitted with underwing racks for bombs and rockets. As all F9F-2s were brought up to this standard, the B designation was dropped.
F9F-2P
Unarmed photo-reconnaissance version used in Korea, 36 built.
XF9F-3
Prototype for the F9F-3, one built.
F9F-3
Allison J33 powered version produced as insurance against the failure of the J42, with all converted to the J42 later; redesignated F-9B in 1962, 54 built.
XF9F-4
Prototypes used in the development of the F9F-4, two built.
F9F-4
Version with longer fuselage with greater fuel load and powered by J33 engine. Most re-engined with Pratt & Whitney J48s. F9F-4s were the first aircraft to successfully employ pressurized bleed air, tapped from the engine's compressor stages, and blown across the surface of the slot flaps, simulating a higher airspeed across the control surface, and thus achieving a decrease in stalling speed of 9 kn (17 km/h) for takeoff and 7 kn (13 km/h) on power approach for landing; re-designated F-9C in 1962, 109 ordered, all completed as F9F-5s.
F9F-5
Variant of F9F-4, but powered by Pratt & Whitney J48 engine, 616 built. Re-designated F-9D in 1962.
F9F-5P
Unarmed photo-reconnaissance version, with longer nose; redesignated RF-9D in 1962, 36 built.
F9F-5K
After the F9F Panther was withdrawn from operational service, a number of F9F-5s were converted into unmanned target drone aircraft; redesignated QF-9D in 1962.
F9F-5KD
Radio controlled drone director conversions for F9F-5K drones; redesignated DF-9E in 1962.
== Operators ==
Argentina
Argentine Navy - Argentine Naval Aviation
United States
United States Navy
United States Marine Corps
== Surviving aircraft ==
=== Argentina ===
On display
F9F-2B
0421/3-A-106 (Argentine Navy) - Gate guardian at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base (Base Naval Puerto Belgrano - BNPB) at Bahía Blanca, Argentina.
0425/3-A-113 (Argentine Navy) - Being restored at Argentine Naval Aviation Museum (es:Museo de la Aviación Naval Argentina - MUAN) at Bahía Blanca, Argentina.
0452/3-A-111 (Argentine Navy) - Gate guardian at Punta Indio Naval Air Base (Base Aeronaval Punta Indio - BAPI) near La Plata, Argentina.
0453/3-A-118 (Argentine Navy) - Displayed at National Naval Museum (es:Museo Naval de la Nación) at Tigre, Argentina.
=== United States ===
Airworthy
F9F-2B
123078 - Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas. Removed from public display when the museum indefinitely closed on 1 January 2024. To be transported to North Texas Regional Airport in Denison, Texas.
On display
F9F-2
123050 - National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
123557 - VFW Post 1621 in Janesville, Wisconsin.
123612 - NAS Oceana Air Park, Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.
123652 - Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California.
125183 - Pima Air & Space Museum, adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona.
127120 - Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum at the former NAS JRB Willow Grove in Horsham, Pennsylvania.
F9F-2B
123526 - National Museum of the Marine Corps, adjacent to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Triangle, Virginia.
F9F-4
125180 - Lion's Park in Costa Mesa, California.
F9F-5
bureau number unknown (incorrectly marked as 141136) - USS Midway Museum in San Diego, California
125295 - Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum at Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville, Florida.
125992 - Aviation Heritage Park in Bowling Green, KY.
126226 - Combat Air Museum adjacent to Forbes Air National Guard Base at Topeka Regional Airport / Forbes Field (former Forbes AFB) in Topeka, Kansas.
126275 - Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama.
F9F-5P
125316 - Palm Springs Air Museum, Palm Springs, California.
126277 - Planes of Fame Air Museum, Chino, California.
Under restoration or in storage
F9F-2
123054 - under restoration at Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.
123092 - in storage for restoration at USS John F. Kennedy Museum in North Kingston, Rhode Island.
123420 - in storage at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.
F9F-5
125467 - in storage by private owner in Bulverde, Texas.
== Specifications (F9F-5 Panther) ==
Data from United States Navy Aircraft since 1911General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 38 ft 10 in (11.84 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
Height: 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m)
Wing area: 250 sq ft (23 m2)
Empty weight: 10,147 lb (4,603 kg)
Gross weight: 18,721 lb (8,492 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney J48-P-6A turbojet, 6,250 lbf (27.8 kN) thrust
Performance
Maximum speed: 503 kn (579 mph, 932 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m)
Cruise speed: 418 kn (481 mph, 774 km/h)
Range: 1,100 nmi (1,300 mi, 2,100 km)
Service ceiling: 42,800 ft (13,000 m)
Rate of climb: 5,090 ft/min (25.9 m/s)
Armament
Guns: 4 × 20 mm (0.79 in) AN/M3 cannon, 760 rounds total
Hardpoints: 8 with a capacity of 3,465 lb (1,572 kg)
Avionics
AN/APN-1 – Radar altimeter
== Notable appearances in media ==
The F9F Panther was featured in the 1954 Korean War film The Bridges at Toko-Ri starring William Holden, Grace Kelly, Mickey Rooney and Fredric March, and in Men of the Fighting Lady starring Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon and Keenan Wynn.
Stock footage of an F9F piloted by George Chamberlain Duncan crashing into the fantail of the USS Midway (CV-41) during a 1951 test flight appears in several Hollywood films.
In 1954's Men of the Fighting Lady, the crash is portrayed as the death of Lieutenant Commander Ted Dodson (played by Keenan Wynn).
In the 1976 film Midway, the F9F footage stands in for an SB2C Helldiver crash-landing.
In the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October, the F9F footage is used to depict the crash-landing of an F-14A Tomcat that had collided with a Soviet aircraft onto the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), reenacting an incident from Tom Clancy's original novel. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genoa_CFC | Genoa CFC | Genoa Cricket and Football Club (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒeːnoa]) is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. The team competes in the Serie A, the top division of the Italian football league system.
Established in 1893, Genoa is Italy's oldest existing football team. The club has won the Italian Championship nine times, with their first being Italy's inaugural national championship in 1898, and their most recent coming after the 1923–24 season. They have also won one Coppa Italia title. Overall, Genoa are the fourth most successful Italian club in terms of championships won. Il Grifone have played their home games at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris since 1911, sharing with local rivals Sampdoria. The fixture between the two teams, known as the Derby della Lanterna, was first played in 1946.
In 2011, Genoa was included in the "International Bureau of Cultural Capitals" (a sort of historical sporting heritage of humanity, in line with that of UNESCO) at the request of President Xavier Tudela. The club was admitted to the "Club of Pioneers", an association comprising the world's oldest football clubs, in 2013; other members include Sheffield F.C. and Recreativo de Huelva.
== History ==
The club was founded on 7 September 1893 as Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club. In its earliest years, it principally competed in athletics and cricket. Association football was only a secondary concern. Since the club was set up to represent England abroad, the original shirts worn by the organisation were white, the same colour as the England national team shirt. At first Italians were not permitted to join as it was a British sporting club abroad. Genoa's activities took place in the north-west of the city in the Campasso area, at the Piazza d'Armi. The men who initially handled the management of the club were;
On 10 April 1897, the footballing section of the club, already in existence since 1893, became predominant thanks to James Richardson Spensley. It was among the oldest in Italian football at the time, only four other clubs (all in Turin.) had been founded. Italians were allowed to join and found a new ground in the form of Ponte Carrega.
The first friendly match took place at home, against a mixed team of Internazionale Torino and F.B.C. Torinese; Genoa lost 1–0. Not long after, Genoa recorded its first victory away against UPS Alessandria winning 2–0. Friendly games also took place against various British sailors such as those from HMS Revenge.
=== Championship dominance ===
Football in Italy stepped up a level with the creation of the Italian Football Federation and the Italian Football Championship. Genoa competed in the first Italian Championship in 1898 at Velodrome Humbert I in Turin. They defeated Ginnastica Torino 2–1 in their first official game on 8 May, before winning the first championship later that day by beating Internazionale Torino 3–1 after extra-time.
Genoa returned for the following season, this time with a few changes; the name of the club was altered to Genoa Cricket & Football Club, dropping the Athletic from its name. A change in shirt colour was also in order, as they changed to white and blue vertical stripes; known in Italy as biancoblù. Genoa won their second title in a one-day tournament which took place on 16 April 1899, by beating Internazionale Torino 3–1 for the second time. On their way to winning their third consecutive title in 1900 they also beat local rivals Sampierdarenese 7–0; a winning margin which would not be bettered by any team in the league until 1910. The final was secured with a 3–1 win over F.B.C. Torinese.
The club strip was changed again in 1901, Genoa adopted its famous red-navy halves and therefore became known as the rossoblù; these are the colours used even to this day as with many other Italian clubs, such as Cagliari, Bologna, Crotone, Cosenza and an endless list of minor clubs. After a season of finishing runners-up to Milan Cricket and Football Club, things were back on track in 1902 with their fourth title. Juventus emerged as serious contenders to Genoa's throne from 1903 onwards, when for two seasons in a row Genoa beat the Old Lady in the national final.
Notably Genoa became the first Italian football team to play an international match, when they visited France on 27 April 1903 to play FVC Nice, winning the fixture 3–0. As well as winning the Italian championship in 1904, the year was also notable for Genoa reserves winning the first ever II Categoria league season; a proto-Serie B under the top level. From 1905 onwards when they were runners-up, Genoa lost their foothold on the Italian championship; other clubs such as Juventus, Milan and Pro Vercelli stepped up.
The fall in part during this period can be traced back to 1908 when FIGC agreed to Federal Gymnastics protests forbidding the use of foreign players. Since Genoa's birth they had always had a strong English contingent. They disagreed, as did several other prominent clubs such as Milan, Torino and Firenze; as thus they withdrew from official FIGC competitions that year. The following season the federation reversed the decision and Genoa was rebuilt with players such as Luigi Ferraris and some from Switzerland, such as Daniel Hug who came from FC Basel. The rebuilding of the squad also saw the creation of a new ground in the Marassi area of Genoa, when built it had a capacity of 25,000 and was comparable to British stadiums of the time; it was officially opened on 22 January 1911.
=== Garbutt revival ===
With the introduction of the Italy national football team, Genoa played an important part, with the likes of Renzo De Vecchi; who was azzurri captain for some time, Edoardo Mariani and Enrico Sardi earning call-ups. Englishman William Garbutt was brought in as head coach to help revive the club; Garbutt was the first professional manager in Italy and was renowned for being highly charismatic, and also for constantly smoking his tobacco pipe. He was dubbed "Mister" by the players; since then Italians have referred to coaches in general by the term.
Finally by 1914–15, Genoa had restored themselves as the top club from Northern Italy, winning the final round of the Northern section. However, this particular year, the national final could not be played because of the outbreak of World War I, the finals of the Southern Italian section could not be decided and thus Genoa did not have a team to play. Genoa would be awarded the title in 1919 after the end of the war, it would be their first for eleven seasons. The war took a harsh toll on Genoa as players Luigi Ferraris, Adolfo Gnecco, Carlo Marassi, Alberto Sussone and Claudio Casanova all died while on military duty in Italy; while footballing founder James Richardson Spensley was killed in Germany.
In the early part of the 1920s, Genoa remained strong contenders in the Northern section. Garbutt led Genoa to championship success in 1922–23; beating Lazio 6–1 in the final, over the course of two legs. The following season, Genoa made their way past Bologna in the Northern finals, but not without controversy; after riots in the second leg during the game in Bologna, the game was called off and FIGC awarded Genoa a 2–0 victory. In the national final that season, Genoa beat Savoia 4–1 over the course of two legs; this would be their ninth and to date final Italian championship.
The squad during these two championship victories included; Giovanni De Prà, Ottavio Barbieri, Luigi Burlando and Renzo De Vecchi. With Genoa's championship victory in 1923–24 came the introduction of the scudetto patch; which means following the season within which a club wins an Italian league championship, they are allowed to wear a shield shaped patch on their shirt which features the colours of the Italian flag. For the rest of the 1920s, the club's highest finish was in second place: the 1927–28 season when Genoa finished runners-up to Torino, with striker Felice Levratto scoring 20 goals in 27 games.
=== Genova 1893 period ===
Due to the strongly British connotations attached to the name, Genoa were forced to change it by the fascist government to Genova 1893 Circolo del Calcio in 1928. The club competed in a proto-European Cup in the form of the Mitropa Cup, where they went out in the quarter-finals after losing heavily to Rapid Vienna. They followed this with a runners-up position back at home in the league, they finished behind Ambrosiana in the 1929–30 season; this would be their last top level championship runners-up spot to date.
The club's league form became highly erratic during the early 1930s, with varying league positions; it was during the 1933–34 season that Genova suffered their first ever relegation to Serie B, the second league of Italian football. Thankfully for the club, they were able to bounce back under the management of Vittorio Faroppa, winning promotion by finishing top of their group ahead of Novara. In 1936, the ambitious Juan Culiolo took over as chairman of the club; in 1936–37 they achieved a 6th-place finish and also won the Coppa Italia by beating Roma 1–0 with a goal from Mario Torti.
During the following season Genova finished in third place, this was a particularly tight season with winners Ambrosiana-Inter finishing only three points ahead of the club. That summer Italy competed in the 1938 FIFA World Cup and won, three Genova players formed part of the triumphant squad in the form of Sergio Bertoni, Mario Genta and Mario Perazzolo. The club finished the decade on a high, maintaining a top five foothold in the top level of the Italian football league system.
World War II affected dramatically the entire Italian football movement, but Genova did not recover as well as other clubs. In 1945, the club chose to revert their name to Genoa Cricket and Foot-Ball Club, the one which they had used in the very early days of the Italian championship. In the years just after the war, the club were still popular with the fans, with people previously associated with the club such as Ottavio Barbieri and William Garbutt returning for managerial spells. Genoa also had a new rival in the form of Sampdoria, who were founded by a merger of Associazione Calcio Andrea Doria and Sampierdarenese in 1946 and would groundshare at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
=== Post-war period ===
After the Second World War the ability of Genoa to finish in the upper ranks of Serie A declined in a significant manner; throughout the rest of the 1940s the club were middle-table finishers. The 1948–49 season saw three highly significant results, Genoa beat Inter 4–1, the famous Grande Torino side 3–0 and Padova 7–1. The 1950s started in poor fashion for the club, they had bought Argentine Mario Boyé from Boca Juniors but he stayed only one season and the club were relegated after finishing bottom of the table, but after two seasons they achieved their return after winning Serie B, ahead of Legnano. Ragnar Nikolay Larsen was a notable player for the club during this period and they sustained mid-table finishes for the rest of the decade.
Despite suffering a relegation in 1959–60 and then a promotion back up to Serie A in 1961–62, Genoa had a respectable amount of cup success in the first half of the 1960s. The club won the Coppa delle Alpi in 1962; it was the first time the competition had been competed between club teams instead of international ones, the final was played at home while Genoa beat French club Grenoble Foot 38 by 1–0 with a goal from Nizza. Genoa won the same competition again two years later, the final was held at the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern, Switzerland; Genoa defeated Catania 2–0, with both goals from Giampaolo Piaceri to take the trophy.
The celebrations for the club did not last long however, as the year following their last cup success they were relegated down to Serie B again. This time their stay in the second tier of the Italian football league system would be far longer than previous relegations, the club was unstable as it changed manager each season. Genoa even experienced their first relegation to Serie C in 1970, financially the club fell into difficulties and had several ownership changes.
=== Mixed times ===
Throughout the 1970s, Genoa would mostly play in the second tier. Under the management of Arturo Silvestri the club made its way back to Serie A for the 1973–74 season, but they were relegated straight back down. For the return of Il Grifone to Serie A a couple of seasons later, the squad featured the likes of Roberto Rosato, Bruno Conti and a young Roberto Pruzzo. This time they stuck it out in the top division for two seasons before succumbing to relegation in 1977–78; the relegation was particularly cruel as the side above them Fiorentina survived on goal-difference of just a single goal, the two teams had played each other on the final day of the season ending in a 0–0 draw.
The relegation was bad for the club in more ways than one, they lost some of their top players who could have offered them a swift return; such as Roberto Pruzzo's move to Roma where he would go on to have great success. After a couple of middle-table finishes in Serie B, Genoa earned promotion during the 1980–81 season under manager Luigi Simoni, the club finished as runners-up behind only AC Milan who had been relegated the previous season for their part in the Totonero betting scandal.
Still with Simoni at the helm as manager, Genoa were able to survive in Serie A for their returning season, finishing just one point ahead of the relegated AC Milan. In a dramatic last day of the season, Genoa were trailing 2–1 to Napoli with five minutes left, until on the 85th minute Mario Faccenda scored the goal that secured the point needed by Genoa, starting an owing friendship between the two club's fans.
A couple of seasons later in 1983–84, Genoa would not be so lucky, despite beating champions Juventus on the final day of the season, the club were relegated even though they finished the season with the same number of points as surviving Lazio; this was because Lazio had recorded better results in matches against Genoa.
=== European experience ===
The club was purchased by Calabrese entrepreneur Aldo Spinelli in 1985 and despite no longer having Simoni as manager, Genoa were finishing in the top half of Serie B. After a slip in form during 1987–88 (failing to be promoted by a mere point in 1986–87, then having to struggle not to be retroceded the following season, being spared that fate again by a mere point), Genoa refocused their energy and were able to achieve promotion back into Serie A in 1988–89, finishing as champions ahead of Bari. Genoa, with an experienced trainer as Osvaldo Bagnoli who knew how to get the best out of underdog teams (he managed to win a championship at the helm of Hellas Verona in the eighties) and with a team sporting the talents of Carlos Aguilera and Tomáš Skuhravý among others achieved highs during the 1990–91 season where they finished fourth, remaining undefeated at home for the entire campaign, winning games against all the big sides including Juventus, Inter, Milan, Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina, Napoli, as well as their local rivals Sampdoria who won the title that season.
Subsequently, the club gained entry to the UEFA Cup in the 1991–92 season. Genoa had a good run, making it to the semi-finals before being knocked out by Ajax, that season's winners of the competition; notably Genoa did the double over Liverpool in the quarter-finals, becoming the first Italian side to beat the Reds at Anfield. Unfortunately for Genoa, this success was soon followed by a 'Dark Age' following the departure of Osvaldo Bagnoli (who chose to move away from Genoa to spend more time with his daughter, whose health was rapidly declining) and the failure of the management to replace key players as they grew old or were ceded to other teams. Noted Genoa players during this period included Gianluca Signorini, Carlos Aguilera, Stefano Eranio, Roberto Onorati and John van 't Schip. Chairman Spinelli had a very different management approach from that of most businessmen turned football club owners. While his colleagues saw football as a marketing and public relation investment and were quite ready to siphon funds out of their main business to keep their teams afloat and replenish their player roster Spinelli saw Genoa as another business whose main aim was that of generating revenue for its owner (namely, himself) and so was more than happy to sell esteemed players for hefty revenues of which just a minimal fraction was then re-invested in the team, often for the acquisition of lesser-valued replacements or virtual unknowns. Thus he proved all-too-eager to sell Uruguayan striker Carlos Aguilera and to replace him with the markedly inferior Kazuyoshi Miura from Japanese side Yomiuri Verdy (a deal that especially pleased him since the Japanese sponsors were actually paying him to let Miura play in Serie A). The same season as their UEFA Cup run, they finished just one place above the relegation zone; in the seasons following Genoa remained in the lower half of the table.
During the 1994–95 season, Genoa were narrowly relegated; they finished level on points with Padova after the normal season period. This meant a relegation play-out was to be played between the two in Florence. The game was tied 1–1 at full-time and went to a penalty shoot-out. Genoa eventually lost the shoot-out 5–4. While back down in Serie B, the club had another taste of international cup success when they became the final winners of the Anglo-Italian Cup by beating Port Vale 5–2 with Gennaro Ruotolo scoring a hat-trick. Chairman Spinelli sold Genoa in 1997, moving onto other clubs (Alessandria and, then Livorno). The late 1990s and early 2000s would be the most trying time in the history of the club, with constant managerial changes, a poor financial situation and little hope of gaining promotion, outside of a decent 6th-place finish in 1999–00. From 1997 until 2003, Genoa had a total of three different owners and four different chairmen, before the club was passed on to the toys and games tycoon from Irpinia, Enrico Preziosi, already chairman of Como, a football club he previously owned.
=== Recent times ===
Preziosi took over in 2003, when Genoa should have been relegated to C1 series after a dismal season, but was instead "saved" along with Catania and Salernitana by the football federation's controversial decision to extend Serie B to 24 teams. Things started to look up for Genoa; they won Serie B in 2004–05. However, allegations were raised that the club had fixed a match on the last day of the season between themselves and Venezia. The 3–2 victory in the match saw Genoa win the league, with a draw having been good enough to maintain its position in the end. The Disciplinary Committee of FIGC saw fit to instead place Genoa bottom of the league and relegate them down to Serie C1 with a three-point deduction on 27 July 2005.
For their season in Serie C1 for 2005–06, Genoa were hit with a six-point penalty from the previous season. After leading for much of the season, they eventually finished as runners-up and were entered into the play-offs, beating Monza 2–1 on aggregate to achieve promotion back into Serie B. During the summer break Gian Piero Gasperini was brought in as the new manager, he helped the club to gain promotion during the 2006–07 season, it was ensured on the last day of the season where they drew a 0–0 with Napoli, both clubs were happily promoted back into Serie A.
The 2007–08 season, the first Serie A championship played by Genoa in 12 years, saw it finishing in a respectable tenth place, right after the "big ones" of Italian football.
A careful summer market session saw chairman, Preziosi strengthening the core of the team while parting from some players on favourable economical terms (for example selling striker Marco Borriello to AC Milan for a hefty sum). Genoa's aims for the 2008–09 season were set on a UEFA Cup spot. This was achieved after a strong season which saw the team finish fifth in Serie A, besting traditional powerhouses like Juventus, Roma, and Milan, and winning both Genoa derbies against Sampdoria, with Diego Milito finishing among the top scorers of the championship. Genoa subsequently lost Milito and midfielder Thiago Motta to Internazionale, but were able to bring in striker Hernán Crespo. Things however did not go as planned, with the injury-plagued team eliminated in the early stages of the Europa League and Coppa Italia and falling to a ninth-place finish in Serie A in 2010.
In the 2010–11 season, Genoa, whose ranks had been revolutionised once again save for some long-serving players, struggled along in the mid-positions of the league; a slew of questionable results early in the season led chairman Preziosi to fire trainer Gian Piero Gasperini, who had led the team since the 2007–08 season, and to select Davide Ballardini as his successor. The newcomers, despite not securing memorable successes, kept the team steadily afloat in the "left part" of the ranking, managing to win two consecutive derby matches against rivals Sampdoria in December and May.
The 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons saw Genoa place in 17th both times, one spot away from relegation to Serie B.
In the 2014–15 season, Genoa, in sixth place and set to qualify for the UEFA Europa League qualifying round, were denied a UEFA license because they filed paperwork late and because the Stadio Luigi Ferraris was not currently up to standard for UEFA competition. The spot was passed on to 7th placed Sampdoria.
This damaged Genoa's momentum, and Genoa coasted to an eleventh-place finish in the 2015–16 season. In 2016–17, Genoa avoided relegation in 16th-place, and once again finished mid-table in the 2017–18 season. In the 2018–19 season, Genoa mathematically avoided relegation from Serie A. They were tied on 38 points with Empoli, but Empoli went down due to Genoa's superior head-to-head record.
In the 2021–22 season, Genoa finished 19th in the league table to be relegated after fifteen years in top division. In the 2022–23 season, the club finished second in Serie B, to promote back to Serie A after one season. In the 2023–24 season, Genoa Football Club maintains its position in Serie A and is not facing relegation. The club continues to compete in Italy's top football league, demonstrating resilience and determination to stay at the highest level of Italian football.
== Players ==
=== Current squad ===
As of 2 February 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
=== Primavera ===
=== Out on loan ===
As of 2 February 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
=== Retired numbers ===
6 – Gianluca Signorini, sweeper, 1988–95
7 – Marco Rossi, midfielder, 2003–04, 2005–13
12 – The fans of Gradinata Nord, "the twelfth man"
=== Notable players ===
== Chairmen history ==
Below is the chairmen (Italian: presidenti, lit. 'presidents' or Italian: presidenti del consiglio di amministrazione, lit. 'chairmen of the board of directors') history of Genoa, from when the club was first founded playing cricket and athletics, until the present day.
== Coaching staff ==
== Managerial history ==
Genoa have had many managers and trainers, some seasons they have had co-managers running the team, here is a chronological list of them from 1896 when they became a football club, onwards.
== Colours, badge and nicknames ==
As Genoa was a British-run club, the first ever colours were those of the England national football team. Not long into the club's footballing history, the kit was changed to white and blue stripes in 1899; the blue was chosen to represent the sea as Genoa is a port city. In 1901 the club finally settled for their most famous red and blue halves shirt, this gained them the nickname of rossoblù.
One of the nicknames of Genoa is Il Grifone which means "the griffin"; this is derived from the coat of arms belonging to the city of Genoa. The coat of arms features two golden griffins, either side of the Saint George's Cross. As well as being present on both the flag and coat of arms of the city of Genoa, the cross is evocative of the club's English founders. St. George was also the patron saint of the former Republic of Genoa. The actual club badge of Genoa Cricket and Football Club is heavily derived from the city coat of arms, but also incorporated the club's red and blue colours.
== Supporters and rivalries ==
Genoa CFC has the bulk of its fans in Liguria, however they are also popular in Piedmont and the Aosta Valley. The seafaring traditions of the Genoese and the presence of Genoese communities in distant countries did much to spread the appeal of Genoa some further than just Italy, and immigrants founded fan clubs in Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Barcelona, Iceland and other places.
The most significant and traditional rivalry for Genoa, is the inner-city one with the club with whom they share a ground; Sampdoria. The two clubs compete together in the heated Derby della Lanterna ("Derby of the Lantern"); a reference to the Lighthouse of Genoa. Genoa's supporters also have a strong distaste for AC Milan. A clash between opposing supporters in January 1995 resulted in the death of Genoese Vincenzo Spagnolo, who was stabbed to death by Milanese Simone Barbaglia. The assailant was a member of an informal group of football hooligans dubbed "The Barbour Ones", who used to routinely carry bladed weapons to matches, a practice made possible by the relaxed security measures of the time.
Conversely, the fans of Genoa have long standing friendships with Napoli (which goes back to the 1982 last match of the season). On the last day of the 2006–07 season, Genoa and Napoli drew a practical 0–0 ensuring both were promoted back into Serie A; Genoa ultras could be seen holding up banners saying "Benvenuto fratello napoletano", meaning, "Welcome, Neapolitan brother", and the two sets of fans celebrated together in a warm and ever-co-operating manner.
On the other hand, the amicable relationship with the red-and-yellow supporters of Roma, fostered by the cession of striker Roberto Pruzzo in 1979 and lasting for most of the 80's has, in recent years, cooled up a bit while another strong fraternity, which saw Genoese football fans on friendly terms with Torino (since the exchange of Gigi Meroni between the two clubs at the end of the 1963–64 season and his untimely death on 15 October 1967) has perhaps broken-down for good after the Torino-Genoa match of season 2008–09.
Starved for points and risking a humiliating relegation (one of many in a troubled recent history) the Turinese fans expected a friendly treatment from Genoa, which, in the heat of a pitched battle with Fiorentina for the fourth place (which could have won a Champions League spot for the team) did not comply, soundly beating Torino and to many effects sealing its fate. When during early August 2009 Genoa scheduled a friendly match with Nice in southern Piedmont, many Turinese hooligans travelled to the match location with the precise intention of starting trouble and disorder to "get even" with Genoa and its fans.
== Ownership and structure ==
=== 777 Partners ===
On 23 September 2021, it was announced that Genoa had been acquired by 777 Partners, a US-based private investment firm founded by Steven W. Pasko and Josh Wander. While terms were not publicly released, sources close to the deal revealed that the team was acquired for its enterprise value of $175 million. Despite being relegated to Serie B in their very first season under 777 Partners ownership, Genoa immediately made it back to Serie A the following year.
=== Cricket ===
Early on, the club transformed from a multi-sport club to one exclusively focused on football. In 2007, a group of club supporters formed a section dedicated to cricket. It currently competes under the name Genoa Cricket Club 1893 in Serie A of the Italian cricket league.
== In Europe ==
=== UEFA Cup/Europa League ===
== Honours ==
=== National titles ===
=== League ===
Italian Football Championship / Northern League / Serie A:
Winners (9): 1898, 1899, 1900, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1914–15, 1922–23, 1923–24
Serie B:
Winners (6): 1934–35, 1952–53, 1961–62, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1988–89
Serie C / Serie C1 (North):
Winners (1): 1970–71
=== Cups ===
Coppa Italia: 1
Winners: 1936–37
Runners-up: 1939–40
=== Other Titles ===
Coppa delle Alpi: 2
Winners: 1962, 1964
Anglo-Italian Cup: 1
Winners: 1996
=== Youth titles ===
Campionato Nazionale Primavera: 1
Winners: 2009–10
Coppa Italia Primavera: 1
Winners: 2008–09
Primavera Super Cup: 2
Winners: 2009, 2010
Torneo di Viareggio: 2
Winners: 1965, 2007
Campionato Nazionale Under-18: 2
Winners: 2020–21, 2023–24
Campionato Nazionale Under-17:
Runners-up: 2020–21
Campionato Nazionale giovanile: 2
Winners: 1939, 1942
== Divisional movements ==
The total from 1897–98 includes 105 seasons at a national level from the inception of the Italian football league, including 27 seasons of Prima Categoria and Prima Divisione (from 1898 to 1922 the name of the Italian Football Championship was Prima Categoria). Seasons included Prima Categoria 1907–1908, where Genoa didn't enter the tournament.
== Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Records_(1980) | Modern Records (1980) | Modern Records was a record label founded in 1980 by Stevie Nicks, Danny Goldberg, and Paul Fishkin. Its logo clearly stated the founding year to avoid confusion with the earlier Modern Records. The label had a distribution deal with Atlantic Records in the United States (also had international distribution with WEA and EMI) and Nicks was the biggest artist on the label, with other artists such as Joey Wilson, Venice, Sandy Stewart, Poe, and Natalie Cole also having records released on the label. Modern Records folded in 1999. The record label was born out of necessity due to Warner Brothers refusing to sign Nicks as a solo act.
== Notable signed artists ==
Stevie Nicks
Rick Vito
Sandy Stewart
Joey Wilson
Jah Malla
Poe
Natalie Cole
Venice |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHO_Model_List_of_Essential_Medicines | WHO Model List of Essential Medicines | The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (a.k.a. Essential Medicines List or EML), published by the World Health Organization (WHO), contains the medications considered to be most effective and safe to meet the most important needs in a health system. The list is frequently used by countries to help develop their own local lists of essential medicines. As of 2016, more than 155 countries have created national lists of essential medicines based on the World Health Organization's model list. This includes both developed and developing countries.
The list is divided into core items and complementary items. The core items are deemed to be the most cost-effective options for key health problems and are usable with little additional health care resources. The complementary items either require additional infrastructure such as specially trained health care providers or diagnostic equipment or have a lower cost–benefit ratio. About 25% of items are in the complementary list. Some medications are listed as both core and complementary. While most medications on the list are available as generic products, being under patent does not prevent inclusion.
The first list was published in 1977 and included 208 medications. The WHO updates the list every two years. There are 306 medications in the 14th list in 2005, 410 in the 19th list in 2015, 433 in the 20th list in 2017, 460 in the 21st list in 2019, and 479 in the 22nd list in 2021. Various national lists contain between 334 and 580 medications. The Essential Medicines List (EML) was updated in September 2025 to its 24th edition. The list contains recommendations for 523 medications.
A separate list for children up to twelve years of age, known as the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (EMLc), was created in 2007, and is in its 10th edition. It was created to make sure that the needs of children were systematically considered such as availability of proper formulations. Everything in the children's list is also included in the main list. The list and notes are based on the 19th to 24th edition of the main list. Therapeutic alternatives with similar clinical performance are listed for some medicines and they may be considered for national essential medicines lists. The 10th Essential Medicines List for Children was updated in September 2025.
Note: An α indicates a medicine is on the complementary list.
== Anaesthetics, preoperative medicines and medical gases ==
=== General anaesthetics and oxygen ===
==== Inhalational medicines ====
Isoflurane
Nitrous oxide
Oxygen
Sevoflurane
==== Injectable medicines ====
Ketamine
Propofol
=== Local anaesthetics ===
Bupivacaine
Lidocaine
Lidocaine/epinephrine (lidocaine + epinephrine (adrenaline))
Complementary:
Ephedrineα
=== Preoperative medication and sedation for short-term procedures ===
Atropine
Midazolam
Morphine
=== Medical gases ===
Oxygen
== Medicines for pain and palliative care ==
=== Non-opioids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIMs) ===
Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin)
Ibuprofen
Paracetamol (acetaminophen)
=== Opioid analgesics ===
Codeine
Fentanyl
Morphine
Complementary:
Methadoneα
=== Medicines for other common symptoms in palliative care ===
Amitriptyline
Cyclizine
Dexamethasone
Diazepam
Docusate sodium
Fluoxetine
Haloperidol
Hyoscine butylbromide
Hyoscine hydrobromide
Lactulose
Loperamide
Metoclopramide
Midazolam
Ondansetron
Senna
== Antiallergics and medicines used in anaphylaxis ==
Dexamethasone
Epinephrine (adrenaline)
Hydrocortisone
Loratadine
Prednisolone
== Antidotes and other substances used in poisonings ==
=== Non-specific ===
Charcoal, activated
=== Specific ===
Acetylcysteine
Atropine
Calcium gluconate
Methylthioninium chloride (methylene blue)
Naloxone
Penicillamine
Potassium ferric hexacyano-ferrate(II) -2H2O (prussian blue)
Sodium nitrite
Sodium thiosulfate
Complementary:
Deferoxamineα
Dimercaprolα
Fomepizoleα
Sodium calcium edetateα
Succimerα
== Medicines for neurological disorders ==
=== Medicines for central nervous system disorders ===
==== Antiseizure medicines ====
Carbamazepine
Diazepam
Lamotrigine
Levetiracetam
Lorazepam
Magnesium sulfate
Midazolam
Phenobarbital
Phenytoin
Valproic acid (sodium valproate)
Complementary:
Ethosuximideα
Levetiracetamα
Valproic acid (sodium valproate)α
==== Medicines for multiple sclerosis ====
Complementary:
Cladribineα
Glatiramer acetateα
Rituximabα
==== Medicines for parkinsonism ====
Biperiden
Levodopa/carbidopa (levodopa + carbidopa)
==== Medicines for cerebral palsy ====
Baclofen
==== Medicines for headache disorders ====
===== Medicines for acute migraine attacks =====
Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin)
Ibuprofen
Paracetamol (acetaminophen)
Sumatriptan
===== Medicines for migraine prophylaxis =====
Propranolol
===== Medicines for cluster headache =====
Prednisolone
Sumatriptan
Verapamil
==== Medicines for central nervous system infections ====
===== Medicines for bacterial central nervous system infections =====
Amoxicillin
Ampicillin
Benzylpenicillin
Cefotaxime
Ceftriaxone
Chloramphenicol
Gentamicin
Complementary:
Meropenemα
===== Medicines for viral central nervous system infections =====
Aciclovir
=== Medicines for peripheral nervous system disorders ===
==== Medicines for Guillain-Barré syndrome ====
Complementary:
Normal immunoglobulinα
==== Medicines for myasthenia gravis ====
Neostigmine
Complementary:
Pyridostigmineα
== Anti-infective medicines ==
=== Anthelminthics ===
==== Intestinal anthelminthics ====
Albendazole
Ivermectin
Levamisole
Mebendazole
Niclosamide
Praziquantel
Pyrantel
==== Antifilarials ====
Albendazole
Diethylcarbamazine
Ivermectin
==== Antischistosomals and other antinematode medicines ====
Praziquantel
Triclabendazole
Complementary:
Oxamniquineα
==== Cysticidal medicines ====
Complementary:
Albendazoleα
Mebendazoleα
Praziquantelα
=== Antibacterials ===
==== Access group antibiotics ====
This group includes antibiotics that have activity against a wide range of commonly encountered susceptible pathogens while also showing lower resistance potential than antibiotics in the other groups.
Amikacin
Amoxicillin
Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (amoxicillin + clavulanic acid)
Ampicillin
Benzathine benzylpenicillin
Benzylpenicillin
Cefalexin
Cefazolin
Chloramphenicol
Clindamycin
Cloxacillin
Doxycycline
Gentamicin
Metronidazole
Nitrofurantoin
Phenoxymethylpenicillin (penicillin V)
Procaine benzylpenicillin
Spectinomycin
Sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (sulfamethoxazole + trimethoprim)
Trimethoprim
==== Watch group antibiotics ====
This group includes antibiotic classes that have higher resistance potential and includes most of the highest priority agents among the Critically Important Antimicrobials for Human Medicine and/or antibiotics that are at relatively high risk of selection of bacterial resistance.
Azithromycin
Cefixime
Cefotaxime
Ceftriaxone
Cefuroxime
Ciprofloxacin
Clarithromycin
Piperacillin/tazobactam (piperacillin + tazobactam)
Vancomycin
Complementary:
Ceftazidimeα
Meropenemα
Vancomycinα
==== Reserve group antibiotics ====
This group includes antibiotics and antibiotic classes that should be reserved for treatment of confirmed or suspected infections due to multi-drug-resistant organisms.
Complementary:
Cefiderocolα
Ceftazidime/avibactam (ceftazidime + avibactam)α
Ceftolozane/tazobactam (ceftolozane + tazobactam)α
Colistinα
Fosfomycinα
Linezolidα
Meropenem/vaborbactam (meropenem + vaborbactam)α
Plazomicinα
Polymyxin Bα
==== Antileprosy medicines ====
Clofazimine
Dapsone
Rifampicin
==== Antituberculosis medicines ====
Amikacin
Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (amoxicillin + clavulanic acid)
Bedaquiline
Clofazimine
Cycloserine
Delamanid
Ethambutol
Ethambutol/isoniazid/pyrazinamide/rifampicin (ethambutol + isoniazid + pyrazinamide + rifampicin)
Ethambutol/isoniazid/rifampicin (ethambutol + isoniazid + rifampicin)
Ethionamide
Isoniazid
Isoniazid/pyrazinamide/rifampicin (isoniazid + pyrazinamide + rifampicin)
Isoniazid/rifampicin (isoniazid + rifampicin)
Isoniazid/rifapentine (isoniazid + rifapentine)
Levofloxacin
Linezolid
Meropenem
Moxifloxacin
Moxifloxacin
P-aminosalicylic acid (p-aminosalicylate sodium)
Pretomanid
Pyrazinamide
Rifabutin
Rifampicin
Rifapentine
Streptomycin
=== Antifungal medicines ===
Amphotericin B
Clotrimazole
Fluconazole
Flucytosine
Griseofulvin
Itraconazole
Nystatin
Voriconazole
Complementary:
Micafunginα
Potassium iodideα
=== Antiviral medicines ===
==== Antiherpes medicines ====
Aciclovir
==== Antiretrovirals ====
===== Nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors =====
Abacavir
Lamivudine
Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
Zidovudine
===== Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors =====
Efavirenz
Nevirapine
===== Protease inhibitors =====
Atazanavir/ritonavir (atazanavir + ritonavir)
Darunavir
Lopinavir/ritonavir (lopinavir + ritonavir)
Ritonavir
===== Integrase inhibitors =====
Dolutegravir
Raltegravir
===== Fixed-dose combinations of antiretroviral medicines =====
Abacavir/dolutegravir/lamivudine (abacavir + dolutegravir + lamivudine)
Abacavir/lamivudine (abacavir + lamivudine)
Dolutegravir/lamivudine/tenofovir (dolutegravir + lamivudine + tenofovir)
Efavirenz/emtricitabine/tenofovir
Efavirenz/lamivudine/tenofovir (efavirenz + lamivudine + tenofovir)
Emtricitabine/tenofovir (emtricitabine + tenofovir)
Lamivudine/zidovudine (lamivudine + zidovudine)
===== Medicines for prevention of HIV-related opportunistic infections =====
Isoniazid/pyridoxine/sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (isoniazid + pyridoxine + sulfamethoxazole + trimethoprim)
===== Other antivirals =====
Valganciclovir
Complementary:
Oseltamivirα
Valganciclovirα
==== Antihepatitis medicines ====
===== Medicines for hepatitis B =====
====== Nucleoside/Nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors ======
Entecavir
Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
===== Medicines for hepatitis C =====
====== Pangenotypic direct-acting antiviral combinations ======
Daclatasvir
Daclatasvir/sofosbuvir (daclatasvir + sofosbuvir)
Glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (glecaprevir + pibrentasvir)
Ravidasvir
Sofosbuvir
Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (sofosbuvir + velpatasvir)
====== Non-pangenotypic direct-acting antiviral combinations ======
Ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (ledipasvir + sofosbuvir)
====== Other antivirals for hepatitis C ======
Ribavirin
=== Antiprotozoal medicines ===
==== Antiamoebic and antigiardiasis medicines ====
Diloxanide
Metronidazole
==== Antileishmaniasis medicines ====
Amphotericin B
Meglumine antimoniate
Miltefosine
Paromomycin
Sodium stibogluconate
==== Antimalarial medicines ====
===== Medicines for curative treatment =====
Artemether
Artemether/lumefantrine (artemether + lumefantrine)
Artesunate
Artesunate/amodiaquine (artesunate + amodiaquine)
Artesunate/mefloquine (artesunate + mefloquine)
Artesunate/pyronaridine tetraphosphate (artesunate + pyronaridine tetraphosphate)
Artesunate + sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (Co-packaged)
Chloroquine
Dihydroartemisinin/piperaquine phosphate (dihydroartemisinin + piperaquine phosphate)
Primaquine
Quinine
===== Medicines for chemoprevention =====
Amodiaquine + sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (Co-packaged)
Sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (sulfadoxine + pyrimethamine)
===== Medicines for chemoprophylaxis in travellers =====
Chloroquine
Doxycycline
Mefloquine
==== Antipneumocystosis and antitoxoplasmosis medicines ====
Pyrimethamine
Sulfadiazine
Sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (sulfamethoxazole + trimethoprim)
Complementary:
Pentamidineα
==== Antitrypanosomal medicines ====
===== African trypanosomiasis =====
Fexinidazole
====== Medicines for the treatment of 1st stage African trypanosomiasis ======
Pentamidine
Suramin sodium
====== Medicines for the treatment of 2nd stage African trypanosomiasis ======
Eflornithine
Melarsoprol
Nifurtimox
Complementary:
Melarsoprolα
===== American trypanosomiasis =====
Benznidazole
Nifurtimox
=== Medicines for ectoparasitic infections ===
Ivermectin
=== Medicines for Ebola virus disease ===
Ansuvimab
Atoltivimab/maftivimab/odesivimab (atoltivimab + maftivimab + odesivimab)
=== Medicines for COVID-19 ===
No listings in this section.
== Medicines for cystic fibrosis ==
Elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (elexacaftor + tezacaftor + ivacaftor)
Ivacaftor
Complementary:
Pancreatic enzymesα
== Immunomodulators and antineoplastics ==
=== Immunomodulators for non-malignant disease ===
Complementary:
Adalimumabα
Azathioprineα
Ciclosporinα
Tacrolimusα
=== Antineoplastics and supportive medicines ===
==== Cytotoxic medicines ====
Complementary:
Arsenic trioxideα
Asparaginaseα
Bendamustineα
Bleomycinα
Calcium folinate (leucovorin calcium)α
Capecitabineα
Carboplatinα
Chlorambucilα
Cisplatinα
Cyclophosphamideα
Cytarabineα
Dacarbazineα
Dactinomycinα
Daunorubicinα
Docetaxelα
Doxorubicinα
Doxorubicin (as pegylated liposomal)α
Etoposideα
Fludarabineα
Fluorouracilα
Gemcitabineα
Hydroxycarbamide (hydroxyurea)α
Ifosfamideα
Irinotecanα
Melphalanα
Mercaptopurineα
Methotrexateα
Oxaliplatinα
Paclitaxelα
Pegaspargaseα
Procarbazineα
Realgar Indigo naturalis formulationα
Tioguanineα
Vinblastineα
Vincristineα
Vinorelbineα
==== Targeted therapies ====
Complementary:
All-trans retinoic acid (tretinoin) (ATRA)α
Bortezomibα
Dasatinibα
Erlotinibα
Everolimusα
Ibrutinibα
Imatinibα
Nilotinibα
Rituximabα
Trastuzumabα
==== Immunomodulators ====
Complementary:
Blinatumomabα
Filgrastimα
Lenalidomideα
Pegfilgrastimα
Pembrolizumabα
Pembrolizumabα
Pembrolizumabα
Thalidomideα
==== Hormones and antihormones ====
Complementary:
Abirateroneα
Anastrozoleα
Bicalutamideα
Dexamethasoneα
Hydrocortisoneα
Leuprorelinα
Methylprednisoloneα
Prednisoloneα
Tamoxifenα
==== Supportive medicines ====
Complementary:
Allopurinolα
Mesnaα
Rasburicaseα
Zoledronic acidα
== Therapeutic foods ==
Ready-to-use therapeutic food
== Medicines affecting the blood ==
=== Antianaemia medicines ===
Ferrous salt
Ferrous salt/folic acid (ferrous salt + folic acid)
Folic acid
Hydroxocobalamin
Complementary:
Erythropoiesis-stimulating agentsα
=== Medicines affecting coagulation ===
Dabigatran
Desmopressin
Emicizumab
Enoxaparin
Heparin sodium
Phytomenadione
Protamine sulfate
Tranexamic acid
Warfarin
Complementary:
Heparin sodiumα
Protamine sulfateα
Warfarinα
=== Medicines for haemoglobinopathies ===
==== Medicines for sickle-cell disease ====
Deferasirox
Hydroxyurea (hydroxycarbamide)
Complementary:
Deferoxamineα
==== Medicines for thalassaemias ====
Deferasirox
Complementary:
Deferoxamineα
== Blood products, coagulation factors and plasma substitutes ==
=== Blood and blood components ===
Cryoprecipitate, pathogen-reduced
Fresh frozen plasma
Platelets
Red blood cells
Whole blood
==== Human immunoglobulins ====
Anti-D immunoglobulin
Anti-rabies immunoglobulin
Anti-tetanus immunoglobulin
Complementary:
Normal immunoglobulinα
=== Coagulation factors ===
Coagulation factor VIII, plasma-derived
Coagulation factor IX, plasma-derived
Coagulation factor VIII, recombinant
Coagulation factor IX, recombinant
=== Plasma substitutes ===
Dextran 70
== Cardiovascular medicines ==
=== Antianginal medicines ===
Bisoprolol
Glyceryl trinitrate
Isosorbide dinitrate
Verapamil
=== Antiarrhythmic medicines ===
Bisoprolol
Digoxin
Epinephrine (adrenaline)
Lidocaine
Verapamil
Complementary:
Amiodaroneα
=== Antihypertensive medicines ===
Amlodipine
Bisoprolol
Enalapril
Hydralazine
Hydrochlorothiazide
Lisinopril/amlodipine (lisinopril + amlodipine)
Lisinopril/hydrochlorothiazide (lisinopril + hydrochlorothiazide)
Losartan
Methyldopa
Perindopril/amlodipine/indapamide (perindopril + amlodipine + indapamide)
Telmisartan/amlodipine (telmisartan + amlodipine)
Telmisartan/hydrochlorothiazide (telmisartan + hydrochlorothiazide)
Valsartan/amlodipine/hydrochlorothiazide (valsartan + amlodipine + hydrochlorothiazide)
Complementary:
Sodium nitroprussideα
=== Medicines used in heart failure ===
Bisoprolol
Digoxin
Enalapril
Furosemide
Hydrochlorothiazide
Losartan
Spironolactone
Complementary:
Digoxinα
Dopamineα
=== Antithrombotic medicines ===
==== Anti-platelet medicines ====
Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin)
Clopidogrel
==== Thrombolytic medicines ====
Complementary:
Alteplaseα
Streptokinaseα
=== Lipid-lowering agents ===
Simvastatin
=== Fixed-dose combinations of various agents for prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease === also referred to as "polypills." The first patent, Liang MH, Manson JE. (US Patent No. 6,576,256) [“Polypill”]. Treatment of patients at Elevated Cardiovascular Risk with a Combination of a Cholesterol Lowering Agent, an Inhibitor of the Renin-Angiotensin System, and Aspirin, submitted 2001; awarded and assigned to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 2003.
Acetylsalicylic acid/atorvastatin/ramipril (acetylsalicylic acid + atorvastatin + ramipril)
Acetylsalicylic acid/simvastatin/ramipril/atenolol/hydrochlorothiazide (acetylsalicylic acid + simvastatin + ramipril + atenolol + hydrochlorothiazide)
Atorvastatin/perindopril/amlodipine (atorvastatin + perindopril + amlodipine)
== Dermatological medicines ==
=== Antifungal medicines ===
Miconazole
Selenium sulfide
Sodium thiosulfate
Terbinafine
=== Anti-infective medicines ===
Mupirocin
Potassium permanganate
Silver sulfadiazine
=== Anti-inflammatory and antipruritic medicines ===
Betamethasone
Calamine
Hydrocortisone
=== Medicines affecting skin differentiation and proliferation ===
Benzoyl peroxide
Calcipotriol
Coal tar
Fluorouracil
Podophyllum resin
Salicylic acid
Urea
Complementary:
Adalimumabα
Methotrexateα
Ustekinumabα
=== Scabicides and pediculicides ===
Benzyl benzoate
Permethrin
=== Moisturizers ===
Urea
Glycerol
=== Sunscreens, broad-spectrum ===
Sunscreen, broad-spectrum
== Diagnostic agents ==
=== Ophthalmic medicines ===
Fluorescein
Tropicamide
=== Radiocontrast media ===
Amidotrizoate
Barium sulfate
Iohexol
Complementary:
Barium sulfateα
Meglumine iotroxateα
== Antiseptics and disinfectants ==
=== Antiseptics ===
Chlorhexidine
Ethanol
Povidone iodine
=== Disinfectants ===
Alcohol based hand rub
Chlorine base compound
Chloroxylenol
Glutaral
Hypochlorous acid
== Diuretics ==
Amiloride
Furosemide
Hydrochlorothiazide
Mannitol
Spironolactone
Complementary:
Hydrochlorothiazideα
Mannitolα
Spironolactoneα
== Gastrointestinal medicines ==
Complementary:
Pancreatic enzymesα
=== Antiulcer medicines ===
Omeprazole
Ranitidine
=== Antiemetic medicines ===
Dexamethasone
Metoclopramide
Ondansetron
Complementary:
Aprepitantα
=== Anti-inflammatory medicines ===
Sulfasalazine
Complementary:
Hydrocortisoneα
Prednisoloneα
=== Laxatives ===
Senna
=== Medicines used in diarrhea ===
Oral rehydration salts + zinc sulfate (Co-packaged)
==== Oral rehydration ====
Oral rehydration salts
==== Medicines for diarrhoea ====
Zinc sulfate
== Medicines for endocrine disorders ==
=== Adrenal hormones and synthetic substitutes ===
Fludrocortisone
Hydrocortisone
Prednisolone
=== Androgens ===
Complementary:
Testosteroneα
=== Estrogens ===
No listings in this section.
=== Progestogens ===
Medroxyprogesterone acetate
=== Medicines for diabetes ===
==== Insulins ====
Insulin (analogue, long-acting)
Insulin (analogue, rapid-acting)
Insulin (human, intermediate-acting)
Insulin (human, short-acting)
==== Hypoglycaemic agents ====
Empagliflozin
Gliclazide
Metformin
Semaglutide
Complementary:
Metforminα
=== Medicines for hypoglycaemia ===
Glucagon
Complementary:
Diazoxideα
=== Thyroid hormones and antithyroid medicines ===
Levothyroxine
Potassium iodide
Methimazole
Propylthiouracil
Complementary:
Iodine + potassium iodide (Lugol's solution)α
Methimazoleα
Potassium iodideα
Propylthiouracilα
=== Medicines for disorders of the pituitary hormone system ===
Cabergoline
Complementary:
Octreotideα
== Immunologicals ==
=== Diagnostic agents ===
Tuberculin, purified protein derivative (PPD)
=== Sera, immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibodies ===
Anti-rabies virus monoclonal antibodies
Antivenom immunoglobulin
Diphtheria antitoxin
Equine rabies immunoglobulin
=== Vaccines ===
BCG vaccine
Cholera vaccine
Dengue vaccine
Diphtheria vaccine
Ebola vaccine
Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine
Hepatitis A vaccine
Hepatitis B vaccine
Hepatitis E vaccine
Human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine
Influenza vaccine (seasonal)
Japanese encephalitis vaccine
Malaria vaccine
Measles vaccine
Meningococcal meningitis vaccine
Mpox vaccine
Mumps vaccine
Pertussis vaccine
Pneumococcal vaccine
Poliomyelitis vaccine
Rabies vaccine
Respiratory syncytial virus vaccine
Rotavirus vaccine
Rubella vaccine
Tetanus vaccine
Tick-borne encephalitis vaccine
Typhoid vaccine
Varicella vaccine
Yellow fever vaccine
== Muscle relaxants (peripherally-acting) and cholinesterase inhibitors ==
Atracurium
Neostigmine
Suxamethonium
Vecuronium
Complementary:
Pyridostigmineα
Vecuroniumα
== Ophthalmological preparations ==
=== Anti-infective agents ===
Aciclovir
Azithromycin
Erythromycin
Gentamicin
Natamycin
Ofloxacin
Tetracycline
=== Anti-inflammatory agents ===
Prednisolone
=== Local anaesthetics ===
Tetracaine
=== Miotics and antiglaucoma medicines ===
Acetazolamide
Latanoprost
Pilocarpine
Timolol
=== Mydriatics ===
Atropine
Complementary:
Epinephrine (adrenaline)α
=== Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) preparations ===
Complementary:
Bevacizumabα
== Medicines for reproductive health and perinatal care ==
=== Contraceptives ===
==== Oral hormonal contraceptives ====
Ethinylestradiol/levonorgestrel (ethinylestradiol + levonorgestrel)
Ethinylestradiol/norethisterone (ethinylestradiol + norethisterone)
Levonorgestrel
Ulipristal
==== Injectable hormonal contraceptives ====
Estradiol cypionate/medroxyprogesterone acetate (estradiol cypionate + medroxyprogesterone acetate)
Medroxyprogesterone acetate
Norethisterone enantate
==== Intrauterine devices ====
Copper-containing device
Levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system
==== Barrier methods ====
Condoms
Diaphragms
==== Implantable contraceptives ====
Etonogestrel-releasing implant
Levonorgestrel-releasing implant
==== Intravaginal contraceptives ====
Ethinylestradiol/etonogestrel (ethinylestradiol + etonogestrel)
Progesterone vaginal ring
=== Ovulation inducers ===
Complementary:
Clomifeneα
Letrozoleα
=== Uterotonics ===
Carbetocin
Ergometrine
Misoprostol
Oxytocin
=== Medicines for medical abortion ===
Mifepristone + misoprostol (Co-packaged)
Misoprostol
=== Antioxytocics (tocolytics) ===
Nifedipine
=== Other medicines administered to the mother ===
Dexamethasone
Multiple micronutrient supplement
Tranexamic acid
=== Medicines administered to the neonate ===
Caffeine citrate
Chlorhexidine
Complementary:
Alprostadil (prostaglandin E1)α
Beractantα
Ibuprofenα
Poractant alfaα
== Peritoneal dialysis solution ==
Complementary:
Intraperitoneal dialysis solution (of appropriate composition in accordance with local clinical guidelines.)α
== Medicines for mental and behavioural disorders ==
=== Medicines used in psychotic disorders ===
Fluphenazine
Haloperidol
Olanzapine
Paliperidone
Risperidone
Complementary:
Clozapineα
=== Medicines used in mood disorders ===
==== Medicines used in depressive disorders ====
Amitriptyline
Fluoxetine
==== Medicines used in bipolar disorders ====
Carbamazepine
Lithium carbonate
Quetiapine
Valproic acid (sodium valproate)
=== Medicines for anxiety disorders ===
Diazepam
Fluoxetine
=== Medicines used for obsessive compulsive disorders ===
Clomipramine
Fluoxetine
=== Medicines for disorders due to psychoactive substance use ===
==== Medicines for alcohol use disorders ====
Acamprosate calcium
Naltrexone
==== Medicines for nicotine use disorders ====
Bupropion
Cytisine (cytisinicline)
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)
Varenicline
==== Medicines for opioid use disorders ====
Complementary:
Methadoneα
== Medicines acting on the respiratory tract ==
=== Antiasthmatic medicines and medicines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ===
Budesonide
Budesonide/formoterol (budesonide + formoterol)
Epinephrine (adrenaline)
Ipratropium bromide
Salbutamol
Tiotropium
== Solutions correcting water, electrolyte and acid-base disturbances ==
=== Oral ===
Oral rehydration salts
Potassium chloride
=== Parenteral ===
Glucose
Glucose with sodium chloride
Potassium chloride
Sodium chloride
Sodium hydrogen carbonate
Sodium lactate, compound solution (Ringer's lactate solution)
=== Miscellaneous ===
Water for injection
== Vitamins and minerals ==
Ascorbic acid
Calcium
Cholecalciferol
Ergocalciferol
Iodine
Multiple micronutrient powder
Nicotinamide
Pyridoxine
Retinol
Riboflavin
Thiamine
Complementary:
Calcium gluconateα
== Ear, nose and throat medicines ==
Acetic acid
Budesonide
Ciprofloxacin
Xylometazoline
== Medicines for diseases of joints ==
=== Medicines used to treat gout ===
Allopurinol
=== Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) ===
Chloroquine
Complementary:
Azathioprineα
Hydroxychloroquineα
Methotrexateα
Penicillamineα
Sulfasalazineα
=== Medicines for juvenile joint diseases ===
Complementary:
Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin)
Adalimumabα
Methotrexateα
Triamcinolone hexacetonideα
== Dental medicines and preparations ==
Fluoride
Glass ionomer cement
Resin-based composite (low-viscosity)
Resin-based composite (high-viscosity)
Silver diamine fluoride |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Purvis_(actor) | Jack Purvis (actor) | Jack Purvis (13 July 1937 – 21 November 1997) was a British actor. Purvis had dwarfism, and at 4 feet 2 inches (1.27 m) was mainly cast in roles requiring actors of short stature. He appeared in three of filmmaker Terry Gilliam's early fantasy films, with significant roles in Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen as well as a role in each film of the original trilogy in filmmaker George Lucas's Star Wars.
== Career ==
For twenty years until 1991, Purvis performed as part of a musical comedy double-act with Kenny Baker, billed as the "Mini-Tones" (Baker was also a dwarf). Purvis played the trumpet to Baker's mouth-organ and vibraphone.
The duo would attend auditions for Star Wars in 1976, where Baker was instantly cast as R2-D2. At that time the duo had reached the final on the talent show Opportunity Knocks, and were reluctant to put the Mini-Tones work on hold. After some negotiation, Purvis was also hired to appear in the film, and would go on to play a different alien creature in each film of the original trilogy.
In 1991, Purvis became quadriplegic after his neck was broken in a car repair accident. This and the 1990 death of David Rappaport led to Terry Gilliam's indefinitely shelving an intended sequel to Time Bandits, where both actors played titular roles.
Purvis died in November 1997 at the age of 60.
== Filmography ==
=== Film === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tate_McRae | Tate McRae | Tate Rosner McRae (born July 1, 2003) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and dancer. She first gained prominence as a contestant on the American reality television series So You Think You Can Dance in 2016. She signed with RCA Records and gained early recognition for her extended plays (EPs) All the Things I Never Said (2020) and Too Young to Be Sad (2021); the latter became the most streamed female EP of 2021 on Spotify and was preceded by the single "You Broke Me First", her first US Billboard Hot 100 entry.
In 2022, McRae released her debut studio album, I Used to Think I Could Fly, which peaked at number three on the Canadian music charts and was supported by the single "She's All I Wanna Be". Her second studio album, Think Later (2023), explored a more pop-oriented sound and produced the multi-platinum single "Greedy", which became one of the bestselling songs of 2024 globally. In 2025, McRae released her third studio album, So Close to What, which topped the US Billboard 200 and yielded the global top-ten hits "Sports Car", "Revolving Door", and "Tit for Tat". That same year, she scored her first US number-one single as a featured artist on Morgan Wallen's "What I Want" and earned her first Grammy Award nomination for the soundtrack single "Just Keep Watching".
== Early life and education ==
Tate Rosner McRae was born in Calgary, Alberta, on July 1, 2003, the daughter of Tanja Rosner, a German dance instructor, and Todd McRae, a lawyer for oil and gas companies who has Scottish ancestry. At the age of two she moved with her family to Oman, on account of her father's work; she lived there for three years. During her time in Oman, McRae attended The American International School Muscat (TAISM). McRae began recreational dance training at age six. Having returned to Calgary, at the age of eight, she began to train more intensively in dance and competed with Drewitz Dance Productions. From age 11, she began training in all styles of dance at YYC Dance Project, a dance company owned by her mother, and underwent ballet training at the School of Alberta Ballet, the training school for the Alberta Ballet Company.
McRae attended Western Canada High School and graduated online in 2021.
== Career ==
=== 2013–2018: Dance career ===
McRae was awarded Mini Best Female Dancer at the 2013 Dance Awards in New York City. After gaining some prominence through social media, she became a brand ambassador for the American dance shoes manufacturer Capezio. She became a finalist at the New York City Dance Alliance's 2014 National Gala. She also voiced Spot Splatter Splash for the Lalaloopsy (2013–2015) franchise.
In 2015, McRae was awarded a two-week scholarship at the Berlin State Ballet company after winning the silver medal as a soloist and the bronze medal for her duet at the 2015 Youth America Grand Prix. She danced in the music video for Walk off the Earth's platinum-certified single "Rule the World". For the second time, McRae was awarded the Best Female Dancer award at the 2015 Dance Awards, this time in the Junior category.
In June 2016, she performed at Justin Bieber's concert in Calgary for the Purpose World Tour during Bieber's performance of "Children". In April 2016, McRae performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show as part of the DancerPalooza troupe. In June 2016, she took part in the thirteenth season of American television show So You Think You Can Dance. While competing for the America's Favorite Dancer title as a non-American, she was mentored by American dancer and actress Kathryn McCormick. She advanced further in the competition than any other Canadian in the show's history, placing third on the final episode. The Toronto Sun reacted, "The fact that Canadians couldn't vote for Tate makes her third-place finish all the more impressive. While she might not have been voted America's favorite dancer, she certainly might be Canada's." She performed at the 2016 Teen Choice Awards as a finalist from the SYTYCD cast. She performed again on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in October 2016 as part of the Jump Dance Convention troupe.
She was featured on the cover of Dance Spirit magazine in April 2017. In May 2017, she was featured in a pas de deux in Alberta Ballet Company's production, "Our Canada" choreographed by Jean Grand-Maître. In November 2017, after performing a dance to Demi Lovato's song "Tell Me You Love Me" she was invited by Lovato to rehearse with their dancers for their performance at the American Music Awards. For the third time, she won Best Female Dancer at the 2018 Dance Awards in Las Vegas, this time in the Teen category, making her the first dancer in the competition's history to win in all categories from mini to teen. In April 2018, she choreographed and danced in the music video for the song "Just Say When" by American rock band Nothing More.
=== 2017–2020: Music beginnings and "You Broke Me First" ===
Since its creation in 2011, McRae's YouTube channel has featured primarily dance videos. However, in 2017, she began a video series showcasing original songs she wrote and recorded in her bedroom. The first song she released as part of the series, "One Day", attracted over 40 million views, prompting her to self-release the song as her independent debut single. The song would eventually be certified gold in Canada, marking her first certification. From 2017 to 2019, McRae continued to upload and release independent singles leading to her being named YouTube's Artist on the Rise. Her singles caught the attention of record labels. In March 2019, she released the standalone single, "Kids Are Alright".
McRae signed with RCA Records in August 2019, and released the singles "Tear Myself Apart", "All My Friends Are Fake" and "Stupid". The songs would become the only singles released from her then-forthcoming debut EP. "Stupid" charted in Ireland and Canada, earning significant radio airplay performance in the latter, peaking within the top 15 of the Canadian pop radio charts. "Stupid" was certified gold in Canada. McRae released her debut EP, All the Things I Never Said, on January 24, 2020, and announced her All the Things I Never Said Tour, headlining Europe and North America. Each stop on the tour was sold out. The tour received positive reviews.
In April 2020, McRae released the single "You Broke Me First" which retroactively became the lead single from her then-forthcoming second EP. The song was an international success, peaking within the top ten of the charts in several countries, including Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, and becoming her first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It was also the longest charting song released by a female artist in 2020 on the Billboard Hot 100, at 38 weeks. It peaked at number one on the Mediabase Top 40 chart, breaking the record for the longest climb to number one by a female solo artist at 28 weeks. She also performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Towards the end of the year, following the success of "You Broke Me First", she signed a worldwide publishing deal with Sony/ATV.
Throughout the rest of 2020, McRae released a string of standalone singles including "Vicious" featuring American rapper Lil Mosey in June, "Don't Be Sad" in August, "Lie to Me" with Canadian singer Ali Gatie in October, and "R U OK" in December; the latter retroactively became the second single from her second EP.
In September, McRae was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Push Best New Artist, and performed "You Broke Me First" at the VMAs pre-show. That same month, she was also featured on the cover of Dork magazine. McRae gained notable recognition as a rising artist in 2020, being named YouTube's Artist on the Rise, MTV's Push Artist for July, and a Vevo DSCVR artist. She was also featured on Billboard's 21 Under 21 One to Watch list and named by Pandora, The Independent, NME, Amazon Music, and Uproxx as an artist to watch in 2021. In December 2020, she was the youngest person listed in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the music category. In the same month, she was named one of Rolling Stone's top ten biggest breakthrough artists of 2020, and featured on TikTok's "The Come Up: Emerging Artists" list as one of the top emerging artists on the platform. She was also featured on Harper's Bazaar's On the Rise series.
McRae's rise to mainstream popularity was unusual because much of it happened during early COVID-19 restrictions, which led David Friend, a music reporter at The Canadian Press, to call her "a bonafide star of the lockdown". Her performances on late night and awards shows were often done in isolation and studios, including the virtual edition of MTV's European music awards. She said this led her to sometimes disassociate herself from the fame she was experiencing in isolation.
=== 2021–2022: I Used to Think I Could Fly ===
In January 2021, McRae released the song "Rubberband", which retroactively became the eventual third single from her then-upcoming second EP. On March 3, 2021, alongside a promotional single titled "Slower", McRae announced that her second EP, Too Young to Be Sad, would be released on March 26, 2021. Upon release, the EP received positive reviews, debuted at number 94 on the US Billboard 200. At the end of 2021, the album amassed over one billion streams on Spotify, becoming the most streamed EP that year by a female artist. The EP was nominated for Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year at the 2022 Juno Awards. McRae received two Juno Award nominations, and was announced as an Apple Music Up Next artist.
In April, McRae featured on the song "You" alongside Regard and Troye Sivan. On May 8, 2021, McRae performed a global virtual show, "Too Young to Be Sad", which was praised. Later that month, McRae signed her first endorsement deal with Essentia Water, was nominated for the Social Star Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, and featured on the soundtrack of the Amazon original series Panic with the track "Darkest Hour". In June, McRae was featured on the song "U Love U" by Blackbear, and released the song "Working" with Khalid. In October, she was featured on the Billboard 21 under 21 list for 2021 and People magazine's One to Watch list for 2021. McRae was featured on the cover of Numéro in November 2021.
"That Way", a track from her debut EP, experienced a resurgence in late 2021 after going viral on TikTok and charted in the UK, and Ireland. In September 2021, McRae released a remix of "That Way" with Jeremy Zucker. In November 2021, McRae released "Feel Like Shit", the lead single off her then-forthcoming debut album which she began teasing earlier that same year.
In February 2022, McRae released "She's All I Wanna Be", the second single from her then-forthcoming debut album. The song found commercial success and reached the top 10 in Canada, Ireland, Norway, Singapore, and Belgium. It also charted in the top 40 in several countries. The song debuted at number 52 in the US, becoming her highest debut on the Hot 100 at the time. That same month, McRae was announced as a brand ambassador for Maybelline and the face of their new Vinyl Ink liquid lip color. McRae released "Chaotic" as the third single in March and released "What Would You Do?" as the fourth single in May. McRae announced that her debut album I Used to Think I Could Fly, would be released on May 27, 2022. The album received positive reviews from music critics and debuted at number three in Canada and 13 in the US.
In September 2022, McRae released the follow-up single "Uh Oh". In November, she featured on Tiësto's "10:35", released for the opening of the luxury resort Atlantis The Royal, Dubai. Towards the end of 2022, McRae began to express interest in a more pop music-oriented sound, describing her forthcoming work a "new chapter".
=== 2023–present: Think Later and So Close to What ===
By August 2023, McRae began teasing a new song. On September 15, 2023, she released her song "Greedy" which became her biggest debut on Spotify to date, and her first top 10 on the Global Spotify Charts. The song peaked at the top of the Canadian Hot 100, and debuted at the top of the charts in Denmark and Norway. "Greedy" also topped the charts in several other countries, including Australia and the Netherlands, as well as the Billboard Global 200, making it her first official number one single worldwide. The song also peaked within the top ten in several countries, including France, Iceland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. "Greedy" also became her first song to chart within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, peaking at number three. It also became the year-end number one song of 2024 on the US Pop Airplay chart after peaking at number one for eight weeks total. The song was a commercial success and acted as the lead single off her then-upcoming sophomore studio album. In November, she released a follow-up single titled "Exes", which also peaked top ten in Canada.
McRae released her sophomore studio album, Think Later, on December 8, 2023. The album received positive reviews and was described as a "career-defining shift" for McRae. It debuted in the top five of the charts worldwide including number four on the US Billboard 200, earning 66,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, of which 8,000 were pure album sales; This marked McRae's first top-ten album in the US. McRae won the Juno Award for Artist of the Year, and Single of the Year for "Greedy" at the 2024 Juno Awards. In late 2023, McRae made her Saturday Night Live debut performing "Greedy" and a then-unreleased song titled "Grave". Throughout the rest of 2023 and early 2024, McRae went on to perform "Greedy" at various award shows including the Billboard Music Awards, the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, the Brit Awards, and the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
In September 2024, McRae released the single "It's OK I'm OK" which found commercial success, charting in several countries worldwide and becoming her highest charting debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 20. She followed with a second single "2 Hands" in November which peaked at number 41 on the Hot 100 and 22 in Canada. Alongside the second single, McRae announced her third studio album, So Close to What, released on February 21, 2025, along with plans for the Miss Possessive Tour, which commenced on March 18 of the same year. So Close to What became McRae's first number one album on Billboard 200. Her third single, "Sports Car", was released on January 24, 2025. The song peaked at number nine on the Canadian Hot 100, and also peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. McRae made her first couch appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on February 25, as an interview guest where she taught him how to do the "It's OK I'm OK" dance. She returned to The Tonight Show on March 5, 2025, to perform "Revolving Door", returning as a performer for the third time. She performed on Saturday Night Live for the second time on March 1, performing "Sports Car" and "Dear God".
In May 2025, McRae was featured on Morgan Wallen's "What I Want", taken from his studio album I'm the Problem (2025). The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first number one single. That same month, "Just Keep Watching" was released, and was included on the F1 soundtrack, which was released on June 27, 2025. The song earned McRae her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Pop Recording. She performed at the Capital Summertime Ball on Sunday June 15 at Wembley Stadium, in the midst of the Miss Possessive Tour. On September 9, 2025, McRae performed "Revolving Door" and "Sports Car" at the 2025 MTV VMAs and won two awards for "Just Keep Watching". McRae later performed in Las Vegas on September 19, 2025, as part of the iHeartRadio Music Festival. McRae announced a new single, "Tit for Tat", which was released on September 26, 2025, and was reportedly about her ex-boyfriend the Kid Laroi. A deluxe version of So Close to What was released on November 21, 2025. In February 2026, she appeared in an advertisement for American broadcaster NBC's Winter Olympics coverage. McRae faced backlash for the advertisement from some Canadians, including from actor Jack Innanen; she responded to the criticism by stating "Y'all know I'm Canada down."
== Personal life ==
From late 2021 to early 2023, McRae was in a relationship with Columbus Blue Jackets player Cole Sillinger. In April 2024, Australian rapper and singer the Kid Laroi confirmed he was in a relationship with McRae. They collaborated on the song "I Know Love" from her 2025 album So Close to What. The couple broke up in July 2025. In December 2025, McRae started dating New Jersey Devils player Jack Hughes.
As of 2025, McRae lives in New York.
== Artistry ==
=== Musical style and influences ===
McRae's music incorporates pop, alternative pop and dance-pop with elements of R&B and soul.
McRae has named Lana Del Rey, Ariana Grande, Post Malone, The Weeknd, Khalid, Jessie Reyez and Jeremy Zucker as her biggest musical influences. She cites Zendaya and Dua Lipa as all-around influences, and has described both women as her biggest idols, noting that she looks up to them in all aspects of life. She has also named Bruno Mars, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Ciara, Jennifer Lopez and Justin Timberlake as inspirations for bringing dance into her performances, while naming Taylor Swift, Julia Michaels and Alec Benjamin as songwriting inspirations. Further, McRae has called herself a "huge fan" of Swift and described her as "one of the greatest songwriters". McRae has also expressed an admiration for Billie Eilish and Rosalía.
=== Public image ===
McRae has been described as "the teen dance star turned future pop idol" by i-D, "the new teen queen" by Notion, "Canada's answer to Billie Eilish" by Elle, and "one of pop's bright young hopes" by The Independent. She has also been noted for her honest lyrics, "impressive" vocals and relatable music. Additionally, McRae has received considerable acclaim as a dancer, and has been praised by artist, dancer and choreographer Paula Abdul who declared her a "gift from God", and choreographers such as Stacey Tookey and Blake McGrath, both of whom stated that she's talented beyond her years, with the latter describing her as "one of the best dancers he has ever worked with" as well as two-time Emmy winner Travis Wall, who has named her as one of his muses. Margaret Fuhrer of Dance Spirit magazine described her dancing as virtuosic both technically and artistically. As of January 2026, her YouTube channel has amassed over 2.9 billion views and she has garnered more than 8.4 billion career streams across all platforms.
== Discography ==
Studio albums
I Used to Think I Could Fly (2022)
Think Later (2023)
So Close to What (2025)
== Filmography ==
== Awards and nominations ==
== Tours ==
Headlining tours
Are We Flying Tour (2022–2023)
Think Later World Tour (2024)
Miss Possessive Tour (2025)
Promotional tours
All the Things I Never Said Tour (2020) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikhali,_Latur_district | Chikhali, Latur district | Chikhali is a village in Ahmedpur taluka of Latur district, Maharashtra. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIM-92_Stinger | FIM-92 Stinger | The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters and drones as the Air-to-Air Stinger (ATAS). It entered service in 1981 and is used by the militaries of the United States and 29 other countries. It is principally manufactured by Raytheon Missiles & Defense and is produced under license by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany and by Roketsan in Turkey.
== Description ==
The FIM-92 Stinger is a passive surface-to-air missile that can be shoulder-fired by a single operator (although standard military procedure calls for two operators, team chief and gunner). The Stinger was intended to supplant the FIM-43 Redeye system, the principal difference being that, unlike the Redeye, the Stinger can acquire the target from head-on, giving much more time to acquire and destroy the target. The FIM-92B missile can also be fired from the M1097 Avenger and the M6 Linebacker. The missile is also capable of being deployed from a Humvee Stinger rack and can be used by airborne troops. A helicopter launched version exists and is called Air-to-Air Stinger (ATAS).
The missile is 5.0 ft (1.52 m) long and 2.8 in (70 mm) in diameter, with 3.9 in (100 mm) fins. The missile itself weighs 22 lb (10.1 kg), while the missile with its launch tube and integral sight, fitted with a gripstock and identification friend or foe (IFF) antenna, weighs approximately 34 lb (15.2 kg). It has a targeting range of up to 15,700 feet (4,800 m) and can engage low-altitude enemy threats at up to 12,500 feet (3,800 m).
The Stinger is launched by a small ejection motor that pushes it a safe distance from the operator before engaging the main two-stage solid-fuel sustainer, which accelerates it to a maximum speed of Mach 2.54 (1,930 mph; 864 m/s). The warhead contains 2.25 lb (1.02 kg) of HTA-3 (a mix of HMX, TNT, and aluminium powder) explosive with an impact fuze and a self-destruct timer that functions 17 seconds after launch.
To fire the missile, a BCU (Battery Coolant Unit) is inserted into the gripstock. This device consists of a supply of high-pressure gaseous argon, which is injected into the seeker to cryogenically cool it to operating temperature, and a thermal battery, which provides power for target acquisition: a single BCU provides power and coolant for roughly 45 seconds, after which another must be inserted if the missile has not been fired. The BCUs are somewhat sensitive to abuse and have a limited shelf life due to argon leakage. The IFF system receives power from a rechargeable battery, which is part of the IFF interrogator box, which plugs into the base of the gripstock's pistol grip. Guidance to the target is initially through proportional navigation, then switches to another mode that directs the missile towards the target airframe instead of its exhaust plume.
There are three main variants in use: the Stinger Basic, Stinger-Passive Optical Seeker Technique (POST), and Stinger-Reprogrammable Microprocessor (RMP). These correspond to the FIM-92A, FIM-92B, and FIM-92C and later variants respectively.
The POST and RMP variants have a dual-detector seeker: IR and UV. This allows it to distinguish targets from countermeasures much better than the Redeye and FIM-92A, which have IR-only. While modern flares can have an IR signature that is closely matched to the launching aircraft's engine exhaust, there is a readily distinguishable difference in UV signature between flares and jet engines. The Stinger-RMP is so-called because of its ability to load a new set of software via ROM chip inserted in the grip at the depot. If this download to the missile fails during power-up, basic functionality runs off the onboard ROM. The four-processor RMP has 4 KB of RAM for each processor. Since the downloaded code runs from RAM, there is little space to spare, particularly for processors dedicated to seeker input processing and target analysis.
== History ==
The missile began as a program by General Dynamics to produce an improved variant of their 1967 FIM-43 Redeye. Production of the Redeye ran from 1969 to 1982, with a total production of around 85,000 missiles. The program was accepted for further development as Redeye II by the U.S. Army in 1971 and designated FIM-92; the Stinger appellation was chosen in 1972. Because of technical difficulties that dogged testing, the first shoulder launch was not until mid-1975. Production of the FIM-92A began in 1978. An improved Stinger with a new seeker, the FIM-92B, was produced from 1983 alongside the FIM-92A. Production of both the A and B types ended in 1987 with around 16,000 missiles produced.
The replacement FIM-92C began development in 1984, and production began in 1987. The first examples were delivered to frontline units in 1989. C-type missiles were fitted with a reprogrammable microprocessor, allowing for incremental firmware updates. Later missiles designated D received improvements to improve their ability to defeat countermeasures, and later upgrades to the D were designated G.
The FIM-92E or Stinger RMP Block I was developed from 1992 and delivered from 1995 (certain sources state that the FIM-92D is also part of the Block I development). The main changes were again in the sensor and the software, improving the missile's performance against low-signature targets. A software upgrade in 2001 was designated FIM-92F. The development of the Stinger RMP Block II began in 1996 using a new focal plane array sensor to improve the missile's effectiveness in "high clutter" environments and increase the engagement range to about 25,000 feet (7,600 m). Production was scheduled for 2004, but was cancelled due to budget cuts.
Since 1984 the Stinger has been issued to many U.S. Navy warships for point defense, particularly in Middle Eastern waters, with a three-man team that can perform other duties when not conducting Stinger training or maintenance. Until it was decommissioned in September 1993, the U.S. Navy had at least one Stinger Gunnery Detachment attached to Beachmaster Unit Two in Little Creek Virginia. The sailors of this detachment would deploy to carrier battlegroups in teams of two to four sailors per ship as requested by Battle Group Commanders.
=== Replacement ===
The original Stinger's reprogrammable microprocessor has become obsolete in 2023, and a service life extension will keep the Block I in service until 2030. With the arsenal declining from obsolescence, on 10 November 2020 the U.S. Army issued a request for information for a replacement MANPADS. The new system will be compatible with the Stinger Vehicle Universal Launcher used on the IM-SHORAD and be able to defeat fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, as well as Group 2 and 3 UAS as well as or better than the Stinger. A contract for up to 8,000 missiles is planned to be awarded by 2026. The request for information to interested firms only went out in April 2022, and RTX and Lockheed Martin were selected to competitively develop the Stinger replacement in September 2023.
According to Reuters, the U.S. government has signed a contract for 1,468 Stingers worth a total of $687 million, to replenish stock sent to Ukraine. Raytheon Chief Executive Greg Hayes said on 26 April 2022: "Some of the components are no longer commercially available, and so we're going to have to go out and redesign some of the electronics in the missile of the seeker head. That's going to take us a little bit of time".
In January 2023, the U.S. Army said it expected to increase Stinger production to 60 missiles per month by 2025, an increase of 50% from the current rate. The Dual Detector Assembly (DDA) will be redesigned because a previous DDA part is no longer being made. The old DDA will continue to be used in production up until stocks are exhausted, which is expected by 2026 when deliveries of Stingers with the new component are expected to begin.
The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center (DEVCOM AvMC) launched the Red Wasp program, an advanced air defense interceptor initiative designed to enhance the capabilities of the long-serving FIM-92 Stinger missile. Red Wasp integrates solid fuel ramjet propulsion into the Stinger’s form factor to significantly increase its effective range. The system uses an integral rocket ramjet, a dual-mode propulsion cycle that begins with a conventional solid rocket motor to accelerate the missile to supersonic speeds. After burnout, a front-end port opens to allow air into the combustion chamber, where it ignites the ramjet fuel. This air-breathing phase eliminates the need for onboard oxidizers, improving fuel efficiency and overall performance. Red Wasp is intended to enable soldiers to engage Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) threats such as unmanned aerial systems equipped with Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities at much longer distances, helping to deny adversarial targeting and increase force survivability. As ISR sensor technology advances and extends the effective range of enemy surveillance, Red Wasp offers a critical countermeasure by allowing U.S. forces to intercept threats at greater ranges. Following a successful 2024 flight test at Dugway Proving Ground, ongoing development is focused on refining ramjet fuel formulations and thermal insulation, with plans to collaborate with industry partners and scale the technology for broader Army applications.
== Variants ==
Air-to-Air Stinger (ATAS): Used as short range air-to-air missile. The system is mainly designed for attack helicopters.
FIM-92A: Stinger Basic: The basic model.
FIM-92B: Stinger POST: In this version, the infrared seeker head was replaced by a combined IR/UV seeker that utilized rosette scanning. This resulted in achieving significantly higher resistance to enemy countermeasures (flares) and natural disturbances. Production ran from 1981 to 1987; a total of 600 missiles were produced.
FIM-92C: Stinger RMP: The resistance to interference was increased again by adding more powerful digital computer components. Moreover, the software of the missile could now be reconfigured in a short time in order to respond quickly and efficiently to new types of countermeasures. Until 1991, some 20,000 units were produced for the U.S. Army alone.
FIM-92D: Various modifications were continued with this version in order to increase the resistance to interference.
FIM-92E: Stinger—RMP Block I: By adding a new rollover sensor and revised control software, the flight behavior was significantly improved. Additionally, the performance against small targets such as drones, cruise missiles and light reconnaissance helicopters was improved. The first deliveries began in 1995. Almost the entire stock of U.S. Stinger missiles was replaced by this version.
FIM-92F: A further improvement of the E version and the current production version.
FIM-92G: An unspecified upgrade for the D variant.
FIM-92H: Indicates a D variant that has been upgraded to the E standard.
Stinger—RMP Block II: This variant was a planned developed based on the E version. The improvements included an imaging infrared seeker head from the AIM-9X. With this modification, the detection distance and the resistance to jamming was to be greatly increased. Changes to the airframe would furthermore enable a significant increase in range. Although the missile reached the testing phase, the program was dropped in 2002 for budgetary reasons.
FIM-92J: Block I missile upgrade to replace aging components to extend service life an additional 10 years. Upgrades include a proximity fuze warhead section, equipped with a target detection device to increase effectiveness against unmanned aerial vehicles, a new flight motor and gas generator cartridge, as well as new designs for the o-rings and integral desiccant cartridge.
FIM-92K: Variant of FIM-92J designed to use a vehicle datalink rather than the missile's own seeker for targeting.
ADSM: Air Defense Suppression Missile: Cancelled experiment variant fitted with a passive radar seeker, designed to be used against radar wave transmitters. The program began in FY 1983 and a final report was issued 3 December 1986.
== Service ==
=== Falklands War ===
The Stinger's combat debut occurred during the Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas) fought between the United Kingdom and Argentina. At the onset of the conflict soldiers of the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS) had been clandestinely equipped with six missiles, although they had received little instruction in their use. The sole SAS trooper who had received training on the system, and was due to train other troops, was killed in a helicopter crash on 19 May.
Nonetheless, on 21 May 1982 an SAS soldier engaged and shot down an Argentine Pucará ground attack aircraft with a Stinger. On 30 May, at about 11:00 a.m., an Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma helicopter was brought down by another missile, also fired by the SAS, in the vicinity of Mount Kent. Six Argentine National Gendarmerie Special Forces troops were killed and eight more wounded.
The main MANPADS used by both sides during the Falklands War was the Blowpipe missile.
=== Soviet War in Afghanistan ===
In late 1985, several groups, such as Free the Eagle, began arguing the CIA was not doing enough to support the Mujahideen in the Soviet–Afghan War. Michael Pillsbury, Vincent Cannistraro, and others put enormous bureaucratic pressure on the CIA to provide the Stinger to the rebels. The idea was controversial because up to that point, the CIA had been operating with the pretense that the United States was not involved in the war directly, for various reasons. All weapons supplied up to that point were non-U.S. sourced weapons, including Kalashnikov style assault rifles made in China and Egypt.
The final say-so came down to President General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan, through whom the CIA had to pass all of its funding and weapons to the Mujahideen. President Zia constantly had to gauge how much he could "make the pot boil" in Afghanistan without provoking a Soviet invasion of his own country. According to George Crile III, U.S. Representative Charlie Wilson's relationship with Zia was instrumental in the final go-ahead for the Stinger introduction.
Wilson and his associates at first viewed the Stinger as "just adding another component to the lethal mix we were building." Their increasingly successful Afghanistan strategy, formed largely by Michael G. Vickers, was based on a broad mix of weapons, tactics, and logistics, not a 'silver bullet solution' of a single weapon. Furthermore, the previous attempts to provide MANPADs to the Mujahideen, namely the SA-7 and Blowpipe, hadn't worked very well.
Another account came from Richard Clarke. In his book Against All Enemies, he, as a junior Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence at the State Department, told his boss, Morton Abramowitz, they should release Stinger missiles to the Mujahideen. However, the CIA blocked it. Clarke was told to see his friend, Richard Perle who was then Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs. Perle didn't know about the CIA blocking the transfer and went to see Caspar Weinberger, the then United States Secretary of Defense who also didn't know CIA's move. Finally, the State and Defence Department and the United States National Security Council all in favour of arming the Mujahideen, the missiles were released. The condition via Perle was the Mujahideen had to be trained in Pakistan as not US Army personnel would enter Afghanistan.
Engineer Ghaffar, of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami, brought down the first Hind gunship with a Stinger on 25 September 1986 near Jalalabad. As part of Operation Cyclone, the CIA eventually supplied nearly 500 Stingers (some sources claim 1,500–2,000) to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, and 250 launchers.
The impact of the Stinger on the outcome of the war is contested, particularly in the translation between the impact on the tactical battlefield to the strategic level withdrawal, and the influence the first had on the second. Dr. Robert F. Baumann (of the Staff College at Fort Leavenworth) described its impact on "Soviet tactical operations" as "unmistakable". This opinion was shared by Yossef Bodansky. Soviet, and later, Russian, accounts give little significance to the Stinger for strategically ending the war.
According to the 1993 U.S. Air Defense Artillery Yearbook, the Mujahideen gunners used the supplied Stingers to score approximately 269 total aircraft kills in about 340 engagements, a 79% kill probability. If this report is accurate, Stingers would be responsible for over half of the 451 Soviet aircraft losses in Afghanistan. But these statistics are based on Mujahideen self-reporting, which is of unknown reliability. Selig Harrison rejects such figures, quoting a Russian general who claims the United States "greatly exaggerated" Soviet and Afghan aircraft losses during the war. According to Soviet figures, in 1987–1988, only 35 aircraft and 63 helicopters were destroyed by all causes. The Pakistan Army fired 28 Stingers at enemy aircraft with no kill. According to Soviet figures, by 25 December 1987, only 38 aircraft (airplanes, helicopters) were lost and 14 more were damaged by MANPADS (Blowpipe or Stinger), or 10.2% kill probability.
According to Crile, who includes information from Alexander Prokhanov, the Stinger was a "turning point". Milt Bearden saw it as a "force multiplier" and morale booster. Representative Charlie Wilson, the politician behind Operation Cyclone, described the first Stinger Mi-24 shootdowns in 1986 as one of the three crucial moments of his experience in the war, saying "we never really won a set-piece battle before September 26, and then we never lost one afterwards." He was given the first spent Stinger tube as a gift and kept it on his office wall. That launch tube is now on exhibit at the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Museum, Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Other military analysts tend to be dismissive of the impact of the Stinger. According to Alan J. Kuperman, the Stingers did make an impact at first but within a few months flares, beacons, and exhaust baffles were installed to disorient the missiles, along with night operation and terrain-hugging tactics to prevent the rebels from getting a clear shot. By 1988, Kuperman states, the Mujahideen had all but stopped firing them. Another source (Jonathan Steele) states that Stingers forced Soviet helicopters and ground attack planes to bomb from higher altitudes with less accuracy, but did not bring down many more aircraft than Chinese heavy machine guns and other less sophisticated anti-aircraft weaponry.
The last Stingers were supplied in 1988 after increasing reports of fighters selling them to Iran and thawing relations with Moscow. After the 1989 Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the U.S. attempted to buy back the Stinger missiles, with a $55 million program launched in 1990 to buy back around 300 missiles (US$183,300 each). The U.S. government collected most of the Stingers it had delivered, but by 1996 around 600 were unaccounted for and some found their way into Croatia, Iran, Sri Lanka, Qatar, and North Korea. According to the CIA, already in August 1988 the U.S. had demanded from Qatar the return of Stinger missiles. Wilson later told CBS he "lived in terror" that a civilian airliner would be shot down by a Stinger, but he did not have misgivings about having provided Stingers to defeat the Soviets.
The story of the Stingers in Afghanistan was popularly told in the media by Western sources primarily, notably in Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile, and Ghost Wars by Steve Coll.
=== Angolan civil war ===
The Reagan administration provided 310 Stingers to Jonas Savimbi's UNITA movement in Angola between 1986 and 1989. As in Afghanistan, efforts to recover missiles after the end of hostilities proved incomplete. The battery of a Stinger lasts for four or five years, so any battery supplied in the 1980s would now be inoperative but during the Syrian Civil War, insurgents showed how easily they switched to different batteries, including common car batteries, as power sources for several MANPADS models.
=== Libyan invasion of Chad ===
The French army used 15 firing positions and 30 missiles purchased in 1983 for operations in Chad. The 35th Parachute Artillery Regiment made an unsuccessful fire during a Libyan bombardment on 10 September 1987 and shot down a Hercules transport aircraft on 7 July 1988.
The Chadian government received Stinger missiles from the United States, when Libya invaded the northern part of the African country.
On 8 October 1987, a Libyan Su-22MK was shot down by a FIM-92A fired by Chadian forces. The pilot, Capt. Diya al-Din, ejected and was captured. He was later granted political asylum by the French government. During the recovery operation, a Libyan MiG-23MS was shot down by a FIM-92A.
=== Tajik civil war ===
Tajik Islamist opposition forces operating from Afghanistan during the 1992–97 Tajik civil war encountered a heavy air campaign launched by Russia and Uzbekistan to prop up the government in Dushanbe that included border and cross-border raids. During one of these operations, a Sukhoi Su-24M was shot down on 3 May 1993 with a Stinger fired by the opposition. Both Russian pilots were rescued.
=== Chechen War ===
Russian officials claimed several times that the Chechen militia and insurgents possessed US-made Stinger missiles. They attributed a few of their aerial losses to the American MANPADS. The presence of such missiles was confirmed by photo evidence, and were said to originate from Afghan smuggling routes that passed through Georgia.
It is believed one Sukhoi Su-24 was shot down by a Stinger missile during the Second Chechen War.
=== Sri Lankan civil war ===
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam also managed to acquire one or several Stingers, possibly from former Mujahideen stocks, and used at least one to down a Sri Lanka Air Force Mi-24 on 10 November 1997.
=== United States ===
In 2000, the U.S. inventory contained 13,400 missiles. The total cost of the program is $7,281,000,000.
It is rumored that the United States Secret Service has Stinger missiles to defend the President, a notion that has never been dispelled; however, U.S. Secret Service plans favor moving the President to a safer place in the event of an attack rather than shooting down the plane, lest the missile (or the wreckage of the target aircraft) hit innocents.
During the 1980s, the Stinger was used to support different US-aligned guerrilla forces, notably the Afghan Mujahidins, the Chad government against the Libyan invasion and the Angolan UNITA. The Nicaraguan contras were not provided with Stingers due to the lack of fixed wing aircraft of the Sandinista government, as such the previous generation FIM-43 Redeye was considered adequate.
=== Syrian civil war ===
In the Syrian civil war, Turkey reportedly helped to transport a limited amount of FIM-92 Stingers to the Free Syrian Army.
On 27 February 2020, during the northwestern offensive launched in December 2019 by the Syrian regime (backed by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah), Russian and Syrian aircraft (variously reportedly as Russian Su-34s and Syrian Su-22) attacked a Turkish military convoy near Idlib, killing 36 Turkish soldiers. That day, video footage emerged of alleged Turkish soldiers (backing Syrian opposition fighters) firing what apparently looks like a Roketsan-made Stinger against either Russian or Syrian aircraft (or possibly against both).
=== Russo-Ukrainian War ===
In February 2022, several countries announced that they were providing Stinger missiles to Ukrainian forces defending against the Russian invasion.
Germany announced that it would provide 500 missiles.
Denmark said that it will provide parts for 300 missiles, to be assembled in the United States.
The Netherlands stated they would supply at least 200 units.
Italy,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
and the United States each stated that they would provide undisclosed amounts.
By 7 March, the U.S. reported that it and its NATO allies had together sent more than 2,000 Stinger missiles to Ukraine. In late April 2022, Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg Hayes told investors that the company was experiencing supply chain issues and would not be able to ramp up production of Stinger missiles until 2023. This delay was in part due to the fact the Stinger was scheduled to be replaced in the 2020s and thus contained obsolete components, which have to be redesigned for modern procurement. As of 11 May 2022, the U.S. had sent a quarter of its aging Stinger missile stockpile to Ukraine.
On 20 August 2022, Russia supplied a single Stinger to Iran, for them to attempt reverse engineering the modern version of it.
== Operators ==
=== Countries ===
Albania: In May 2022, Minister Niko Peleshi announced the purchase of Javelin and Stinger missiles
Afghanistan: used by Afghan Mujahideen.
Angola
Australia: formerly used by SASR in Afghanistan.
Bahrain
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Chad: limited use.
Chile
Colombia
Croatia
Denmark
Egypt
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
India
Iran
Iraq
Kurdistan
Israel
Italy: Used by the Army and Marines.
Japan
Kuwait
Latvia: Used by the Air Force.
Lithuania: Used by the Air Force.
Morocco: Part of a $4.25 billion AH-64E deal
Netherlands: Used by the Army and Marines.
North Korea
Norway
Pakistan: 350 in service with the Pakistan Army.
Portugal: In 2021 Portuguese Army acquired new missiles and sights.
Qatar: Used by the Air Force.
Saudi Arabia
Slovenia
South Korea
Switzerland
Taiwan: Republic of China Navy, Republic of China Marine Corps, Republic of China Army
Turkey: Stingers made under license by Roketsan. 4,800+ Stinger missiles were supplied under "Stinger Air Defense Guided Missile System European Common Production Program". Additional 1,000 Stinger needs were identified in July 2000 and the deliveries were completed in 2003.
Ukraine: Lithuania and Latvia have transferred unknown quantities of Stinger missiles from their inventory to Ukraine after receiving an approval from the U.S. State Department. The Netherlands will supply Ukraine with 200 Stinger missiles. Germany will supply 500 Stingers. On 16 March 2022, the U.S. announced that an additional 800 Stinger missiles would be transferred, following an earlier transfer of over 600 missiles. Italy sent an undisclosed number of Stinger missiles since spring 2022.
United Kingdom
United States
=== Organizations ===
UNITA |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_2024 | Eurovision Song Contest 2024 | The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 was the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It consisted of two semi-finals on 7 and 9 May and a final on 11 May 2024, held at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden, and presented by Petra Mede and Malin Åkerman. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT), which staged the event after winning the 2023 contest for Sweden with the song "Tattoo" by Loreen. Mede had previously presented the 2013 and 2016 contests.
Broadcasters from thirty-seven countries participated in the contest, the same number as in 2023. Romania opted not to participate, and Luxembourg competed for the first time since 1993. The Netherlands was disqualified from the contest between the second semi-final and the final, but the country retained its right to vote. The inclusion of Israel among the participants in the context of the Gaza war was met with controversy, and additional security measures were put in place for the event.
The winner was Switzerland with the song "The Code", performed by Nemo who wrote it with Benjamin Alasu, Lasse Midtsian Nymann, and Linda Dale. Switzerland won the combined vote and jury vote, and placed fifth in the televote. Croatia won the televote and finished in second place, its best result to date as an independent country, having previously won in 1989 as a part of Yugoslavia. Ukraine, France, and Israel completed the top five.
The EBU reported that the contest had a television audience of 163 million viewers in 37 European markets, an increase of a million viewers from the previous edition, with an additional 7.3 million viewers online on YouTube.
== Location ==
The 2024 contest took place in Malmö, Sweden, following the country's victory at the 2023 contest with the song "Tattoo", performed by Loreen. It was the seventh time Sweden had hosted the contest, having previously done so in 1975, 1985, 1992, 2000, 2013, and 2016. The venue for the contest was the 15,500-seat Malmö Arena, which had previously hosted the contest in 2013.
The Malmö Live event centre hosted several events related to the contest. It was the venue for the "Turquoise Carpet" event on 5 May 2024, where the contestants and their delegations were presented before accredited press and fans, and the opening and closing ceremonies. The venue also hosted screenings of the live shows, and was the location of the EuroClub, which hosted the official after-parties and private performances by contest participants.
A Eurovision Village was created in Folkets Park. It hosted performances by contest participants and local artists, as well as screenings of the live shows for the general public. A "Eurovision Street" was established on Friisgatan, stretching from Triangeln station to the Eurovision Village in Folkets Park. Planned street music performances were affected by the withdrawal of several artists due to Israel's participation in the contest and were ultimately transferred to the Eurovision Village for security reasons. The Euro Fan Café was located at Amiralen.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of ABBA's victory at the contest in 1974 with "Waterloo", which was also Sweden's first win, a special ABBA World exhibition was held at Södergatan between 29 April and 12 May 2024.
=== Bidding phase ===
After Sweden's win in the 2023 contest, the municipalities of Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Eskilstuna, Jönköping, Örnsköldsvik, Partille and Sandviken expressed interest in hosting the 2024 edition. Host broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) set a deadline of 12 June 2023 for interested cities to formally apply. By 13 June, it had received bids from Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, and Örnsköldsvik. On 7 July, Gothenburg and Örnsköldsvik's bids were eliminated. Later that day, the EBU and SVT announced Malmö as the host city.
Key:
† Host city
* Shortlisted
^ Submitted a bid
== Participants ==
Eligibility for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with an active EBU membership capable of receiving the contest via the Eurovision network and broadcasting it live nationwide. The EBU issues invitations to participate in the contest to all active members.
On 5 December 2023, the EBU announced that broadcasters from 37 countries would participate in the 2024 contest. Luxembourg returned to the contest 31 years after its last participation in 1993. Romania, which participated in the 2023 contest, was provisionally announced as not participating in 2024. This was confirmed on 25 January 2024.
The contest featured two returning artists: Natalia Barbu, who had represented Moldova in 2007, and Hera Björk, who had represented Iceland in 2010.
=== Other countries ===
Active EBU member broadcasters in Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Monaco and Slovakia confirmed non-participation prior to the announcement of the participants list by the EBU. The Romanian broadcaster, TVR, remained in talks with the EBU until 25 January 2024, when it decided not to participate for financial reasons.
== Production ==
The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 was produced by the Swedish national broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT). The core team consisted of Ebba Adielsson as executive producer, Christel Tholse Willers as deputy executive producer, Tobias Åberg as executive in charge of production, Johan Bernhagen as executive line producer, Christer Björkman as contest producer, and Per Blankens as TV producer. Additional production personnel included head of production David Wessén, head of legal Mats Lindgren, head of media Madeleine Sinding-Larsen, and executive assistant Linnea Lopez.
Edward af Sillén and Daniel Réhn wrote the script for the live shows' hosting segments and the opening and interval acts, while Robin Hofwander, Daniel Jelinek and Fredrik Bäcklund served as multi-camera directors. Background music for the shows was composed by Eirik Røland and Johan Nilsson. A majority of the production personnel for 2024 previously worked in the previous three editions of the contest held in Sweden: 2000, 2013 and 2016.
Malmö Municipality initially contributed SEK 30 million (€2.5 million) to the budget of the contest. An additional SEK 12.8 million (€1.15 million) was later spent on security measures in the lead-up to and during the event. The total budget was SEK 277 million (€25.2 million), with SVT's contribution approximated at SEK 100 million (€9.1 million).
=== Slogan and visual design ===
On 14 November 2023, the EBU announced that "United by Music", the slogan of the 2023 contest, would be retained for 2024 and future editions. The accompanying theme art for 2024, named "The Eurovision Lights", was unveiled on 14 December. Designed by Stockholm-based agencies Uncut and Bold Scandinavia, it was based on simple, linear gradients inspired by vertical lines found on auroras and sound equalisers, and was built with adaptability across different formats taken into account.
=== Stage design ===
The stage design for the 2024 contest, revealed in December 2023, was devised by German production designer Florian Wieder, who had previously designed the sets of six previous contests – the most recent being in 2021. Lighting and screen content was designed by Swedish designer Fredrik Stormby. The stage featured five movable LED cubes, floors and a backdrop screen along with other lighting, video and stagecraft technology, all set around a cross-shaped centre, with the aim of "creating a unique 360-degree experience" for viewers. The green room was placed behind the backdrop screen, in a similar fashion to the stages for the 2010 and 2011 contests. Construction of the stage began on 2 April and concluded on 25 April.
=== Postcards ===
The "postcards" are short video introductions shown on television while the stage is being prepared for the next entry. Filmed between February and May 2024, the postcards were composed of footage shot by the participating artists through "selfie-mode", introducing the artists themselves and the country they represent. Archival footage of two of each country's previous entries was also used in each postcard, which ends with a slow-motion shot of each artist.
=== Presenters ===
Swedish comedian and television host Petra Mede and Swedish-American actress Malin Åkerman were announced as the presenters of the 2024 contest on 5 February 2024. Mede had previously hosted both the 2013 and 2016 editions (solo and with Måns Zelmerlöw, respectively), as well as the 2015 special anniversary programme Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits alongside Graham Norton. The "Turquoise Carpet" and opening ceremony events were hosted by Elecktra and Tia Kofi, while Jovan Radomir moderated the contest's press conferences.
=== Security ===
In November 2023, the production team at SVT stated its intention to increase security measures and to keep in contact with Malmö's police authority during the contest, citing a tense climate of protest amid Israel's participation. This included police reinforcement from Denmark and Norway, tightened cybersecurity, and a no-fly zone to prevent drone attacks, as well as adjustments to the number of locations set to host side events. A total of SEK 92 million was spent on the 1,500 police officers present for the competition, which was the largest police operation in the history of Sweden; the Swedish Police Authority covered the costs for the Danish and Norwegian reinforcements. Israeli broadcaster Kan also expressed concerns over the safety of Israelis in Malmö, after the country's National Security Council listed the city as a "dangerous destination" for Israeli citizens in its official travel recommendations. Additional measures were taken to protect the Israeli delegation, with the country's representative Eden Golan being escorted by Shin Bet agents in addition to local police officers following death threats directed at her via social media. Shin Bet also sent a delegation to Malmö, headed by its director Ronen Bar, to prevent potential threats against them. Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Malmö to protest against Israel's participation in the competition.
SVT's decision was made in the context of a high terroristic threat level in Sweden, with the Swedish Security Service (SÄPO) having raised the level from 3 to 4 out of 5 in August 2023, primarily in response to the 2023 Quran burnings in the country and prior to the Gaza war. Concerns about the risk of terrorist attacks resurged in the wake of the Crocus City Hall attack outside Moscow on 22 March 2024. In the event of an emergency, Malmö Municipality would provide accommodations in local schools and sports facilities as well as psychological support.
== Format ==
=== Voting system and contest structure ===
After the outcome of the 2023 contest, which saw Sweden win despite Finland's lead in the televoting, sparked controversy among the audience, Norwegian broadcaster NRK began discussions with the EBU regarding a potential revision of the jury voting procedure. It was noted that Norwegian entries in recent years had been penalised by the juries, particularly in 2019 and 2023, when Norway finished in sixth and fifth place overall, respectively, despite coming first in 2019 and third in 2023 with the televote. In an interview, the Norwegian head of delegation Stig Karlsen discussed the idea of reducing the jury's weight on the final score, from the current 49.4%, to 40% or 30%. No changes to the voting system were ultimately implemented in this regard.
For 2024, the "Rest of the World" voting window was open for 24 hours before each show, as well as during each show. For participating countries, it was open after the last song is performed – as in previous years – in the semi-finals. In the final, it was opened just before the first performance and closed 25 minutes after the last performance. The automatic qualifiers – the host country and the "Big Five" – performed their entries in full during the semi-finals, in between the competing acts. Following an incident which ultimately led to the disqualification of the Dutch representative, the opening of the "Rest of the World" voting window for the final was delayed until eight hours before the show.
13 of the 25 open positions in the running order of the final were subject to a "producer's choice" draw option, alongside six positions available each, for the first half and second half of the show. For the countries which drew the "producer's choice" category, the contest producers were able to place that country anywhere in the running order. The runtime of the final was initially planned to be reduced by approximately an hour. This was ultimately not a priority, with the final planned to be shortened by a maximum of five minutes.
=== Semi-final allocation draw ===
The draw to determine the participating countries' semi-finals took place on 30 January 2024 at 19:00 CET, at the Malmö Town Hall. The thirty-one semi-finalists were divided over five pots, based on historical voting patterns, with the purpose of reducing the chance of bloc voting and increasing suspense in the semi-finals. The draw also determined which semi-final each of the six automatic qualifiers – host country Sweden and "Big Five" countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) – would vote in and be required to broadcast. The ceremony was hosted by Pernilla Månsson Colt and Farah Abadi, and included the passing of the host city insignia from Steve Rotheram, the mayor of the Liverpool City Region representing the previous host city Liverpool, to Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, the mayor of Malmö Municipality.
With the approval from the contest's reference group, Israel was allocated to the second semi-final following a request from Israeli broadcaster Kan, as the rehearsal date for the first semi-final coincided with Yom HaShoah.
== Contest overview ==
=== Semi-final 1 ===
The first semi-final took place on 7 May 2024 at 21:00 CEST and featured fifteen competing countries. Those countries, plus Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom, as well as non-participating countries under an aggregated "Rest of the World" vote, voted in this semi-final. The running order (R/O) was determined by the contest producers and was announced publicly on 26 March. In addition to the competing entries, the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden performed their entries during the show, appearing on stage after the entries from Ireland, Iceland and Moldova, respectively. Croatia was awarded the most points in the semi-final, and qualified for the final alongside, in order of points total, Ukraine, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Finland, Portugal, Slovenia, and Serbia. The countries that failed to reach the final were Australia, Poland, Moldova, Azerbaijan, and Iceland.
This semi-final was opened by former participants Eleni Foureira, Eric Saade and Chanel, who performed their respective competing songs – "Fuego" (Cyprus 2018), "Popular" (Sweden 2011) and "SloMo" (Spain 2022). The interval acts included 1980 and 1987 winner for Ireland, Johnny Logan, performing the 2012 Swedish winning entry "Euphoria", and 2018 Swedish entrant Benjamin Ingrosso performing a medley of his songs "Look Who's Laughing Now", "Kite" and "Honey Boy".
=== Semi-final 2 ===
The second semi-final took place on 9 May 2024 at 21:00 CEST and features sixteen competing countries. Those countries plus France, Italy and Spain, as well as non-participating countries under an aggregated "Rest of the World" vote, voted in this semi-final. The running order (R/O) was determined by the contest producers and was announced publicly on 26 March. In addition to the competing entries, France, Spain and Italy performed their entries during the show, appearing on stage after the entries from Czechia, Latvia and Estonia, respectively. Israel was awarded the most points in the semi-final, and qualified for the final alongside, in order of points total, the Netherlands, Armenia, Switzerland, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Georgia, Austria, and Norway. The countries that failed to reach the final were Czechia, Denmark, Belgium, San Marino, Albania, and Malta.
This semi-final was opened by a pre-recorded segment, in which presenters Petra Mede and Malin Åkerman performed the 2023 winning song "Tattoo" with minor lyrical changes. The interval acts included Helena Paparizou, Charlotte Perrelli and Sertab Erener performing their respective winning songs – "My Number One" (Greece 2005), "Take Me to Your Heaven" (Sweden 1999) and "Everyway That I Can" (Turkey 2003) – with the audience taking part in a sing-along; and "We Just Love Eurovision Too Much", a musical number performed by Mede that satirised various aspects of the contest and Sweden's success in the event, with appearances by Perrelli, Sarah Dawn Finer reprising her role as Lynda Woodruff, and 2023 Finnish representative Käärijä performing an excerpt of his competing song "Cha Cha Cha". 1984 winners for Sweden, Herreys, performed their winning song "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" after the qualifiers were announced.
=== Final ===
The final took place on 11 May 2024 at 21:00 CEST and featured 25 competing countries. All 37 participating countries with jury and televote, as well as non-participating countries under an aggregated "Rest of the World" online vote, voted in the final. The running order (R/O) of the host nation was determined by a random draw on 11 March during the annual meeting of heads of the participating delegations. The running order for the remaining finalists was determined by the contest producers following the second semi-final. Despite qualifying for the final, where it was set to perform in position 5, the Netherlands was disqualified due to a backstage incident between its entrant Joost Klein and a member of the production team. It retained the right to vote in the final, and all countries that were set to perform after the Netherlands retained their running order numbers.
Switzerland won the contest with the song "The Code", performed by Nemo and written by them along with Benjamin Alasu, Lasse Midtsian Nymann, and Linda Dale. Switzerland won with 591 points, also winning the jury vote. It was the country's third win in the contest, following victories in the inaugural edition in 1956 and in 1988. Croatia came second with 547 points and won the televote, with Ukraine, France, Israel, Ireland, Italy, Armenia, Sweden, and Portugal completing the top ten. Georgia, Spain, Slovenia, Austria, and Norway occupied the bottom five positions.
The final was opened by Björn Skifs performing "Hooked on a Feeling", followed by the flag parade, introducing all twenty-five finalists, set to a medley of well-known Swedish hits. In a pre-recorded segment during a break between the competing performances, Sarah Dawn Finer as Lynda Woodruff performed a song about the contest's executive supervisor Martin Österdahl, "You're Good to Go", which was later released as a single. The interval acts included Alcazar performing "Crying at the Discoteque"; a tribute performance of the 1974 Swedish winning song "Waterloo" by three past winners – Carola (Sweden 1991), Charlotte Perrelli (Sweden 1999) and Conchita Wurst (Austria 2014) – preceded by a pre-recorded segment from the ABBA Voyage concert residency in London in which the song's original performers, ABBA, as their virtual avatar selves in the concert, discussed their Eurovision experience on the occasion of its 50th anniversary; and Loreen performing her new single "Forever" and her 2023 winning song "Tattoo". Presenter Petra Mede also parodied the postcards in a short video skit, with archival footage from her previous hostings in 2013 and 2016 being featured. Following a reprise of their winning song, Nemo broke the trophy, although its design had been strengthened after the one presented to Alexander Rybak in 2009 met a similar fate.
==== Spokespersons ====
The spokespersons announced the 12-point score from their respective country's national jury in the following order:
== Detailed voting results ==
=== Semi-final 1 ===
The ten qualifiers from the first semi-final were determined solely by televoting. All fifteen countries competing in the first semi-final voted, alongside Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the aggregated Rest of the World vote. The ten qualifying countries were announced in no particular order, and the full results were published after the final was held.
==== 12 points ====
Below is a summary of all 12 points received in the first semi-final. Croatia received the maximum score of 12 points from eight countries, while Ukraine received five sets of 12 points. Both Lithuania and Cyprus received two sets of 12 points, while Portugal and Serbia received one each.
=== Semi-final 2 ===
The ten qualifiers from the second semi-final were determined solely by televoting, with the exception of San Marino which was unable to provide a valid televote result and thus used the votes of its backup jury. All sixteen countries competing in the second semi-final voted, alongside France, Italy, Spain, and the aggregated Rest of the World vote. The ten qualifying countries were announced in no particular order, and the full results of how each country voted were published after the final was held.
==== 12 points ====
Below is a summary of all 12 points received in the second semi-final. Israel received the maximum score of 12 points from ten countries, followed by the Netherlands which received four sets of 12 points. Armenia received two sets of 12 points, and Switzerland, Greece and Latvia were each awarded one set of 12 points.
=== Final ===
The results of the final were determined by televoting and jury voting in all thirty-seven participating countries, plus the Rest of the World aggregate public vote. The announcement of the jury points was conducted by each country individually, with the country's spokesperson announcing their jury's favorite entry that received 12 points, with the remaining points shown on screen. Following the completion of the jury points announcement, the public points were announced as an aggregate by the contest hosts in ascending order starting from the country which received the fewest points from the jury.
==== 12 points ====
Below is a summary of all 12 points received in the final. In the jury vote, Switzerland received the maximum score from twenty-two countries, followed by France and Portugal with four and three sets of 12 points, respectively. Croatia and Ukraine received two sets of 12 points, and Croatia, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Sweden were each awarded one set of 12 points. In the public vote, Israel received the maximum score of 12 points from fourteen countries and the Rest of the World vote, followed by Croatia with nine sets of 12 points, and Ukraine with seven. Cyprus, Estonia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Serbia, and Switzerland were each awarded one set of 12 points.
== Broadcasts ==
All participating broadcasters may choose to have on-site or remote commentators providing insight and voting information to their local audience. Although they are required to show the final and semi-final in which their country votes, most broadcasters cover all three shows. Some non-participating broadcasters also air the contest. The Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel provides international live streams with no commentary of all shows. The table below details the broadcasting plans and commentators for the countries that aired the contest. According to the EBU, in total 163 million people watched at least a minute of the television broadcasts, and 7.3 million people watched the YouTube broadcasts. Votes were received from 156 countries, including the 37 competing countries.
== Other awards ==
In addition to the main winner's trophy, the Marcel Bezençon Awards and the You're a Vision Award were contested during the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. The OGAE (General Organisation of Eurovision Fans) voting poll also took place before the contest. Eurovision Awards, an end-of-year poll conducted by the contest's official site, returned for a fourth year with the results determined across 12 categories.
=== Marcel Bezençon Awards ===
The Marcel Bezençon Awards, organised since 2002 by Sweden's then-head of delegation and 1992 representative Christer Björkman, and winner of the 1984 contest Richard Herrey, honours songs in the contest's final. The awards are divided into three categories: the Artistic Award, the Composers Award, and the Press Award. The winners were revealed shortly before the Eurovision final on 11 May.
=== OGAE ===
OGAE, an organisation of over forty Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs across Europe and beyond, conducts an annual voting poll first held in 2002 as the Marcel Bezençon Fan Award. After all votes were cast, the top-ranked entry in the 2024 poll was Croatia's "Rim Tim Tagi Dim" performed by Baby Lasagna; the top five results are shown below.
=== You're a Vision Award ===
The You're a Vision Award (a word play of "Eurovision"), established in 2022 by the fansite Songfestival.be following the cancellation of the Barbara Dex Award due to its associated negative connotations, aims to "celebrate the creativity and diversity that embody the Eurovision spirit", with the winner being the one with the most notable outfit. Croatia's Baby Lasagna won the 2024 award, with Ireland's Bambie Thug and the Netherlands' Joost Klein completing the top three.
== Incidents and controversies ==
The 2024 contest was described by some publications as one of the most controversial editions in the contest's history, with Scottish newspaper The National writing, "it is very clear that, in the words of winner Nemo themself after their win, 'maybe Eurovision needs a little bit of fixing'."
=== Israeli participation ===
The participation of Israel in the contest became controversial due to the Gaza war. There were calls for Israel to be excluded, and, when the EBU rejected this, various campaigns for participants and viewers to boycott the contest. The Israeli national selection was also controversial, with its chosen entry for the contest ultimately rewritten, as the lyrics of the original version of the song, titled "October Rain", were seen as referencing the 7 October attacks, a breach of political neutrality rules; it was subsequently retitled "Hurricane". Other acts dismissed the idea of boycotting but called for peace in the region. Israel ultimately placed second in the televote and fifth overall in the final, with the former result being partially attributed to a campaign run by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to boost public votes.
=== Onstage display of pro-Palestinian gestures ===
Before the first semi-final, Ireland's entrant Bambie Thug was asked to replace Ogham-script text written on their body that read 'ceasefire' and 'freedom for Palestine'; they were subsequently changed to 'crown the witch'. During the opening act of the first semi-final, Eric Saade, whose father is Palestinian, performed wearing a keffiyeh. The EBU stated that his keffiyeh was a political symbol and that it regretted Saade's choice to "compromise the non-political nature of the event".
During the final, the Portuguese entrant Iolanda wore nail art featuring Palestinian symbols, and said "peace will prevail" at the end of her performance. The Portuguese delegation later claimed that the EBU did not upload Iolanda's performance in the final to its platforms, opting to use the semi-final performance instead, due to this. The Portuguese broadcaster RTP issued a complaint to the EBU, and Iolanda's performance in the final was uploaded later during the show. The EBU stated that technical difficulties were the reason for the semi-final performance being initially uploaded instead of the final performance.
=== Misconduct allegations ===
Shortly after the first semi-final, an official complaint was lodged with the EBU regarding claims that members of Israeli fan clubs, two of which were officially associated with the EBU, "[harassed] the Irish delegation at the EuroClub nightclub." Unverified videos and claims were posted online purporting to show "Israeli delegates and journalists harassing other media and delegations", and a Spanish reporter was allegedly harassed by Israeli media after shouting a pro-Palestinian slogan, prompting the Spanish broadcaster RTVE to request the EBU to "ensure freedom of press and opinion." The artists representing Ireland (Bambie Thug), Switzerland (Nemo), and Greece (Marina Satti) were all absent from the flag parade of the third dress rehearsal for the final, held the afternoon before the live show. Bambie Thug stated that they were absent due to "a situation [...] which [they] felt needed urgent attention from the EBU". The Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS issued two complaints to the EBU regarding an "unsafe environment in the arena". No action was taken on the complaints during the contest. According to a report by Norwegian newspaper VG, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom all considered withdrawing from the final, before reaching an agreement with the EBU 25 minutes prior to the start of the show; Greek broadcaster ERT, head of the Swiss delegation Yves Schifferle, and Iolanda's management agency denied that the delegations were considering withdrawal, with Schifferle confirming that Nemo themself led the talks with the EBU on behalf of the artists concerned. Magnus Børmark, guitarist for the Norwegian representatives Gåte, also confirmed that there were withdrawal talks.
Following the contest, delegations from Serbia and Slovenia stated that they would prepare complaints to the EBU regarding the behaviour of the Israeli delegation. The Portuguese delegation asked for clarification from the EBU regarding incidents that occurred during the final, supported by delegations from Croatia, France, Norway, and Spain. The Israeli delegation accused other delegations and artists of "immense pressure and an unprecedented display of hatred". The EBU commissioned an independent investigation into the complaints regarding the working atmosphere during the event, and on 1 July 2024, it announced a number of organisational changes. Among these are the creation of a "ESC director" role to oversee the work of executive supervisor Martin Österdahl and the head of brand and commercial, and recommendations for the appointment of a welfare producer and a crisis management team.
=== Claims of audience audio changes ===
Before, during, and after Israel's performances, booing from the audience in the venue was reported. There were claims by fans that the volume of the booing in the broadcasts was lowered by anti-booing technology, and that pre-recorded applauses were played. RTP's director, Nicolau Santos, as well as AVROTROS, supported these claims, and criticised the EBU's usage of the technology. The Slovenian broadcaster RTVSLO also addressed claims of audio distortion. A video posted to social media showed audio of the applause track cutting out and replaying during the announcement of the Dutch jury points. The EBU and SVT denied the allegations of audio censorship, stating that they "do not censor sound from the arena audience. The same principle applies to all competing performances and opening and interval acts." Eden Golan, Israel's representative, claimed in a post-contest interview that anti-booing technology was in place, and that the boos for her were being silenced and turned into cheers. Anti-booing technology was previously used in the 2015 contest.
=== Televoting results ===
At the end of the broadcast of the second semi-final, in which Italy voted, Italian broadcaster RAI displayed what appeared to be the televoting percentages recorded in the country. This contravened the rules of the contest, according to which the detailed results from all shows can only be published after the final. It was later clarified by RAI that the results shown were not complete, but were in fact partial results of the vote. The results from Italy published after the contest were different to the ones aired. Following the contest, RTVSLO called the televoting results into question, citing its doubts in the validity of the Slovenian vote, as well as questioning the introduction of the Rest of the World vote.
=== Disqualification of the Netherlands from the final ===
During the first dress rehearsal for the final, held on 10 May, the Dutch representative Joost Klein did not appear for his performance despite being present during the flag parade. An EBU press release said it was "investigating an incident reported to [it] involving the Dutch artist", as well as that "he [would] not be rehearsing until further notice". He was also not present for the jury show later that evening, and a recording of his performance from the second semi-final was used there instead.
The incident occurred backstage shortly after Klein's performance in the second semi-final, and involved a female camera operator, who filed a complaint against Klein to the Swedish Police Authority. Klein was claimed to have made a threatening gesture toward the operator, following the female camera operator's recording of Klein on his way to the green room; AVROTROS claimed it was agreed he would not be filmed there. Further details of the altercation were unclear at that time, however, the Swedish Police Authority stated that no assault had occurred. AVROTROS and its parent broadcasting organisation NPO held discussions with the EBU, ultimately leading the EBU to disqualify the Dutch entry from the final. This was the first and only time in the contest's history that an entrant was disqualified during the event. AVROTROS called the penalty "very heavy and disproportionate".
The Swedish Police Authority launched an investigation into the incident on the day it was reported, and the case was handed to the Swedish Prosecution Authority following the contest. The investigation was closed on 12 August 2024 due to a lack of evidence to prove that Klein "was capable of causing serious fear or that [he] had any such intention". AVROTROS subsequently offered Klein the opportunity to represent the Netherlands again in the 2025 contest, which he declined.
=== Enforcement of flag policy ===
Swiss winner Nemo claimed in a press conference after their win that the non-binary flag had been banned by the EBU from the venue, accusing the organisers of "double standards" regarding the alleged forcing of fans to dispose of their flags before entering the venue. The singer, who identifies as non-binary and was the first openly non-binary performer to win the contest, admitted to violating this by bringing a non-binary flag in, which they displayed in the green room. The European Commission's vice president, Margaritis Schinas, also claimed on 13 May that the flag of the European Union (EU) was among those not permitted; he later filed a formal complaint to the EBU, after calling it a "gift" for the "enemies of Europe", a month ahead of the 2024 European Parliament election. There were also reports of Dutch flags being confiscated ahead of the final due to Joost Klein's disqualification. The EBU responded by stating that "SVT's policy was to allow the flags of the participating countries and the rainbow flags," that there had not been an express ban on the EU flag in the written policy, and that "due to heightened geopolitical tensions, the flag policy was more rigorously enforced by security at this year's event." It also stated that it would review the flag policy with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), which would host the 2025 contest following Nemo's win.
== Reception ==
Following the 2024 contest, four entries entered the Billboard Global 200 chart dated 25 May 2024: the Netherlands' "Europapa" at number 51, Switzerland's winning entry "The Code" at number 52, Croatia's "Rim Tim Tagi Dim" at number 139, and France's "Mon amour" at number 144. On the Billboard Global Excl. US chart also dated 25 May 2024, the four aforementioned entries entered at numbers 24, 21, 64, and 61, respectively, followed by Italy's "La noia" at number 129 and Ukraine's "Teresa & Maria" at number 130. "La noia" had previously peaked at number 51 on the Global Excl. US chart and at number 110 on the Global 200 chart following its win at the Sanremo Music Festival 2024, which also doubled as the Italian national final.
In a November 2024 press release, Malmö Municipality revealed that the contest generated SEK 445 million from 159,680 visitors, including SEK 3.98 million from ticket sales. In addition, over 90% of city decor for the event were recycled.
== Official album ==
Eurovision Song Contest: Malmö 2024 is the official compilation album of the contest, featuring all 37 entries. It was put together by the European Broadcasting Union and was released by Universal Music Group digitally on 12 April 2024, in CD format on 19 April 2024, and in vinyl format on 24 May 2024.
=== Charts ===
=== Certifications === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_777 | Boeing 777 | The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777 is the world's largest twinjet and the most-built wide-body airliner.
The jetliner was designed to bridge the gap between Boeing's other wide body airplanes, the twin-engined 767 and quad-engined 747, and to replace aging DC-10 and L-1011 trijets. Developed in consultation with eight major airlines, the 777 program was launched in October 1990, with an order from United Airlines. The prototype aircraft rolled out in April 1994, and first flew that June. The 777 entered service with the launch operator United Airlines in June 1995. Longer-range variants were launched in 2000, and first delivered in 2004. Over 2,300 Boeing 777 aircraft have been ordered, with over 70 operators worldwide.
The Triple Seven can accommodate a ten–abreast seating layout and has a typical 3-class capacity of 301 to 368 passengers, with a range of 5,240 to 8,555 nautical miles [nmi] (9,700 to 15,840 km; 6,030 to 9,840 mi). The jetliner is recognizable for its large-diameter turbofan engines, raked wingtips, six wheels on each main landing gear, fully circular fuselage cross-section, and a blade-shaped tail cone. The 777 became the first Boeing airliner to use fly-by-wire controls and to apply a carbon composite structure in the tailplanes.
The original 777 with a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 545,000–660,000 lb (247–299 t) was produced in two fuselage lengths: the initial 777-200 was followed by the extended-range -200ER in 1997; and the 33.25 ft (10.13 m) longer 777-300 in 1998. These have since been known as 777 Classics and were powered by 77,200–98,000 lbf (343–436 kN) General Electric GE90, Pratt & Whitney PW4000, or Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines. The extended-range 777-300ER, with a MTOW of 700,000–775,000 lb (318–352 t), entered service in 2004, the longer-range 777-200LR in 2006, and the 777F freighter in 2009. These second-generation 777 variants have extended raked wingtips and are powered exclusively by 110,000–115,300 lbf (489–513 kN) GE90 engines. In November 2013, Boeing announced the development of the third generation 777X (variants include the 777-8, 777-9, and 777-8F), featuring composite wings with folding wingtips and General Electric GE9X engines, and slated for first deliveries in 2027.
As of 2018, Emirates was the largest operator with a fleet of 163 aircraft. As of February 2026, more than 60 customers have placed orders for 2,457 777s across all variants, of which 1,781 have been delivered. This makes the 777 the best-selling wide-body airliner, while its best-selling variant is the 777-300ER with 833 delivered. The airliner initially competed with the Airbus A340 and McDonnell Douglas MD-11; since 2015, it has mainly competed with the Airbus A350. First-generation 777-200 variants are to be supplanted by Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. As of May 2024, the 777 has been involved in 31 aviation accidents and incidents, including five hull loss accidents out of eight total hull losses with 542 fatalities including 3 ground casualties.
== Development ==
=== Background ===
In the early 1970s, the Boeing 747, McDonnell Douglas DC-10, and the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar became the first generation of wide-body passenger airliners to enter service. In 1978, Boeing unveiled three new models: the twin-engine or twinjet Boeing 7N7 (later named Boeing 757) to replace its 727, the twinjet Boeing 7X7 (later named 767) to challenge the Airbus A300, and a trijet "777" concept to compete with the DC-10 and L-1011. The mid-size 757 and 767 launched to market success, due in part to 1980s' extended-range twin-engine operational performance standards (ETOPS) regulations governing transoceanic twinjet operations. These regulations allowed twin-engine airliners to make ocean crossings at up to three hours distance from emergency diversionary airports. Under ETOPS rules, airlines began operating the 767 on long-distance overseas routes that did not require the capacity of larger airliners. The trijet "777" was later dropped, following marketing studies that favored the 757 and 767 variants. Boeing was left with a size and range gap in its product line between the 767-300ER and the 747-400.
By the late 1980s, DC-10 and L-1011 models were expected to be retired in the next decade, prompting manufacturers to develop replacement designs. McDonnell Douglas was working on the MD-11, a stretched successor of the DC-10, while Airbus was developing its A330 and A340 series. In 1986, Boeing unveiled proposals for an enlarged 767, tentatively named 767-X, to target the replacement market for first-generation wide-bodies such as the DC-10, and to complement existing 767 and 747 models in the company lineup. The initial proposal featured a longer fuselage and larger wings than the existing 767, along with winglets. Later plans expanded the fuselage cross-section but retained the existing 767 flight deck, nose, and other elements. However, airline customers were uninterested in the 767-X proposals, and instead wanted an even wider fuselage cross-section, fully flexible interior configurations, short- to intercontinental-range capability, and an operating cost lower than that of any 767 stretch.
Airline planners' requirements for larger aircraft had become increasingly specific, adding to the heightened competition among aircraft manufacturers. By 1988, Boeing realized that the only answer was a clean-sheet design, which became the twinjet 777. The company opted for the twin-engine configuration given past design successes, projected engine developments, and reduced-cost benefits. On December 8, 1989, Boeing began issuing offers to airlines for the 777.
=== Design effort ===
Alan Mulally served as the Boeing 777 program's director of engineering, and then was promoted in September 1992 to lead it as vice-president and general manager. The design phase of the all-new twinjet was different from Boeing's previous jetliners; eight major airlines (All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines, Qantas, and United Airlines) played a role in the 777 development. This was a departure from industry practice, where manufacturers typically designed aircraft with minimal customer input. The eight airlines that contributed to the design process became known within Boeing as the "Working Together" group. At the group's first meeting in January 1990, a 23-page questionnaire was distributed to the airlines, asking what each wanted in the design. By March 1990, the group had decided upon a baseline configuration: a cabin cross-section close to the 747's, capacity up to 325 passengers, flexible interiors, a glass cockpit, fly-by-wire controls, and 10 percent better seat-mile costs than the Airbus A330 and McDonnell Douglas MD-11.
The development phase of the 777 coincided with United Airlines replacement program for its aging DC-10s. On October 14, 1990, United became the launch customer with an order for 34 Pratt & Whitney-powered 777s valued at US$11 billion (~$23.3 billion in 2024) and options for 34 more. The airline required that the new aircraft be capable of flying three different routes: Chicago to Hawaii, Chicago to Europe, and non-stop from Denver, a hot and high airport, to Hawaii. ETOPS certification was also a priority for United, given the overwater portion of United's Hawaii routes. In late 1991, Boeing selected its Everett factory in Washington, home of 747 (and, later, 787) production, as the 777's final assembly line (FAL). In January 1993, a team of United developers joined other airline teams and Boeing designers at the Everett factory. The 240 design teams, with up to 40 members each, addressed almost 1,500 design issues with individual aircraft components. The fuselage diameter was increased to suit Cathay Pacific, the baseline model grew longer for All Nippon Airways, and British Airways' input led to added built-in testing and interior flexibility, along with higher operating weight options.
The 777 was the first commercial aircraft to be developed using an entirely computer-aided design (CAD) process. Each design drawing was created on a three-dimensional CAD software system known as CATIA, sourced from Dassault Systèmes and IBM. This allowed engineers to virtually assemble the 777 aircraft on a computer system to check for interference and verify that the thousands of parts fit properly before the actual assembly process—thus reducing costly rework. Boeing developed its high-performance visualization system, FlyThru, later called IVT (Integrated Visualization Tool) to support large-scale collaborative engineering design reviews, production illustrations, and other uses of the CAD data outside of engineering. Boeing was initially not convinced of CATIA's abilities and built a physical mock-up of the nose section to verify its results. The test was so successful that additional mock-ups were canceled. The 777 was completed with such precision that it was the first Boeing jetliner that did not require the details to be worked out on an expensive physical aircraft mock-up. This helped the design program to limit costs to a reported $5 billion.
=== Testing and certification ===
Major assembly of the first aircraft began on January 4, 1993. On April 9, 1994, the first 777, number WA001, was rolled out in a series of 15 ceremonies held during the day to accommodate the 100,000 invited guests. The first flight took place on June 12, 1994, under the command of chief test pilot John E. Cashman. This marked the start of an 11-month flight test program that was more extensive than testing for any previous Boeing model. Nine aircraft fitted with General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce engines were flight tested at locations ranging from the desert airfield at Edwards Air Force Base in California to frigid conditions in Alaska, mainly Fairbanks International Airport. To satisfy ETOPS requirements, eight 180-minute single-engine test flights were performed. The first aircraft built was used by Boeing's nondestructive testing campaign from 1994 to 1996, and provided data for the -200ER and -300 programs.
At the successful conclusion of flight testing, the 777 was awarded simultaneous airworthiness certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) on April 19, 1995.
=== Entry into service ===
Boeing delivered the first 777 to United Airlines on May 15, 1995. The FAA awarded 180-minute ETOPS clearance ("ETOPS-180") for the Pratt & Whitney PW4084-engined aircraft on May 30, 1995, making it the first airliner to carry an ETOPS-180 rating at its entry into service. The first commercial flight took place on June 7, 1995, from London Heathrow Airport to Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. Longer ETOPS clearance of 207 minutes was approved in October 1996.
On November 12, 1995, Boeing delivered the first model with General Electric GE90-77B engines to British Airways, which entered service five days later. Initial service was affected by gearbox bearing wear issues, which caused British Airways to temporarily withdraw its 777 fleet from transatlantic service in 1997, returning to full service later that year. General Electric subsequently announced engine upgrades.
The first Rolls-Royce Trent 877-powered aircraft was delivered to Thai Airways International on March 31, 1996, completing the introduction of the three power plants initially developed for the airliner. Each engine-aircraft combination had secured ETOPS-180 certification from its entry into service. By June 1997, orders for the 777 numbered 323 from 25 airlines, including launch customers that had ordered additional aircraft. Operations performance data established the consistent capabilities of the twinjet over long-haul transoceanic routes, leading to additional sales. By 1998, the 777 fleet had approached 900,000 flight hours. Boeing states that the 777 fleet has a dispatch reliability (rate of departure from the gate with no more than 15 minutes delay due to technical issues) above 99 percent.
=== Improvement and stretching: -200ER/-300 ===
After the baseline model, the 777-200, Boeing developed an increased gross weight variant with greater range and payload capability. Initially named 777-200IGW, the 777-200ER first flew on October 7, 1996, received FAA and JAA certification on January 17, 1997, and entered service with British Airways on February 9, 1997. Offering greater long-haul performance, the variant became the most widely ordered version of the aircraft through the early 2000s. On April 2, 1997, a Malaysia Airlines -200ER named "Super Ranger" broke the great circle "distance without landing" record for an airliner by flying eastward from Boeing Field, Seattle to Kuala Lumpur, a distance of 10,823 nautical miles (20,044 km; 12,455 mi), in 21 hours and 23 minutes.
Following the introduction of the -200ER, Boeing turned its attention to a stretched version of the baseline model. On October 16, 1997, the 777-300 made its first flight. At 242.4 ft (73.9 m) in length, the -300 became the longest airliner yet produced (until the A340-600), and had a 20 percent greater overall capacity than the standard length model. The -300 was awarded type certification simultaneously from the FAA and JAA on May 4, 1998, and entered service with launch customer Cathay Pacific on May 27, 1998.
The first generation of Boeing 777 models, the -200, -200ER, and -300 have since been known collectively as the Boeing 777 Classics. These three early 777 variants had three engine options ranging from 77,200 to 98,000 lbf (343 to 436 kN): General Electric GE90, Pratt & Whitney PW4000, or Rolls-Royce Trent 800.
=== Production ===
The production process included substantial international content, an unprecedented level of global subcontracting for a Boeing jetliner, later exceeded by the 787. International contributors included Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (fuselage panels), Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. (center wing section), Hawker de Havilland (elevators), and Aerospace Technologies of Australia (rudder). An agreement between Boeing and the Japan Aircraft Development Corporation, representing Japanese aerospace contractors, made the latter risk-sharing partners for 20 percent of the entire development program.
To accommodate production of its new airliner, Boeing doubled the size of the Everett factory at the cost of nearly US$1.5 billion (~$2.93 billion in 2024) to provide space for two new assembly lines. New production methods were developed, including a turn machine that could rotate fuselage subassemblies 180 degrees, giving workers access to upper body sections. By the start of production in 1993, the program had amassed 118 firm orders, with options for 95 more from 10 airlines. Total investment in the program was estimated at over $4 billion from Boeing, with an additional $2 billion from suppliers.
Initially second to the 747 as Boeing's most profitable jetliner, the 777 became the company's most lucrative model in the 2000s. An analyst established the 777 program, assuming Boeing has fully recouped the plane's development costs, may account for $400 million of the company's pretax earnings in 2000, $50 million more than the 747. By 2004, the airliner accounted for the bulk of wide-body revenues for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. In 2007, orders for second-generation 777 models approached 350 aircraft, and in November of that year, Boeing announced that all production slots were sold out to 2012. The program backlog of 356 orders was valued at $95 billion at list prices in 2008.
In 2010, Boeing announced plans to increase production from 5 aircraft per month to 7 aircraft per month by mid-2011, and 8.3 per month by early 2013. In November 2011, assembly of the 1,000th 777, a -300ER, began when it took 49 days to fully assemble one of these variants. The aircraft in question was built for the airline Emirates, and rolled out of the production facility in March 2012. By the mid-2010s, the 777 had become prevalent on the longest flights internationally and had become the most widely used airliner for transpacific routes, with variants of the type operating over half of all scheduled flights and with the majority of transpacific carriers. By April 2014, with cumulative sales surpassing those of the 747, the 777 became the best-selling wide-body airliner; at existing production rates, the aircraft was on track to become the most-delivered wide-body airliner by mid-2016.
By February 2015, the backlog of undelivered 777s totaled 278 aircraft, equivalent to nearly three years at the then production rate of 8.3 aircraft per month, causing Boeing to ponder the 2018–2020 time frame. In January 2016, Boeing confirmed plans to reduce the production rate of the 777 family from 8.3 per month to 7 per month in 2017 to help close the production gap between the 777 and 777X due to a lack of new orders. In August 2017, Boeing was scheduled to drop 777 production again to five per month. In 2018, assembling test 777-9 aircraft was expected to lower output to an effective rate of 5.5 per month. In March 2018, as previously predicted, the 777 overtook the 747 as the world's most produced wide body aircraft. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, demand for new jets fell in 2020 and Boeing further reduced monthly 777 production from five to two aircraft.
=== Second generation (777-X): -300ER/-200LR/F ===
From the program's start, Boeing had considered building ultra-long-range variants. Early plans centered on a 777-100X proposal, a shortened variant of the -200 with reduced weight and increased range, similar to the 747SP. However, the -100X would have carried fewer passengers than the -200 while having similar operating costs, leading to a higher cost per seat. By the late 1990s, design plans shifted to longer-range versions of existing models.
In March 1997, the Boeing board approved the 777-200X/300X specifications: 298 passengers in three classes over 8,600 nmi (15,900 km; 9,900 mi) for the 200X and 6,600 nmi (12,200 km; 7,600 mi) with 355 passengers in a tri-class layout for the 300X, with design freeze planned in May 1998, 200X certification in August 2000, and introduction in September and in January 2001 for the 300X. The 4.5 ft (1.37 m) wider wing was to be strengthened and the fuel capacity enlarged, and it was to be powered by simple derivatives with similar fans. GE was proposing a 102,000 lbf (454 kN) GE90-102B, while P&W offered its 98,000 lbf (436 kN) PW4098, and R-R was proposing a 98,000 lbf (437 kN) Trent 8100. Rolls-Royce was also studying a Trent 8102 over 100,000 lbf (445 kN). Boeing was also studying a semi-levered, articulated main gear to help the take-off rotation of the proposed -300X, with its higher 715,600 lb (324,600 kg) maximum take-off weight (MTOW). By January 1999, its MTOW grew to 750,700 lb (340,500 kg), and thrust requirements increased to 110,000–114,000 lbf (490–510 kN).
A more powerful engine in the thrust class of 100,000 lbf (440 kN) was required, leading to talks between Boeing and engine manufacturers. General Electric offered to develop the GE90-115B engine, while Rolls-Royce proposed developing the Trent 8104 engine. In 1999, Boeing announced an agreement with General Electric, beating out rival proposals. Under the deal with General Electric, Boeing agreed to only offer GE90 engines on new 777 versions.
On February 29, 2000, Boeing launched its next-generation twinjet program, initially called 777-X, and began issuing offers to airlines. Development was slowed by an industry downturn during the early 2000s. The first model to emerge from the program, the 777-300ER, was launched with an order for ten aircraft from Air France, along with additional commitments. On February 24, 2003, the -300ER made its first flight, and the FAA and EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency, successor to the JAA) certified the model on March 16, 2004. The first delivery to Air France took place on April 29, 2004. The -300ER, which combined the -300's added capacity with the -200ER's range, became the top-selling 777 variant in the late 2000s, benefitting as airlines replaced comparable four-engine models with twinjets for their lower operating costs.
The second long-range model, the 777-200LR, rolled out on February 15, 2005, and completed its first flight on March 8, 2005. The -200LR was certified by both the FAA and EASA on February 2, 2006, and the first delivery to Pakistan International Airlines occurred on February 26, 2006. On November 10, 2005, the first -200LR set a record for the longest non-stop flight of a passenger airliner by flying 11,664 nautical miles (21,602 km; 13,423 mi) eastward from Hong Kong to London. Lasting 22 hours and 42 minutes, the flight surpassed the -200LR's standard design range and was logged in the Guinness World Records.
The production freighter model, the 777F, rolled out on May 23, 2008. The maiden flight of the 777F, which used the structural design and engine specifications of the -200LR along with fuel tanks derived from the -300ER, occurred on July 14, 2008. FAA and EASA type certification for the freighter was received on February 6, 2009, and the first delivery to launch customer Air France took place on February 19, 2009.
By the late 2000s, the 777 was facing increased potential competition from Airbus' planned A350 XWB and internally from proposed 787 series, both airliners that offer fuel efficiency improvements. As a consequence, the 777-300ER received engine and aerodynamics improvement packages for reduced drag and weight. In 2010, the variant further received a 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) maximum zero-fuel weight increase, equivalent to a higher payload of 20–25 passengers; its GE90-115B1 engines received a 1–2.5 percent thrust enhancement for increased takeoff weights at higher-altitude airports. Through these improvements, the 777 remains the largest twin-engine jetliner in the world.
In 2011, the 787 Dreamliner entered service, the completed first stage a.k.a. the Yellowstone-2 (Y2) of a replacement aircraft initiative called the Boeing Yellowstone Project, which would replace large variants of the 767 (300/300ER/400) but also small variants of the 777 (-200/200ER/200LR). The larger variants of the 777 (-300/300ER) as well as the 747 could eventually be replaced by a new generation aircraft, the Yellowstone-3 (Y3), which would draw upon technologies from the 787 Dreamliner (Y2). More changes were targeted for late 2012, including possible extension of the wingspan, along with other major changes, including a composite wing, a new generation engine, and different fuselage lengths. Emirates was reportedly working closely with Boeing on the project, in conjunction with being a potential launch customer for the new 777 generation. Among customers for the aircraft during this period, China Airlines ordered ten 777-300ER aircraft to replace 747-400s on long-haul transpacific routes (with the first of those aircraft entering service in 2015), noting that the 777-300ER's per seat cost is about 20% lower than the 747's costs (varying due to fuel prices).
=== Improvement packages ===
In tandem with the development of the third generation Boeing 777X, Boeing worked with General Electric to offer a 2% improvement in fuel efficiency to in-production 777-300ER aircraft. General Electric improved the fan module and the high-pressure compressor stage-1 blisk in the GE-90-115 turbofan, as well as reduced clearances between the tips of the turbine blades and the shroud during cruise. These improvements, of which the latter is the most important and was derived from work to develop the 787, were stated by GE to lower fuel burn by 0.5%. Boeing's wing modifications were intended to deliver the remainder. Boeing stated that every 1% improvement in the 777-300ER's fuel burn translates into being able to fly the aircraft another 75 nmi (139 km; 86 mi) on the same load of fuel, or add ten passengers or 2,400 lb (1,100 kg) of cargo to a "load limited" flight.
In March 2015, additional details of the "improvement package" were unveiled. The 777-300ER was to shed 1,800 lb (820 kg) by replacing the fuselage crown with tie rods and composite integration panels, similar to those used on the 787. The new flight control software would eliminate the need for the tail skid by keeping the tail off the runway surface regardless of the extent to which pilots command the elevators. Boeing was also redesigning the inboard flap fairings to reduce drag by reducing pressure on the underside of the wing. The outboard raked wingtip was to have a divergent trailing edge, described as a "poor man's airfoil" by Boeing; this was originally developed for the McDonnell Douglas MD-12 project. Another change involved elevator trim bias. These changes were to increase fuel efficiency and allow airlines to add 14 additional seats to the airplane, increasing per seat fuel efficiency by 5%.
Mindful of the long time required to bring the 777X to the market, Boeing continued to develop improvement packages which improve fuel efficiency, as well as lower prices for the existing product. In January 2015, United Airlines ordered ten 777-300ERs, normally selling for around $150 million per aircraft, for $130 million each, a discount to bridge the production gap to the 777X. In 2019, the list price for the -200ER was $306.6 million, the -200LR: $346.9 million, the -300ER: $375.5 million and 777F: $352.3 million. The -200ER is the only Classic variant listed.
=== Third generation (777X): -8/-8F/-9 ===
In November 2013, with orders and commitments totaling 259 aircraft from Lufthansa, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways, Boeing formally launched the 777X program, the third generation of the 777, with two models: the 777-8 and 777-9. The 777-9 is a further stretched variant with a capacity of over 400 passengers and a range of over 8,200 nmi (15,200 km; 9,400 mi), whereas the 777-8 is slated to seat approximately 350 passengers and have a range of over 9,300 nmi (17,200 km; 10,700 mi). Both models are to be equipped with new generation GE9X engines and feature new composite wings with folding wingtips. The first member of the 777X family was projected to enter service in 2020 at the time of the program announcement. The roll-out of the prototype 777X, a 777-9 model, occurred on March 13, 2019. The 777-9 first flew on January 25, 2020, with deliveries initially forecast for 2022 or 2023 and later delayed to 2025 and 2026.
In October 2025, Boeing pushed back the first delivery of the 777X to 2027, citing a longer-than-expected regulatory approval process. As a result, the company booked a $4.9 billion noncash charge in its third quarter earnings.
== Design ==
Boeing introduced a number of advanced technologies with the 777 design, including fully digital fly-by-wire controls, fully software-configurable avionics, Honeywell LCD glass cockpit flight displays, and the first use of a fiber optic avionics network on a commercial airliner. Boeing made use of work done on the cancelled Boeing 7J7 regional jet, which utilized similar versions of the chosen technologies. In 2003, Boeing began offering the option of cockpit electronic flight bag computer displays. In 2013, Boeing announced that the upgraded 777X models would incorporate airframe, systems, and interior technologies from the 787.
=== Fly-by-wire ===
In designing the 777 as its first fly-by-wire commercial aircraft, Boeing decided to retain conventional control yokes rather than change to sidestick controllers as used in many fly-by-wire fighter aircraft and in many Airbus airliners. Along with traditional yoke and rudder controls, the cockpit features a simplified layout that retains similarities to previous Boeing models. The fly-by-wire system also incorporates flight envelope protection, a system that guides pilot inputs within a computer-calculated framework of operating parameters, acting to prevent stalls, overspeeds, and excessively stressful maneuvers. This system can be overridden by the pilot if deemed necessary. The fly-by-wire system is supplemented by mechanical backup.
=== Airframe and systems ===
The airframe incorporates the use of composite materials, accounting for nine percent of the original structural weight, while the third-generation models, the 777-8 and 777-9, feature more composite parts. Composite components include the cabin floor and rudder, with the 777 being the first Boeing airliner to use composite materials for both the horizontal and vertical stabilizers (empennage). The main fuselage cross-section is fully circular, and tapers rearward into a blade-shaped tail cone with a port-facing auxiliary power unit.
The wings on the 777 feature a supercritical airfoil design that is swept back at 31.6 degrees and optimized for cruising at Mach 0.83 (revised after flight tests up to Mach 0.84). The wings are designed with increased thickness and a longer span than previous airliners, resulting in greater payload and range, improved takeoff performance, and a higher cruising altitude. The wings also serve as fuel storage, with longer-range models able to carry up to 47,890 US gallons (181,300 L) of fuel. This capacity allows the 777-200LR to operate ultra-long-distance, trans-polar routes such as Toronto to Hong Kong. In 2013, a new wing made of composite materials was introduced for the upgraded 777X, with a wider span and design features based on the 787's wings.
Folding wingtips, 21 feet (6.40 m) long, were offered when the 777 was first launched, to appeal to airlines who might use gates made to accommodate smaller aircraft, but no airline purchased this option. Folding wingtips reemerged as a design feature at the announcement of the upgraded 777X in 2013. Smaller folding wingtips of 11 feet (3.35 m) in length will allow 777X models to use the same airport gates and taxiways as earlier 777s. These smaller folding wingtips are less complex than those proposed for earlier 777s, and internally only affect the wiring needed for wingtip lights.
The aircraft features the largest landing gear and the biggest tires ever used in a commercial jetliner. The six-wheel bogies are designed to spread the load of the aircraft over a wide area without requiring an additional centerline gear. This helps reduce weight and simplifies the aircraft's braking and hydraulic systems. Each tire of a 777-300ER six-wheel main landing gear can carry a load of 59,490 lb (26,980 kg), which is heavier than other wide-bodies such as the 747-400. The aircraft has triple redundant hydraulic systems with only one system required for landing. A ram air turbine—a small retractable device which can provide emergency power—is also fitted in the wing root fairing.
=== Interior ===
The original 777 interior, also known as the Boeing Signature Interior, features curved panels, larger overhead bins, and indirect lighting. Seating options range from four to six–abreast in first class up to ten–abreast in economy. The 777's windows were the largest of any current commercial airliner until the 787, and measure 15 by 10 inches (380 by 250 mm) for all models outside the 777-8 and -9. The cabin also features "Flexibility Zones", which entails deliberate placement of water, electrical, pneumatic, and other connection points throughout the interior space, allowing airlines to move seats, galleys, and lavatories quickly and more easily when adjusting cabin arrangements. Several aircraft have also been fitted with VIP interiors for non-airline use. Boeing designed a hydraulically damped toilet seat cover hinge that closes slowly.
In February 2003, Boeing introduced overhead crew rests as an option on the 777. Located above the main cabin and connected via staircases, the forward flight crew rest contains two seats and two bunks, while the aft cabin crew rest features multiple bunks. The Signature Interior has since been adapted for other Boeing wide-body and narrow-body aircraft, including 737NG, 747-400, 757-300, and newer 767 models, including all 767-400ER models. The 747-8 and 767-400ER have also adopted the larger, more rounded windows of the original 777.
In July 2011, Flight International reported that Boeing was considering replacing the Signature Interior on the 777 with a new interior similar to that on the 787, as part of a move towards a "common cabin experience" across all Boeing platforms. With the launch of the 777X in 2013, Boeing confirmed that the aircraft would be receiving a new interior featuring 787 cabin elements and larger windows. Further details released in 2014 included re-sculpted cabin sidewalls for greater interior room, noise-damping technology, and higher cabin humidity.
While many airlines debuted the 777 with 9-abreast economy cabins, airlines have largely shifted towards denser 10-abreast economy cabins in the 2010s to reduce per-seat costs, with numerous airlines retrofitting their 777 economy cabins with a 10-abreast layout. In 2001, only 5% of 777 deliveries were equipped with 10-abreast economy, while this had risen to over 50% of 777 deliveries by 2016.
Air France has a 777-300ER sub-fleet with 472 seats each, more than any other international 777, to achieve a cost per available seat kilometer (CASK) around €.05, similar to Level's 314-seat Airbus A330-200, Air France's benchmark for low-cost long-haul.
=== Engines ===
The initial 777 models (consisting of the 777-200, 777-200ER, 777-300) were launched with propulsion options from three manufacturers, GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce, giving the airlines their choice of engines from competing firms. Each manufacturer agreed to develop an engine in the 77,200–98,000 lbf (343–436 kN) of thrust class for the world's largest twinjet, resulting in the General Electric GE90, Pratt & Whitney PW4000, or Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines. The Trent 800 is the lightest of the three powerplants as it weighs 13,400 lb (6.078 t) dry, while the GE90 is 17,400 lb (7.89 t), and the PW4000 is 16,260 lb (7.38 t).
For Boeing's second-generation 777 variants (777-300ER, 777-200LR, and 777F) greater thrust was needed to meet the aircraft requirements, and GE was selected as the exclusive engine manufacturer. The higher-thrust variants, GE90-110B1 and -115B, have a different architecture from that of the earlier GE90 versions. GE incorporated an advanced larger diameter fan made from composite materials which enhanced thrust at low flight speeds. However, GE also needed to increase core power to improve net thrust at high flight speeds. Consequently, GE elected to increase core capacity, which they achieved by removing one stage from the rear of the HP compressor and adding an additional stage to the LP compressor, which more than compensated for the reduction in HP compressor pressure ratio, resulting in a net increase in core mass flow. The higher-thrust GE90 variants are the first production engines to feature swept rotor blades. The nacelle has a maximum diameter of 166 in (4,200 mm). Each of the 22 fan blades on the GE90-115B have a length of 4 feet (1.2 meters) and a mass of less than 50 pounds (23 kilograms).
== Variants ==
Boeing uses two characteristics – fuselage length and range – to define its 777 models. Passengers and cargo capacity varies by fuselage length: the 777-300 has a stretched fuselage compared to the base 777-200. Three range categories were defined: the A-market would cover domestic and regional operations, the B-market would cover routes from Europe to the US West coast and the C-market the longest transpacific routes. The A-market would be covered by a 4,200 nmi (7,800 km; 4,800 mi) range, 516,000 lb (234 t) MTOW aircraft for 353 to 374 passengers powered by 71,000 lbf (316 kN) engines, followed by a 6,600 nmi (12,200 km; 7,600 mi) B-market range for 286 passengers in three-class, with 82,000 lbf (365 kN) unit thrust and 580,000 lb (263 t) of MTOW, an A340 competitor, basis of an A-market 409 to 434 passengers stretch, and eventually a 7,600 nmi (14,000 km; 8,700 mi) C-market with 90,000 lbf (400 kN) engines.
When referring to different variants, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) code collapses the 777 model designator and the -200 or -300 variant designator to "772" or "773". The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aircraft type designator system adds a preceding manufacturer letter, in this case "B" for Boeing, hence "B772" or "B773". Designations may append a range identifier like "B77W" for the 777-300ER by the ICAO, "77W" for the IATA, though the -200ER is a company marketing designation and not certificated as such. Other notations include "773ER" and "773B" for the -300ER.
=== 777-200 (B772) ===
==== 777-200 ====
The initial 777-200 first flew on June 12, 1994, and was first delivered to United Airlines on May 15, 1995. With a 545,000 lb (247 t) MTOW and 77,000 lbf (340 kN) engines, it has a range of 5,240 nautical miles (9,700 km; 6,030 mi) with 305 passenger seats in a three-class configuration. The -200 was primarily aimed at US domestic airlines, although several Asian carriers and British Airways have also operated the type. Nine different -200 customers have taken delivery of 88 aircraft, with 55 in airline service as of 2018. The competing Airbus aircraft was the A330-300.
In March 2016, United Airlines shifted operations with all 19 of its -200s to exclusively domestic US routes, including flights to and from Hawaii, and added more economy class seats by shifting to a ten-abreast configuration (a pattern that matched American Airlines' reconfiguration of the type). As of 2019, Boeing no longer markets the -200, as indicated by its removal from the manufacturer's price listings for 777 variants.
==== 777-200ER ====
The B-market 777-200ER ("ER" for Extended Range), originally known as the 777-200IGW (increased gross weight), has additional fuel capacity and an increased MTOW enabling transoceanic routes. With a 656,000 lb (298 t) MTOW and 93,700 lbf (417 kN) engines, it has a 7,065 nmi (13,084 km; 8,130 mi) range with 301 passenger seats in a three-class configuration. It was delivered first to British Airways on February 6, 1997. Thirty-three customers received 422 deliveries, with no unfilled orders as of 2019.
As of 2018, 338 examples of the -200ER are in airline service. It competed with the A340-300. Boeing proposed the 787-10 to replace it. The value of a new -200ER rose from US$110 million at service entry to US$130 million in 2007; a 2007 model 777 was selling for US$30 million ten years later, while the oldest ones had a value around US$5–6 million, depending on the remaining engine time.
The engine can be delivered de-rated with reduced engine thrust for shorter routes to lower the MTOW, reduce purchase price and landing fees (as 777-200 specifications) but can be re-rated to full standard. Singapore Airlines ordered over half of its -200ERs de-rated.
=== 777-200LR (B77L) ===
==== 777-200LR Worldliner ====
The 777-200LR Worldliner ("LR" for Long Range), the C-market model, entered service in 2006 as one of the longest-range commercial airliners. Boeing named it Worldliner as it can connect almost any two airports in the world, although it is still subject to ETOPS restrictions. It holds the world record for the longest nonstop flight by a commercial airliner. It has a maximum design range of 8,555 nautical miles (15,844 km; 9,845 mi) as of 2017. The -200LR was intended for ultra long-haul routes such as Los Angeles to Singapore.
Developed alongside the -300ER, the -200LR features an increased MTOW and three optional auxiliary fuel tanks in the rear cargo hold. Other new features include extended raked wingtips, redesigned main landing gear, and additional structural strengthening. As with the -300ER and 777F, the -200LR is equipped with wingtip extensions of 12.8 ft (3.90 m). The -200LR is powered by GE90-110B1 or GE90-115B turbofans. The first -200LR was delivered to Pakistan International Airlines on February 26, 2006. Twelve different -200LR customers took delivery of 61 aircraft. Airlines operated 50 of the -200LR variant as of 2018. Emirates is the largest operator of the LR variant with 10 aircraft. The closest competing aircraft from Airbus are the discontinued A340-500HGW and the current A350-900ULR.
==== 777 Freighter ====
The 777 Freighter (777F) is an all-cargo variant which shares several features with the -200LR, including its airframe, engines, and fuel capacity. The 777F is sometimes informally referred to as the 777-200LRF by cargo operators.
With a maximum payload of 228,700 lb (103,700 kg)—comparable to the 243,000 lb (110,000 kg) capacity of the Boeing 747-200F—the aircraft can fly up to 9,750 nmi (18,057 km; 11,220 mi) when lightly loaded, or 4,970 nmi (9,200 km; 5,720 mi) at maximum structural payload.
The 777F includes a supernumerary area forward of the rigid cargo barrier with four business-class seats, two crew bunks, a galley, and a lavatory. The type offers improved operating economics compared to older freighters, and has been adopted as a replacement for models such as the 747-200F, DC-10F, and MD-11F.
The first 777F was delivered to Air France on February 19, 2009. As of April 2021, 247 aircraft had been ordered by 25 customers, with 45 orders remaining unfilled. There were 202 777Fs in service as of 2018.
=== 777-300 (B773) ===
Launched at the Paris Air Show on June 26, 1995, its major assembly started in March 1997 and its body was joined on July 21, it was rolled-out on September 8 and made its first flight on October 16. The 777-300 was designed to be stretched by 20%: 60 extra seats to 368 in a three-class configuration, 75 more to 451 in two classes, or up to 550 in all-economy like the 747SR. The 33 ft (10.1 m) stretch is done with 17 ft (5.3 m) in ten frames forward and 16 ft (4.8 m) in nine frames aft for a 242 ft (73.8 m) length, 11 ft (3.4 m) longer than the 747-400. It uses the -200ER 45,200 US gal (171,200 L) fuel capacity and 84,000–98,000 lbf (374–436 kN) engines with a 580,000 to 661,000 lb (263.3 to 299.6 t) MTOW.
It has ground maneuvering cameras for taxiing and a tailskid to rotate, while the proposed 716,000 lb (324.6 t) MTOW -300X would have needed a semi-levered main gear. Its overwing fuselage section 44 was strengthened, with its skin thickness going from the -200's 0.25 to 0.45 in (6.3 to 11.4 mm), and received a new evacuation door pair. Its operating empty weight with Rolls-Royce engines in typical tri-class layout is 343,300 lb (155.72 t) compared to 307,300 lb (139.38 t) for a similarly configured -200. Boeing wanted to deliver 170 -300s by 2006 and to produce 28 per year by 2002, to replace early Boeing 747s, burning one-third less fuel with 40% lower maintenance costs.
With a 660,000 lb (299 t) MTOW and 90,000 lbf (400 kN) engines, it has a range of 6,005 nautical miles (11,121 km; 6,910 mi) with 368 passengers in three-class. Eight different customers have taken delivery of 60 aircraft of the variant, of which 18 were powered by the PW4000 and 42 by the RR Trent 800 (none were ordered with the GE90, which was never certified on this variant), with 48 in airline service as of 2018. The last -300 was delivered in 2006 while the longer-range -300ER started deliveries in 2004.
=== 777-300ER (B77W) ===
The 777-300ER ("ER" for Extended Range) is the B-market version of the -300. Its higher MTOW and increased fuel capacity permits a maximum range of 7,370 nautical miles (13,650 km; 8,480 mi) with 392 passengers in a two-class seating arrangement. The 777-300ER features extended raked wingtips, a strengthened fuselage and wings and a modified main landing gear. Its wings have an aspect ratio of 9.0. It is powered by the GE90-115B turbofan, the world's most powerful jet engine with a maximum thrust of 115,300 lbf (513 kN).
Following flight testing, aerodynamic refinements have reduced fuel burn by an additional 1.4%. At Mach 0.839 (495 kn; 916 km/h), FL300, −59 °C and at a 513,400 lb (232.9 t) weight, it burns 17,300 lb (7.8 t) of fuel per hour. Its operating empty weight is 371,600 lb (168.6 t). The projected operational empty weight is 371,610 lb (168,560 kg) in airline configuration, at a weight of 477,010 lb (216,370 kg) and FL350, total fuel flow is 15,000 lb/h (6,790 kg/h) at Mach 0.84 (495 kn; 917 km/h), rising to 19,600 lb/h (8,890 kg/h) at Mach 0.87 (513 kn; 950 km/h).
Since its launch, the -300ER has been a primary driver of the airplane's sales past the rival A330/340 series. Its direct competitors have included the Airbus A340-600 and the A350-1000. Using two engines produces a typical operating cost advantage of around 8–9% for the -300ER over the A340-600. Several airlines have acquired the -300ER as a 747-400 replacement amid rising fuel prices given its 20% fuel burn advantage. The -300ER has an operating cost of $44 per seat hour, compared to an Airbus A380's roughly $50 per seat hour and $90 per seat hour for a Boeing 747-400 as of 2015.
The first 777-300ER was delivered to Air France on April 29, 2004. The -300ER is the best-selling 777 variant, with Emirates being the largest operator with 123 777-300ER in service, having surpassed the -200ER in orders in 2010 and deliveries in 2013. As of 2018, 784 300ERs were in service.
=== 777X ===
The third-generation of the 777, launched as the 777X, is to feature new GE9X engines and new composite wings with folding wingtips. It was launched in November 2013 with two variants: the 777-8 and the 777-9. The 777-8 provides seating for 395 passengers and has a range of 8,745 nmi (16,196 km; 10,064 mi), while the 777-9 has seating for 426 passengers and a range of over 7,285 nmi (13,492 km; 8,383 mi). A longer 777-10X and 777X BBJ variants have also been proposed.
=== Government and corporate ===
Versions of the 777 have been acquired by government and private customers. The main purpose has been for VIP transport, including as an air transport for heads of state, although the aircraft has also been proposed for other military applications.
777 Business Jet (777 VIP) – the Boeing Business Jet version of the 777 that is sold to corporate customers. Boeing has received orders for 777 VIP aircraft based on the 777-200LR and 777-300ER passenger models. The aircraft are fitted with private jet cabins by third party contractors, and completion may take three years.
KC-777 – this was a proposed tanker version of the 777. In September 2006, Boeing announced that it would produce the KC-777 if the United States Air Force (USAF) required a larger tanker than the KC-767, able to transport more cargo or personnel. In April 2007, Boeing offered its 767-based KC-767 Advanced Tanker instead of the KC-777 to replace the smaller Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker under the USAF's KC-X program. Boeing officials have described the KC-777 as suitable for the related KC-Z program to replace the wide-body McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender.
In 2014, the Japanese government chose to procure two 777-300ERs to serve as the official air transport for the Emperor of Japan and Prime Minister of Japan. The aircraft, operated by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force under the callsign Japanese Air Force One, entered service in 2019 and replaced two 747-400s - the 777-300ER was specifically selected by the Ministry of Defense owing to its similar capabilities to the preceding 747 pair. Besides VIP transport, the 777s are also intended for use in emergency relief missions.
777s are serving or have served as official government transports for nations including Gabon (VIP-configured 777-200ER), Turkmenistan (VIP-configured 777-200LR) and the United Arab Emirates (VIP-configured 777-200ER and 777-300ER operated by Abu Dhabi Amiri Flight). Prior to returning to power as Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafic Hariri acquired a 777-200ER as an official transport. The Indian government purchased two Air India 777-300ERs and converted them for VVIP transport operated by the Indian Air Force under the callsign Air India One; they entered service in 2021 replacing the Air India-owned 747s.
In 2014, the USAF examined the possibility of adopting modified 777-300ERs or 777-9Xs to replace the Boeing 747-200 aircraft used as Air Force One. Although the USAF had preferred a four-engine aircraft, this was mainly due to precedent (existing aircraft were purchased when the 767 was just beginning to prove itself with ETOPS; decades later, the 777 and other twin jets established a comparable level of performance to quad-jet aircraft). Ultimately, the Air Force decided against the 777, and selected the Boeing 747-8 to become the next presidential aircraft.
=== Aftermarket freighter conversions ===
In the 2000s, Boeing began studying the conversion of 777-200ER and -200 passenger airliners into freighters, under the name 777 BCF (Boeing Converted Freighter). The company has been in discussion with several airline customers, including FedEx Express, UPS Airlines, and GE Capital Aviation Services, to provide launch orders for a 777 BCF program.
In July 2018, Boeing was studying a 777-300ER freighter conversion, targeted for the volumetric market instead of the density market served by the production 777F. After having considered a -200ER P2F program, Boeing was hoping to conclude its study by the fall as the 777X replacing aging -300ERs from 2020 will generate feedstock. New-build 777-300ERs may maintain the delivery rate at five per month, to bridge the production gap until the 777X is delivered. Within the 811 777-300ERs delivered and 33 to be delivered by October 2019, GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) anticipates up to 150-175 orders through 2030, with the four to five month conversion costing around $35 million.
==== Israel Aerospace Industries 777-300ER Special Freighter (SF) ====
In October 2019, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) launched the 777-300ERSF passenger to freighter conversion program with GECAS ordering 15 aircraft and 15 options. This is the first aftermarket 777 conversion program. In June 2020, IAI received the first 777-300ER to be converted from GECAS. In October 2020, GECAS announced Kalitta Air, an existing 777F operator, as the launch operator for the 777-300ERSF. Certification and service entry was initially scheduled for late 2022. By March 2023, IAI had a backlog of over 60 orders, and completed the first flight of its prototype. The 777-300ERSF received its Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) on 1 September 2025 from both the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel (CAAI).
The IAI 777-300ER Special Freighter claims a maximum payload of 224,000 lb (101.6 t), a range of 4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi), and shares the door aperture and aft position of the 777F. It has a cargo volume capacity of 28,900 cu ft (819 m3), 5,800 cu ft (164 m3) greater than the 777F (or 25% more) and can hold 47 standard 96 x 125 in pallet (P6P) positions, 10 more positions than a 777F or eight more than a 747-400F. With windows plugged, passenger doors deactivated, fuselage and floor reinforced, and a main-deck cargo door installed, the 777-300ERSF has 15% more volume than a 747-400BCF.
==== Kansas Modification Center 777-300ERCF ====
Kansas Modification Center's (KMC) 777-300ER conversion, dubbed the 777-300ERCF, was launched in September 2020 and is developed in partnership with Wichita State University. Backbone Freighter Leasing will be the launch customer. Kansas Modification Center claims a maximum payload of 205,000 lb (93 t), room for 47 pallets, and a range of about 5,400 nmi (10,000 km; 6,200 mi) at maximum payload. Unlike IAI's 777-300ERSF, which has its cargo door aft of the wing, KMC's conversion places its door in front of the wing. KMC claims this requires less structural reinforcement, which results in a lighter and more fuel-efficient aircraft.
==== Mammoth 777-200LRMF and 777-300ERMF ====
Mammoth Freighters launched 777-200LR and 777-300ER conversions in September 2021, dubbed the 777-200LRMF and 777-300ERMF respectively. Qatar Airways Cargo will be the launch customer for the 777-200LRMF. The first prototype flew on May 1st, 2025. The 777-300ERMF will be launched by AviaAM leasing. As of July 2025, the first 777-300ERMF prototype is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Mammoth claims the 777-200LRMF will have a maximum payload of 233,000 lb (106 t), a total volume of 22,971 cu ft (650.5 m3), and a range of 4,900 nmi (9,100 km; 5,600 mi) at maximum payload. The 777-300ERMF claims a maximum payload of 216,000 lb (98 t), a total volume of 28,936 cu ft (819.4 m3), and a range of 4,800 nmi (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at maximum payload.
=== Experimental ===
Boeing has used 777 aircraft in two research and development programs. The first program, the Quiet Technology Demonstrator (QTD) was run in collaboration with Rolls-Royce and General Electric to develop and validate engine intake and exhaust modifications, including the chevrons subsequently used in the 737 MAX, 747-8 and 787 series. The tests were flown in 2001 and 2005.
A further program, the ecoDemonstrator series, is intended to test and develop technologies and techniques to reduce aviation's environmental impact. The program started in 2011, with the first ecoDemonstrator aircraft flying in 2012. Various airframes have been used since to test a wide variety of technologies in collaboration with a range of industrial partners. 777s have been used on three occasions as of 2024. The first of these, a 777F in 2018, performed the world's first commercial airliner flights using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In 2022 through 2024, the testbed was a 777-200ER.
== Operators ==
Boeing customers that have received the most 777s are Emirates, Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, ILFC, and American Airlines. Emirates is the largest airline operator as of 2018, and is the only customer to have operated all 777 variants produced, including the -200, -200ER, -200LR, -300, -300ER, and 777F. The 1,000th 777 off the production line, a -300ER set to be Emirates' 102nd 777, was unveiled at a factory ceremony in March 2012.
A total of 1,416 aircraft (all variants) were in airline service as of 2018, with Emirates (163), United Airlines (91), Air France (70), Cathay Pacific (69), American Airlines (67), Qatar Airways (67), British Airways (58), Korean Air (53), All Nippon Airways (50), Singapore Airlines (46), and other operators with fewer aircraft of the type.
In 2017, 777 Classics were noted to reach the end of their mainline service: with a -200 age ranging from three to 22 years, 43 Classic 777s or 7.5% of the fleet have been retired. Values of 777-200ERs have declined by 45% since January 2014, faster than Airbus A330s and Boeing 767s with 30%, due to the lack of a major secondary market but only a few budget, air charters and ACMI operators. In 2015, Richard H. Anderson, then Delta Air Lines' chairman and chief executive, said he had been offered 777-200s for less than US$10 million. To keep them cost-efficient, operators densify their 777s for about US$10 million each, like Scoot with 402 seats in its dual-class -200s, or Cathay Pacific which switched the 3–3–3 economy layout of 777-300s to 3–4–3 to seat 396 on regional services.
The last 777-300ER to enter service did so after nearly five years in storage. Built for China Southern Airlines, it first flew in January 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was not delivered and placed in store at Southern California Logistics Airport. It entered service with Ethiopian Airlines in December 2024 on lease from Altavair.
=== Orders and deliveries ===
The 777 surpassed 2,000 orders by the end of 2018.
Orders and deliveries through February 2026
Orders through February 28, 2026 and deliveries
Boeing 777 orders and deliveries (cumulative, by year):
Orders Deliveries through February 28, 2026
== Accidents and incidents ==
As of May 2024, the 777 had been involved in 31 aviation accidents and incidents, including a total of eight hull losses (five in-flight accidents), resulting in 542 fatalities (including three fatalities due to ground casualties), along with three hijackings. The first fatality involving the twinjet occurred in a fire while an aircraft was being refueled at Denver International Airport in the United States on September 5, 2001, during which a ground worker sustained fatal burns. The aircraft, operated by British Airways, sustained fire damage to the lower wing panels and engine housing; it was later repaired and returned to service.
The first hull loss occurred on January 17, 2008, when a 777-200ER with Rolls-Royce Trent 895 engines, flying from Beijing to London as British Airways Flight 38, crash-landed approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) short of Heathrow Airport's runway 27L and slid onto the runway's threshold. There were 47 injuries and no fatalities. The impact severely damaged the landing gear, wing roots and engines. The accident was attributed to ice crystals suspended in the aircraft's fuel clogging the fuel-oil heat exchanger (FOHE). Two other minor momentary losses of thrust with Trent 895 engines occurred later in 2008. Investigators found these were also caused by ice in the fuel clogging the FOHE. As a result, the heat exchanger was redesigned.
The second hull loss occurred on July 29, 2011, when a 777-200ER scheduled to operate as EgyptAir Flight 667 suffered a cockpit fire while parked at the gate at Cairo International Airport before its departure. The aircraft was evacuated with no injuries, and airport fire teams extinguished the fire. The aircraft sustained structural, heat and smoke damage, and was written off. Investigators focused on a possible short circuit between an electrical cable and a supply hose in the cockpit crew oxygen system.
The third hull loss occurred on July 6, 2013, when a 777-200ER, operating as Asiana Airlines Flight 214, crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport after touching down short of the runway. The 307 surviving passengers and crew on board evacuated before fire destroyed the aircraft. Two passengers, who had not been wearing their seatbelts, were ejected from the aircraft during the crash and were killed. A third passenger died six days later as a result of injuries sustained during the crash. These were the first fatalities in a crash involving a 777 since its entry into service in 1995. The official accident investigation concluded in June 2014 that the pilots committed 20 to 30 minor to significant errors in their final approach. Deficiencies in Asiana Airlines' pilot training and in Boeing's documentation of complex flight control systems were also cited as contributory factors.
The fourth hull loss occurred on March 8, 2014, when a 777-200ER carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing as Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, was reported missing. Air Traffic Control's last reported coordinates for the aircraft were over the South China Sea. After the search for the aircraft began, Malaysia's prime minister, Najib Razak, announced on March 24, 2014, that after analysis of new satellite data it was now to be assumed "beyond reasonable doubt" that the aircraft had crashed in the Indian Ocean and there were no survivors. The cause remains unknown, but the Malaysian Government in January 2015, declared it an accident. US officials believe the most likely explanation to be that someone in the cockpit of Flight 370 re-programmed the aircraft's autopilot to travel south across the Indian Ocean. On July 29, 2015, an item later identified as a flaperon from the still missing aircraft was found on the island of Réunion in the western Indian Ocean, consistent with having drifted from the main search area.
The fifth hull loss occurred on July 17, 2014, when a 777-200ER, bound for Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam as Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17), was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 298 people (283 passengers and 15 crew) on board were killed, making this the deadliest crash involving the Boeing 777. The incident was linked to the ongoing War in Donbas. On the basis of the Dutch Safety Board and the Joint Investigation Team official conclusions of May 2018, the governments of the Netherlands and Australia continue to hold Russia responsible for the deployment of the Buk missile system used in shooting down the airliner from territory held by pro-Russian separatists.
The sixth hull loss occurred on August 3, 2016, when a 777-300 crashed while landing and caught fire at Dubai Airport at the end of its flight as Emirates Flight 521. The preliminary investigation indicated that the aircraft was attempting a landing during active wind shear conditions. The pilots initiated a go-around procedure shortly after the wheels touched-down onto the runway; however, the aircraft settled back onto the ground, apparently due to late throttle application. As the undercarriage was in the process of being retracted, the aircraft landed on its rear underbody and engine nacelles, resulting in the separation of one engine, loss of control and subsequent crash. There were no passenger casualties of the 300 people on board, but one airport fireman was killed fighting the fire. The aircraft's fuselage and right wing were irreparably damaged by the fire.
The seventh hull loss occurred on November 29, 2017, when a Singapore Airlines 777-200ER experienced a fire while being towed at Singapore Changi Airport. An aircraft technician was the only occupant on board and evacuated safely. The aircraft sustained heat damage and was written off. Another fire occurred on July 22, 2020, on a 777F operating as Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Flight 3739, while on the ground at the cargo area of Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The aircraft sustained heat damage and was written off as the eighth hull loss. Media reports on legal proceedings attribute the fire to the ignition of chlorine dioxide disinfection tablets at high temperatures in a humid environment on ground.
On February 20, 2021, a 777-200 operating as United Airlines Flight 328 suffered a failure of its starboard engine. The cowling and other engine parts fell over a Denver suburb. The captain declared an emergency and returned to land at the Denver airport. An immediate examination, before any formal investigation, found that two fan blades had broken off. One blade had suffered metal fatigue and may have chipped another blade, which also broke off. Boeing recommended suspending flights of all 128 operational 777s equipped with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines until they had been inspected. Several countries also restricted flights of PW4000-equipped 777s in their territory. In 2018, a similar issue occurred on United Airlines Flight 1175 from San Francisco to Hawaii involving another 777-200 equipped with the same engine type.
On May 21, 2024, Singapore Airlines Flight 321, operated by a 777-300ER, encountered severe turbulence over Myanmar that injured 104 passengers and crew and led to the death of a passenger, who died of a suspected heart attack.
== Aircraft on display ==
The first prototype, a Boeing 777-200, B-HNL (ex. N7771), was built in 1994 and originally used by Boeing for flight testing and development. In 2000, it was sold to Cathay Pacific (as no delivery slots were available for newly-built 777s) and refurbished for passenger service. After 18 years of commercial service, B-HNL was retired in mid-2018 amid press reports that it was to be displayed at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. On September 18, 2018, Cathay Pacific and Boeing announced that B-HNL would be donated to the Pima Air & Space Museum near Tucson, Arizona, where it would be placed on permanent display.
Three retired Saudia 777-200ER aircraft, formerly registered HZ-AKG, HZ-AKK, and HZ-AKP, respectively, were transported by road from Jeddah to Riyadh in September 2024 to be displayed at the Riyadh Season exhibition. The fuselage of each aircraft was to be used as a tourist attraction featuring aviation-themed exhibits and/or dining and retail options.
Former Korean Air Boeing 777-200ER HL7526 is now displayed at Inha University Square campus near Incheon. Originally delivered in 1998, the plane was withdrawn from service in 2022 before being disassembled in 2024 for transport, then reassembled on-site at Inha University.
== Specifications == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Summer_Olympics_in_London | Category:Summer Olympics in London | |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Didion | Joan Didion | Joan Didion (; December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021) was an American writer and journalist. She is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism, along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe.
Didion's career began in the 1950s after she won an essay contest sponsored by Vogue magazine. She went on to publish essays in The Saturday Evening Post, National Review, Life, Esquire, The New York Review of Books and The New Yorker. Her writing during the 1960s through the late 1970s engaged audiences in the realities of the counterculture of the 1960s, the Hollywood lifestyle and the history and culture of California. Didion's political writing in the 1980s and 1990s concentrated on political rhetoric and the United States's foreign policy in Latin America. In 1991, she wrote the earliest mainstream media article to suggest that the Central Park Five had been wrongfully convicted.
With her husband John Gregory Dunne, Didion wrote screenplays including The Panic in Needle Park (1971), A Star Is Born (1976), and Up Close & Personal (1996). In 2005, she won the National Book Award for Nonfiction and was a finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for The Year of Magical Thinking, a memoir of the year following the sudden death of her husband. She later adapted the book into a play that premiered on Broadway in 2007. In 2013, she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama. Didion was profiled in the 2017 Netflix documentary The Center Will Not Hold, directed by her nephew Griffin Dunne.
== Early life and education ==
Didion was born on December 5, 1934, in Sacramento, California, to Eduene (née Jerrett) and Frank Reese Didion. She had one brother, five years her junior, James Jerrett Didion, who became a real estate executive. Didion recalled writing things down as early as age five, although she said she never saw herself as a writer until after her work had been published. She identified as a "shy, bookish child", an avid reader, who pushed herself to overcome social anxiety through acting and public speaking. During her adolescence, she would type out Ernest Hemingway's works to learn how his sentence structures worked.
Didion's early education was nontraditional. She attended kindergarten and first grade, but, because her father was a finance officer in the Army Air Corps and the family constantly relocated, she did not attend school regularly. In 1943 or early 1944, her family returned to Sacramento, and her father went to Detroit to negotiate defense contracts for World War II. Didion wrote in her 2003 memoir Where I Was From that moving so often made her feel as if she were a perpetual outsider.
Didion received a B.A. in English from University of California, Berkeley, in 1956. During her senior year, she won first place in the "Prix de Paris" essay contest, sponsored by Vogue, and was awarded a job as a research assistant at the magazine. The topic of her winning essay was the San Francisco architect William Wurster.
== Career ==
=== Vogue ===
During her seven years at Vogue, from 1956 to 1964, Didion worked her way up from promotional copywriter to associate feature editor. Mademoiselle published Didion's article "Berkeley's Giant: The University of California" in January 1960. While at Vogue, and homesick for California, she wrote her first novel, Run, River (1963), about a Sacramento family as it comes apart. Writer and friend John Gregory Dunne helped her edit the book. John—the younger brother of author, businessman, and television mystery show host Dominick Dunne—was writing for Time magazine at the time. He and Didion married in 1964.
The couple moved to Los Angeles in 1964, intending to stay only temporarily, but California remained their home for the next 20 years. In 1966, they adopted a daughter, whom they named Quintana Roo Dunne. The couple wrote many newsstand-magazine assignments. "She and Dunne started doing that work with an eye to covering the bills, and then a little more," Nathan Heller reported in The New Yorker. "Their [Saturday Evening] Post rates allowed them to rent a tumbledown Hollywood mansion, buy a banana-colored Corvette Stingray, raise a child, and dine well."
In Los Angeles, they settled in Los Feliz from 1963 to 1971, and then, after living in Malibu for eight years, she and Dunne moved to Brentwood Park, a quiet, affluent residential neighborhood. Didion wrote in her later Notes to John she felt "for years" that she and Dunne had "failed their daughter". When Quintana was five years old, she phoned the state psychiatric facility in Ventura County to find out what she needed to do if she was "going crazy". At a later time, she called 20th Century Fox to ask them what she needed to do to be a star, while, at the age of thirteen, she spoke to Didion of "the novel I'm writing just to show you".
=== Slouching Towards Bethlehem ===
In 1968, Didion published her first nonfiction book, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, a collection of magazine pieces about her experiences in California. Cited as an example of New Journalism, it used novel-like writing to cover the non-fiction realities of hippie counterculture. She wrote from a personal perspective, adding her own feelings and memories to situations, inventing details and quotes to make the stories more vivid, and using metaphors to give the reader a better understanding of the disordered subjects of her essays: politicians, artists, or just people living an American life. The New York Times characterized the "grace, sophistication, nuance, [and] irony" of her writing.
=== 1970s ===
Didion's novel Play It as It Lays, set in Hollywood, was published in 1970, and A Book of Common Prayer appeared in 1977. In 1979, she published The White Album, another collection of her magazine pieces from Life, Esquire, The Saturday Evening Post, The New York Times, and The New York Review of Books. In The White Album's title essay, Didion documented an episode she experienced in the summer of 1968. After undergoing psychiatric evaluation, she was diagnosed as having had an attack of vertigo and nausea. After periods of partial blindness in 1972, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but remained in remission throughout her life. In her essay entitled "In Bed", Didion explained that she experienced chronic migraines.
Dunne and Didion worked closely for most of their careers. Much of their writing is therefore intertwined. They co-wrote a number of screenplays, including a 1972 film adaptation of her novel Play It as It Lays that starred Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld and the screenplay for the 1976 film of A Star is Born. They also spent several years adapting the biography of journalist Jessica Savitch into the 1996 Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer film, Up Close & Personal.
=== 1980s and 1990s ===
Didion's book-length essay Salvador (1983) was written after a two-week trip to El Salvador with her husband. The next year, she published the novel Democracy, the story of a long, but unrequited love affair between a wealthy heiress and an older man, a CIA officer, against the background of the Cold War and the Vietnam War. Her 1987 nonfiction book Miami looked at the different communities in that city. In 1988, the couple moved from California to New York City.
In a prescient New York Review of Books piece of 1991, a year after the various trials of the Central Park Five, Didion dissected serious flaws in the prosecution's case, making her the earliest mainstream writer to view the guilty verdicts as miscarriages of justice. She suggested the defendants were found guilty because of a sociopolitical narrative with racial overtones that clouded the judgment of the court. In 1992, Didion published After Henry, a collection of twelve geographical essays and a personal memorial for Henry Robbins, who was Didion's friend and editor until his death in 1979. She published The Last Thing He Wanted, a romantic thriller, in 1996.
=== The Year of Magical Thinking ===
In 2003, Didion's daughter Quintana Roo Dunne developed pneumonia that progressed to septic shock and she was comatose in an intensive-care unit when Didion's husband suddenly died of a heart attack on December 30. Didion delayed his funeral arrangements for approximately three months until Quintana was well enough to attend. While in Los Angeles after the funeral, Quintana fell at the airport, hit her head on the pavement, and required brain surgery for hematoma.
On October 4, 2004, at the age of 70, Didion began writing The Year of Magical Thinking, documenting her response to the death of her husband and the severe illness of their daughter. She finished the manuscript on the following New Year's Eve. This was her first nonfiction book that was not a collection of magazine assignments. After progressing toward recovery in 2004, Quintana died of acute pancreatitis on August 26, 2005, at age 39, during Didion's New York promotion for The Year of Magical Thinking. Didion said that she found the book-tour process therapeutic during her period of mourning. The book was called a "masterpiece of two genres: memoir and investigative journalism" and won several awards. Didion wrote about Quintana's death in her 2011 book, Blue Nights.
=== 2000s ===
Didion was living in an apartment on East 71st Street in Manhattan in 2005. Everyman's Library published We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live, a 2006 compendium of much of Didion's writing, including the full content of her first seven published nonfiction books (Slouching Towards Bethlehem, The White Album, Salvador, Miami, After Henry, Political Fictions, and Where I Was From), with an introduction by her contemporary, the critic John Leonard.
Didion began working with English playwright and director David Hare on a one-woman stage adaptation of The Year of Magical Thinking in 2007. Produced by Scott Rudin, the Broadway play featured Vanessa Redgrave. Although Didion was hesitant to write for the theater, she eventually found the genre, which was new to her, exciting. Didion wrote early drafts of the screenplay for an untitled HBO biopic directed by Robert Benton on Katharine Graham. Sources say it may trace the paper's reporting on the Watergate scandal.
=== Later works ===
In 2011, Knopf published Blue Nights, a memoir about aging that also focused on Didion's relationship with her late daughter. More generally, the book deals with the anxieties Didion experienced about adopting and raising a child, as well as the aging process.
In 2012, New York magazine announced that Didion and Todd Field were "co-writing a screenplay". The project titled As it Happens was a political thriller that never came to fruition, as they couldn't find a studio to properly back it. Ultimately Field was to become the only writer, other than Dunne, with whom Didion would ever collaborate. He paid tribute to her in a scene for his movie Tár wherein the title character returns to her childhood bedroom and peers at "little boxes" labeled precisely the way Didion describes Quintana's in Blue Nights
A photograph of Didion shot by Juergen Teller was used as part of the 2015 spring-summer campaign of the luxury French fashion brand Céline, while previously the clothing company Gap had featured her in a 1989 campaign. Didion's nephew Griffin Dunne directed a 2017 Netflix documentary about her, Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold. In it, Didion discusses her writing and personal life, including the deaths of her husband and daughter, adding context to her books The Year of Magical Thinking and Blue Nights. In 2021, Didion published Let Me Tell You What I Mean, a collection of 12 essays she wrote between 1968 and 2000.
== Death ==
Didion died from complications of Parkinson's disease at her home in Manhattan on December 23, 2021, at the age of 87.
== Writing style and themes ==
Didion viewed the structure of the sentence as essential to her work. In the New York Times article "Why I Write" (1976), she remarked, "To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters the meaning of the object photographed ... The arrangement of the words matters, and the arrangement you want can be found in the picture in your mind ... The picture tells you how to arrange the words and the arrangement of the words tells you, or tells me, what's going on in the picture."
Didion was heavily influenced by Ernest Hemingway, whose writing taught her the importance of how sentences work in a text. Her other influences included George Eliot and Henry James, who wrote "perfect, indirect, complicated sentences". Didion was also an observer of journalists, believing the difference between the process of fiction and nonfiction is the element of discovery that takes place in nonfiction, which happens not during the writing, but during the research.
Rituals were a part of Didion's creative process. At the end of the day, she would take a break from writing to remove herself from the "pages", saying that without the distance, she could not make proper edits. She would end her day by cutting out and editing prose, not reviewing the work until the following day. She would sleep in the same room as her work, saying: "That's one reason I go home to Sacramento to finish things. Somehow the book doesn't leave you when you're right next to it." In a notorious 1980 essay, "Joan Didion: Only Disconnect," Barbara Grizzuti Harrison called Didion a "neurasthenic Cher" whose style was "a bag of tricks" and whose "subject is always herself". In 2011, New York magazine reported that the Harrison criticism "still gets her (Didion's) hackles up, decades later". Critic Hilton Als suggested that Didion is reread often "because of the honesty of the voice."
== Personal life ==
From 1957 to 1962, Didion was in a relationship with Noel E. Parmentel Jr., a political pundit on the New York literary and cultural scene. Didion wished to have a baby, but Parmentel felt he had already failed at marriage and ruled out a conventional domestic arrangement. Parmentel introduced Didion to Gregory Dunne as a potential husband, and they were friends for six years before embarking on a romantic relationship. Dunne later recalled that at a celebratory lunch with her after he finished reading the galleys for her first novel, Run, River, "while [h]er [significant] other was out of town, it happened." They married in January 1964 and, while living in Los Angeles in 1966, they adopted a daughter, whom they named Quintana Roo Dunne. Didion and Dunne remained together until his death from a heart attack in 2003.
Parmentel, who had championed and found publishers for Didion's work, was angered by what he felt was a thinly veiled portrait of him in her 1977 novel, A Book of Common Prayer. In 1996, breaking a long-held silence on Didion, Parmentel was interviewed for an article about her in New York magazine. In Notes to John, Didion wrote of discussing the relationship with her psychiatrist, telling him that Parmentel had hit her and had a drinking problem. She also said, of his lawsuit, that the character was "more or less" based on him, but "basing a character on him wasn't really the problem—the problem was that the 'character' did something in the novel that this person had done in real life and didn't want people to know about ... [T]he character had beaten up a woman in circumstances pretty much the same as this person had beaten up a woman I knew. Or so I had believed."
Didion was a cancer survivor, but kept her treatment secret from everyone except Dunne, even getting her radiation treatments at a location in northern Manhattan where she believed she was less likely to run into people she knew. A Republican in her early years, Didion later drifted toward the Democratic Party, "without ever quite endorsing [its] core beliefs". As late as 2011, she smoked precisely five cigarettes per day.
== Awards and honors ==
1981: Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters
1996: Edward MacDowell Medal
2002: St. Louis Literary Award from the Saint Louis University Library Associates
2002: George Polk Book Award for Political Fictions
2005: National Book Award for Nonfiction for The Year of Magical Thinking
2006: American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award
2006: Elected to the American Philosophical Society
2007: Prix Médicis for The Year of Magical Thinking
2007: National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
2007: Writers Guild of America Evelyn F. Burkey Award
2009: Honorary Doctor of Letters, Harvard University
2011: Honorary Doctor of Letters, Yale University
2013: National Humanities Medal
2013: Lifetime Achievement Award, PEN Center USA
== The Joan Didion: What She Means Exhibition ==
The Hammer Museum at University of California, Los Angeles, organized the exhibition Joan Didion: What She Means. Curated by The New Yorker contributor and writer Hilton Als, the group show was on view from 2022 and is scheduled to travel to the Pérez Art Museum Miami in 2023. Joan Didion: What She Means pays homage to the writer and thinker through the lens of nearly 50 modern and contemporary international artists such as Félix González-Torres to Betye Saar, Vija Celmins, Maren Hassinger, Silke Otto-Knapp, John Koch, Ed Ruscha, and Pat Steir, among others.
== Published works ==
=== Fiction ===
Run, River (1963)
Play It as It Lays (1970)
A Book of Common Prayer (1977)
Democracy (1984)
The Last Thing He Wanted (1996)
=== Nonfiction ===
Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968)
The White Album (1979)
Salvador (1983)
Miami (1987)
After Henry (1992)
Political Fictions (2001)
Where I Was From (2003)
Fixed Ideas: America Since 9.11 (2003; essay first published in the January 16, 2003, issue of The New York Review of Books)
The Year of Magical Thinking (2005)
Blue Nights (2011)
South and West: From a Notebook (2017)
Let Me Tell You What I Mean (2021)
Notes to John (2025)
=== Screenplays and plays ===
The Panic in Needle Park (1971) (with husband John Gregory Dunne and based on the novel by James Mills)
Play It as It Lays (1972) (with John Gregory Dunne and based on her novel of the same name)
A Star Is Born (1976) (with John Gregory Dunne and Frank Pierson)
True Confessions (1981) (with John Gregory Dunne and based on his novel of the same name)
Up Close & Personal (1996) (with John Gregory Dunne)
The Year of Magical Thinking (2007) (a stage play based on her book) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Lyle | Sandy Lyle | Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle (born 9 February 1958) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s. He spent 167 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking from its introduction, in 1986, until 1989.
== Early life ==
Lyle was born in Shrewsbury, England. He represented Scotland during his professional career. He was introduced to golf by his father, Alex, who had taken the family from Scotland to England in 1955 when he became resident professional at Hawkstone Park golf course. Their family home was just 40 yards from the pro-shop and 18th green. He began playing with miniature clubs at the age of 3.
As a schoolboy, at junior and amateur level, Lyle represented England.
== Amateur career ==
In the summer of 1974, Lyle received a golf scholarship to the University of Houston. However, he did not pass the entrance examination and was not allowed to attend the university. Lyle returned to Britain "to find another route into professional golf."
As an amateur Lyle made his debut in The Open Championship at age 16 in 1974 and won the Brabazon Trophy in 1975 and 1977. He was a member of the Walker Cup team in 1977.
== Professional career ==
In 1977 he turned professional and decided to represent Scotland. He was medalist at the 1977 Qualifying School tournament for the European Tour. His first professional win came in the 1978 Nigerian Open, and he also won the Sir Henry Cotton Award as European Rookie of the Year that season. Lyle attained the first of an eventual 18 European Tour titles in 1979.
Lyle, for Scotland, finished runner-up at the World Cup of Golf team event in 1979, 1980 and 1987; in the latter year Lyle captured the low individual trophy in that event.
Lyle showed his quality by winning The Open Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club in 1985. He was the first British winner since Tony Jacklin in 1969, and started the rise of British golfers in the world scene.
Lyle was a member of five European Ryder Cup teams, from 1979 to 1987 inclusive. Highlights from those years included the team that was victorious at the Belfry in the autumn of 1985, and the 1987 team which won for the first time ever on American soil, at Muirfield Village.
For many golf fans he is best known for the fairway bunker shot and the subsequent birdie putt at the 18th hole in the final round of the Masters in 1988 when he became the first Briton to wear the green jacket. He also won two other events on the PGA Tour that season, along with the World Match Play Championship, after being a losing finalist on several occasions.
Lyle topped the European Tour Order of Merit in 1979, 1980 and 1985. He finished in the top ten nine times between 1979 and 1992. He was also a member of the PGA Tour for several years and finished seventh on the US money list in 1988, despite a limited playing schedule. He won the 1987 Tournament Players Championship, one of the most prestigious American titles. Lyle's form dropped after 1992, when he was 34, and he has not won a significant event since.
=== Senior career ===
On turning 50 in 2008, Lyle played on the Champions Tour and the European Senior Tour.
Lyle won his first tournament in 19 years when he captured his first European Senior Tour title at the 2011 ISPS Handa Senior World Championship, held in China.
He took up hickory golf, winning the World Hickory Open in his native Scotland in 2014 and 2016. Lyle referred to the 2016 victory as his "fourth major" to go along with the 2014 crown, as well as the 1988 Masters and 1985 Open titles.
== Legacy ==
As a player, Lyle is known for his cool temperament and placid exterior. In his peak years, he was very long from the tee and through the set, and had enough accuracy to master any course. His achievements inspired fellow rivals such as Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam to raise their games, and go on to win the majors. Lyle published his first book, "To the Fairway Born" in 2006. In the same year he was assistant captain to Ian Woosnam when Europe won the Ryder Cup. He had been hoping to be picked as the captain for the 2010 European Ryder Cup team but missed out to Colin Montgomerie.
In July 2009, Lyle became involved in a public row with Colin Montgomerie where he unfavourably compared Montgomerie's actions at the Indonesian Open four years previously with his own actions in not completing a round at the 2008 Open Championship. Reaction to this was mixed with some players supporting Lyle while other players and commentators felt that Lyle's timing was unfortunate and that any point he may have had was lost in the ensuing controversy.
== Personal life ==
Lyle lives in Scotland. He is married to Jolande. They have two children: Lonneke and Quintin.
== Awards and honors ==
In 2012, Lyle was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame.
In 2024, Lyle was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2024 Birthday Honours for services to golf.
== Amateur wins ==
1975 Brabazon Trophy, Carris Trophy
1977 Brabazon Trophy, Berkshire Trophy, British Youths Open Amateur Championship, Berkhamsted Trophy, Hampshire Hog
== Professional wins (30) ==
=== PGA Tour wins (6) ===
PGA Tour playoff record (3–1)
=== European Tour wins (18) ===
European Tour playoff record (3–3)
=== PGA of Japan Tour wins (1) ===
PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (1–0)
=== Safari Circuit wins (1) ===
=== Other wins (5) ===
Other playoff record (1–0)
=== European Senior Tour wins (1) ===
== Playoff record ==
Korean Tour playoff record (0–1)
== Major championships ==
=== Wins (2) ===
=== Results timeline ===
Results not in chronological order in 2020.
CUT = missed the half way cut (3rd round cut in 1974 and 1983 Open Championships)
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
=== Summary ===
Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (1984 Open Championship – 1988 Open Championship)
Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (four times)
== The Players Championship ==
=== Wins (1) ===
=== Results timeline ===
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
== Results in senior major championships ==
Results not in chronological order before 2021.
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
== Team appearances ==
Amateur
Walker Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1977
Commonwealth Tournament (representing Great Britain): 1975
St Andrews Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1976 (winners)
European Amateur Team Championship (representing England): 1977
Professional
Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985 (winners), 1987 (winners)
World Cup (representing Scotland): 1979, 1980 (individual winner), 1987
Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1980 (winners), 1982 (winners), (representing Scotland) 1984 (individual winner)
Dunhill Cup (representing Scotland): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992
Nissan Cup/Kirin Cup (representing Europe): 1985 (individual winner), 1986, 1987
UBS Cup (representing the Rest of the World): 2004 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird#Anatomy_and_physiology | Bird#Anatomy and physiology | Birds are a group of warm-blooded theropod dinosaurs constituting the class Aves, characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the 5.5 cm (2.2 in) bee hummingbird to the 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 orders. More than half are passerine or "perching" birds. Birds have wings whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming. The study of birds is called ornithology.
Birds evolved from earlier theropods, and thus constitute the only known living dinosaurs. Likewise, birds are considered reptiles in the modern cladistic sense of the term, and their closest living relatives are the crocodilians. Birds are descendants of the primitive avialans (whose members include Archaeopteryx) which first appeared during the Late Jurassic. According to some estimates, modern birds (Neornithes) evolved in the Late Cretaceous or between the Early and Late Cretaceous (100 Ma) and diversified dramatically around the time of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago, which killed off the pterosaurs and all non-ornithuran dinosaurs.
Many social species preserve knowledge across generations (culture). Birds are social, communicating with visual signals, calls, and songs, and participating in such behaviour as cooperative breeding and hunting, flocking, and mobbing of predators. The vast majority of bird species are socially (but not necessarily sexually) monogamous, usually for one breeding season at a time, sometimes for years, and rarely for life. Other species have breeding systems that are polygynous (one male with many females) or, rarely, polyandrous (one female with many males). Birds produce offspring by laying eggs which are fertilised through sexual reproduction. They are usually laid in a nest and incubated by the parents. Most birds have an extended period of parental care after hatching.
Many species of birds are economically important as food for human consumption and raw material in manufacturing, with domesticated and undomesticated birds being important sources of eggs, meat, and feathers. Songbirds, parrots, and other species are popular as pets. Guano (bird excrement) is harvested for use as a fertiliser. Birds figure throughout human culture. About 120 to 130 species have become extinct due to human activity since the 17th century, and hundreds more before then. Human activity threatens about 1,200 bird species with extinction, though efforts are underway to protect them. Recreational birdwatching is an important part of the ecotourism industry.
== Evolution and classification ==
The first classification of birds was developed by Francis Willughby and John Ray in their 1676 volume Ornithologiae.
Carl Linnaeus modified that work in 1758 to devise the taxonomic classification system currently in use. Birds are usually categorised as a biological class in traditional evolutionary taxonomy. Modern phylogenetic taxonomy places Aves in the clade Theropoda, sometimes with a Linnean rank lower than class, such as subclass or infraclass.
=== Definition ===
Aves and a sister group, the order Crocodilia, contain the only living representatives of the reptile clade Archosauria. During the late 1990s, Aves was most commonly defined phylogenetically as all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of modern birds and Archaeopteryx lithographica. However, an earlier definition proposed by Jacques Gauthier gained wide currency in the 21st century, and is used by many scientists including adherents to the PhyloCode. Gauthier defined Aves to include only the crown group of the set of modern birds. This was done by excluding most groups known only from fossils, and assigning them, instead, to the broader group Avialae, on the principle that a clade based on extant species should be limited to those extant species and their closest extinct relatives.
Gauthier and de Queiroz identified four different definitions for the same biological name "Aves", which is a problem. The authors proposed to reserve the term Aves only for the crown group consisting of the last common ancestor of all living birds and all of its descendants, which corresponds to meaning number 4 below. They assigned other names to the other groups.
Aves can mean all archosaurs closer to birds than to crocodiles (alternately Avemetatarsalia)
Aves can mean those advanced archosaurs with feathers (alternately Avifilopluma)
Aves can mean those feathered dinosaurs that fly (alternately Avialae)
Aves can mean the last common ancestor of all the currently living birds and all of its descendants (a "crown group", in this sense synonymous with Neornithes)
Under the fourth definition Archaeopteryx, traditionally considered one of the earliest members of Aves, is removed from this group, becoming a non-avian dinosaur instead. These proposals have been adopted by many researchers in the field of palaeontology and bird evolution, though the exact definitions applied have been inconsistent. Avialae, initially proposed to replace the traditional fossil content of Aves, is often used synonymously with the vernacular term "bird" by these researchers.
Most researchers define Avialae as branch-based clade, though definitions vary. Many authors have used a definition similar to "all theropods closer to birds than to Deinonychus", with Troodon being sometimes added as a second external specifier in case it is closer to birds than to Deinonychus. Avialae is also occasionally defined as an apomorphy-based clade (that is, one based on physical characteristics). Jacques Gauthier, who named Avialae in 1986, re-defined it in 2001 as all dinosaurs that possessed feathered wings used in flapping flight, and the birds that descended from them.
Despite being currently one of the most widely used, the crown-group definition of Aves has been criticised by some researchers. Lee and Spencer (1997) argued that, contrary to what Gauthier defended, this definition would not increase the stability of the clade and the exact content of Aves will always be uncertain because any defined clade (either crown or not) will have few synapomorphies distinguishing it from its closest relatives. Their alternative definition is synonymous to Avifilopluma.
=== Dinosaurs and the origin of birds ===
Based on fossil and biological evidence, most scientists accept that birds are a specialised subgroup of theropod dinosaurs and, more specifically, members of Maniraptora, a group of theropods which includes dromaeosaurids and oviraptorosaurs, among others. As scientists have discovered more theropods closely related to birds, the previously clear distinction between non-birds and birds has become blurred. By the 2000s, discoveries in the Liaoning Province of northeast China, which demonstrated many small theropod feathered dinosaurs, contributed to this ambiguity.
The consensus view in contemporary palaeontology is that the flying theropods, or avialans, are the closest relatives of the deinonychosaurs, which include dromaeosaurids and troodontids. Together, these form a group called Paraves. Some basal members of Deinonychosauria, such as Microraptor, have features which may have enabled them to glide or fly. The most basal deinonychosaurs were very small. This evidence raises the possibility that the ancestor of all paravians may have been arboreal, have been able to glide, or both. Unlike Archaeopteryx and the non-avialan feathered dinosaurs, who primarily ate meat, studies suggest that the first avialans were omnivores.
The Late Jurassic Archaeopteryx is well known as one of the first transitional fossils to be found, and it provided support for the theory of evolution in the late 19th century. Archaeopteryx was the first fossil to display both clearly traditional reptilian characteristics—teeth, clawed fingers, and a long, lizard-like tail—as well as wings with flight feathers similar to those of modern birds. It is not considered a direct ancestor of birds, though it is possibly closely related to the true ancestor.
=== Early evolution ===
Over 40% of key traits found in modern birds evolved during the 60 million year transition from the earliest bird-line archosaurs to the first maniraptoromorphs, i.e. the first dinosaurs closer to living birds than to Tyrannosaurus rex. The loss of osteoderms otherwise common in archosaurs and acquisition of primitive feathers might have occurred early during this phase. After the appearance of Maniraptoromorpha, the next 40 million years marked a continuous reduction of body size and the accumulation of neotenic (juvenile-like) characteristics. Hypercarnivory became increasingly less common while braincases enlarged and forelimbs became longer. The integument evolved into complex, pennaceous feathers.
The oldest known paravian (and probably the earliest avialan) fossils come from the Tiaojishan Formation of China, which has been dated to the late Jurassic period (Oxfordian stage), about 160 million years ago. The avialan species from this time period include Anchiornis huxleyi, Xiaotingia zhengi, and Aurornis xui.
The well-known probable early avialan, Archaeopteryx, dates from slightly later Jurassic rocks (about 155 million years old) from Germany. Many of these early avialans shared unusual anatomical features that may be ancestral to modern birds but were later lost during bird evolution. These features include enlarged claws on the second toe which may have been held clear of the ground in life, and long feathers or "hind wings" covering the hind limbs and feet, which may have been used in aerial maneuvering.
Avialans diversified into a wide variety of forms during the Cretaceous period. Many groups retained primitive characteristics, such as clawed wings and teeth, though the latter were lost independently in a number of avialan groups, including modern birds (Aves). Increasingly stiff tails (especially the outermost half) can be seen in the evolution of maniraptoromorphs, and this process culminated in the appearance of the pygostyle, an ossification of fused tail vertebrae. In the late Cretaceous, about 100 million years ago, the ancestors of all modern birds evolved a more open pelvis, allowing them to lay larger eggs compared to body size. Around 95 million years ago, they evolved a better sense of smell.
A third stage of bird evolution starting with Ornithothoraces (the "bird-chested" avialans) can be associated with the refining of aerodynamics and flight capabilities, and the loss or co-ossification of several skeletal features. Particularly significant are the development of an enlarged, keeled sternum and the alula, and the loss of grasping hands.
=== Early diversity of bird ancestors ===
The first large, diverse lineage of short-tailed avialans to evolve were the Enantiornithes, or "opposite birds", so named because the construction of their shoulder bones was in reverse to that of modern birds. Enantiornithes occupied a wide array of ecological niches, from sand-probing shorebirds and fish-eaters to tree-dwelling forms and seed-eaters. While they were the dominant group of avialans during the Cretaceous period, Enantiornithes became extinct along with many other dinosaur groups at the end of the Mesozoic era.
Many species of the second major avialan lineage to diversify, the Euornithes (meaning "true birds", because they include the ancestors of modern birds), were semi-aquatic and specialised in eating fish and other small aquatic organisms. Unlike the Enantiornithes, which dominated land-based and arboreal habitats, most early euornithians lacked perching adaptations and likely included shorebird-like species, waders, and swimming and diving species.
The latter included the superficially gull-like Ichthyornis and the Hesperornithiformes, which became so well adapted to hunting fish in marine environments that they lost the ability to fly and became primarily aquatic. The early euornithians also saw the development of many traits associated with modern birds, like strongly keeled breastbones, toothless, beaked portions of their jaws (though most non-avian euornithians retained teeth in other parts of the jaws). Euornithes also included the first avialans to develop true pygostyle and a fully mobile fan of tail feathers, which may have replaced the "hind wing" as the primary mode of aerial maneuverability and braking in flight.
A study on mosaic evolution in the avian skull found that the last common ancestor of all Neornithes might have had a beak similar to that of the modern hook-billed vanga and a skull similar to that of the Eurasian golden oriole. As both species are small aerial and canopy foraging omnivores, a similar ecological niche was inferred for this hypothetical ancestor.
=== Diversification of modern birds ===
Most studies agree on a Cretaceous age for the most recent common ancestor of modern birds but estimates range from the Early Cretaceous to the latest Cretaceous. Similarly, there is no agreement on whether most of the early diversification of modern birds occurred in the Cretaceous and associated with breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana or occurred later and potentially as a consequence of the Cretaceous–Palaeogene extinction event. This disagreement is in part caused by a divergence in the evidence; most molecular dating studies suggests a Cretaceous evolutionary radiation, while fossil evidence points to a Cenozoic radiation (the so-called 'rocks' versus 'clocks' controversy).
The discovery in 2005 of Vegavis from the Maastrichtian, the last stage of the Late Cretaceous, proved that the diversification of modern birds started before the Cenozoic era. The affinities of an earlier fossil, the possible galliform Austinornis lentus, dated to about 85 million years ago, are still too controversial to provide a fossil evidence of modern bird diversification. In 2020, Asteriornis from the Maastrichtian was described, it appears to be a close relative of Galloanserae, the earliest diverging lineage within Neognathae.
Attempts to reconcile molecular and fossil evidence using genomic-scale DNA data and comprehensive fossil information have not resolved the controversy. However, a 2015 estimate that used a new method for calibrating molecular clocks confirmed that while modern birds originated early in the Late Cretaceous, likely in Western Gondwana, a pulse of diversification in all major groups occurred around the Cretaceous–Palaeogene extinction event. Modern birds would have expanded from West Gondwana through two routes. One route was an Antarctic interchange in the Paleogene. The other route was probably via Paleocene land bridges between South America and North America, which allowed for the rapid expansion and diversification of Neornithes into the Holarctic and Paleotropics. On the other hand, the occurrence of Asteriornis in the Northern Hemisphere suggest that Neornithes dispersed out of East Gondwana before the Paleocene.
=== Classification of bird orders ===
All modern birds lie within the crown group Aves (alternately Neornithes), which has two subdivisions: the Palaeognathae, which includes the flightless ratites (such as the ostriches) and the weak-flying tinamous, and the extremely diverse Neognathae, containing all other birds. These two subdivisions have variously been given the rank of superorder, cohort, or infraclass. The number of known living bird species is around 11,000 although sources may differ in their precise numbers.
Cladogram of modern bird relationships based on Stiller et al (2024)., showing the 44 orders recognised by the IOC.
The classification of birds is a contentious issue. Sibley and Ahlquist's Phylogeny and Classification of Birds (1990) is a landmark work on the subject. Most evidence seems to suggest the assignment of orders is accurate, but scientists disagree about the relationships among the orders themselves; evidence from modern bird anatomy, fossils and DNA have all been brought to bear on the problem, but no strong consensus has emerged. Fossil and molecular evidence from the 2010s is providing an increasingly clear picture of the evolution of modern bird orders.
=== Genomics ===
In 2010, the genome had been sequenced for only two birds, the chicken and the zebra finch. As of 2022, the genomes of 542 species of birds had been completed. At least one genome has been sequenced from every order. These include at least one species in about 90% of extant avian families (218 out of 236 families recognised by the Howard and Moore Checklist).
Being able to sequence and compare whole genomes gives researchers many types of information, about genes, the DNA that regulates the genes, and their evolutionary history. This has led to reconsideration of some of the classifications that were based solely on the identification of protein-coding genes. Waterbirds such as pelicans and flamingos, for example, may have in common specific adaptations suited to their environment that were developed independently.
== Distribution ==
Birds live and breed in most terrestrial habitats and on all seven continents, reaching their southern extreme in the snow petrel's breeding colonies up to 440 kilometres (270 mi) inland in Antarctica. The highest bird diversity occurs in tropical regions. It was earlier thought that this high diversity was the result of higher speciation rates in the tropics; however studies from the 2000s found higher speciation rates in the high latitudes that were offset by greater extinction rates than in the tropics. Many species migrate annually over great distances and across oceans; several families of birds have adapted to life both on the world's oceans and in them, and some seabird species come ashore only to breed, while some penguins have been recorded diving up to 300 metres (980 ft) deep.
Many bird species have established breeding populations in areas to which they have been introduced by humans. Some of these introductions have been deliberate; the ring-necked pheasant, for example, has been introduced around the world as a game bird. Others have been accidental, such as the establishment of wild monk parakeets in several North American cities after their escape from captivity. Some species, including cattle egret, yellow-headed caracara and galah, have spread naturally far beyond their original ranges as agricultural expansion created alternative habitats although modern practices of intensive agriculture have negatively impacted farmland bird populations.
== Anatomy and physiology ==
Compared with other vertebrates, birds have a body plan that shows many unusual adaptations, mostly to facilitate flight.
=== Skeletal system ===
The skeleton consists of very lightweight bones. They have large air-filled cavities (called pneumatic cavities) which connect with the respiratory system. The skull bones in adults are fused and do not show cranial sutures. The orbital cavities that house the eyeballs are large and separated from each other by a bony septum (partition). The spine has cervical, thoracic, lumbar and caudal regions with the number of cervical (neck) vertebrae highly variable and especially flexible, but movement is reduced in the anterior thoracic vertebrae and absent in the later vertebrae. The last few are fused with the pelvis to form the synsacrum. The ribs are flattened and the sternum is keeled for the attachment of flight muscles except in the flightless bird orders. The forelimbs are modified into wings. The wings are more or less developed depending on the species; the only known groups that lost their wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds.
=== Excretory system ===
Like reptiles, birds are primarily uricotelic; that is, their kidneys extract nitrogenous waste from their bloodstream and excrete it as uric acid, instead of urea or ammonia, through the ureters into the intestine. Birds do not have a urinary bladder or external urethral opening. With the exception of the ostrich, uric acid is excreted along with faeces as a semisolid waste. However, birds such as hummingbirds can be facultatively ammonotelic, excreting most of the nitrogenous wastes as ammonia. They also excrete creatine, rather than creatinine like mammals. This material, as well as the output of the intestines, emerges from the bird's cloaca. The cloaca is a multi-purpose opening: waste is expelled through it, most birds mate by joining cloaca, and females lay eggs from it. In addition, many species of birds regurgitate pellets.
It is a common but not universal feature of altricial passerine nestlings (born helpless, under constant parental care) that instead of excreting directly into the nest, they produce a fecal sac. This is a mucus-covered pouch that allows parents to either dispose of the waste outside the nest or to recycle the waste through their own digestive system.
=== Reproductive system ===
Most male birds do not have intromittent penises. Males within Palaeognathae (with the exception of the kiwis), the Anseriformes (with the exception of screamers), and in rudimentary forms in Galliformes (but fully developed in Cracidae) possess a penis, which is never present in Neoaves. Its length is thought to be related to sperm competition and it fills with lymphatic fluid instead of blood when erect. When not copulating, it is hidden within the proctodeum compartment within the cloaca, just inside the vent. Female birds have sperm storage tubules that allow sperm to remain viable long after copulation, a hundred days in some species. Sperm from multiple males may compete through this mechanism. Most female birds have a single ovary and a single oviduct, both on the left side, but there are exceptions: species in at least 16 different orders of birds have two ovaries. Even these species, however, tend to have a single oviduct. It has been speculated that this might be an adaptation to flight, but males have two testes, and it is also observed that the gonads in both sexes decrease dramatically in size outside the breeding season. Also terrestrial birds generally have a single ovary, as does the platypus, an egg-laying mammal. A more likely explanation is that the egg develops a shell while passing through the oviduct over a period of about a day, so that if two eggs were to develop at the same time, there would be a risk to survival. While rare, mostly abortive, parthenogenesis is not unknown in birds and eggs can be diploid, automictic and results in male offspring.
Birds are solely gonochoric, meaning they have two sexes: either female or male. The sex of birds is determined by the Z and W sex chromosomes, rather than by the X and Y chromosomes present in mammals. Male birds have two Z chromosomes (ZZ), and female birds have a W chromosome and a Z chromosome (WZ). A complex system of disassortative mating with two morphs is involved in the white-throated sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis, where white- and tan-browed morphs of opposite sex pair, making it appear as if four sexes were involved since any individual is compatible with only a fourth of the population.
In nearly all species of birds, an individual's sex is determined at fertilisation. However, one 2007 study claimed to demonstrate temperature-dependent sex determination among the Australian brushturkey, for which higher temperatures during incubation resulted in a higher female-to-male sex ratio. This, however, was later proven to not be the case. These birds do not exhibit temperature-dependent sex determination, but temperature-dependent sex mortality.
=== Respiratory and circulatory systems ===
Birds have one of the most complex respiratory systems of all animal groups. Upon inhalation, 75% of the fresh air bypasses the lungs and flows directly into a posterior air sac which extends from the lungs and connects with air spaces in the bones and fills them with air. The other 25% of the air goes directly into the lungs. When the bird exhales, the used air flows out of the lungs and the stored fresh air from the posterior air sac is simultaneously forced into the lungs. Thus, a bird's lungs receive a constant supply of fresh air during both inhalation and exhalation. Sound production is achieved using the syrinx, a muscular chamber incorporating multiple tympanic membranes which diverges from the lower end of the trachea; the trachea being elongated in some species, increasing the volume of vocalisations and the perception of the bird's size.
In birds, the main arteries taking blood away from the heart originate from the right aortic arch (or pharyngeal arch), unlike in the mammals where the left aortic arch forms this part of the aorta. The postcava receives blood from the limbs via the renal portal system. Unlike in mammals, the circulating red blood cells in birds retain their nucleus.
==== Heart type and features ====
The avian circulatory system is driven by a four-chambered, myogenic heart contained in a fibrous pericardial sac. This pericardial sac is filled with a serous fluid for lubrication. The heart itself is divided into a right and left half, each with an atrium and ventricle. The atrium and ventricles of each side are separated by atrioventricular valves which prevent back flow from one chamber to the next during contraction. Being myogenic, the heart's pace is maintained by pacemaker cells found in the sinoatrial node, located on the right atrium.
The sinoatrial node uses calcium to cause a depolarising signal transduction pathway from the atrium through right and left atrioventricular bundle which communicates contraction to the ventricles. The avian heart also consists of muscular arches that are made up of thick bundles of muscular layers. Much like a mammalian heart, the avian heart is composed of endocardial, myocardial and epicardial layers. The atrium walls tend to be thinner than the ventricle walls, due to the intense ventricular contraction used to pump oxygenated blood throughout the body. Avian hearts are generally larger than mammalian hearts when compared to body mass. This adaptation allows more blood to be pumped to meet the high metabolic need associated with flight.
==== Organisation ====
Birds have a very efficient system for diffusing oxygen into the blood; birds have a ten times greater surface area to gas exchange volume than mammals. As a result, birds have more blood in their capillaries per unit of volume of lung than a mammal. The arteries are composed of thick elastic muscles to withstand the pressure of the ventricular contractions, and become more rigid as they move away from the heart. Blood moves through the arteries, which undergo vasoconstriction, and into arterioles which act as a transportation system to distribute primarily oxygen as well as nutrients to all tissues of the body. As the arterioles move away from the heart and into individual organs and tissues they are further divided to increase surface area and slow blood flow. Blood travels through the arterioles and moves into the capillaries where gas exchange can occur.
Capillaries are organised into capillary beds in tissues; it is here that blood exchanges oxygen for carbon dioxide waste. In the capillary beds, blood flow is slowed to allow maximum diffusion of oxygen into the tissues. Once the blood has become deoxygenated, it travels through venules then veins and back to the heart. Veins, unlike arteries, are thin and rigid as they do not need to withstand extreme pressure. As blood travels through the venules to the veins a funneling occurs called vasodilation bringing blood back to the heart. Once the blood reaches the heart, it moves first into the right atrium, then the right ventricle to be pumped through the lungs for further gas exchange of carbon dioxide waste for oxygen. Oxygenated blood then flows from the lungs through the left atrium to the left ventricle where it is pumped out to the body.
=== Nervous system ===
The nervous system is large relative to the bird's size. The most developed part of the brain of birds is the one that controls the flight-related functions, while the cerebellum coordinates movement and the cerebrum controls behaviour patterns, navigation, mating and nest building. Most birds have a poor sense of smell with notable exceptions including kiwis, New World vultures and tubenoses. The avian visual system is usually highly developed. Water birds have special flexible lenses, allowing accommodation for vision in air and water. Some species also have dual fovea. Birds are tetrachromatic, possessing ultraviolet (UV) sensitive cone cells in the eye as well as green, red and blue ones. They also have double cones, likely to mediate achromatic vision.
Many birds show plumage patterns in ultraviolet that are invisible to the human eye; some birds whose sexes appear similar to the naked eye are distinguished by the presence of ultraviolet reflective patches on their feathers. Male blue tits have an ultraviolet reflective crown patch which is displayed in courtship by posturing and raising of their nape feathers. Ultraviolet light is also used in foraging—kestrels have been shown to search for prey by detecting the UV fluorescent urine trail marks left on the ground by rodents. With the exception of pigeons and a few other species, the eyelids of birds are not used in blinking. Instead the eye is lubricated by the nictitating membrane, a third eyelid that moves horizontally. The nictitating membrane also covers the eye and acts as a contact lens in many aquatic birds. The bird retina has a fan shaped blood supply system called the pecten.
Eyes of most birds are large, not very round and capable of only limited movement in the orbits, typically 10–20°. Birds with eyes on the sides of their heads have a wide visual field, while birds with eyes on the front of their heads, such as owls, have binocular vision and can estimate the depth of field. The avian ear lacks external pinnae but is covered by feathers, although in some birds, such as the Asio, Bubo and Otus owls, these feathers form tufts which resemble ears. The inner ear has a cochlea, but it is not a spiral as in mammals. Several species have been demonstrated to hear infrasound (below 20 Hz) and a few cave-dwelling swifts and oilbirds emit ultrasound (above 20 kHz) and echolocate in darkness.
=== Defence and intraspecific combat ===
A few species are able to use chemical defences against predators; some Procellariiformes can eject an unpleasant stomach oil against an aggressor, and some species of pitohuis from New Guinea have a powerful neurotoxin in their skin and feathers.
A lack of field observations limit our knowledge, but intraspecific conflicts are known to sometimes result in injury or death. The screamers (Anhimidae), some jacanas (Jacana, Hydrophasianus), the spur-winged goose (Plectropterus), the torrent duck (Merganetta) and nine species of lapwing (Vanellus) use a sharp spur on the wing as a weapon. The steamer ducks (Tachyeres), geese and swans (Anserinae), the solitaire (Pezophaps), sheathbills (Chionis), some guans (Crax) and stone curlews (Burhinus) use a bony knob on the alular metacarpal to punch and hammer opponents. The jacanas Actophilornis and Irediparra have an expanded, blade-like radius. The extinct Xenicibis was unique in having an elongate forelimb and massive hand which likely functioned in combat or defence as a jointed club or flail. Swans, for instance, may strike with the bony spurs and bite when defending eggs or young.
=== Feathers, plumage, and scales ===
Feathers are a feature characteristic of birds (though also present in some dinosaurs not currently considered to be true birds). They facilitate flight, provide insulation that aids in thermoregulation, and are used in display, camouflage, and signalling. There are several types of feathers, each serving its own set of purposes. Feathers are epidermal growths attached to the skin and arise only in specific tracts of skin called pterylae. The distribution pattern of these feather tracts (pterylosis) is used in taxonomy and systematics. The arrangement and appearance of feathers on the body, called plumage, may vary within species by age, social status, and sex.
Plumage is regularly moulted; the standard plumage of a bird that has moulted after breeding is known as the "non-breeding" plumage, or—in the Humphrey–Parkes terminology—"basic" plumage; breeding plumages or variations of the basic plumage are known under the Humphrey–Parkes system as "alternate" plumages. Moulting is annual in most species, although some may have two moults a year, and large birds of prey may moult only once every few years. Moulting patterns vary across species. In passerines, flight feathers are replaced one at a time with the innermost primary being the first. When the fifth of sixth primary is replaced, the outermost tertiaries begin to drop. After the innermost tertiaries are moulted, the secondaries starting from the innermost begin to drop and this proceeds to the outer feathers (centrifugal moult). The greater primary coverts are moulted in synchrony with the primary that they overlap.
A small number of species, such as ducks and geese, lose all of their flight feathers at once, temporarily becoming flightless. As a general rule, the tail feathers are moulted and replaced starting with the innermost pair. Centripetal moults of tail feathers are however seen in the Phasianidae. The centrifugal moult is modified in the tail feathers of woodpeckers and treecreepers, in that it begins with the second innermost pair of feathers and finishes with the central pair of feathers so that the bird maintains a functional climbing tail. The general pattern seen in passerines is that the primaries are replaced outward, secondaries inward, and the tail from centre outward. Before nesting, the females of most bird species gain a bare brood patch by losing feathers close to the belly. The skin there is well supplied with blood vessels and helps the bird in incubation.
Feathers require maintenance and birds preen or groom them daily, spending an average of around 9% of their daily time on this. The bill is used to brush away foreign particles and to apply waxy secretions from the uropygial gland; these secretions protect the feathers' flexibility and act as an antimicrobial agent, inhibiting the growth of feather-degrading bacteria. This may be supplemented with the secretions of formic acid from ants, which birds receive through a behaviour known as anting, to remove feather parasites.
The scales of birds are composed of the same keratin as beaks, claws, and spurs. They are found mainly on the toes and metatarsus, but may be found further up on the ankle in some birds. Most bird scales do not overlap significantly, except in the cases of kingfishers and woodpeckers. The scales of birds are thought to be homologous to those of reptiles and mammals.
=== Flight ===
Most birds can fly, which distinguishes them from almost all other vertebrate classes. Flight is the primary means of locomotion for most bird species and is used for searching for food and for escaping from predators. Birds have various adaptations for flight, including a lightweight skeleton, two large flight muscles, the pectoralis (which accounts for 15% of the total mass of the bird) and the supracoracoideus, as well as a modified forelimb (wing) that serves as an aerofoil.
Wing shape and size generally determine a bird's flight style and performance; many birds combine powered, flapping flight with less energy-intensive soaring flight. About 60 extant bird species are flightless, as were many extinct birds. Flightlessness often arises in birds on isolated islands, most likely due to limited resources and the absence of mammalian land predators. Flightlessness is almost exclusively correlated with gigantism due to an island's inherent condition of isolation. Although flightless, penguins use similar musculature and movements to "fly" through the water, as do some flight-capable birds such as auks, shearwaters and dippers.
== Behaviour ==
Most birds are diurnal, but some birds, such as many species of owls and nightjars, are nocturnal or crepuscular (active during twilight hours), and many coastal waders feed when the tides are appropriate, by day or night.
=== Diet and feeding ===
Birds' diets are varied and often include nectar, fruit, plants, seeds, carrion, and various small animals, including other birds. The digestive system of birds is unique, with a crop for storage and a gizzard that contains swallowed stones for grinding food to compensate for the lack of teeth. Some species such as pigeons and some psittacine species do not have a gallbladder. Most birds are highly adapted for rapid digestion to aid with flight. Some migratory birds have adapted to use protein stored in many parts of their bodies, including protein from the intestines, as additional energy during migration.
Birds that employ many strategies to obtain food or feed on a variety of food items are called generalists, while others that concentrate time and effort on specific food items or have a single strategy to obtain food are considered specialists. Avian foraging strategies can vary widely by species. Many birds glean for insects, invertebrates, fruit, or seeds. Some hunt insects by suddenly attacking from a branch. Those species that seek pest insects are considered beneficial 'biological control agents' and their presence encouraged in biological pest control programmes. Combined, insectivorous birds eat 400–500 million metric tons of arthropods annually.
Nectar feeders such as hummingbirds, sunbirds, lories, and lorikeets amongst others have specially adapted brushy tongues and in many cases bills designed to fit co-adapted flowers. Kiwis and shorebirds with long bills probe for invertebrates; shorebirds' varied bill lengths and feeding methods result in the separation of ecological niches. Divers, diving ducks, penguins and auks pursue their prey underwater, using their wings or feet for propulsion, while aerial predators such as sulids, kingfishers and terns plunge dive after their prey. Flamingos, three species of prion, and some ducks are filter feeders. Geese and dabbling ducks are primarily grazers.
Some species, including frigatebirds, gulls, and skuas, engage in kleptoparasitism, stealing food items from other birds. Kleptoparasitism is thought to be a supplement to food obtained by hunting, rather than a significant part of any species' diet; a study of great frigatebirds stealing from masked boobies estimated that the frigatebirds stole at most 40% of their food and on average stole only 5%. Other birds are scavengers; some of these, like vultures, are specialised carrion eaters, while others, like gulls, corvids, or other birds of prey, are opportunists.
=== Water and drinking ===
Water is needed by many birds although their mode of excretion and lack of sweat glands reduces the physiological demands. Some desert birds can obtain their water needs entirely from moisture in their food. Some have other adaptations such as allowing their body temperature to rise, saving on moisture loss from evaporative cooling or panting. Seabirds can drink seawater and have salt glands inside the head that eliminate excess salt out of the nostrils.
Most birds scoop water in their beaks and raise their head to let water run down the throat. Some species, especially of arid zones, belonging to the pigeon, finch, mousebird, button-quail and bustard families are capable of sucking up water without the need to tilt back their heads. Some desert birds depend on water sources and sandgrouse are particularly well known for congregating daily at waterholes. Nesting sandgrouse and many plovers carry water to their young by wetting their belly feathers. Some birds carry water for chicks at the nest in their crop or regurgitate it along with food. The pigeon family, flamingos and penguins have adaptations to produce a nutritive fluid called crop milk that they provide to their chicks.
=== Feather care ===
Feathers, being critical to the survival of a bird, require maintenance. Apart from physical wear and tear, feathers face the onslaught of fungi, ectoparasitic feather mites and bird lice. The physical condition of feathers are maintained by preening often with the application of secretions from the preen gland. Birds also bathe in water or dust themselves. While some birds dip into shallow water, more aerial species may make aerial dips into water and arboreal species often make use of dew or rain that collect on leaves. Birds of arid regions make use of loose soil to dust-bathe. A behaviour termed as anting in which the bird encourages ants to run through their plumage is also thought to help them reduce the ectoparasite load in feathers. Many species will spread out their wings and expose them to direct sunlight and this too is thought to help in reducing fungal and ectoparasitic activity that may lead to feather damage.
=== Migration ===
Many bird species migrate to take advantage of global differences of seasonal temperatures, therefore optimising availability of food sources and breeding habitat. These migrations vary among the different groups. Many landbirds, shorebirds, and waterbirds undertake annual long-distance migrations, usually triggered by the length of daylight as well as weather conditions. These birds are characterised by a breeding season spent in the temperate or polar regions and a non-breeding season in the tropical regions or opposite hemisphere. Before migration, birds substantially increase body fats and reserves and reduce the size of some of their organs.
Migration is highly demanding energetically, particularly as birds need to cross deserts and oceans without refuelling. Landbirds have a flight range of around 2,500 km (1,600 mi) and shorebirds can fly up to 4,000 km (2,500 mi), although the bar-tailed godwit is capable of non-stop flights of up to 10,200 km (6,300 mi). Some seabirds undertake long migrations, with the longest annual migrations including those of Arctic terns, which were recorded travelling an average of 70,900 km (44,100 mi) between their Arctic breeding grounds in Greenland and Iceland and their wintering grounds in Antarctica, with one bird covering 81,600 km (50,700 mi), and sooty shearwaters, which nest in New Zealand and Chile and make annual round trips of 64,000 km (39,800 mi) to their summer feeding grounds in the North Pacific off Japan, Alaska and California.
Other seabirds disperse after breeding, travelling widely but having no set migration route. Albatrosses nesting in the Southern Ocean often undertake circumpolar trips between breeding seasons.
Some bird species undertake shorter migrations, travelling only as far as is required to avoid bad weather or obtain food. Irruptive species such as the boreal finches are one such group and can commonly be found at a location in one year and absent the next. This type of migration is normally associated with food availability. Species may also travel shorter distances over part of their range, with individuals from higher latitudes travelling into the existing range of conspecifics; others undertake partial migrations, where only a fraction of the population, usually females and subdominant males, migrates. Partial migration can form a large percentage of the migration behaviour of birds in some regions; in Australia, surveys found that 44% of non-passerine birds and 32% of passerines were partially migratory.
Altitudinal migration is a form of short-distance migration in which birds spend the breeding season at higher altitudes and move to lower ones during suboptimal conditions. It is most often triggered by temperature changes and usually occurs when the normal territories also become inhospitable due to lack of food. Some species may also be nomadic, holding no fixed territory and moving according to weather and food availability. Parrots as a family are overwhelmingly neither migratory nor sedentary but considered to either be dispersive, irruptive, nomadic or undertake small and irregular migrations.
The ability of birds to return to precise locations across vast distances has been known for some time; in an experiment conducted in the 1950s, a Manx shearwater released in Boston in the United States returned to its colony in Skomer, in Wales within 13 days, a distance of 5,150 km (3,200 mi). Birds navigate during migration using a variety of methods. For diurnal migrants, the sun is used to navigate by day, and a stellar compass is used at night. Birds that use the sun compensate for the changing position of the sun during the day by the use of an internal clock. Orientation with the stellar compass depends on the position of the constellations surrounding Polaris. These are backed up in some species by their ability to sense the Earth's geomagnetism through specialised photoreceptors.
=== Communication ===
Birds communicate primarily using visual and auditory signals. Signals can be interspecific (between species) and intraspecific (within species).
Birds sometimes use plumage to assess and assert social dominance, to display breeding condition in sexually selected species, or to make threatening displays, as in the sunbittern's mimicry of a large predator to ward off hawks and protect young chicks.
Visual communication among birds may also involve ritualised displays, which have developed from non-signalling actions such as preening, the adjustments of feather position, pecking, or other behaviour. These displays may signal aggression or submission or may contribute to the formation of pair-bonds. The most elaborate displays occur during courtship, where "dances" are often formed from complex combinations of many possible component movements; males' breeding success may depend on the quality of such displays.
Bird calls and songs, which are produced in the syrinx, are the major means by which birds communicate with sound. This communication can be very complex; some species can operate the two sides of the syrinx independently, allowing the simultaneous production of two different songs. Calls are used for a variety of purposes, including mate attraction, evaluation of potential mates, bond formation, the claiming and maintenance of territories, the identification of other individuals (such as when parents look for chicks in colonies or when mates reunite at the start of breeding season), and the warning of other birds of potential predators, sometimes with specific information about the nature of the threat. Some birds also use mechanical sounds for auditory communication. The Coenocorypha snipes of New Zealand drive air through their feathers, woodpeckers drum for long-distance communication, and palm cockatoos use tools to drum.
=== Flocking and other associations ===
While some birds are essentially territorial or live in small family groups, other birds may form large flocks. The principal benefits of flocking are safety in numbers and increased foraging efficiency. Defence against predators is particularly important in closed habitats like forests, where ambush predation is common and multiple eyes can provide a valuable early warning system. This has led to the development of many mixed-species feeding flocks, which are usually composed of small numbers of many species; these flocks provide safety in numbers but increase potential competition for resources. Costs of flocking include bullying of socially subordinate birds by more dominant birds and the reduction of feeding efficiency in certain cases. Some species have a mixed system with breeding pairs maintaining territories, while unmated or young birds live in flocks where they secure mates prior to finding territories.
Birds sometimes also form associations with non-avian species. Plunge-diving seabirds associate with dolphins and tuna, which push shoaling fish towards the surface. Some species of hornbills have a mutualistic relationship with dwarf mongooses, in which they forage together and warn each other of nearby birds of prey and other predators.
=== Resting and roosting ===
The high metabolic rates of birds during the active part of the day is supplemented by rest at other times. Sleeping birds often use a type of sleep known as vigilant sleep, where periods of rest are interspersed with quick eye-opening "peeks", allowing them to be sensitive to disturbances and enable rapid escape from threats. Swifts are believed to be able to sleep in flight and radar observations suggest that they orient themselves to face the wind in their roosting flight. It has been suggested that there may be certain kinds of sleep which are possible even when in flight.
Some birds have also demonstrated the capacity to fall into slow-wave sleep one hemisphere of the brain at a time. The birds tend to exercise this ability depending upon its position relative to the outside of the flock. This may allow the eye opposite the sleeping hemisphere to remain vigilant for predators by viewing the outer margins of the flock. This adaptation is also known from marine mammals. Communal roosting is common because it lowers the loss of body heat and decreases the risks associated with predators. Roosting sites are often chosen with regard to thermoregulation and safety. Unusual mobile roost sites include large herbivores on the African savanna that are used by oxpeckers.
Many sleeping birds bend their heads over their backs and tuck their bills in their back feathers, although others place their beaks among their breast feathers. Many birds rest on one leg, while some may pull up their legs into their feathers, especially in cold weather. Perching birds have a tendon-locking mechanism that helps them hold on to the perch when they are asleep. Many ground birds, such as quails and pheasants, roost in trees. A few parrots of the genus Loriculus roost hanging upside down. Some hummingbirds go into a nightly state of torpor accompanied with a reduction of their metabolic rates. This physiological adaptation shows in nearly a hundred other species, including owlet-nightjars, nightjars, and woodswallows. One species, the common poorwill, even enters a state of hibernation. Birds do not have sweat glands, but can lose water directly through the skin, and they may cool themselves by moving to shade, standing in water, panting, increasing their surface area, fluttering their throat or using special behaviours like urohidrosis to cool themselves.
=== Breeding ===
==== Social systems ====
95 per cent of bird species are socially monogamous. These species pair for at least the length of the breeding season or—in some cases—for several years or until the death of one mate. Monogamy allows for both paternal care and biparental care, which is especially important for species in which care from both the female and the male parent is required in order to successfully rear a brood. Among many socially monogamous species, extra-pair copulation (infidelity) is common. Such behaviour typically occurs between dominant males and females paired with subordinate males, but may also be the result of forced copulation in ducks and other anatids.
For females, possible benefits of extra-pair copulation include getting better genes for her offspring and insuring against the possibility of infertility in her mate. Males of species that engage in extra-pair copulations will closely guard their mates to ensure the parentage of the offspring that they raise.
Other mating systems, including polygyny, polyandry, polygamy, polygynandry, and promiscuity, also occur. Polygamous breeding systems arise when females are able to raise broods without the help of males. Mating systems vary across bird families but variations within species are thought to be driven by environmental conditions. A unique system is the formation of trios where a third individual is allowed by a breeding pair temporarily into the territory to assist with brood raising thereby leading to higher fitness.
Breeding usually involves some form of courtship display, typically performed by the male. Most displays are rather simple and involve some type of song. Some displays, however, are quite elaborate. Depending on the species, these may include wing or tail drumming, dancing, aerial flights, or communal lekking. Females are generally the ones that drive partner selection, although in the polyandrous phalaropes, this is reversed: plainer males choose brightly coloured females. Courtship feeding, billing and allopreening are commonly performed between partners, generally after the birds have paired and mated.
Homosexual behaviour has been observed in males or females in numerous species of birds, including copulation, pair-bonding, and joint parenting of chicks. Over 130 avian species around the world engage in sexual interactions between the same sex or homosexual behaviours. "Same-sex courtship activities may involve elaborate displays, synchronised dances, gift-giving ceremonies, or behaviours at specific display areas including bowers, arenas, or leks."
==== Territories, nesting and incubation ====
Many birds actively defend a territory from others of the same species during the breeding season; maintenance of territories protects the food source for their chicks. Species that are unable to defend feeding territories, such as seabirds and swifts, often breed in colonies instead; this is thought to offer protection from predators. Colonial breeders defend small nesting sites, and competition between and within species for nesting sites can be intense.
All birds lay amniotic eggs with hard shells made mostly of calcium carbonate. Hole and burrow nesting species tend to lay white or pale eggs, while open nesters lay camouflaged eggs. There are many exceptions to this pattern, however; the ground-nesting nightjars have pale eggs, and camouflage is instead provided by their plumage. Species that are victims of brood parasites have varying egg colours to improve the chances of spotting a parasite's egg, which forces female parasites to match their eggs to those of their hosts.
Bird eggs are usually laid in a nest. Most species create somewhat elaborate nests, which can be cups, domes, plates, mounds, or burrows. Some bird nests can be a simple scrape, with minimal or no lining; most seabird and wader nests are no more than a scrape on the ground. Most birds build nests in sheltered, hidden areas to avoid predation, but large or colonial birds—which are more capable of defence—may build more open nests. During nest construction, some species seek out plant matter from plants with parasite-reducing toxins to improve chick survival, and feathers are often used for nest insulation. Some bird species have no nests; the cliff-nesting common guillemot lays its eggs on bare rock, and male emperor penguins keep eggs between their body and feet. The absence of nests is especially prevalent in open habitat ground-nesting species where any addition of nest material would make the nest more conspicuous. Many ground nesting birds lay a clutch of eggs that hatch synchronously, with precocial chicks led away from the nests (nidifugous) by their parents soon after hatching.
Incubation, which regulates temperature for chick development, usually begins after the last egg has been laid. In monogamous species incubation duties are often shared, whereas in polygamous species one parent is wholly responsible for incubation. Warmth from parents passes to the eggs through brood patches, areas of bare skin on the abdomen or breast of the incubating birds. Incubation can be an energetically demanding process; adult albatrosses, for instance, lose as much as 83 grams (2.9 oz) of body weight per day of incubation. The warmth for the incubation of the eggs of megapodes comes from the sun, decaying vegetation or volcanic sources. Incubation periods range from 10 days (in woodpeckers, cuckoos and passerine birds) to over 80 days (in albatrosses and kiwis).
The diversity of characteristics of birds is great, sometimes even in closely related species. Several avian characteristics are compared in the table below.
==== Parental care and fledging ====
At the time of their hatching, chicks range in development from helpless to independent, depending on their species. Helpless chicks are termed altricial, and tend to be born small, blind, immobile and naked; chicks that are mobile and feathered upon hatching are termed precocial. Altricial chicks need help thermoregulating and must be brooded for longer than precocial chicks. The young of many bird species do not precisely fit into either the precocial or altricial category, having some aspects of each and thus fall somewhere on an "altricial-precocial spectrum". Chicks at neither extreme but favouring one or the other may be termed semi-precocial or semi-altricial.
The length and nature of parental care varies widely amongst different orders and species. At one extreme, parental care in megapodes ends at hatching; the newly hatched chick digs itself out of the nest mound without parental assistance and can fend for itself immediately. At the other extreme, many seabirds have extended periods of parental care, the longest being that of the great frigatebird, whose chicks take up to six months to fledge and are fed by the parents for up to an additional 14 months. The chick guard stage describes the period of breeding during which one of the adult birds is permanently present at the nest after chicks have hatched. The main purpose of the guard stage is to aid offspring to thermoregulate and protect them from predation.
In some species, both parents care for nestlings and fledglings; in others, such care is the responsibility of only one sex. In some species, other members of the same species—usually close relatives of the breeding pair, such as offspring from previous broods—will help with the raising of the young. Such alloparenting is particularly common among the Corvida, which includes such birds as the true crows, Australian magpie and fairy-wrens, but has been observed in species as different as the rifleman and red kite. Among most groups of animals, male parental care is rare. In birds, however, it is quite common—more so than in any other vertebrate class. Although territory and nest site defence, incubation, and chick feeding are often shared tasks, there is sometimes a division of labour in which one mate undertakes all or most of a particular duty.
The point at which chicks fledge varies dramatically. The chicks of the Synthliboramphus murrelets, like the ancient murrelet, leave the nest the night after they hatch, following their parents out to sea, where they are raised away from terrestrial predators. Some other species, such as ducks, move their chicks away from the nest at an early age. In most species, chicks leave the nest just before, or soon after, they are able to fly. The amount of parental care after fledging varies; albatross chicks leave the nest on their own and receive no further help, while other species continue some supplementary feeding after fledging. Chicks may also follow their parents during their first migration.
==== Brood parasites ====
Brood parasitism, in which an egg-layer leaves her eggs with another individual's brood, is more common among birds than any other type of organism. After a parasitic bird lays her eggs in another bird's nest, they are often accepted and raised by the host at the expense of the host's own brood. Brood parasites may be either obligate brood parasites, which must lay their eggs in the nests of other species because they are incapable of raising their own young, or non-obligate brood parasites, which sometimes lay eggs in the nests of conspecifics to increase their reproductive output even though they could have raised their own young. One hundred bird species, including honeyguides, icterids, and ducks, are obligate parasites, though the most famous are the cuckoos. Some brood parasites are adapted to hatch before their host's young, which allows them to destroy the host's eggs by pushing them out of the nest or to kill the host's chicks; this ensures that all food brought to the nest will be fed to the parasitic chicks.
==== Sexual selection ====
Birds have evolved a variety of mating behaviours, with the peacock tail being perhaps the most famous example of sexual selection and the Fisherian runaway. Commonly occurring sexual dimorphisms such as size and colour differences are energetically costly attributes that signal competitive breeding situations. Many types of avian sexual selection have been identified; intersexual selection, also known as female choice; and intrasexual competition, where individuals of the more abundant sex compete with each other for the privilege to mate. Sexually selected traits often evolve to become more pronounced in competitive breeding situations until the trait begins to limit the individual's fitness. Conflicts between an individual fitness and signalling adaptations ensure that sexually selected ornaments such as plumage colouration and courtship behaviour are "honest" traits. Signals must be costly to ensure that only good-quality individuals can present these exaggerated sexual ornaments and behaviours.
==== Inbreeding depression ====
Inbreeding causes early death (inbreeding depression) in the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata. Embryo survival (that is, hatching success of fertile eggs) was significantly lower for sib-sib mating pairs than for unrelated pairs.
Darwin's finch Geospiza scandens experiences inbreeding depression (reduced survival of offspring) and the magnitude of this effect is influenced by environmental conditions such as low food availability.
==== Inbreeding avoidance ====
Incestuous matings by the purple-crowned fairy wren Malurus coronatus result in severe fitness costs due to inbreeding depression (greater than 30% reduction in hatchability of eggs). Females paired with related males may undertake extra pair matings (see Promiscuity#Other animals for 90% frequency in avian species) that can reduce the negative effects of inbreeding. However, there are ecological and demographic constraints on extra pair matings. Nevertheless, 43% of broods produced by incestuously paired females contained extra pair young.
Inbreeding depression occurs in the great tit (Parus major) when the offspring produced as a result of a mating between close relatives show reduced fitness. In natural populations of Parus major, inbreeding is avoided by dispersal of individuals from their birthplace, which reduces the chance of mating with a close relative.
Southern pied babblers Turdoides bicolor appear to avoid inbreeding in two ways. The first is through dispersal, and the second is by avoiding familiar group members as mates.
Cooperative breeding in birds typically occurs when offspring, usually males, delay dispersal from their natal group in order to remain with the family to help rear younger kin. Female offspring rarely stay at home, dispersing over distances that allow them to breed independently, or to join unrelated groups. In general, inbreeding is avoided because it leads to a reduction in progeny fitness (inbreeding depression) due largely to the homozygous expression of deleterious recessive alleles. Cross-fertilisation between unrelated individuals ordinarily leads to the masking of deleterious recessive alleles in progeny.
== Ecology ==
Birds occupy a wide range of ecological positions. While some birds are generalists, others are highly specialised in their habitat or food requirements. Even within a single habitat, such as a forest, the niches occupied by different species of birds vary, with some species feeding in the forest canopy, others beneath the canopy, and still others on the forest floor. Forest birds may be insectivores, frugivores, or nectarivores. Aquatic birds generally feed by fishing, plant eating, and piracy or kleptoparasitism. Many grassland birds are granivores. Birds of prey specialise in hunting mammals or other birds, while vultures are specialised scavengers. Birds are also preyed upon by a range of mammals including a few avivorous bats. A wide range of endo- and ectoparasites depend on birds and some parasites that are transmitted from parent to young have co-evolved and show host-specificity.
Some nectar-feeding birds are important pollinators, and many frugivores play a key role in seed dispersal. Plants and pollinating birds often coevolve, and in some cases a flower's primary pollinator is the only species capable of reaching its nectar.
Birds are often important to island ecology. Birds have frequently reached islands that mammals have not; on those islands, birds may fulfil ecological roles typically played by larger animals. For example, in New Zealand nine species of moa were important browsers, as are the kererū and kōkako today. Today the plants of New Zealand retain the defensive adaptations evolved to protect them from the extinct moa.
Many birds act as ecosystem engineers through the construction of nests, which provide important microhabitats and food for hundreds of species of invertebrates. Nesting seabirds may affect the ecology of islands and surrounding seas, principally through the concentration of large quantities of guano, which may enrich the local soil and the surrounding seas.
A wide variety of avian ecology field methods, including counts, nest monitoring, and capturing and marking, are used for researching avian ecology.
== Relationship with humans ==
Since birds are highly visible and common animals, humans have had a relationship with them since the dawn of man. Sometimes, these relationships are mutualistic, like the cooperative honey-gathering among honeyguides and African peoples such as the Borana. Other times, they may be commensal, as when species such as the house sparrow have benefited from human activities. Several species have reconciled to habits of farmers who practice traditional farming. Examples include the Sarus Crane that begins nesting in India when farmers flood the fields in anticipation of rains, and the woolly-necked storks that have taken to nesting on a short tree grown for agroforestry beside fields and canals. Several bird species have become commercially significant agricultural pests, and some pose an aviation hazard. Human activities can also be detrimental, and have threatened numerous bird species with extinction (hunting, avian lead poisoning, pesticides, roadkill, wind turbine kills and predation by pet cats and dogs are common causes of death for birds).
Birds can act as vectors for spreading diseases such as psittacosis, salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, mycobacteriosis (avian tuberculosis), avian influenza (bird flu), giardiasis, and cryptosporidiosis over long distances. Some of these are zoonotic diseases that can also be transmitted to humans.
=== Economic importance ===
Domesticated birds raised for meat and eggs, called poultry, are the largest source of animal protein eaten by humans; in 2003, 76 million tons of poultry and 61 million tons of eggs were produced worldwide. Chickens account for much of human poultry consumption, though domesticated turkeys, ducks, and geese are also relatively common. Many species of birds are also hunted for meat. Bird hunting is primarily a recreational activity except in extremely undeveloped areas. The most important birds hunted in North and South America are waterfowl; other widely hunted birds include pheasants, wild turkeys, quail, doves, partridge, grouse, snipe, and woodcock. Muttonbirding is also popular in Australia and New Zealand. Although some hunting, such as that of muttonbirds, may be sustainable, hunting has led to the extinction or endangerment of dozens of species.
Other commercially valuable products from birds include feathers (especially the down of geese and ducks), which are used as insulation in clothing and bedding, and seabird faeces (guano), which is a valuable source of phosphorus and nitrogen. The War of the Pacific, sometimes called the Guano War, was fought in part over the control of guano deposits.
Birds have been domesticated by humans both as pets and for practical purposes. Colourful birds, such as parrots and mynas, are bred in captivity or kept as pets, a practice that has led to the illegal trafficking of some endangered species. Falcons and cormorants have long been used for hunting and fishing, respectively. Messenger pigeons, used since at least 1 AD, remained important as recently as World War II. Today, such activities are more common either as hobbies, for entertainment and tourism.
Amateur bird enthusiasts (called birdwatchers, twitchers or, more commonly, birders) number in the millions. Many homeowners erect bird feeders near their homes to attract various species. Bird feeding has grown into a multimillion-dollar industry; for example, an estimated 75% of households in Britain provide food for birds at some point during the winter.
=== In religion and mythology ===
Birds play prominent and diverse roles in religion and mythology.
In religion, birds may serve as either messengers or priests and leaders for a deity, such as in the Cult of Makemake, in which the Tangata manu of Easter Island served as chiefs or as attendants, as in the case of Hugin and Munin, the two common ravens who whispered news into the ears of the Norse god Odin. In several civilisations of ancient Italy, particularly Etruscan and Roman religion, priests were involved in augury, or interpreting the words of birds while the "auspex" (from which the word "auspicious" is derived) watched their activities to foretell events.
They may also serve as religious symbols, as when Jonah (Hebrew: יונה, dove) embodied the fright, passivity, mourning, and beauty traditionally associated with doves. Birds have themselves been deified, as in the case of the common peacock, which is perceived as Mother Earth by the people of southern India. In the ancient world, doves were used as symbols of the Mesopotamian goddess Inanna (later known as Ishtar), the Canaanite mother goddess Asherah, and the Greek goddess Aphrodite. In ancient Greece, Athena, the goddess of wisdom and patron deity of the city of Athens, had a little owl as her symbol. In religious images preserved from the Inca and Tiwanaku empires, birds are depicted in the process of transgressing boundaries between earthly and underground spiritual realms. Indigenous peoples of the central Andes maintain legends of birds passing to and from metaphysical worlds.
=== In culture and folklore ===
Birds have featured in culture and art since prehistoric times, when they were represented in early cave painting and carvings. Some birds have been perceived as monsters, including the mythological Roc and the Māori's legendary Pouākai, a giant bird capable of snatching humans. Birds were later used as symbols of power, as in the magnificent Peacock Throne of the Mughal and Persian emperors. With the advent of scientific interest in birds, many paintings of birds were commissioned for books.
Among the most famous of these bird artists was John James Audubon, whose paintings of North American birds were a great commercial success in Europe and who later lent his name to the National Audubon Society. Birds are also important figures in poetry; for example, Homer incorporated nightingales into his Odyssey, and Catullus used a sparrow as an erotic symbol in his Catullus 2. The relationship between an albatross and a sailor is the central theme of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which led to the use of the term as a metaphor for a 'burden'. Other English metaphors derive from birds; vulture funds and vulture investors, for instance, take their name from the scavenging vulture. Aircraft, particularly military aircraft, are frequently named after birds. The predatory nature of raptors make them popular choices for fighter aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the Harrier Jump Jet, while the names of seabirds may be chosen for aircraft primarily used by naval forces such as the HU-16 Albatross and the V-22 Osprey.
Perceptions of bird species vary across cultures. Owls are associated with bad luck, witchcraft, and death in parts of Africa, but are regarded as wise across much of Europe. Hoopoes were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt and symbols of virtue in Persia, but were thought of as thieves across much of Europe and harbingers of war in Scandinavia. In heraldry, birds, especially eagles, often appear in coats of arms In vexillology, birds are a popular choice on flags. Birds feature in the flag designs of 17 countries and numerous subnational entities and territories. Birds are used by nations to symbolise a country's identity and heritage, with 91 countries officially recognising a national bird. Birds of prey are highly represented, though some nations have chosen other species of birds with parrots being popular among smaller, tropical nations.
=== In music ===
In music, birdsong has influenced composers and musicians in several ways: they can be inspired by birdsong; they can intentionally imitate bird song in a composition, as Vivaldi, Messiaen, and Beethoven did, along with many later composers; they can incorporate recordings of birds into their works, as Ottorino Respighi first did; or like Beatrice Harrison and David Rothenberg, they can duet with birds.
A 2023 archaeological excavation of a 10,000-year-old site in Israel yielded hollow wing bones of coots and ducks with perforations made on the side that are thought to have allowed them to be used as flutes or whistles possibly used by Natufian people to lure birds of prey.
== Threats and conservation ==
Human activities have caused population decreases or extinction in many bird species. Over a hundred bird species have gone extinct in historical times, although the most dramatic human-caused avian extinctions, eradicating an estimated 750–1800 species, occurred during the human colonisation of Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian islands. Many bird populations are declining worldwide, with 1,227 species listed as threatened by BirdLife International and the IUCN in 2009. There have been long-term declines in North American bird populations, with an estimated loss of 2.9 billion breeding adults, about 30% of the total, since 1970.
The most commonly cited human threat to birds is habitat loss. Other threats include overhunting, accidental mortality due to collisions with buildings or vehicles, long-line fishing bycatch, pollution (including oil spills and pesticide use), competition and predation from nonnative invasive species, and climate change.
Governments and conservation groups work to protect birds, either by passing laws that preserve and restore bird habitat or by establishing captive populations for reintroductions. Such projects have produced some successes; one study estimated that conservation efforts saved 16 species of bird that would otherwise have gone extinct between 1994 and 2004, including the California condor and Norfolk parakeet.
Human activities have allowed the expansion of a few temperate area species, such as the barn swallow and European starling. In the tropics and sub-tropics, relatively more species are expanding due to human activities, particularly due to the spread of crops such as rice whose expansion in south Asia has benefitted at least 64 bird species, though may have harmed many more species. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_11 | Pioneer 11 | Pioneer 11 (also known as Pioneer G) is a NASA robotic space probe launched on April 5, 1973, to study the asteroid belt, the environment around Jupiter and Saturn, the solar wind, and cosmic rays. It was the first probe to encounter Saturn, the second to fly through the asteroid belt, and the second to fly by Jupiter. Later, Pioneer 11 became the second of five artificial objects to achieve an escape velocity allowing it to leave the Solar System. Due to power constraints and the vast distance to the probe, the last routine contact with the spacecraft was on September 30, 1995, and the last good engineering data was received on November 24, 1995.
== Mission background ==
=== History ===
Approved in February 1969, Pioneer 11 and its twin probe, Pioneer 10, were the first to be designed for exploring the outer Solar System. Yielding to multiple proposals throughout the 1960s, early mission objectives were defined as:
Explore the interplanetary medium beyond the orbit of Mars
Investigate the nature of the asteroid belt from the scientific standpoint and assess the belt's possible hazard to missions to the outer planets.
Explore the environment of Jupiter.
Subsequent planning for an encounter with Saturn added many more goals:
Map the magnetic field of Saturn and determine its intensity, direction, and structure.
Determine how many electrons and protons of various energies are distributed along the trajectory of the spacecraft through the Saturn system.
Map the interaction of the Saturn system with the solar wind.
Measure the temperature of Saturn's atmosphere and that of Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn.
Determine the structure of the upper atmosphere of Saturn where molecules are expected to be electrically charged and form an ionosphere.
Map the thermal structure of Saturn's atmosphere by infrared observations coupled with radio occultation data.
Obtain spin-scan images of the Saturnian system in two colors during the encounter sequence and polarimetry measurements of the planet.
Probe the ring system and the atmosphere of Saturn with S-band radio occultation.
Determine more precisely the masses of Saturn and its larger satellites by accurate observations of the effects of their gravitational fields on the motion of the spacecraft.
As a precursor to the Mariner Jupiter/Saturn mission, verify the environment of the ring plane to find out where it may be safely crossed by the Mariner spacecraft without serious damage.
Pioneer 11 was built by TRW and managed as part of the Pioneer program by NASA Ames Research Center. A backup unit, Pioneer H, is currently on display in the "Milestones of Flight" exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Many elements of the mission proved to be critical in the planning of the Voyager program.
=== Spacecraft design ===
The Pioneer 11 bus measures 36 centimeters (14 in) deep and with six 76-centimeter-long (30 in) panels forming the hexagonal structure. The bus houses propellant to control the orientation of the probe and eight of the twelve scientific instruments. The spacecraft has a mass of 259 kilograms.
==== Attitude control and propulsion ====
Orientation of the spacecraft was maintained with six 4.5-N, hydrazine monopropellant thrusters: pair one maintains a constant spin-rate of 4.8 rpm, pair two controls the forward thrust, pair three controls attitude. Information for the orientation is provided by performing conical scanning maneuvers to track Earth in its orbit, a star sensor able to reference Canopus, and two Sun sensors.
==== Communications ====
The space probe includes a redundant system transceivers, one attached to the high-gain antenna, the other to an omni-antenna and medium-gain antenna. Each transceiver is 8 watts and transmits data across the S-band using 2110 MHz for the uplink from Earth and 2292 MHz for the downlink to Earth with the Deep Space Network tracking the signal. Prior to transmitting data, the probe uses a convolutional encoder to allow correction of errors in the received data on Earth.
==== Power ====
Pioneer 11 uses four SNAP-19 radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) (see diagram). They are positioned on two three-rod trusses, each 3 m (9 ft 10 in) in length and 120 degrees apart. This was expected to be a safe distance from the sensitive scientific experiments carried on board. Combined, the RTGs provided 155 watts at launch, and decayed to 140 W in transit to Jupiter. The spacecraft requires 100 W to power all systems.
==== Computer ====
Much of the computation for the mission was performed on Earth and transmitted to the probe, where it is able to retain in memory, up to five commands of the 222 possible entries by ground controllers. The spacecraft includes two command decoders and a command distribution unit, a very limited form of a processor, to direct operations on the spacecraft. This system requires that mission operators prepare commands long in advance of transmitting them to the probe. A data storage unit is included to record up to 6,144 bytes of information gathered by the instruments. The digital telemetry unit is then used to prepare the collected data in one of the thirteen possible formats before transmitting it back to Earth.
==== Scientific instruments ====
Pioneer 11 has one additional instrument more than Pioneer 10, a flux-gate magnetometer.
== Mission profile ==
=== Launch and trajectory ===
The Pioneer 11 probe was launched on April 6, 1973, at 02:11:00 UTC, by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from Space Launch Complex 36A at Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard an Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle, with a Star-37E propulsion module. Its twin probe, Pioneer 10, had been launched on March 3, 1972.
Pioneer 11 was launched on a trajectory directly aimed at Jupiter without any prior gravitational assists. In May 1974, Pioneer was retargeted to fly past Jupiter on a north–south trajectory, enabling a Saturn flyby in 1979. The maneuver used 17 lb (7.7 kg) of propellant, lasted 42 minutes and 36 seconds, and increased Pioneer 11's speed by 230 km/h. It also made two mid-course corrections, on April 11, 1973 and November 7, 1974.
=== Encounter with Jupiter ===
Pioneer 11 flew past Jupiter in November and December 1974. During its closest approach, on December 2, it passed 42,828 km (26,612 mi) above the cloud tops. The probe obtained detailed images of the Great Red Spot, transmitted the first images of the immense polar regions, and determined the mass of Jupiter's moon Callisto. Using the gravitational pull of Jupiter, a gravity assist was used to alter the trajectory of the probe towards Saturn and gain velocity. On April 16, 1975, following the Jupiter encounter, the micrometeoroid detector was turned off.
=== Encounter with Saturn ===
Pioneer 11 passed by Saturn on September 1, 1979, at a distance of 21,000 km (13,000 mi) from Saturn's cloud tops.
By this time, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 had already passed Jupiter and were en route to Saturn, so it was decided Pioneer 11 would pass through the Saturn ring plane at the same position Voyager 2 would later have to fly through in order to reach Uranus and Neptune. If there were faint ring particles capable of damaging a probe in that area, mission planners felt it was better to learn about it via Pioneer. Thus, Pioneer 11 was acting as a "pioneer" in a true sense of the word; if danger were detected, then Voyager 2 could be redirected further away from the rings but miss the opportunity to visit the ice giants in the process.
Pioneer 11 imaged—and nearly collided with—one of Saturn's small moons, passing at a distance of no more than 4,000 km (2,500 mi). The object was tentatively identified as Epimetheus, a moon discovered the previous day from Pioneer's imaging, and suspected from earlier observations by Earth-based telescopes. After the Voyager flybys, it became known that there are two similarly sized moons (Epimetheus and Janus) in the same orbit, so there is some uncertainty about which one was the object of Pioneer's near-miss. Pioneer 11 encountered Janus on September 1, 1979, at 14:52 UTC, at a distance of 2,500 km (1,600 mi). At 16:20 UTC the same day, Pioneer 11 encountered Mimas at a distance of 103,000 km (64,000 mi).
Besides Epimetheus, instruments located another previously undiscovered small moon and an additional ring, charted Saturn's magnetosphere and magnetic field, and found its planet-sized moon, Titan, to be too cold for life. Hurtling underneath the ring plane, the probe sent back pictures of Saturn's rings. The rings, which normally seem bright when observed from Earth, appeared dark in the Pioneer pictures, and the dark gaps in the rings seen from Earth appeared as bright rings.
=== Interstellar mission ===
On February 25, 1990, Pioneer 11 became the fourth human-made object to pass beyond the orbit of the planets.
By 1995, Pioneer 11 could no longer power any of its detectors, so the decision was made to shut it down. On September 29, 1995, NASA's Ames Research Center, responsible for managing the project, issued a press release that began, "After nearly 22 years of exploration out to the farthest reaches of the Solar System, one of the most durable and productive space missions in history will come to a close." It indicated NASA would use its Deep Space Network antennas to listen "once or twice a month" for the spacecraft's signal, until "some time in late 1996" when "its transmitter will fall silent altogether." NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin characterized Pioneer 11 as "the little spacecraft that could, a venerable explorer that has taught us a great deal about the Solar System and, in the end, about our own innate drive to learn. Pioneer 11 is what NASA is all about – exploration beyond the frontier." Besides announcing the end of operations, the dispatch provided a historical list of Pioneer 11 mission achievements.
NASA terminated routine contact with the spacecraft on September 30, 1995, but continued to make contact for about two hours every two to four weeks. Scientists received a few minutes of good engineering data on November 24, 1995, but then lost final contact once Earth moved out of view of the spacecraft's antenna.
=== Timeline ===
== Current status ==
Due to power constraints and the vast distance to the probe, the last routine contact with the spacecraft was on September 30, 1995, and the last good engineering data was received on November 24, 1995.
As of June 24, 2024, Pioneer 11 is estimated to be 113.121 AU (16.9227×10^9 km; 10.5153×10^9 mi) from the Earth and 114.089 AU (17.0675 billion km; 10.6052 billion mi) from the Sun. It was traveling at 11.155 km/s (40,160 km/h; 24,950 mph) relative to the Sun and traveling outward at about 2.35 AU per year. The spacecraft is heading in the direction of the constellation Scutum near the current position (June 2024) RA 18h 54m dec -8° 46' (J2000.0), close to Messier 26. In 928,000 years, it will pass within 0.25 parsecs (0.82 light-years) of the K dwarf TYC 992-192-1 and will pass near the star Lambda Aquilae in about four million years.
Pioneer 11 has been overtaken by the two Voyager probes launched in 1977. Voyager 1 has become the most distant object built by humans and will remain so for the foreseeable future, as no probe launched since Voyager has the speed to overtake it.
== Pioneer anomaly ==
Analysis of the radio tracking data from the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft at distances between 20 and 70 AU from the Sun had consistently indicated the presence of a small but anomalous Doppler frequency drift. The drift can be interpreted as due to a constant acceleration of (8.74 ± 1.33) × 10−10 m/s2 directed towards the Sun. Although it was suspected that there was a systematic origin to the effect, none was found. As a result, there has been sustained interest in the nature of this so-called "Pioneer anomaly". Extended analysis of mission data by Slava Turyshev and colleagues determined the source of the anomaly to be asymmetric thermal radiation and the resulting thermal recoil force acting on the face of the Pioneers away from the Sun.
== Pioneer plaque ==
Pioneer 10 and 11 both carry a gold-anodized aluminum plaque in the event that either spacecraft is ever found by intelligent lifeforms from other planetary systems. The plaques feature the nude figures of a human male and female along with several symbols that are designed to provide information about the origin of the spacecraft.
== Commemoration ==
In 1991, Pioneer 11 was honored on one of 10 United States Postage Service stamps commemorating uncrewed spacecraft exploring each of the then nine planets and the Moon. Pioneer 11 was the spacecraft featured with Jupiter. Pluto was listed as "Not yet explored".
== Gallery == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/317th_Fighter-Interceptor_Squadron | 317th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron | The 317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to Aerospace Defense Command, at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, where it was inactivated on 31 December 1969.
The squadron was first activated as the 317th Fighter Squadron during World War II. After training in the United States, it deployed to North Africa. In combat operations in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. It was withdrawn from combat from September to December 1943 while it equipped with different aircraft and moved from Africa to Italy. It earned two Distinguished Unit Citations before returning to the United States for inactivation.
The squadron returned to service as an air defense unit in 1947, serving in that role until inactivated in 1969.
== History ==
=== World War II ===
The squadron was first organized at Mitchel Field, New York on 3 August 1942 as one of the three original squadrons of the 325th Fighter Group, but moved the same day to Hillsgrove Army Air Field, Rhode Island. It equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks and trained for combat at Hillsgrove until late January 1943, when it began to deploy overseas.
The squadron arrived in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations in February and was established at its first combat station, Tafaraoui Airfield, Algeria by 28 February 1943. It flew its first combat mission on 17 April. It escorted medium bombers. It flew strafing missions and flew sweeps over the Mediterranean Sea from bases in Algeria and Tunisia. The squadron participated in the defeat of Axis forces in Tunisia. It participated in the reduction of Pantelleria and in Operation Husky, the invasion and conquest of Sicily. On 30 July, the 325th Group used diversionary tactics to lure a superior number of enemy planes into the air over Sardinia, destroying more than half of them. The squadron was awarded its first Distinguished Unit Citation for this action. In late September 1943, the squadron was withdrawn from combat to convert to Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and prepare to move to the Italian peninsula.
By early December 1943, the squadron began to operate its Thunderbolts from Foggia Airfield, Italy, flying its first mission with the new plane on 14 December. However, it only operated the P-47 for a short period, converting to North American P-51 Mustangs in March 1944, and moving to Lesina Airfield, Italy on the 29th of the month. However, on 30 January it flew its "T-Bolts" more than 300 miles at very low altitude to make a surprise attack on German interceptors defending airdromes near Villorba. The severe losses it inflicted on the defending forces enabled heavy bombers to attack vital targets in the area without encountering serious opposition. This action resulted in the second award of the Distinguished Unit Citation to the squadron.
It escorted the heavy bombers of Fifteenth Air Force on long range missions against the Daimler Benz factory in Berlin, the Messerschmitt factory in Regensburg and oil refineries near Vienna. It also flew escort for attacks on other targets, such as airfields and marshalling yards and lines of communication in Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania. It also protected reconnaissance aircraft and strafed trains, vehicles and airfields. The squadron continued operations until May 1945. The 317th was credited with the destruction of 209 enemy aircraft in air to air combat. After V-E Day, it moved to Vincenzo Airfield, Italy, remaining there until October, when it returned to the United States and was inactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey on 28 October.
=== Air Defense Command ===
In May 1947, the squadron was reactivated at Mitchel Field, New York and equipped with Northrop P-61 Black Widows. it moved to Moses Lake Air Force Base, Washington, the squadron was re-equipped with the new North American F-82 Twin Mustang in October 1948. The squadron was assigned for the defense of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Eastern Washington. One month later it was reassigned to Hamilton Air Force Base, California, and in April 1950, returned to McChord Air Force Base, Washington.
In 1951. the squadron was redesignated as the 317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, a component of the 25th Air Division, Air Defense Command, During the period between 1947 and 1956. the 317th flew the F-82. the Lockheed F-94 Starfire, and the North American F-86D Sabre interceptor. In 1955 and 1956, at Vincent Air Force Base, Yuma, Arizona, flying the F-86D, the 317th engaged in airborne rocket competition, breaking all records previously set. In August 1956 the squadron was selected as the best air defense unit in the Air Force and was awarded the Hughes Trophy, In addition, the squadron received its first Outstanding Unit Award for high combat readiness for the period of 1953 through 1956. In November 1956, the 317th began transitioning into the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger.
=== Alaskan Air Command ===
In November 1956, the 317th began transitioning into the F-102A Delta Dagger, becoming the second squadron to receive the new delta-winged supersonic aircraft. In August 1957, the 317th was reassigned in force, to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, where it assumed air defense mission of the southern portion of Alaska and the northwestern approaches to the United States.
In the summer of 1960. the 449th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and Ladd Air Force Base was closed. leaving the entire Alaska air defense mission to the 317th. To carry out this mission, the squadron was authorized 40 aircraft and 60 pilots. The squadron received its second Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for maintaining full combat readiness during and after the 1964 Alaska earthquake on 27 March 1964.
In the summer of 1965, the 317th was reduced to 29 aircraft and the manning reduced accordingly, but the air defense mission remained the same. In October 1965, the squadron was awarded the Hughes Trophy for the second time, and a third Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for combat readiness.
In December 1969, due to budget reductions, the 317th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated.
== Lineage ==
Constituted as the 317th Fighter Squadron on 24 June 1942
Activated on 3 August 1942.
Inactivated on 28 October 1945
Activated on 25 August 1947
Redesignated 317th Fighter Squadron (All Weather)' on 10 May 1948
Redesignated 317th Fighter-All Weather Squadron on 20 January 1950
Redesignated 317th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 1 May 1951
Inactivated on 31 December 1969
=== Assignments ===
=== Stations ===
=== Aircraft ===
=== Awards and campaigns === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand_national_football_team#Coaching_history | Thailand national football team#Coaching history | The Thailand national football team (Thai: ฟุตบอลทีมชาติไทย, RTGS: futbon thim chat thai, pronounced [fút.bɔ̄n tʰīːm t͡ɕʰâːt tʰāj]) represents Thailand in senior international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Thailand.
In the regional competition, Thailand is the most successful football team in Southeast Asia with seven ASEAN Championship trophies and nine senior-level gold medals from the Southeast Asian Games, the most of any Southeast Asian country. In higher levels, Thailand achieved the third place in the 1972 AFC Asian Cup where it was the host, and has a total of seven appearances in the AFC Asian Cup so far. Furthermore, the team reached the fourth-place in the 1990 and 1998 Asian Games and participated in the Summer Olympics twice. However, Thailand has failed to obtain higher achievements in the continental and global records. The team obtained their first win in the AFC Asian Cup in 2007 and had to wait 47 years to finally sneak out of the group stage in 2019. Thailand also advanced to the final round of World Cup qualification twice, in 2002 and 2018, but failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
== History ==
=== 1915–1995: dynastic establishment ===
The team's predecessor, which operated under the name of Siam, was founded in 1915 and played its first unofficial match against a team of Europeans at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club Stadium on 20 December that year. The team played its first international match in 1930 against the Indochina national team, which included both South Vietnamese and French players.
Thailand appeared in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, where their loss to Great Britain 0–9, was the largest to that point, thus failing to advance to the quarter-finals. In 1959, Thailand as the host won silver medals in the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games after losing 1–3 to South Vietnam in the final. In 1965, Thailand harbored its first distinct title: the very first place in the Southeast Asian Games. They made their second and latest appearance at the Summer Olympics in 1968, losing all three matches by at least 3 goals margin to Bulgaria, Guatemala, and Czechoslovakia hence en route to a first-round exit.
During the 1992 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Thailand gained a significant success defeating South Korea 2–1 and Bangladesh 1–0 to top the group and qualify to the 1992 AFC Asian Cup. The team's performance at the final tournament was drawing first two matches with Qatar and eventual 3rd place China then losing 0–4 to Saudi Arabia. In 1994, manager Thawatchai Sartjakul assembled a team that has been denounced as the "dream team" with players like Kiatisuk Senamuang, Tawan Sripan and Dusit Chalermsan.
=== 1996–2016: flag bearer of Southeast Asia ===
In 1996, Thailand defeated Malaysia 1–0 and win the 1996 AFF Championship for the first time. Thailand were favorites to regain the crown in 2007, 2008 and 2012 only to lose tight finals to Singapore and Vietnam respectively.
The regional 1998 AFF Championship saw Thailand met Indonesia in a match that ill-hearted players from both team deliberately making actions aimed to avoid facing hosts Vietnam in the semi-finals and undergoing technical burden of moving training bases from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. FIFA fined both teams $40,000 for "violating the spirit of the game". Thailand eventually lost the match, inevitably encountered and failed to Vietnam in the semi-finals.
Thailand consecutively qualified to and participated in two AFC Asian Cup final tournaments both held within Western Asia in 1996 and 2000 when their "dream team" was beginning its golden period. Coincidentally in both editions, the team's opponents all came from Western Asia and they are Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iran and Iraq, with the latter two share the same group with Thailand twice. In both editions, Thailand made two draws and lost the rest, bottomed the group stage of the first and is the worst third-placed team of the second edition.
The final 2000 AFF Championship match between Thailand and Indonesia, at a sold-out Rajamangala, was almost a carbon copy of their group stage encounter. The War Elephants triumphed 4–1 again with Worrawoot setting up camp at the opponents' goal. The 28-year-old scored twice in their first match and in the final struck a hat-trick in the first 32 minutes. In the final 2002 AFF Cup final, Thailand again met Indonesia (who was now the host) and won the game in penalty shootout despite taking a 2–0 lead.
Thailand again qualified to the 2004 AFC Asian Cup and was put into a group with Japan, Iran and debutant Oman. Despite vast experiences in the Asian Cup, the team has yet to show a sign of improvement as they lost all matches and became the worst-performed team in the whole tournament.
The sign of improvement only came in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup when Thailand participated as a well-prepared co-host and was placed with the debutant Australia, Oman, and Iraq. The team managed a draw to Iraq and a historic win over Oman. With 4 points ahead, Thailand's chance to qualify for the next round for the first time since 1972 was all but shattered by the likes of Australia in a 0–4 demolition. The tournament witnessed the end of Thailand's recognizable generation with later retirements of Kiatisuk, Tawan, and Pipat.
In September 2008, Thailand signed a four-year contract with the English coach Peter Reid but Reid left his position by mutual consent after only a year in charge as his team fail to clinch the championship of 2008 AFF Championship after 2–3 on aggregate lost to Vietnam in the finals.
In September 2009, Bryan Robson agreed to coach Thailand in his first foray into international football management and was contracted to manage the team through to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In November, Robson celebrated his first competitive match in charge of the team with an away victory against Singapore in a 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualifying group match but then lose to the same opponent back home. Then, two goalless draws with Jordan and Iran in January 2010 and an 0–1 away lost to Iran in March all effectively ended the chance of qualifying for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. In preparations for the 2010 AFF Championship, Robson led Thailand to victorious run against Singapore and Bob Houghton's India in a series of friendlies. However, when entering the tournament in December, he failed to bring Thailand past group A after managing only draws against Laos and Malaysia and losing to Indonesia. Robson resigned as Thailand's manager on 8 June 2011, citing health problems as the reason and was replaced by Winfried Schäfer, who would be the ninth German person to coach the Thailand team.
The new coach called up starlets for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and have the starting set of matches losing minimal to Australia, defeating Oman 3–0 and drawing Saudi Arabia but did not make it after losing to these teams altogether in the second set. In the 2012 AFF Championship, Thailand topped their group and surpassed Malaysia in the semi-finals but handed the crown to Singapore in the finals. In the 2015 Asian Cup qualification, Thailand showed a setback with its defensive frailties exposed by Middle Eastern rivals (Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon) when losing all 6 games in the qualifiers, conceding 21 goals in the process.
In June 2013, Schäfer canceled his contract. The FA of Thailand appointed the former player Kiatisuk Senamuang as the new caretaker coach for the national team. His first ride was a friendly against China PR on 15 June, which Thailand surprisingly won 5–1.
In 2014, Thailand ended a 12-year drought of the AFF Championship title from the late goals by Charyl Chappuis and Chanathip Songkrasin which gave them a dramatic 4–3 aggregate victory over Malaysia in the second leg of the finals at Bukit Jalil. The team did not lose any match up until the second leg of the finals and often featured a tiki-taka playing style, for instance including 27 consecutive passes during the first leg of the finals against Malaysia. Kiatisuk consequently became the first person to win the ASEAN Football Championship as both a player and a coach. Thailand succeeded in protecting AFF Championship reign two years later in 2016, defeating Indonesia 3–2 aggregately despite losing the first leg.
In 2015, evasion fuelled hope for both the players and Thailand fans of finally reaching the World Cup tournament and tension is mounting as the national team commenced AFC's second round for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. Teerasil Dangda, Thailand's renowned striker, rejoined the rank of the national team after his loan with UD Almería ended earlier. Drawn in Group F along with Chinese Taipei, Iraq and Vietnam, who Thailand played its first match home against on 24 May and can only be won by a victory goal from a shot 20 yards away. They played a much easier match at the same opponent's home soil, winning 3–0. Thailand won both matches against Chinese Taipei and drew 2–2 both matches against Iraq, allowing them to qualify for the next round as group F winners.
In the last round, Kiatisuk's men shared the same group with Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, UAE along with previous opponent, Iraq. Again, Thailand was eliminated without winning a match and recorded only two points out of ten matches.
=== 2017–present: aiming for continental success ===
==== Rajevac, Sirisak and Nishino ====
Since taking over the administration by Somyot Poompanmoung, FA Thailand aims to drive men's national football team to be one of the leading teams in Asia by which there are concrete 20 years development plans and preparations. After the elimination from World Cup qualifiers, Kiatisuk resigned and Thailand appointed Milovan Rajevac as a coach, thus marked the first non-Brazilian/German/English team's chief. With the new coach, however, Thailand failed to defend its AFF Championship title in 2018 when losing Malaysia in the semi-finals by the away goals rule.
Ahead of 2019 AFC Asian Cup, Thailand was drawn into group A together with the host UAE, Bahrain and India. Rajevac oversaw Thailand in the commencing 1–4 loss to India. The Serbian coach was sacked and his assistant, Sirisak Yodyardthai became the interim coach on 7 January. Sirisak guided Thailand to a 1–0 win over Bahrain and a 1–1 draw with the host UAE, enough to move on to the knockout stage of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 47 years. Their success was greeted with congratulation from the FA. Thailand encountered China in the round of sixteen, taking an early lead but eventually lost 2–1 as China make their decisive respond.
After finishing in the fourth place of 2019 King's Cup and losing the rival Vietnam in that tournament, Sirisak had resigned and FA Thailand appointed the Japanese coach Akira Nishino, who had brought Japan to the round of 16 of 2018 FIFA World Cup, for replacement. This was the first-ever Asian coach becoming Thailand's head coach. The team was drawn into group G of the second round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification with other three Southeast Asian rivals: Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia; along with United Arab Emirates. Despite defeating Indonesia 3–0 and UAE 2–1, Thailand failed to revenge Vietnam when getting goalless draws in both legs, while losing Malaysia 1–2 in Bukit Jalil. With these results, Thailand could only get the third place in group G after five qualifying matches. After a one-year disruption due to COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand and other teams in group G had to play their remaining matches in Dubai, UAE. However, the team suffered a huge loss of key players when Chanathip Songkrasin was injured, while Teerasil Dangda and Theerathon Bunmathan refused to participate the qualification due to various reasons. Without these three players, Thailand showed a poor performance in Dubai - drawn the bottom place team Indonesia 2–2, then lost the UAE 1–3 and Malaysia 0–1, respectively; which eventually pushed the team down to the fourth place of the group G. Nishino did not come back to Thailand to explain the team's failure, but unilaterally returning to Japan, which made FA Thailand appoint Anurak Srikerd as the caretaker and consider sacking Nishino in upcoming days. On 29 July 2021, shortly after Nishino came back to Thailand, FA Thailand decided to terminate the contract with Nishino.
==== Fruitful victories under Alexandré Pölking ====
On 28 September 2021, Brazilian Alexandré Pölking was appointed as the head coach of the Thailand national team, replacing Akira Nishino. Pölking's first task was the 2020 AFF Championship in December 2021 held in Singapore. Between 5 December 2021 and 1 January 2022, Polking accomplished the very task as he managed the War Elephants to win 6–2 on aggregate after being held to a 2–2 second-leg draw by Indonesia, guiding Thailand to win the AFF Championship for the sixth time. In the 2022 AFF Championship, Thailand defended their title on 16 January 2023, winning the tournament by a 3–2 aggregate score in the two-legged final against Vietnam to secure their seventh title.
In October 2023, Thailand embarked on a European tour playing two friendlies against Georgia and Estonia and with star players like Chanathip Songkrasin, Nicholas Mickelson and Ekanit Panya injured and club team refused to release Teerasil Dangda and Theerathon Bunmathan, Supachok Sarachat, Sarach Yooyen, Pansa Hemviboon for international duties, Thailand have to relies on inexperienced international players and also giving the opportunity for new young players a chance to touched up for the future international matches. On 12 October 2023, Thailand suffered their worst defeat in the 21st century losing against Georgia 8–0 at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium. In the next match against Estonia on 17 October, Jakkapan Praisuwan equalised it for Thailand for a hard fought 1–1 draw at the Lilleküla Stadium.
==== 2023 AFC Asian Cup ====
After a hurried attempt, Japanese manager Masatada Ishii was announced as Thailand's temporarily new head coach, with a contract lasted until the end of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup as he faced a daunting prospect of reviving the lacklustre Thai side to reach continental level. His first match, a friendly against his homeland Japan, saw Thailand thrashed 5–0 in the second half after an impressive first half display, increased negative feelings among Thai fans as the War Elephants faced a huge challenge in group F at the Asian Cup, with Saudi Arabia, Kyrgyzstan and Oman on the same boat.
However, Thailand started their Asian Cup campaign with a 2-0 win against Kyrgyzstan, marking Thailand's first win in an Asian Cup opening match. Thailand's next match was against Oman, who performed well over the past three years and whose manager, Branko Ivanković, who had never lost to Thailand in his coaching career. However, Thailand resolutely defended throughout the match, resulting in a scoreless tie, giving Thailand four points and an early progression to the knockout stage. Thailand would then go on to produce its most famous game in their modern Asian Cup history against Saudi Arabia in the final group stage match, including a famous penalty save by Saranon Anuin resulting in another scoreless draw, ending their losing streak that started in 2012 to the same opponent and, for the first time ever, Thailand gained a shutout record in the Asian Cup group stage. However, Thailand failed to end their knockout stage losing streak record in the Asian Cup, losing 2–1 to Uzbekistan in the round of 16 to equal their 2019 run. Despite this exit, Thailand's performance in the tournament earned the team significant praise, and Masatada Ishii was appointed on a permanent basis, with the aim to help Thailand to qualify for the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualification and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
==== 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying ====
The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification saw Thailand drawn in group C against South Korea, China and Singapore, with the target to be winning the second place to advance to the final round. However, Thailand would get off to a disastrous start, flopping at home to China 2–1 despite opened the scoring by Sarach Yooyen. This home loss ultimately sealed Pölking's fate, despite a 3–1 away victory over Singapore which moved Thailand up to second place; with the Brazilian sacked for failing to meet expectations.
After the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, Thailand played two more qualifiers, both against South Korea, in March 2024. On 21 March 2024, Thailand managed to earn a surprise 1–1 draw in front of 64,912 fans in Seoul, but would later lose 3–0 at home to the same opponents. Thailand would end their qualification campaign in June undefeated, notably with a 1–1 draw away to China, before managing to overcome Singapore 3–1; yet their inability to convert scoring opportunities, as well as giving up a late goal in their draw with China, sealed Thailand's fate. The team did not advance to the next phase and finished behind China based on head-to-head results, as both teams ended with the same goal difference and points total.
== Team image ==
=== Colours ===
In older days, the primary kits worn are all red.
Thailand national team used to play with a kit made by local provider FBT. This contract lasted until June 2007.
In July 2007, Nike became kit providers, and from October that year, the team played in an all-yellow home kit in honour of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 80th birthday (yellow being the royal color), having used two other yellow kits in friendlies against China on 16 May 2007 and Qatar on 2 July 2007.
From October 2012 through 2016, Nike was replaced by Grand Sport in a deal worth 96M baht (3.1M USD). The new home kit of Thailand reverted to all-red and the away kit to all-blue. However, the order was reversed from the 2014 AFF Championship onward.
In September 2016, the national team signed a four-year contract with Warrix Sports to be their kit provider from 2017. On 4 January 2017, the new provider introduced a new pair of Thailand kits that was all black home and all white away, honouring their late King Bhumibol for a year after his passing, with black and white being the traditional Thai colors of mourning.
In March 2018, Warrix returned Thailand to the all-blue first, all-red second kits with an addition of a white-black third kit.
In December 2018, a new, darker version of blue, red kits and an all white third kit were presented for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup campaign and the rest of 2019. For the 2019 King's Cup in May, Warrix released the kit consisting of a yellow shirt with white shorts and socks – yellow reportedly being the favorite color of the newly crowned King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Thailand wore black again in November 2025 after the passing of Queen Sirikit.
=== Rivalries ===
==== Notable rivalries ====
Thailand has rivalries with Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. These rivalries are rooted in geographical proximity.
Thailand's greatest rival is Malaysia, the two teams having played each other 107 times. Before Malaysia fell into football scandal that weakened the country's football development from the 1990s to 2018, Malaysia was Thailand's most annoying and difficult opponent in the region. Despite the football scandal, Thailand have not defeated the Malaysians on their home turf since 1971. Thailand have better records in international football competitions than the Malaysians.
Indonesia has met Thailand in three finals of the AFF Championship at 2000, 2002 and 2016, and Thailand all triumphed at the expense of Indonesia. It's been said that while Thailand was able to elevate its position to become a more serious Asian competitor, Indonesia fell into mismanagement and matches between two teams also began to lose its importance.
The rivalry between Thailand and Singapore is a newer one and its importance can be emphasized by the domination of both countries in the AFF Championship with Thailand winning five times and Singapore winning four. Up until 2012, Singapore and Thailand have been the more dominant forces in Southeast Asian football. Football development in both countries have been different with Thailand relies mostly on its own domestically developed players while Singapore has been reliant on naturalized players.
Thailand's rivalry with Vietnam has developed differently from times. During the time of South Vietnam and North Vietnam, Thailand had a poorer performance with the team only won 5 matches against the South Vietnamese. However, when Vietnam rejoined international football at 1991, Thailand has been more dominant than their eastern rival.
When Myanmar was still a football power, it was Thailand's first-ever rival, owned by the history of the Burmese–Siamese wars which led to a nationalist fervor among Thai fans with its desire to beat the Burmese. But with Myanmar weakened following the reign of Ne Win and junta, Thailand improved and since 1983, holds an undefeated streak over its western rival. The rivalry today only serves mostly in the memoir of Burmese fans who are nostalgic to an era when Myanmar was still a leading football power, while for some Thai fans, they have more important opponents to concentrate on.
=== Home ground ===
Most of Thailand home matches took place in Rajamangala National Stadium in Bang Kapi District of Bangkok. Built for the 1998 Asian Games, the stadium is the largest sporting facility in Thailand with a capacity of 49,749, all seated. International matches are also occasionally played at Supachalasai Stadium, 700th Anniversary Stadium, 80th Birthday Stadium, Thammasat Stadium, Chang Arena, BG Stadium and Thunderdome Stadium.
== Results and fixtures ==
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win
Draw
Loss
Fixture
=== 2024 ===
=== 2025 ===
=== 2026 ===
== Coaching staff ==
=== Coaching history ===
=== Statistical summary ===
As of 18 November 2025 after the match against Sri Lanka.
== Players ==
=== Current squad ===
The following 23 players were named in the squad for the2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification against Turkmenistan on 31 March 2026.
Caps and goals as of 18 November 2025, after the match against Sri Lanka.
=== Recent call-ups ===
The following players have been called up within the last 12 months.
== Player records ==
As of 18 November 2025
Players in bold are still active with Thailand.
=== Most appearances ===
=== Top goalscorers ===
== Competitive record ==
=== FIFA World Cup ===
=== AFC Asian Cup ===
=== ASEAN Championship ===
=== Olympic Games ===
=== Asian Games ===
=== Southeast Asian Games ===
Notes
1 : The title was shared.
* : Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
== Head-to-head record ==
As of 18 November 2025
== Honours ==
=== Continental ===
AFC Asian Cup
Third place (1): 1972
=== Regional ===
ASEAN Championship
Champions (7): 1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022
Runners-up (4): 2007, 2008, 2012, 2024
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal (9): 1965s, 1975, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999
Silver medal (4): 1959, 1969, 1977, 1991
Bronze medal (5): 1961, 1967, 1971, 1979, 1987
=== Friendly ===
King's Cup (15): 1976s, 1979, 1980s, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2017, 2024
Indonesian Independence Cup (1): 1994
VFF Vietnam International Friendly Cup (2): 2006, 2008
3 Nations in Taiwan (1): 1971
4 Nations in Indochina (1): 1989
Brunei Games (1): 1990
=== Summary ===
Only official honours are included, according to FIFA statutes (competitions organized/recognized by FIFA or an affiliated confederation).
Notes
s Shared titles. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Pie_(song) | American Pie (song) | "American Pie" is a song by American singer and songwriter Don McLean. Recorded and released in 1971 on the album of the same name, the single was the number-one US hit for four weeks in 1972 starting January 15 after just eight weeks on the US Billboard charts (where it entered at number 69). The song also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In the United Kingdom, the single reached number 2, where it stayed for three weeks on its original 1971 release, and a reissue in 1991 reached No. 12. The song was listed as the No. 5 song on the RIAA project Songs of the Century. A truncated version of the song was covered by Madonna in 2000 and reached No. 1 in at least 15 countries, including the UK, Canada, and Australia. At 8 minutes and 42 seconds, McLean's combined version is the sixth longest song to enter the Billboard Hot 100 (at the time of release it was the longest). The song also held the record for almost 50 years for being the longest song to reach number one before Taylor Swift's "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" broke the record in 2021. Due to its exceptional length, it was initially released as a two-sided 7-inch single. "American Pie" has been described as "one of the most successful and debated songs of the 20th century".
The repeated phrase "the day the music died" refers to a plane crash in 1959 that killed early rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, ending the era of early rock and roll; this became the popular nickname for that crash. The theme of the song goes beyond mourning McLean's childhood music heroes, reflecting the deep cultural changes and profound disillusion and loss of innocence of his generation – the early rock and roll generation – that took place between the 1959 plane crash and either late 1969 or late 1970. The meaning of the other lyrics, which cryptically allude to many of the jarring events and social changes experienced during that period, has been debated for decades. McLean repeatedly declined to explain the symbolism behind the many characters and events mentioned; he eventually released his songwriting notes to accompany the original manuscript when it was sold in 2015, explaining many of these. McLean further elaborated on the lyrical meaning in a 2022 documentary celebrating the song's 50th anniversary, in which he stated the song was driven by impressionism, and debunked some of the more widely speculated symbols.
In 2017, McLean's original recording was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". To mark the 50th anniversary of the song, McLean performed a 35-date tour through Europe, starting in Wales and ending in Austria, in 2022.
== Background ==
Don McLean drew inspiration for the song from his childhood experience delivering newspapers during the time of the plane crash that killed early rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper:
I first found out about the plane crash because I was a 13-year-old newspaper delivery boy in New Rochelle, New York, and I was carrying the bundle of the local Standard-Star papers that were bound in twine, and when I cut it open with a knife, there it was on the front page.
McLean reportedly wrote "American Pie" in Saratoga Springs, New York, at Caffè Lena, but a 2011 New York Times article quotes McLean as disputing this claim. Some employees at Caffè Lena claim that he started writing the song there, and then continued to write the song in both Cold Spring, New York, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. McLean claims that the song was only written in Cold Spring and Philadelphia. Tin & Lint, a bar on Caroline Street in Saratoga Springs, claims the song was written there, and a plaque marks the table. While a 2022 documentary on the history of the song claims Saint Joseph's University as where the song was first performed, McLean insists that the song made its debut in Philadelphia at Temple University when he opened for Laura Nyro on March 14, 1971.
The song was produced by Ed Freeman and recorded with a few session musicians. Freeman did not want McLean to play rhythm guitar on the song but eventually relented. McLean and the session musicians rehearsed for two weeks but failed to get the song right. At the last minute, the pianist Paul Griffin was added, which is when the tune came together. McLean used a 1969 or 1970 Martin D-28 guitar to provide the basic chords throughout "American Pie".
The song debuted on the album American Pie in October 1971 and was released as a single in November. The song's eight-and-a-half-minute length meant that it could not fit entirely on one side of the 45 RPM record, so United Artists had the first 4:11 taking up the A-side of the record and the final 4:31 the B-side. Radio stations initially played the A-side of the song only, but soon switched to the full album version to satisfy their audiences.
Upon the single release, Cash Box called it "folk-rock's most ambitious and successful epic endeavor since 'Alice's Restaurant.'" Record World called it a "monumental accomplishment of lyric writing".
=== Interpretations ===
The song has nostalgic themes, stretching from the late 1950s until late 1969 or 1970. Except to acknowledge that he first learned about Buddy Holly's death on February 3, 1959 – McLean was age 13 – when he was folding newspapers for his paper route on the morning of February 4, 1959 (hence the line "February made me shiver/with every paper I'd deliver"), McLean has generally avoided responding to direct questions about the song's lyrics; he has said: "They're beyond analysis. They're poetry." He also stated in an editorial published in 2009, on the 50th anniversary of the crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson (all of whom are alluded to in the final verse in a comparison with the Christian Holy Trinity), that writing the first verse of the song exorcised his long-running grief over Holly's death and that he considers the song to be "a big song... that summed up the world known as America". McLean dedicated the American Pie album to Holly.
Some commentators have identified the song as outlining the darkening of cultural mood, as over time the cultural vanguard passed from Pete Seeger and Joan Baez (the "King and Queen" of folk music), then from Elvis Presley (known as "the King" of Rock and Roll), to Bob Dylan ("the Jester" – who wore a jacket similar to that worn by cultural icon James Dean, was known as "the voice of his generation" ("a voice that came from you and me"), and whose motorcycle accident ("in a cast") left him in reclusion for many years, recording in studios rather than touring ("on the sidelines")), to the Beatles (John Lennon, punned with Vladimir Lenin, and "the Quartet" – although McLean has stated the Quartet is a reference to other people), to the Byrds (who wrote one of the first psychedelic rock songs, "Eight Miles High", and then "fell fast" – the song was banned, band member Gene Clark entered rehabilitation, known colloquially as a "fallout shelter", and shortly after, the group declined as it lost members, changed genres, and alienated fans), to the Rolling Stones (who released Their Satanic Majesties Request and the singles "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Sympathy for the Devil" ("Jack Flash", "Satan", "The Devil"), and used the Hells Angels – "Angels born in Hell" – as Altamont event security, with fatal consequences, bringing the 1960s to a violent end), and to Janis Joplin (the "girl who sang the blues" but just "turned away" – she died of a heroin overdose the following year).
It has also been speculated that the song contains numerous references to post-World War II American political events, such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy (known casually as "Jack"), First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy ("his widowed bride"), and subsequent killing of his assassin (whose courtroom trial obviously ended as a result ["adjourned"]), the Cuban Missile Crisis ("Jack be nimble, Jack be quick"), the murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, and elements of culture such as sock hops ("kicking off shoes" to dance, preventing damage to the varnished floor), cruising with a pickup truck, the rise of the political protest song ("a voice that came from you and me"), drugs and the counterculture, the Manson Family and the Tate–LaBianca murders in the "summer swelter" of 1969 (the Beatles' song "Helter Skelter") and much more.
Apparent allusions to notable 50s songs include Don Cornell's The Bible Tells Me So ("If the Bible tells you so?"), Marty Robbins's A White Sport Coat, the lonely teenager ("With a pink carnation") mirroring Robbins's narrator who is rejected in favor of another man for the prom, and The Monotones' The Book of Love ("Did you write the book of love").
Many additional and alternative interpretations have also been proposed.
For example, Bob Dylan's first performance in Great Britain was also at a pub called "The King and Queen", and he also appeared more literally "on the sidelines in a (the) cast" – as one of many stars at the back far right of the cover art of the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ("the Sergeants played a marching tune").
The song title itself is a reference to apple pie, an unofficial symbol of the United States and one of its signature comfort foods, as seen in the popular expression "As American as apple pie". By the twentieth century, this had become a symbol of American prosperity and national pride.
The original United Artists Records inner sleeve featured a free verse poem written by McLean about William Boyd, also known as Hopalong Cassidy, along with a picture of Boyd in full Hopalong regalia. Its inclusion in the album was interpreted to represent a sense of loss of a simplistic type of American culture as symbolized by Hopalong Cassidy and by extension black and white television as a whole.
Mike Mills of R.E.M. reflected: "'American Pie' just made perfect sense to me as a song and that's what impressed me the most. I could say to people this is how to write songs. When you've written at least three songs that can be considered classic that is a very high batting average and if one of those songs happens to be something that a great many people think is one of the greatest songs ever written you've not only hit the top of the mountain but you've stayed high on the mountain for a long time."
=== McLean's responses ===
When asked what "American Pie" meant, McLean jokingly replied, "It means I don't ever have to work again if I don't want to." Later, he stated, "You will find many interpretations of my lyrics but none of them by me... Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence." He also commented on the popularity of his music, "I didn't write songs that were just catchy, but with a point of view, or songs about the environment."
In February 2015, however, McLean announced he would reveal the meaning of the lyrics to the song when the original manuscript went for auction in New York City, in April 2015. The lyrics and notes were auctioned on April 7, 2015, and sold for $1.2 million. In the sale catalogue notes, McLean revealed the meaning in the song's lyrics: "Basically in 'American Pie' things are heading in the wrong direction. It [life] is becoming less idyllic. I don't know whether you consider that wrong or right but it is a morality song in a sense." The catalogue confirmed that the song climaxes with a description of the killing of Meredith Hunter at the Altamont Free Concert, ten years after the plane crash that killed Holly, Valens, and Richardson, and did acknowledge that some of the more well-known symbols in the song were inspired by figures such as Elvis Presley ("the king") and Bob Dylan ("the jester").
In 2017, Bob Dylan was asked about how he was referenced in the song. "A jester? Sure, the jester writes songs like 'Masters of War', 'A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall', 'It's Alright, Ma' – some jester. I have to think he's talking about somebody else. Ask him."
In 2022, the documentary The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean's American Pie, produced by Spencer Proffer, was released on the Paramount+ video on-demand service. Proffer said that he told McLean: "It's time for you to reveal what 50 years of journalists have wanted to know." McLean stated that he "needed a big song about America", and the first verse and melody ("A long, long time ago...") seemed to just come to mind.
McLean also answered some of the long-standing questions on the song's lyrics, although not all. He revealed that Presley was not the king referenced in the song, Joplin was not the "girl who sang the blues", and Dylan was not the jester, although he is open to other interpretations. He explained that the "marching band" refers to the military–industrial complex, "sweet perfume" refers to tear gas, and Los Angeles is the "coast" that the Trinity head to ("caught the last train for the coast"), commenting "even God has been corrupted". He also said that the line "This'll be the day that I die" originated from the John Wayne film The Searchers (which inspired Buddy Holly's song "That'll Be the Day"), and the chorus's line "Bye-bye, Miss American Pie" was inspired by a song by Pete Seeger, "Bye Bye, My Roseanna". McLean had originally intended to use "Miss American apple pie", but "apple" was dropped.
On the whole, McLean stated that the lyrics were meant to be impressionist, and that many of the lyrics, only a portion of which were included in the finished recording, were completely fictional with no basis in real-life events.
== Personnel ==
Credits from Richard Buskin, except where noted.
=== Musicians ===
Don McLean – vocals, acoustic guitar
David Spinozza – electric guitar
Paul Griffin – piano, clavinet
Bob Rothstein – bass, backing vocals
Roy Markowitz – drums, tambourine
The final chorus features multi-tracked backing vocals, credited in the album's sleeve notes to the "West Forty Fourth Street Rhythm and Noise Choir". Although the individual choristers have never been publicly named, producer Ed Freeman has claimed that the choir included Pete Seeger, James Taylor, Livingston Taylor and Carly Simon.
=== Technical ===
Ed Freeman – producer
Tom Flye – engineer
Photography/artwork – George Whiteman
== Charts ==
== Certifications ==
== Parodies, revisions, and uses ==
In 1999, "Weird Al" Yankovic wrote and recorded a parody of "American Pie". Titled "The Saga Begins", the song recounts the plot of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace from Obi-Wan Kenobi's point of view. While McLean gave permission for the parody, he did not make a cameo appearance in its video, despite popular rumor. McLean himself praised the parody, even admitting to almost singing Yankovic's lyrics during his own live performances because his children played the song so often. An unrelated comedy film franchise by Universal Pictures, who secured the rights to McLean's title, also debuted in 1999.
"American Pie" was the last song to be played on Virgin Radio before it was rebranded as Absolute Radio in 2008. It was also the last song played on BFBS Malta in 1979.
In 2012, the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, created a lip dub video to "American Pie" in response to a Newsweek article that stated the city was "dying". (Due to licensing issues, the version used in the video was not the original, but rather a later-recorded live version.) The video was hailed as a fantastic performance by many, including film critic Roger Ebert, who said it was "the greatest music video ever made".
In 2013, Harmonix announced that "American Pie" would be the final downloadable track made available for the Rock Band series of music video games. This was the case until Rock Band 4 was released in 2015, reviving the series' downloadable content.
On March 14, 2015, the National Museum of Mathematics announced that one of two winners of its songwriting contest was "American Pi" by mathematics education professor Dr. Lawrence M. Lesser. The contest was in honor of "Pi Day of the Century" because "3/14/15" would be the only day in the 21st-century showing the first five digits of π (pi).
In 2015, John Mayer covered "American Pie" live on the Late Show with David Letterman, at the request of the show's eponymous host.
In 2021, McLean released a re-recording of "American Pie" featuring lead vocals by country a cappella group Home Free.
In 2023, during his visit to the United States, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol sang the song at a state dinner. Afterwards Don McLean humorously offered to perform a duet version with Yoon.
In the 2006 film Love Comes to the Executioner, Jeremy Renner sings an a cappella version as his character walks to the execution chamber. The song was featured in the 2021 film Black Widow. It is the favorite song of the character Yelena Belova, and is sung by Red Guardian later in the film to comfort her. That same year it was featured in the film Finch.
== Madonna version ==
=== Background and release ===
American singer Madonna recorded a cover version of "American Pie" for the soundtrack of her film The Next Best Thing (2000). Her cover is much shorter than the original, containing only the beginning of the first verse and all of the second and sixth verses. Reworked as a dance-pop track, it was produced by Madonna and William Orbit. It was recorded in September 1999 in New York City, after Rupert Everett, Madonna's co-star in The Next Best Thing, convinced her to cover the song for the film's soundtrack. Madonna said of her choice to cover the song: "To me, it's a real millennium song. We're going through a big change in terms of the way we view pop culture, because of the Internet. In a way, it's like saying goodbye to music as we knew it—and to pop culture as we knew it." "American Pie" was released as the lead single from The Next Best Thing on February 8, 2000, by Maverick Records and Warner Bros. Records.
"American Pie" was later included as an international bonus track on her eighth studio album, Music (2000). However, it was not included on her greatest hits compilation GHV2 (2001), as Madonna had regretted putting it on Music, elaborating: "It was something a certain record company executive twisted my arm into doing, but it didn't belong on the album so now it's being punished... My gut told me not to [put the song on Music], but I did it and then I regretted it so just for that reason it didn't deserve a place on GHV2". A remix of the song was featured on her remix compilation album Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones (2022).
=== Reception ===
"American Pie" was an international hit, reaching number one in numerous countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Iceland, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Finland. The song was the 19th-best-selling single of 2000 in the UK and the ninth best-selling single of 2000 in Sweden. The single was not released commercially in the United States, but it reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to strong radio airplay.
Despite the commercial success, the cover received mixed reviews from music critics. Chuck Taylor of Billboard was impressed by the recording and commented, "Applause to Madonna for not pandering to today's temporary trends and for challenging programmers to broaden their playlists. ... In all, a fine preview of the forthcoming soundtrack to The Next Best Thing." Peter Robinson of The Guardian called the cover as "brilliant". Don McLean himself praised the cover, saying it was "a gift from a goddess", and that her version is "mystical and sensual". NME, on the other hand, gave it a negative review, saying that "Killdozer did it first and did it better", that it was "sub-karaoke fluff" and that "it's a blessing she didn't bother recording the whole thing." It was rated number 3 in both a 2011 Rolling Stone reader poll and a 2023 A.V. Club article ranking the worst cover songs of all time. It was the only song to appear in the top five on both lists.
In 2017, the Official Charts Company stated the song had sold 400,000 copies in the United Kingdom and was her 16th best selling single to date in the nation.
=== Music video ===
The music video, filmed in the southern United States and in London, and directed by Philipp Stölzl, depicts a diverse array of ordinary Americans, including scenes showing same-sex couples kissing. Throughout the music video Madonna, who is wearing a tiara on her head, dances and sings in front of a large American flag.
Two versions of the video were produced, the first of which was released as the official video worldwide, and later appeared on Madonna's Celebration: The Video Collection (2009). The second version used the "Humpty Remix", a more upbeat and dance-friendly version of the song. The latter aired on MTV in the US to promote The Next Best Thing; it features different footage and new outtakes of the original while omitting the lesbian kiss. Everett, who provides backing vocals in the song, is also featured in the video.
=== Formats and track listings ===
=== Credits and personnel ===
Credits are adapted from the liner notes for "American Pie".
Madonna – vocals, production
William Orbit – production, guitar, drums, keyboard
Don McLean – songwriting
Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
Rupert Everett – backing vocals
Mark Endert – engineering
Sean Spuehler – engineering, programming
Jake Davies – engineering
Rico Conning – sequencer programming
Dah Len – photography
=== Charts ===
=== Certifications ===
=== Release history ===
=== Notes === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abilene_Christian_University | Abilene Christian University | Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a private Christian research university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as an R2 (High Research Spending and Doctorate Production) institution. It was founded in 1906 as Childers Classical Institute. It is affiliated with Churches of Christ.
== History ==
The Churches of Christ in Abilene founded it as a Christian university for West Texas. Childers Classical Institute opened in 1906, with 25 students. It initially included a lower school starting in the seventh grade.
When Jesse P. Sewell became president of the institute in 1912, the school began using Abilene Christian College on all its printed material. In 1920, the school formally changed the name.
The Optimist, the university's student-produced newspaper, was founded in 1912. The Prickly Pear, the school yearbook, was founded in 1916. The campus literary-arts magazine (now The Shinnery Review, formerly The Pickwicker) has been in production since 1933.
Abilene Christian College first received school accreditation in 1951, when it became an accredited member of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Amberton University, previously Amber University, was created as an extension campus of Abilene Christian University. It was launched in Mesquite, Texas, in 1971, moving to Garland, Texas, in 1974. It became a separate institution as Amber University in 1982, and was rechristened Amberton University in 2001. Like Abilene Christian University, Amberton remains affiliated with the Churches of Christ.
On February 22, 1976, the name of Abilene Christian College was changed to Abilene Christian University. The university celebrated its centennial in the 2005–06 school year. In July 2015, the university signed a lease for an expansion campus located in Addison, Texas. Called ACU Dallas, the new campus began offering several new graduate programs, including an MBA and Ed.D. in organizational leadership.
=== Discrimination ===
The university was officially segregated, for white students only, until 1962, when Billy Curl became the first black student to enroll. The university currently bars employees, but not students, from dating people of the same sex. In 2016 the university recognized Voice, an LGBT student association.
=== Presidents ===
Allen Booker Barret (1906–08)
H. C. Darden (1908–1909)
Robertson Lafayette Whiteside (1909–1911)
James F. Cox (1911–1912)[2]
Jesse Parker Sewell (1912–1924)
Batsell Baxter (1924–1932)
James F. Cox (1932–1940)
Don H. Morris (1940–1969)
John C. Stevens (1969–1981)
William J. Teague (1981–1991)
Royce Money (1991 – May 31, 2010)
Phil Schubert (June 1, 2010–present)
== Academics ==
=== Academic structure ===
In 2022, ACU announced major changes to the academic structure that resulted in the creation of three new colleges. While the total number of colleges went unchanged, the reorganization was implemented to assist the university in marketing itself as a national university.
=== Accreditation ===
ACU is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. ACU's business programs are professionally accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), the Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, the Social Work programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, the Education programs are accredited by Teacher Education Accreditation Council and the Marriage and Family Therapy programs are accredited by Commission on the Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education. The Department of Journalism and Mass Communication is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. The ACU School of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). ACU Graduate School of Theology is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS).
== Traditions ==
The Prickly Pear. From 1916 to 2009, this was the yearbook. The name was taken from Opuntia, a species of cactus native to the Abilene and West Texas area, commonly referred to as "prickly pear".
Sing Song. Since 1956, this annual competition in mid-February has featured student groups of 30–100 people, singing themed a cappella medleys, usually satirical. Originating as a fundraiser for the school, the modern event has developed into a major show for which each group assembles costumes related to their act's theme, such as Peter Pan, the British Royal Guard, Coca-Cola, Adam and Eve, or forest fires. Often the costumes involve a mid-performance quick-change to a second costume—such as the 1987 acts in which grapes turned into raisins or bananas peeled to reveal Carmen Miranda—or elaborate choreography within the risers, as when the 1983 freshman class act recreated a Pac-Man screen and manipulated their costumes so that the character appeared to move around the screen. The men of Galaxy and the women of Sigma Theta Chi currently hold the records for most wins of a men's club and women's club, respectively.
Summit. Referred to as Lectureship until the 2008 school year. Begun in 1918, this annual program gathers thousands of attendees for lectures and workshops on religious topics connected with a biblical theme that changes each year. After many years of following directly after Sing Song, the lectureship moved in 2006 to a September event, in part to spread out the events that bring the most visitors to campus and also to take advantage of the more stable autumn climate, as winter storms and rain had hindered attendance on multiple occasions.
== Abilene Christian University Press ==
ACU is one of only seven faith-based institutions with a press. ACU Press, founded in 1983 to print books about Churches of Christ theology, is now a member of the Association of American University Presses, printing books about Christian Higher Education, West Texas History and Christian Living as well as theology. Along with its trade imprint, Leafwood Publishers, the press publishes an average of 36 titles per year. Among its notable authors are Rubel Shelly, Rick Ostrander, Darryl Tippens, Edward Fudge, Larry M. James and Walt McDonald.
== Student media ==
The school established an NPR station, KACU, in 1986. Initially, the community was concerned that the school might use the station for proselytizing, and for the station's first ten years, an advisory board composed of community members served to monitor the station against this possibility.
The Optimist, a converged student media operation, produces student-led news media.
== Research ==
In August 2022 the ACU applied to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a construction licence for a molten salt research reactor for which it plans to achieve criticality by December 2025.
== Athletics ==
Formerly a charter member of the Division I Southland Conference, Abilene Christian joined the Lone Star Conference (LSC) of Division II of the NCAA in 1973.
In 2007, the LSC included 33 ACU current and former student athletes in its 75-member all-sports team commemorating the conference's 75th anniversary. Through 2009, ACU is fourth in NCAA history in team national championships won with 57, trailing Division I schools UCLA, Stanford, and USC, and tied with Division III school Kenyon College.
In 2012, Abilene Christian received NCAA permission to compete in Division I FCS football and was under consideration for reattachment to the Southland Conference. On August 25, 2012, Abilene Christian's board of trustees accepted Southland's invitation to rejoin the conference effective with the start of the 2013–14 academic year.
On Wednesday, August 23, 2017, the NCAA Board of Directors voted to pass ACU through to full Division I status, thus making them eligible for postseason play.
In 2021, ACU left the Southland for the Western Athletic Conference. After the 2022 football season, ACU football joined the newly formed United Athletic Conference, a merger of the football leagues of the WAC and the ASUN Conference. The two all-sports conferences had partnered in a football-only alliance in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
=== Athletic achievements ===
The men's track and field program has won 32 NCAA National Track and Field Championships: 19 NCAA outdoor and 13 indoor.
The women's track and field program has won 22 national championships: 12 indoor and 10 outdoor.
The Wildcats were NAIA national football champions in 1973 and 1977.
Before the NCAA invalidated its 2007 season, nine ACU football players were included in the LSC's 75th-anniversary list of top players in conference history. The school's 2007 victories were vacated by the NCAA in 2009. The NCAA charged "two assistant football coaches helped a pair of players find an English correspondence class to take, enroll in the same course, allowed them to use the coaches' school computers for writing papers and paid to mail the assignments." The school had scored more than 40 points in 11 of its 13 games and more than 50 points in 7 games and 70 or more points in two games including a 73–76 three overtime loss to Chadron State in the second round of the NCAA playoffs.
In 2008, the Wildcats "set a record for points in an NCAA (football) playoff game, beating West Texas A&M 93-68 in the second round of the Division II playoffs."
Ove Johansson kicked the longest field goal in college football history (69 yards) in 1976, 1 yard longer than the current NFL record. As of 2024 it remains the longest field goal ever kicked in any level of football competition and is an unbroken world record.
Olympic athletes from ACU include Bobby Morrow, three-time 1956 gold medal winner; Earl Young, 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the 4x400 relay; Billy Olson, who made the 1980 and 1988 U.S. teams but did not compete in 1980 due to President Carter's decision to boycott the Games; Yolande Straughn, who competed in 1988 for Barbados; and James Browne, 1988 competitor for Antigua.
ESPN and NFL Network analyst and author Sean Adams is a former NCAA All-American athlete for ACU.
== Social clubs ==
The school has a number of student organizations called "social clubs" that are equivalent to a fraternity or sorority on other college campuses.
== Notable alumni ==
=== Academia and religion ===
Kent Brantly, doctor and missionary
Don Finto, pastor and author
Edward Fudge, theologian
Sally Gary, author
V. E. Howard, minister
Robert Kelley, president of the University of North Dakota
H. Jeff Kimble, professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology
David Leeson (1978), journalist
Dale Martin, bible scholar
Barry McCarty, national radio host and former president of Cincinnati Christian University
John W. Pilley, behavioral psychologist
James Tabor, scholar of early Christianity and Second-Temple Judaism
Hugh M. Tiner, president of Pepperdine University
R. Gerald Turner, president of Southern Methodist University
Thomas B. Warren, minister
M. Norvel Young, president of Pepperdine University
=== Business ===
Gordon Bethune, former CEO of Continental Airlines
David Sampson, President and CEO of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America
Monty Taylor, cloud computing executive, co-founder of OpenStack
=== Entertainment and media ===
Nelson Coates, film production designer
Chris Christian, record producer, recording artist, songwriter
Bonnie Curtis, film producer
Jody Dean, news anchor of KTVT-TV, Dallas, Texas
Holly Dunn, musician and painter
Ronnie Dunn, singer and songwriter
Micah P. Hinson, singer and songwriter
Billie Hughes, recording artist and songwriter
Daniel Johnston, singer and songwriter – attended ACU in his first year of college
Stephen Mansfield, author
Max Lucado, author
TJ McCloud, singer-songwriter
Aaron Watson, musician
Zane Williams, musician
Big Pokey, musician
Merritt Tierce, short-story author, story editor, essayist, pro-choice activist, novelist, and television writer.
Jerry Haymes, recording artist, songwriter, producer
Gary G. Hamilton, television journalist and producer
=== Politics and government ===
Jeffrey S. Boyd, Justice of the Texas Supreme Court,
Janice Hahn, member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors; former member of the United States House of Representatives; former Los Angeles City Councilwoman
Robert Dean Hunter, vice-president emeritus of ACU; member of the Texas House of Representatives, District 71 (1986–2007)
Robert L. Pitman, lawyer, former United States Attorney; former United States Magistrate Judge; United States federal judge
Ted Poe, former Harris County, Texas, judge; member of the United States House of Representatives
Jack Pope, lawyer, judge, and Supreme Court of Texas Chief Justice, 1982–1985
Jack Scott, California state senator; chancellor, California Community College System
Joe Shirley (1978), President of Navajo Nation
Lynn Coleman, former United States Deputy Secretary of Energy
Louie Welch, former mayor of Houston, Texas
Garrett Harencak, Commander of the U.S. Air Force Recruiting Service
Paul J. Selva, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff representing the U.S. Air Force
Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Brantley Starr, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
=== Sports ===
Carson Pope, Olympic Track and Field Participant, (known for falling down in the first 10 meters of the 100 meter dash in qualification stage.)
Bill Blakeley, basketball coach
James Browne, long jumper from Antigua
Randall "Tex" Cobb, boxer, actor
Charles Coody, golfer, winner of the 1971 Masters Tournament
Grant Feasel, football player
Greg Feasel, former offensive tackle in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers; Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer for the Colorado Rockies; ACU Sports Hall of Fame (2004–05)
Taylor Gabriel, football player for the Chicago Bears
James Hill, football player for the Seattle Seahawks
Ove Johansson, football player
Johnny Knox, football player
John Layfield, wrestler
Clint Longley, football player
Danieal Manning, football player
Lindy McDaniel, baseball player
Cleo Montgomery, football player
Wilbert Montgomery, football player
Bobby Morrow, sprinter
Billy Olson, pole vaulter
Billy Gene Pemelton, pole vaulter
Johnny Perkins, football player
Raymond Radway, football player
Daryl Richardson, football player
Bernard Scott, football player
Jeev Milkha Singh (1996), golfer
Gilbert Tuhabonye, runner and author
Charcandrick West, football player
Allen Wilson, football coach
Earl Young, runner
Art Briles, former head coach at Baylor University
Rusty Whitt, coach
Wes Kittley, coach of Texas Tech Red Raiders track and field
=== Faculty ===
Everett Ferguson, patristics scholar
Douglas A. Foster, professor of church history
Michael A. O'Donnell, professor of family studies |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Miami_Dolphins_season | 2001 Miami Dolphins season | The 2001 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 32nd season in the National Football League and the 36th season in the AFC division, and their 2nd under the guidance of head coach Dave Wannstedt. The Miami Dolphins finished the season 2nd in the AFC East with a record of 11–5. Their season ended with a resounding 17-point home loss to the defending Super Bowl champions, the Baltimore Ravens, in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
The Miami Dolphins ranked 8th in points scored and 11th in points allowed.
While the team finished with a respectable 11–5 record, they engineered embarrassing regular season losses to the New York Jets 24–0 in Miami and 21–17 in New Jersey after blowing a 17-point halftime lead; and blow out losses to the San Francisco 49ers 21–0 and St. Louis Rams 42–10. The Dolphins finished the season with a 20–3-home loss to the Baltimore Ravens. In these five losses, the Dolphins were -19 in turnover differential, turning the football over 20 times. For the season, the Dolphins gave away the football 41 times for a -13 total turnover differential. Starting quarterback Jay Fiedler led the team in turnovers by throwing 19 interceptions and fumbling six times.
The Dolphins did not return to the playoffs until 2008, and would not make back-to-back playoff appearances until 2022 and 2023. After the season, Harry Swayne retired.
== Offseason ==
=== NFL draft ===
=== Undrafted free agents ===
== Staff ==
== Roster ==
== Preseason ==
== Regular season ==
=== Schedule ===
=== Standings ===
== Playoffs ==
=== Wild Card vs Ravens ===
==== AFC: Baltimore Ravens 20, Miami Dolphins 3 ====
The Ravens recorded 222 rushing yards, while limiting the Dolphins to 151 total yards and nine first downs, while forcing three turnovers and three sacks. Baltimore running back Terry Allen ran for 109 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Elvis Grbac completed 12 of 18 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown. Throughout the day, the Dolphins were unable to move the ball on the ground. Running backs Travis Minor and Lamar Smith were held to a combined total of 20 yards on 11 carries, while quarterback Jay Fiedler ended up as the leading rusher with 16 yards. In contrast, the Ravens called 50 running plays, gained 222 rushing yards, and held the ball for 38 minutes.
The Dolphins' only score was Olindo Mare's 33-yard field goal just two minutes into the game, after linebacker Tommy Hendricks recovered a fumble from Baltimore's Jermaine Lewis on the opening kickoff. In the second quarter, the Ravens finished a 17-play, 90-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run from Allen to take a 7–3 lead. Baltimore later had a chance to increase their lead before halftime when linebacker Peter Boulware recovered Minor's fumble on the Dolphins 41-yard line, but their ensuing drive ended without points when Matt Stover missed a 40-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the half.
Later in the game, Grbac led the Ravens on a 99-yard scoring drive, featuring a 45-yard completion to Travis Taylor on third down and 1. Taylor finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown catch to give the Ravens a 14–3 lead with 1:20 left in the third quarter.
Early in the final quarter, Boulware forced a fumble while sacking Fiedler that Ravens lineman Sam Adams recovered on the Dolphins 37-yard line, leading to Stover's 35-yard field goal with 11:26 left in the game. The Dolphins responded with a drive to the Ravens 41. On first and 10, Fiedler's 40-yard pass to James McKnight at the Ravens 5-yard line bounced off the receiver's shoulder and was intercepted by defensive back Duane Starks, who returned the ball 26 yards to the 28-yard line. Baltimore's offense subsequently drove 50 yards and took 6:30 off the clock, including five carries by Jason Brookins for 36 yards, setting up Stover's second field goal to put the game away. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggstock_(Schwyzer_Alps) | Eggstock (Schwyzer Alps) | The Eggstock is a mountain of the Schwyzer Alps, located on the border between the Swiss cantons of Schwyz and Glarus, north of Braunwald. It lies on the range east of the Bös Fulen, between the valley of Bösbächi and the cirque of Braunwald and is composed of three summits: the Hinterer Eggstock (2,455 m [8,054 ft]), the Mittlerer Eggstock (2,436 m [7,992 ft]) and the Vorderer Eggstock (2,449 m [8,035 ft]). |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Seddon | Richard Seddon | Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 15th premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. In office for thirteen years, he is to date New Zealand's longest-serving head of government.
Seddon was born in Eccleston, Lancashire, England. He arrived in New Zealand in 1866 and settled on the West Coast of the South Island, where he lived for the rest of his life. His prominence in local politics gained him a seat in the House of Representatives in 1879 for Hokitika. Seddon became a key member of the Liberal Party under the leadership of John Ballance. When the Liberal Government came to power in 1891 Seddon was appointed to several portfolios, including Minister of Public Works. Seddon succeeded to the leadership of the Liberal Party following Ballance's death in 1893, inheriting a bill for women's suffrage, which was passed the same year despite Seddon's opposition to it. Seddon's government achieved many social and economic changes, such as the introduction of old age pensions. His personal popularity, charisma and strength overcame dissent from within his cabinet. This has been described as firmly establishing "Seddonism", a colloquial term for Seddon's strand of nationalist conservatism, as New Zealand's dominant political ideology.
Seddon's Liberal government also purchased vast amounts of land from Māori, aided by his allies Alfred Cadman and James Carroll as the Ministers of Native Affairs. He spent the 1899 general election trying to relieve New Zealand's parliament of the independent politicians who had so greatly dominated the country's organised national politics since its provenance, in which he triumphed greatly. An imperialist in foreign policy, his attempt to incorporate Fiji into New Zealand failed, but he successfully annexed the Cook Islands in 1901. Seddon's government supported Britain with troops in the Second Boer War (1899–1902) and supported preferential trade between British colonies.
Seddon was regarded as deeply regionalist and cronyist, being biased towards his adopted region of the West Coast. He inspired serious and long-lasting loyalty among his cabinet members. Seddon led his party to win five consecutive elections, the most for any New Zealand party. Leading the Liberal Party until his death, the party afterwards struggled to recover. Despite being derisively known as "King Dick" for his autocratic style, he has nonetheless been named as one of the greatest prime ministers in New Zealand history.
== Early life and family ==
Seddon was born in the town of Eccleston, near St Helens in Lancashire, England, on 22 June 1845. His father Thomas Seddon (born 1817) was a school headmaster, and his mother Jane Lindsay was a teacher; they married on 8 February 1842 at Christ Church, Eccleston. Richard was the third of their eight children.
Despite this background, Seddon did not perform well at school, and was described as unruly. Despite his parents' attempt to give him a classical education, Seddon developed an interest in engineering, but was removed from school at age 12. After working on his grandfather Richard's farm at Barrow Nook Hall for two years, Seddon was an apprentice at Daglish's Foundry in Sutton. He later worked at Vauxhall foundry in Liverpool, where he attained a Board of Trade Certificate as a mechanical engineer. During his time in Lancashire, he was heavily influenced by social liberalism, and many of its ideas would form part of his political philosophy as a politician.
On 15 June 1862, at the age of 16, Seddon decided to emigrate to Australia, working his passage to Melbourne on the SS Great Britain. He later provided his reasoning: "A restlessness to get away to see new, broad lands seized me: My work was irksome. I felt cramped." He entered the railway workshops at Williamstown, and also worked in the goldfields at Bendigo; he did not meet with any great success. In either 1865 or 1866, he became engaged to Louisa Jane Spotswood, but her family would not permit marriage until Seddon was financially secure.
Seddon moved to New Zealand's West Coast in 1866. Initially, he worked the goldfields in Waimea. He is believed to have prospered here, and he returned briefly to Melbourne to marry Louisa. He established a store, and then expanded his business to include the sale of alcohol, becoming a publican. He was followed to the West Coast by his older sister Phoebe, younger brothers Edward and Jim and younger sister Mary. Phoebe married William Cunliffe on 9 May 1863 at Holy Trinity Church Eccleston. Their son Bill was Labour MP David Cunliffe's grandfather, making Richard Seddon David Cunliffe's great-great-uncle.
== Local politics ==
Seddon first entered politics in 1870, when he ran unsuccessfully for the Westland County Council, finishing third. The same year, he was elected to the Arahura Road Board. He ran again for the County Council in 1872, finishing a distant third.
In 1874 Seddon stood for the newly created Westland Provincial Council and was elected for Arahura. He established himself as a broadly effective, if rather bellicose, advocate for miners' interests. He also took an interest in education during this time. He lost this position with the abolition of the provinces in 1876, and was elected instead to the newly reconstituted county council. In 1876 he stood for Parliament in the two-member Hokitika electorate and placed fourth out of five candidates.
In 1877, Seddon was elected as the first Mayor of Kumara, a goldmining town which had recently rose to prominence. He had staked a claim in Kumara the previous year, and had shortly afterwards moved his business there. Despite occasional financial troubles (he filed for bankruptcy in 1878), his political career prospered.
== Entry to Parliament ==
In the 1879 election, he stood for Parliament again, and was elected. He represented Hokitika to 1881, then Kumara from 1881 to 1890, then Westland from 1890 to his death in 1906. His son Tom Seddon succeeded him as MP for Westland.
In Parliament, Seddon aligned himself with George Grey, a former Governor turned Premier. Seddon later claimed to be particularly close to Grey, although some historians believe that this was an invention for political purposes. Initially, Seddon was derided by many members of Parliament, who mocked his "provincial" accent (which tended to drop the letter "h") and his lack of formal education. He nevertheless proved quite effective in Parliament, being particularly good at "stonewalling" certain legislation. His political focus was on issues of concern to his West Coast constituents. He specialised on mining issues, became a recognised authority on the topic, and chaired the goldfields committee in 1887 and 1888.
He aggressively proclaimed a populist anti-elitist philosophy in many speeches and toast. "It is the rich and the poor; it is the wealthy people and the landowners against the middle classes and the labouring classes," he explained.
== Liberal Party ==
Seddon joined the nascent Liberal Party, led by John Ballance, following the December 1890 general election. Their platform was for reform in the areas of land and labour. They were greatly helped by the abolition of plural voting, which allowed landowners in each district they owned land in to vote in them.
Seddon was sworn into his first ministerial positions when the Liberals came to power in January 1891. He became minister of public works, mines, defence, and marine. He promoted co-operative contract system for road-making and other public works projects.
Unlike Ballance who believed in classical liberalism, Seddon did not have any great commitment to any ideology. Rather, he saw the Liberals as champions of "the common man" against large commercial interests and major landowners. His strong advocacy for what he saw as the interests of ordinary New Zealanders won him considerable popularity. Attacks by the opposition, which generally focused on his lack of education and sophistication (one opponent said that he was only "partially civilised") reinforced his growing reputation as an enemy of elitism.
Seddon quickly became popular across the country. Some of his colleagues, however, were not as happy, accusing him of putting populism ahead of principle, and of being an anti-intellectual. John Ballance, now Premier, had a deep commitment to liberal causes such as women's suffrage and Māori rights, which Seddon was not always as enthusiastic about. Nevertheless, many people in the Liberal Party believed that Seddon's popularity was a huge asset for the party, and Seddon developed a substantial following.
== Premiership ==
Ballance fell seriously ill in 1892 and made Seddon acting leader of the House. After Ballance's death in April 1893, the Governor David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow asked Seddon, as the acting leader of the house, to form a new ministry. Despite the refusal of William Pember Reeves and Thomas Mackenzie to accept his leadership, Seddon managed to secure the backing of his Liberal Party colleagues as interim leader, with an understanding being reached that a full vote would occur when Parliament resumed sitting. Seddon's most prominent challenger was Robert Stout, a former Premier for two separate terms. Like Ballance, Stout had a strong belief in classical-liberal principles. Ballance himself had preferred Stout as his successor, but had died before being able to secure this aim. Stout was not a member of the House of Representatives at the time of Ballance's death, and only re-entered following the by-election in Inangahua on 8 June 1893.
Despite Seddon's promise, however, there was no vote on the party leadership and therefore the premiership. By convincing his party colleagues that a leadership contest would split the party in two, or at least leave deep divisions, Seddon managed to secure a permanent hold on the leadership. Stout continued to be one of his strongest critics and led the campaign for women's suffrage despite Seddon's opposition. Eventually Stout left the Liberal Party in 1896 and remained in the house as an independent until 1898. In 1899, however, Seddon recommended Stout to the Governor as the next Chief Justice of New Zealand.
=== Women's suffrage ===
John Ballance, founder of the Liberal Party, had been a strong supporter of voting rights for women, declaring his belief in the "absolute equality of the sexes". At the time women's suffrage was closely linked to the temperance movement, which sought prohibition of alcohol. As a former publican and self-styled "Champion of the Common Man" Seddon initially opposed women's suffrage. In July 1893, two months after Seddon became Premier, the second of two major petitions for women's suffrage was presented to the House.
This resulted in considerable debate within the Liberal Party. John Hall, a former conservative premier, moved a Bill to enact women's suffrage. Seddon's opponents within the party, led by Stout (also an advocate of temperance), managed to gather enough support for the Bill to be passed despite Seddon's opposition. When Seddon realised that the passage of the bill was inevitable, he changed his position, claiming to accept the people's will. In actuality, however, he took strong measures to ensure that the Legislative Council would vote down the Bill, as it had done previously. Seddon's tactics in lobbying the council were seen by many as underhand, and two Councillors, despite opposing suffrage, voted in favour of the bill in protest. The Bill was granted Royal Assent in September.
Nonetheless, at the 1893 general election in November, Seddon's Liberal Party managed to increase its majority.
=== Alcohol licensing ===
The debate on women's suffrage exposed deep divisions within the Liberal Party between more doctrinaire liberals, broadly led by Stout, and "popular" liberals, led by Seddon. This division was again highlighted by the debate over alcohol licensing. Seddon moved the radical Alcoholic Liquors Sale Control Bill in 1893 to introduce licensing districts where a majority could vote for continuance (continued liquor licensing in that district) or reduction of licences or no liquor licences at all. Votes were to be taken every three years at general elections and licensing districts were matched to electoral districts.
=== Old-age pensions ===
One of the policies for which Seddon is most remembered is his Old-age Pensions Act of 1898, which established the basis of the welfare state later expanded by Michael Joseph Savage and the Labour Party. Seddon put considerable weight behind the scheme, despite considerable opposition from many quarters. Its successful passage is often seen as a testament to Seddon's political power and influence.
=== Foreign policy ===
In the sphere of foreign policy, Seddon was a notable supporter of the British Empire. After he attended the Colonial Conference in London in 1897, he became known "as one of the pillars of British imperialism", and he was a strong supporter of the Second Boer War and sponsored preferential tariffs for trade with Britain. He is also noted for his support of New Zealand's own "imperial" designs – Seddon believed that New Zealand should play a major role in the Pacific Islands as a "Britain of the South". Seddon's plans focused mainly on establishing New Zealand dominion over Fiji and Samoa. However, his expansionist policies were discouraged by the Imperial Government. Only the Cook Islands came under New Zealand's control during his term in office.
=== Immigration ===
Seddon was firmly opposed Chinese immigration to New Zealand, harbouring an ethnic prejudice against them stemming from his years in the goldfields.
Although Chinese immigrants were invited to New Zealand by the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, prejudice against them quickly led to calls for restrictions on immigration. Following the example of anti-Chinese poll taxes enacted by California in 1852 and by Australian states in the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s, John Hall's government passed the Chinese Immigration Act 1881. This imposed a £10 tax per Chinese person entering New Zealand, and permitted only one Chinese immigrant for every 10 tons of cargo. Richard Seddon's government increased the tax to £100 per head in 1896 ($20,990 in modern New Zealand dollars), and tightened the other restriction to only one Chinese immigrant for every 200 tons of cargo.
Seddon compared Chinese people to monkeys, and so used the Yellow Peril conspiracy theory to promote racialist politics in New Zealand. In 1879, in his first political speech, Seddon said that New Zealand did not wish her shores "deluged with Asiatic Tartars. I would sooner address white men than these Chinese. You can't talk to them, you can't reason with them. All you can get from them is 'No savvy'."
=== Style of government ===
Seddon was a strong premier, and enforced his authority with great vigour. At one point, he even commented that "A president is all we require", and that Cabinet could be abolished. His opponents, both within the Liberal Party and in opposition, accused him of being an autocrat – the label "King Dick" was first applied to him at this point.
Seddon accumulated a large number of portfolios for himself, including that of Minister of Finance (from which he displaced Joseph Ward), Minister of Labour (from which he displaced William Pember Reeves), Minister of Education, Minister of Defence, Minister of Native Affairs, and Minister of Immigration.
Seddon was also accused of cronyism – his friends and allies, particularly those from the West Coast, were given various political positions, while his enemies within the Liberal Party were frequently denied important office. Many of Seddon's appointees were not qualified for the positions that they received – Seddon valued loyalty above ability. One account, possibly apocryphal, claims that he installed an ally as a senior civil servant despite the man being illiterate. He was also accused of nepotism – in 1905, it was claimed that one of his sons had received an unauthorised payment, but this claim was proved false.
Sir Carl Berendsen recalled seeing Seddon in 1906 as a Department of Education junior innocently bearing what was an unwelcome document. A replacement was needed for a small native school. The inspectors had picked out three outstanding candidates, but Seddon picked out the last on the lengthy list; he had no academic qualifications and had just been released from gaol for embezzlement. When the Premier appointed the gentlemen from gaol, Departmental officials returned the papers and called attention to his criminal record. Berendsen cowered in the corner while with a snarl Seddon grasped his pen and wrote once more in very large letters, "Appoint Mr X". Berendsen noted though that when an Editor was required for the new School Journal, Departmental officials had agreed on the best man, but the Massey Government (which had replaced the Liberal Government) was "quite shameless in devotion to the principle of the loaves and fishes... and the Minister of the day appointed the third choice".
As Minister of Native Affairs, Seddon took a generally "sympathetic" but "paternalistic" approach. As Minister of Immigration, he was well known for his hostility to Chinese immigration – the so-called "Yellow Peril" was an important part of his populist rhetoric, and he compared Chinese people to monkeys. In his first political speech in 1879 he had declared New Zealand did not wish her shores to be "deluged with Asiatic Tartars. I would sooner address white men than these Chinese. You can't talk to them, you can't reason with them. All you can get from them is 'No savvy'."
Successive governments had also shown a lack of firmness in dealing with Māori, he said: "The colony, instead of importing Gatling guns with which to fight Maori, should wage war with locomotives"... pushing through roads and railways and compulsorily purchasing "the land on both sides".
== Religion and freemasonry ==
Seddon was an Anglican.
Seddon became a Freemason in 1868 when he was initiated into Pacific Lodge No 1229 (under the United Grand Lodge of England) in Hokitika. The lodge is still extant, but has since relocated to Christchurch. In 1898, while premier, he was elected Grand Master of New Zealand, and served in that role for two years.
== Honours ==
Seddon attended Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and received her Jubilee Medal and an appointment in the Privy Council. In 1902 he attended the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra and received his Coronation Medal. During the same visit, he received the Freedom of the Borough of his home-town St Helens during a visit there in July 1902, and the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh and an honorary degree LL.D. from the University of Edinburgh during a visit to the city later the same month. He was also presented with the Honorary Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers on 8 August 1902.
He twice refused a knighthood, wanting to be seen as a man of the people.
== Death ==
Seddon remained Prime Minister for 13 years, but gradually, calls for him to retire became more frequent. Various attempts to replace him with Joseph Ward met with failure.
In June 1906, while returning from a trip to Australia on the ship Oswestry Grange, he was sitting with his wife in his cabin waiting to be called to dinner when he suddenly placed his head on his wife's shoulder, and said, "Oh, mother," before expiring of a massive heart attack at 6.20 pm on 10 June. Immediately following his death the ship, which was 110 miles (180 km) from Sydney Heads, turned back to port, its flag at half-mast. He died 12 days before his 61st birthday. On the eve of his departure, he had sent a number of telegrams, among whom was one to the premier of Victoria, Thomas Bent, which contained the words, “Just leaving for God's own country”.
News of his death provoked numerous public gestures of grief, which included black-bordered displays in shop windows and several public monuments, including a memorial lamp post outside the St Helens Hospital in Pitt Street Auckland.
Seddon’s funeral was held on 21 June 1906 and he was buried in Wellington's Bolton Street Cemetery, now Bolton Street Memorial Park.
Joseph Ward was away in London at the time of Seddon's death. He succeeded Seddon as Prime Minister nearly two months later, on 6 August 1906.
== Personal life ==
Seddon married Louisa Jane Spotswood on 13 January 1869 in Trinity Church, Williamstown, Victoria, Australia. Lousia was born on 28 May 1851 in Williamstown, Victoria, Australia to Anna Victoria (nee Normandale) and John Stuart Spotswood. After a long illness Louisa died at her home, "Eccleston,” in Wellington on 9 July 1931. Flags were flown at half-mast, on various Government buildings on the day of her funeral.
The couple had the following eleven children with nine surviving to adulthood.
Jane Anne Seddon. Born 8 May 1870 In Waimea, Westland. She died on 20 August 1955.
Phoebe Alicia Seddon. Born on 26 June 1871. She died on 5 December 1944.
Louisa Jane Spottswood Seddon. Born on 10 December 1872 in Big Dam, Westland. She died on 12 October 1957.
Mary Stuart Charleston Seddon. Born on 20 June 1874 in Charlestown, West Coast. She died on 17 April 1946. Interred with her parents.
Catherine Youd Lindsay Seddon. Born on 17 January 1876 in Kumara. She died on 20 October 1877.
Catherine Youd Lindsay Seddon. Born on 24 March 1878 in Kumara, West Coast. She died on 2 July 1881.
Elizabeth May Seddon. Born on 24 March 1880 in Kumara. She died on 29 February 1960.
Richard John Spotswood Seddon. Born on 29 May 1881 in Kumara. He was killed at Bapaume, France on 21 August 1918 while serving as a captain with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Over a ten-year period his mother campaigned without success to have his remains repatriated back to New Zealand. The original wooden cross from Seddon’s grave was brought back to New Zealand by one of his sisters and now resides inside the Seddon Memorial.
Thomas Edward Youd Seddon. Born 2 July 1884 in Kumara. He died 22 January 1972.
John Stewart Spotswood Seddon. Born on 20 July 1887 in Kumara. He died in 1969.
Rubi Jessie Seddon. Born on 11 January 1889 in Kumara. She died on 19 December 1956.
== Legacy ==
He is considered by academics and historians to be one of New Zealand's greatest and most revered prime ministers. Seddon centralised government decision-making around himself—at his peak he exercised "almost one-man, one-party rule"—and, in doing so, he established the premiership as the de facto most important political office in New Zealand.
Seddon's son Thomas replaced him as MP for Westland in the by-election following his death. When Thomas met former US President Theodore Roosevelt in 1918, he expressed admiration for his late father, particularly the labour legislation his government passed.
A town in New Zealand and a suburb of Melbourne, Australia are named after him. Wellington Zoo was originally created when a young lion was presented to Prime Minister Richard Seddon by the Bostock and Wombwell Circus. Seddon created the Zoo from this single specimen and the lion was later named King Dick in the Prime Minister's honour. The stuffed body of King Dick (the lion) is displayed on the ground floor of the Museum of Wellington City & Sea. St Mary's Church in Addington, Christchurch also has a memorial bell tower to Richard Seddon.
The Duke of Argyll unveiled a memorial to Seddon in St Paul's Cathedral, London, in 1910. It shows a portrait of Seddon with the inscription "
To the memory of Richard John Seddon prime minister of New Zealand 1893–1906 imperialist statesman reformer born June 22nd 1845 at St Helens Lancashire buried at Observatory Hill Wellington New Zealand"
=== Seddon memorial ===
Following Seddon's death plans were put in place to erect a suitable memorial which would also incorporate a Seddon family mausoleum. It was quickly agreed that the existing Colonial Time Service Observatory on top of Observatory Hill (today part of Bolton Street Memorial Park) should be torn down to make way for it. A new observatory was later constructed on the site of the former Garden coast defence battery at the top of the Botanic Gardens.
The memorial was designed by government architect John Campbell and constructed by Edwards and Son of Wellington with the above ground portion consisting of reinforced concrete faced with Coromandel granite. It cost £2,746. Constructed between 1908 and 1910 the memorial is topped by a bronze female figure approximately 8 feet (2.4 m) in height and weighing 2 long tons (2,000 kg) symbolising the “Zealandia”, the country mourning its dead. Costing approximately £500, the figure was designed at the London studio of sculptor Henry Poole and cast by Alexander Parlanti. The concrete crypt underneath contains the body of Seddon, his wife Louisa, their daughter Mary Stuart Hay and memorial to their son Captain Richard Spotswood Seddon, who was killed in 1918 while serving in France.
The family remains were temporally removed when between 2021 and December 2022 when the memorial was restored and seismically strengthened by the installation of a structural steel frame in the crypt and central void, combined with the installation of 17 post-tension tie rods.
=== Statues of Seddon ===
A 9 feet 6 inches (2.90 m) high bronze statue on a 15 feet (4.6 m) pedestal of Aberdeen granite to Seddon was erected facing Molesworth Street in front of the main entrance to Parliament Buildings. It was commissioned by then-Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward from Sir Thomas Brock. The statue has him wearing a frock coat which was based on the one that he had worn while speaking at Papawai near Greytown. The coat had been brought to Brock in 1905 by Louisa Seddon and her daughter Mary.
The statue was paid for by jointly by the government and the public, with its completion delayed by the landscaping of the grounds and the construction of Seddon’s memorial. At a public event attended by 1,500 people on 26 June 1915 the statue was unveiled by the Governor-General, Lord Liverpool. Among those attending were members of Seddon’s family, the prime minister William Massey, Sir Joseph Ward and Sir John Luke, mayor of Wellington.
In October 1966 anti-Vietnam war protestors painted “No New Zealand Troops in Vietnam” across the plinth. In November 1988 a group protesting against the signing of the Antarctic convention and the risk they believed it posed to wildlife enclosed the statue in a giant penguin suit. In February 2022, an anti-mandate and anti-lockdown Covid-19 protestor tagged it with a Nazi Swastika and the words “Freedom” and “Truth”.
Since 11 November 1981 the statue has had a Historic Places category 1 listing.
Another statue of Seddon has a prominent position in the West Coast town of Hokitika.
== Notes and references ==
=== Notes ===
=== References === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wasteland_(2021_film) | The Wasteland (2021 film) | The Wasteland (Spanish: El páramo), also known during the production stage as The Beast (La bestia), is a 2021 Spanish horror drama film directed by David Casademunt from a screenplay by Casademunt, Fran Menchón, and Martí Lucas. The film stars Inma Cuesta, Asier Flores, and Roberto Álamo. It was released on Netflix on 6 January 2022.
== Plot ==
Diego is a boy who lives with his parents in a shack in the middle of nowhere. His mother, Lucía, is kind, while his father, Salvador, is stern and solemn. One evening, Diego's father tells him about a beast that follows a person around and feeds on their fear.
One day, the family finds a badly injured man in a boat. Salvador attempts to heal the man. The man wanders into the shack and picks up a rifle, pointing it at Diego and Lucía. A gunshot is heard, and the man is seen, shot in the head. While going through his belongings, they find a family portrait. That night, Diego's father tells him about his sister, who saw the beast at their home. Salvador, who cannot see the beast, tells Diego that if anyone spots it, their life becomes hopeless. Salvador decides to go find the man's family on his own.
Over the following days, Lucía sees a presence approaching the shack each night; Diego doesn't see it. His mother begins to act erratically and cuts off her hair. She tells Diego that the presence is outside and pushes him out, telling him the beast desires her. Diego forces his way back into the shack and finds his mother badly injured on the floor. He then sees the beast walking towards them. Diego eventually finds enough courage to face the beast; he picks up a gun and shoots at it. He then sets the shack on fire and drags his mother outside. He puts her in a wheelbarrow and wheels towards the river, only to find out that she has died. He floats her body down the river and walks purposefully away.
== Cast ==
Inma Cuesta as Lucía
Roberto Álamo as Salvador
Asier Flores as Diego
Alejandra Howard as Juana
Víctor Benjumea as the man in the boat
== Production ==
Spanish filmmaker David Casademunt initially conceived the original concept for the film in 2012 and began to develop the idea into a screenplay. In September 2017, the film officially entered development as part of the Sitges Film Festival Pitchbox program, with Casademunt set to direct the project from his own screenplay. Within the following year, the film received backing from Ventana Sur's Blood Window pitching program in Latin America and funding from The Madrid Film School. The script was completed by August 2018, and the Toronto International Film Festival invited Casademunt to their Filmmaker Lab for backing and financing. He described the selection as a "huge prize" and said that he would create a film that "could be loved by all audiences".
In February 2020, Spanish production company Rodar y Rodar joined the project as the main producer. Marina Padró of Rodar y Rodar called Casademunt a "new promise of the Spanish cinema". Frequent collaborators Fran Menchón and Martí Lucas were credited as co-writers of the screenplay, and Casademunt described the feature as "a film about the demons we have inside [and] how these demons transform us into defective adults." During a press conference in October 2020, it was announced that Netflix had acquired worldwide distribution rights to the project. Inma Cuesta, Roberto Álamo, and Asier Flores were cast in lead roles in February 2021.
Principal photography began in early February 2021 and lasted until July of that year. Filming predominantly took place in a moorland in the province of Teruel, as well as in the municipalities of Blancas and Villarquemado, with the lagoons of Gallocanta and El Cañizar serving as shooting locations.
== Release ==
The film was set for a world premiere on 11 October 2021 at the 54th Sitges Film Festival, as part of the festival's official selection.
It was released on Netflix worldwide on 6 January 2022.
== Reception ==
Reviewing for Cinemanía, Miguel Ángel Romero gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and considered that Inma Cuesta and Asier Flores reflect the delicacy of the human mind. He also pointed out that the film helps in the visibility of mental illnesses at a time when mental health advocacy is paramount.
Raquel Hernández Luján of HobbyConsolas gave it 68 out of 100 points, considering the atmosphere, the performances, and the musical score to be the best about the film, while negatively assessing that the film features repetitive parts and moments in which the internal logic is compromised. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla_(franchise) | Godzilla (franchise) | Godzilla (Japanese: ゴジラ, Hepburn: Gojira) is a Japanese kaiju franchise centering on the titular character, a prehistoric reptilian monster awakened and powered by nuclear radiation. The films series are recognized by the Guinness World Records as the "longest continuously running film series", having been in ongoing production since 1954, with several hiatuses of varying lengths. There are 38 Godzilla films: 33 Japanese films produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., and five American films; one by TriStar Pictures and four films (part of the Monsterverse franchise) by Legendary Pictures.
The original film, Godzilla, was directed by and co-written by Ishirō Honda and released by Toho in 1954. It became an influential classic of the genre. It featured political and social undertones relevant to Japan at the time. The 1954 film and its special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya are largely credited for establishing the template for tokusatsu, a technique of practical special effects filmmaking that would become essential in Japan's film industry since the release of Godzilla (1954). For its North American release, the film was localized in 1956 as Godzilla, King of the Monsters! and featured new footage with Raymond Burr edited together with the original Japanese footage.
The popularity of the films has led to the film series expanding to other media, such as television, music, literature and video games. Godzilla has become one of the most recognizable symbols in Japanese pop culture worldwide and a well-known facet of Japanese cinema. It is also considered one of the first examples of the popular kaiju and tokusatsu subgenres in Japanese entertainment.
Godzilla films vary in the complexity of themes and targeted audience. Several of the films have political themes, dark tones, and complex internal mythology, while others are simple action films featuring aliens or other monsters or have simpler themes accessible to children. Godzilla's role varies from purely a destructive force to an anti-hero, ally of humans, a symbolic protector or destroyer of Japanese values, or a hero to children.
The name "Godzilla" is a romanization of the original Japanese name Gojira (ゴジラ)—which is a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (ゴリラ), "gorilla", and kujira (クジラ), "whale". The word alludes to the size, power and aquatic origin of Godzilla. As developed by Toho, the monster is an offshoot of the combination of radioactivity and ancient dinosaur-like creatures, indestructible and possessing special powers (see Godzilla characteristics).
== History ==
The Godzilla film series is broken into several different eras reflecting a characteristic style and corresponding to the same eras used to classify all kaiju eiga (monster movies) in Japan. The first, second, and fourth eras refer to the Japanese emperor during production: the Shōwa era, the Heisei era, and the Reiwa era. The third is called the Millennium era, as the emperor (Heisei) is the same, but these films are considered to have a different style and storyline than the Heisei era.
Over the series' history, the films have reflected the social and political climate in Japan. In the original film, Godzilla was an allegory for the effects of the atomic bomb, and the consequences that such weapons might have on Earth. The radioactive contamination of the Japanese fishing boat Lucky Dragon No. 5 through the United States' Castle Bravo thermonuclear device test at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954, led to much press coverage in Japan preceding the release of the first film in 1954. The Heisei and Millennium series have largely continued this concept. Toho was inspired to make the original Godzilla film after the commercial success of the 1952 re-release of King Kong and the success of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), the first live-action film to feature a giant monster awakened following an atomic bomb detonation. The success of the Godzilla franchise itself would go on to inspire other giant monster films worldwide.
=== Shōwa era (1954–1975) ===
The initial series of films are named after the Shōwa era (as all of these films were produced during Emperor Shōwa's reign). This Shōwa timeline spanned from 1954, with Godzilla, to 1975, with Terror of Mechagodzilla.
The first Godzilla film initially began as a Japanese-Indonesian co-production titled In the Shadow of Glory (栄光のかげに, Eikō no Kage ni). However, the project was cancelled after the Indonesian government denied visas to Toho's crew due to anti-Japanese sentiments and political pressure. On his flight back to Japan after a failed attempt to renegotiate with the Indonesian government, film producer Tomoyuki Tanaka conceived an idea for a giant monster film inspired by The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and the then-recent Daigo Fukuryū Maru incident. Tanaka then succeeded in convincing executive producer Iwao Mori to replace In the Shadow of Glory with his monster idea, after special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya agreed to do the film.
Tsuburaya initially proposed a giant octopus-like monster, and later a gorilla-like or whale-like monster to reflect the creature's name Gojira, a combination of the Japanese words for gorilla (ゴリラ, gorira) and whale (クジラ, kujira). But Tsuburaya settled on a dinosaur-like monster designed by Teizō Toshimitsu and Akira Watanabe under his supervision. Tanaka handpicked Ishirō Honda to direct and co-write the film, feeling that his wartime experience was ideal for the film's anti-nuclear themes, despite Honda not being Toho's first choice. Principal photography ran 51 days, and special effects photography ran 71 days.
Godzilla was first released in Nagoya on October 27, 1954, and released nationwide on November 3, 1954. Despite mixed reviews, it was a box office success. It became the eighth best-attended film in Japan that year, and earned ¥183 million (just under $510,000) in distributor rentals during its initial run, with total lifetime gross receipts of $2.25 million. The film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Special Effects at the Japanese Movie Association Awards, where it won the latter.
Starting with Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla began evolving into a friendlier, more playful antihero (this transition was complete by Son of Godzilla, where Godzilla is depicted as a more virtuous character) and, as years went by, it evolved into an anthropomorphic superhero. Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster was also significant for introducing Godzilla's archenemy and the main antagonist of the film series, King Ghidorah.
Son of Godzilla and All Monsters Attack were aimed at youthful audiences, featuring the appearance of Godzilla's son, Minilla. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla was notable for introducing Mechagodzilla, Godzilla's robot duplicate and the secondary antagonist of the film series. The Shōwa period loosely tied in a number of Toho-produced films in which Godzilla himself did not appear and consequently saw the addition of many monsters into the Godzilla continuity, three of which (Rodan, Varan, and Mothra) originated in their own solo films and another five (Anguirus, Manda, Baragon, Gorosaurus and Kumonga) appeared in their first films as either secondary antagonists or secondary kaiju.
Haruo Nakajima mainly portrayed Godzilla since 1954 until his retirement in 1972. However, other stunt actors have portrayed the character in his absence, such as Katsumi Tezuka, Yū Sekida, Ryosaku Takasugi, Seiji Onaka, Shinji Takagi, Isao Zushi, and Toru Kawai. Eiji Tsuburaya directed the special effects for the first six films of the series. His protege Sadamasa Arikawa took over the effects work for the next three films (with Tsuburaya supervising), while Teruyoshi Nakano directed the special effects for the last six films of the series.
The Criterion Collection released the Shōwa era films as part of a Blu-ray box set in the United States and Canada on October 29, 2019.
=== Heisei era (1984–1995) ===
Toho rebooted the series in 1984 with The Return of Godzilla, starting the second era of Godzilla films, known as the Heisei series. The Return of Godzilla serves as a direct sequel to the original 1954 film and ignores the subsequent events of the Shōwa series. Despite being released within Japan's political Shōwa era five years before the new Emperor's reign, The Return of Godzilla is part of the Heisei series because it is a direct predecessor to Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), which came out in the first year of the new Emperor's reign.
The Heisei films are set in a single, continuous timeline that brings Godzilla back as a destructive force of nature that is feared by humans. The biological nature and science behind Godzilla became more discussed in the films, showing an increased focus on the moral aspects of genetics. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah gave Godzilla's first concrete birth story, featuring a dinosaur named Godzillasaurus that was mutated by nuclear radiation into Godzilla. Godzilla was portrayed by Kenpachiro Satsuma for the Heisei films while the special effects were directed by Koichi Kawakita, with the exception of The Return of Godzilla, for which the effects were directed by Teruyoshi Nakano.
=== Millennium era (1999–2004) ===
Toho rebooted the franchise for a second time with the 1999 film Godzilla 2000: Millennium, starting the third era of Godzilla films, known as the Millennium series. Despite them all being released during the Heisei period of Japan, this era is named as such to tie in with the first few years of the third millennium. The Millennium series is treated similarly to an anthology series where each film is a standalone story, with the 1954 film serving as the only previous point of reference. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. are the only films in the Millennium era to share continuity with each other and are also connected to 1961's Mothra and to 1966's The War of the Gargantuas. Another exception to this rule is 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars, that continues the trend of being a standalone story, but the events of the 1954 film are ignored here, making this the first Toho produced film in the series to do so.
After the release of Godzilla: Final Wars, marking the 50th anniversary of the Godzilla film franchise, Toho decided to put the series on hiatus for another 10 years. Toho also demolished the water stage on its lot used in numerous Godzilla, kaiju and tokusatsu films. Yoshimitsu Banno, who had directed 1971's Godzilla vs. Hedorah, secured the rights from Toho to make an IMAX 3D short film production, based on a story similar to his Hedorah film. This project eventually led to the development of Legendary's Godzilla. Tsutomu Kitagawa portrayed Godzilla for the majority of the Millennium films, with the exception of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, in which Godzilla was portrayed by Mizuho Yoshida. Unlike the Shōwa and later Heisei films, the special effects for the Millennium films were directed by multiple effects directors such as Kenji Suzuki (Godzilla 2000, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus), Makoto Kamiya (Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack), Yuichi Kikuchi (Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla), and Eiichi Asada (Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., Godzilla: Final Wars).
=== Reiwa era (2016–present) ===
In December 2014, Toho announced plans for a new Godzilla film of its own for a 2016 release. The film was Toho's reboot of the Godzilla franchise, after Legendary Pictures' reboot in 2014, and was co-directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi (both of whom collaborated on the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion), with the screenplay written by Anno and the visual effects directed by Higuchi. Principal photography began in September 2015 and ended in October of the same year, with the special effects work following in November. Shin Godzilla was released in Japan on July 29, 2016, in IMAX, 4DX, and MX4D to positive reviews and was a box office success.
After the release of Shin Godzilla, Toho established a "Godzilla Room", a group consisting of 14 individuals that were tasked with studying all the previous films that involved the character and to ensure that further movies would avoid damaging the brand. The group wrote up a new set of mandated guidelines that all feature films and merchandise had to follow, which involved the prohibition of permanently killing off the character and keeping him from preying on "people or things" to ensure that every appearance remained authentic.
In August 2016, Toho announced plans for a trilogy of anime Godzilla films with Polygon Pictures animating the films and Netflix distributing the trilogy worldwide, except in Japan where each film will be given a theatrical release by Toho. The first film, titled Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, was released on November 17, 2017. The second film, titled Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle, was released on May 18, 2018. The third and final film in the trilogy, titled Godzilla: The Planet Eater, was released on November 9, 2018.
In January 2018, Toho announced its plans to invest ¥15 billion (US$135 million) for the next three years beginning in 2019 to co-produce content with Hollywood and Chinese studios who have licensed Toho's properties, such as Godzilla, Your Name and Pokémon. Toho would invest 25% in production costs and would earn a higher share in revenue and manage creators rights, so its creative input would be reflected in each work. In May 2018, Toho's Chief Godzilla Officer Keiji Ota revealed that a sequel to Shin Godzilla would not happen, but expressed interest in a potential shared cinematic series between Godzilla and other Toho monsters akin to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In 2019, Toho invested ¥15.4 billion (US$140 million) into its Los Angeles-based subsidiary Toho International Inc. as part of its "Toho Vision 2021 Medium-term Management Strategy", a strategy to increase content, platform, real-estate, surpass ¥50 billion in profits, and increase character businesses on Toho intellectual properties such as Godzilla. Hiroyasu Matsuoka was named the representative director of the project. In 2019, Toho launched the first official English-language website and the first official English-language Twitter and Instagram accounts for the franchise.
In June 2019, Toho revealed plans to present the Toho Godzilla at San Diego Comic-Con for the first time to commemorate the franchise's 65th anniversary, as well as being part of its plan to expand the franchise in the United States. At San Diego Comic-Con, Akito Takahashi, the project manager of Toho's Godzilla Strategic Conference, revealed Toho's intentions to have the Toho and Legendary Godzilla films expand together. He also revealed that the option to reintroduce political themes and old or new monsters would be available to filmmakers, should they choose to pursue it. Akito also expressed interest in re-introducing Mechagodzilla and Jet Jaguar in the future.
In October 2020, Toho announced plans for an anime series titled Godzilla Singular Point released on Netflix in 2021, revealing artwork for Godzilla and its principal characters. The project was directed by Atsushi Takahashi, with music by Kan Sawada, written by Toh Enjoe, character designs by Kazue Kato, and animations by Eiji Yamamori. The series was produced by Bones Inc. in partnership with Orange Co., Ltd., featured hand-drawn and CG animation, and had no relation to Polygon's anime film trilogy.
On November 3, 2022, during the franchise's 68th anniversary known as "Godzilla Day", Toho announced plans to release a new live-action Godzilla film, Godzilla Minus One, on November 3, 2023, to commemorate the franchise's 70th anniversary. Toho also stated that Takashi Yamazaki was the director, writer, and visual effects supervisor for this new film and that it had entered post-production after recently completed filming. According to Collider, Minus One became the most commercially successful Japanese film in the series and "helped the Godzilla series become more popular than ever before". In 2024, Minus One won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, becoming the first Godzilla film to win an Academy Award, as well as the first Japanese film to win Best Visual Effects.
On November 1, 2024, Toho announced plans to move forward with a new Godzilla film with Yamazaki returning to direct, write, and handle visual effects. In July 2025, Toho International president Koji Ueda revealed that a Shin Godzilla sequel is among the many Godzilla projects in development.
=== American films ===
==== The Volcano Monsters (1957) ====
The producers of Godzilla, King of the Monsters! – Harry Rybnick, Richard Kay, Edward Barison, Paul Schreibman, and Edmund Goldman – purchased the North American rights to the 1955 sequel Godzilla Raids Again but rather than localize or dub the film in English, they chose to produce a new film that would repurpose the effects footage from Godzilla Raids Again; filming was expected to begin in June 1957. Rybnick hired Ib Melchior and Edwin Watson to write a script, titled The Volcano Monsters, that focused on a new story with American characters centered around the effects footage. Toho approved of the idea in early 1957 and shipped the Godzilla and Anguirus suits for additional photography to be shot at Howard A. Anderson's special effects studio. Rybnick and Barison originally made a deal with AB-PT Pictures Corp. to co-finance the film but plans for The Volcano Monsters were cancelled after AB-PT Pictures folded. Schreibman, Goldman, and new financier Newton P. Jacobs, decided to dub Godzilla Raids Again into English instead.
==== Unproduced 3D film (1983) ====
In 1983, director Steve Miner pitched his idea for an American 3D production of Godzilla to Toho, with storyboards by William Stout and a script written by Fred Dekker, titled Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 3D, which would have featured Godzilla rampaging through San Francisco in an attempt to find its offspring. Various studios and producers expressed interest but passed it over due to high budget concerns. The film would have featured a full scale animatronic Godzilla head built by Rick Baker, stop motion animation executed by David W. Allen, an articulated stop motion Godzilla figure created by Stephen Czerkas, and additional storyboards by Doug Wildey. The production design would have been overseen by William Stout.
==== TriStar Pictures (1998–2000) ====
In October 1992, TriStar Pictures acquired the rights from Toho with plans to produce a trilogy. Director Jan de Bont and writers Terry Rossio and Ted Eliott developed a script that had Godzilla battling a shape-shifting alien called "the Gryphon". De Bont later left the project after budget disagreements with the studio. Roland Emmerich was hired to direct and co-write a new script with producer Dean Devlin.
A co-production between Centropolis Entertainment, Fried Films, Independent Pictures, and TriStar Pictures, Godzilla was theatrically released on May 20, 1998, to negative reviews and grossed $379 million worldwide against a production budget between $130–150 million. Despite grossing nearly three times its budget, it was considered a box office disappointment. Two planned sequels were cancelled and an animated TV series was produced instead. TriStar let the license expire in 2003. In 2004, a new iteration of TriStar's Godzilla appeared in Toho's Godzilla: Final Wars as "Zilla." This variant has since appeared in various media under the "Zilla" trademark, while the incarnations from the 1998 film and animated series retain the Godzilla copyright and trademark.
==== Legendary Pictures (2014–present) ====
In 2004, director Yoshimitsu Banno acquired permission from Toho to produce a short IMAX Godzilla film. In 2009, the project was turned over to Legendary Pictures to be redeveloped as a feature film. Announced in March 2010, the film was co-produced with Warner Bros. Pictures and was directed by Gareth Edwards.
Godzilla was theatrically released on May 16, 2014, to positive reviews and was a box office success, grossing $529 million worldwide against a production budget of $160 million. The film's success prompted Toho to produce a reboot of their own and Legendary to proceed with sequels and a shared cinematic franchise dubbed the Monsterverse: with Godzilla: King of the Monsters released on May 31, 2019; Godzilla vs. Kong released on March 24, 2021; the TV series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters released on November 17, 2023, on Apple TV+; and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire released on March 29, 2024.
== Filmography ==
=== Toho films ===
=== American films ===
=== Guest appearances ===
In 2007, a CGI Godzilla appeared in the Toho slice of life film Always: Sunset on Third Street 2. In an imaginary sequence, Godzilla destroys part of 1959 Tokyo, with one of the main protagonists getting angry that Godzilla damaged his car showroom. The making of the sequence was kept a secret. Godzilla has been referenced in, and has briefly appeared in, several other films. Godzilla guest starred in the show Crayon Shin-chan as an antagonist. Godzilla also appears in cave paintings (alongside Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah) in a post-credits scene in Kong: Skull Island. In 2019, Godzilla made an appearance in the anime film Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion the Movie: Mirai Kara Kita Shinsoku no ALFA-X.
=== Localized releases ===
In 1956, Jewell Enterprises Inc., released Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, an American localization of Godzilla (1954). This version removed most of the political themes and social commentaries, resulting in 30 minutes of footage from the Japanese version replaced with new footage featuring Raymond Burr interacting with Japanese actors and look-alikes to make it seem like Burr was a part of the original Japanese production. In addition, the soundtrack and sound effects were slightly altered and some dialogue was dubbed into English. This release is referred to as an "Americanization" or the "Americanized" version by some sources. Similar localizations (or Americanizations) occurred for the U.S. releases of The Return of Godzilla, released in the U.S. as Godzilla 1985, the latter which had Burr reprising the role of Steve Martin from Godzilla, King of the Monsters!.
In 1957, the same American producers of Godzilla, King of the Monsters! attempted to produce The Volcano Monsters, a new film that would have repurposed the effects footage of Godzilla Raids Again around a new story with American characters. However, funding from AB-PT Pictures collapsed after the company closed down and Godzilla Raids Again was instead re-cut, dubbed in English, and released in 1959 by Warner Bros. as Gigantis, the Fire Monster.
In 1976, Italian director Luigi Cozzi intended to re-release Godzilla in Italy (known by fans as "Cozzilla"). Facing resistance from exhibitors to showing a black-and-white film, Cozzi instead licensed a negative of Godzilla, King of the Monsters from Toho and created a new film in color, adding much stock footage of graphic death and destruction and short scenes from newsreel footage from World War II, which he released as Godzilla in 1977. The film was colorized using a process called Spectrorama 70, where color gels are put on the original black-and-white film, becoming one of the first black-and-white films to be colorized. Dialogue was dubbed into Italian and new music was added. After the initial Italian run, the negative became Toho's property and prints have only been exhibited in Italy from that time onward. Italian firm Yamato Video at one time intended to release the colorized version on a two-disc DVD along with the original Godzilla.
== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
==== Toho productions ====
This list includes American versions of Toho originals. There are no critic scores for Return of Godzilla, but for the recut American version of this film Godzilla 1985.
==== American productions ====
=== Box office performance ===
N/A = no known data
== Other media ==
=== Television ===
==== Japan ====
In 1973, Godzilla was featured in Toho's tokusatsu series Zone Fighter, which also featured King Ghidorah and Gigan in a few episodes. Several filmmakers who had worked on previous Godzilla films participated in the series; Tomoyuki Tanaka produced the series, directors Ishirō Honda and Jun Fukuda directed some episodes. Fukuda wrote episode four, effects director Teruyoshi Nakano contributed to the special effects, while Kōichi Kawakita (who would direct the effects for Toho's Heisei era films) served as assistant effects director.
In 1992, Toho produced a children's educational animated series titled Godzilland which featured live-action segments mixed with chibi-styled animation. In 1997, Toho produced a children's series titled Godzilla Island, centered on Godzilla toys. Toho made the series available worldwide on their official YouTube channel in November 2022. In 2018, GEMSTONE, a web content subsidiary of Toho, held a competition for filmmakers to produce short films based on the Godzilla franchise with finalists receiving a cash prize and the opportunity to work with Toho in an official capacity. One of these finalists, the puppet short Godziban, would become an ongoing YouTube web series in August 2019, with a selection of 20 episodes being offered on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu in Japan in 2024.
In October 2020, Toho announced Godzilla Singular Point; an anime series directed by Atsushi Takahashi, written by Toh EnJoe, and animated by Japanese studios Bones and Orange. Godzilla Singular Point aired on Japanese television in April 2021 and was released worldwide on Netflix in June 2021. Chibi Godzilla Raids Again, a short anime series produced by Toho and Pie in the sky, aired in 2023.
==== United States ====
Godzilla and its likeness has appeared in various television-related media, including Robot Chicken, Roseanne, Animaniacs, South Park, Malcolm In The Middle, Chappelle's Show, Rugrats, a Nike commercial with Charles Barkley battling Godzilla, and multiple appearances on The Simpsons, including a Halloween spoof titled Homerzilla.
In 1978, Hanna-Barbera produced the animated series Godzilla and ran for two seasons on NBC. In 2022, Toho made the complete Hanna-Barbera series available worldwide on their official YouTube channel. In 1991, the English dubbed versions of Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (as Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster) and Godzilla vs. Megalon were riffed on Mystery Science Theater 3000. In 1998, Columbia TriStar Television produced Godzilla: The Series; developed by Jeff Kline and Richard Raynis, the series served as a sequel to the 1998 film Godzilla and ran for two seasons on Fox Kids. In January 2022, Legendary Television announced that Apple TV+ had ordered a live-action series set in the Monsterverse titled Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
=== Attractions ===
Godzilla has been featured in several theme park attractions across Japan and been the subject of various exhibitions of suits and puppets.
Monster Planet of Godzilla was a motion simulator that once ran at Sanrio Puroland in the 1990s.
Universal Studios Japan featured temporary 4D film attractions based around Shin Godzilla, including a crossover with Neon Genesis Evangelion as part of their Cool Japan event.
In 2019, Nijigen no Mori debuted a Shin Godzilla themed zipline experience titled "Godzilla Interception Operation" accompanied by a permanent Godzilla museum.
The Eiji Tsuburaya Museum in Sukagawa, Fukushima features an exclusive short film Dream Challenge: Godzilla Appears in Sukugawa, starring the 1954 Godzilla rampaging through the effects director's hometown.
The Seibu-en amusement park's Flying theater features two Godzilla ride films playing in rotation: Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle and Godzilla the Ride: Great Clash, which released in 2021 and 2025 respectively.
Lotte World in South Korea would receive the first Godzilla attraction outside of Japan in the form of the MonsterVerse inspired Kong X Godzilla: The Ride in late 2025.
=== Video games ===
A game called Gojira-kun (which was originally going to be titled Gojiraland) was released for the MSX in 1985. In 1990, Gojira-kun: Kaijū Daikōshin was released for the Game Boy. In 1993, Super Godzilla was released for the SNES. In 2004, Godzilla: Save the Earth was released by Atari. In 2007, Godzilla: Unleashed was released for the Wii and DS. The 2014 video game Godzilla was released by Bandai Namco. In May 2022, Call of Duty: Warzone featured a cross-over event for Godzilla vs. Kong. Godzilla, Gigan, Kiryu, Destoroyah, King Ghidorah and Hedorah are playable in the Kaiju fighting game GigaBash as guest characters. Godzilla appeared in Chapter 6: Season 1 of Fortnite: Battle Royale.
=== Novels ===
A Godzilla series of novels was published by Random House during the late 1990s and the first half of 2000. The company created different series for different age groups, the Scott Ciencin series being aimed at preteens and the Marc Cerasini series being aimed at teens and young adults.
To tie-in with the 2014 film, three books were published. Titan Books published a novelization of the film in May 2014, written by Greg Cox. The graphic novel Godzilla: Awakening by Max Borenstein, Greg Borenstein and Eric Battle served as a prequel, and Godzilla: The Art of Destruction by Mark Cotta told about the making of the film.
=== Comics ===
Several manga have been derived from specific Godzilla films and both Marvel and Dark Horse have published Godzilla comic book series (1977–1979 and 1987–1999, respectively). In 2011, IDW Publishing started a new series, Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters (published in book form under the same title), rebooting the Godzilla story. It was followed by two sequel series, Godzilla (published in book form as Godzilla: History's Greatest Monster) and Godzilla: Rulers of Earth (published in book form as Godzilla: Complete Rulers of Earth Volume 1 and Godzilla: Complete Rulers of Earth Volume 2), as well as seven five-issue miniseries to date.
Godzilla has been referenced in The Simpsons comics on three separate occasions. The character is featured in Bart Simpson's Guide to Life where it and other kaiju characters such as Minilla and King Ghidorah can be seen; it is featured in the comic "An Anime Among Us!" and K-Bart. Godzilla is also featured in the comic Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror 7 where it and other kaiju can be seen referenced on the front cover.
=== Music ===
Godzilla: The Album, the soundtrack album of Godzilla (1998), sold 2.5 million copies worldwide. The album's lead single, "Come with Me" by Puff Daddy featuring Jimmy Page, sold a certified 2.025 million copies worldwide. Its Japan-exclusive single, "Lose Control" by Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel, sold 938,401 copies in Japan. Shin Godzilla Ongakushuu, the soundtrack album of Shin Godzilla (2016), sold 43,951 copies in Japan. Mars (1991), an album by the Japanese rock duo B'z featuring a Godzilla-themed song, sold 1,730,500 copies in Japan.
Blue Öyster Cult released the song "Godzilla" in 1977. It was the first track, and the second of four singles, from their fifth studio album Spectres (also 1977). Artists such as Fu Manchu, Racer X and Double Experience have included cover versions of this song on their albums. American musician Michale Graves wrote a song titled "Godzilla" for his 2005 album Punk Rock Is Dead. The lyrics mention Godzilla and several on-screen adversaries such as Mothra, Hedorah, Destoroyah and Gigan. The Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura has a song titled "Biotech is Godzilla" on its 1993 release Chaos A.D.
Composer Eric Whitacre wrote a piece for wind ensemble titled "Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!" The work was commissioned by Thomas Leslie of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and was premiered in 1996 by the university's wind band. Annotations on the score instruct performers to dress in costume and a "script" is provided for the audience. Since the piece's premiere, it has been performed by notable ensembles including the United States Marine Band and the Scottish National Wind Symphony.
The French death metal band Gojira named the band after Godzilla's name in Japanese. The song "Simon Says" by Pharoahe Monch is a hip-hop remix of the "Godzilla March" theme song. The instrumental version of this song was notably used in the 2000 film Charlie's Angels. The British band Lostprophets released a song called "We Are Godzilla, You Are Japan" on its second studio album Start Something. The American punk band Groovie Ghoulies released a song called "Hats off to You (Godzilla)" as a tribute to Godzilla. It is featured on the EP Freaks on Parade released in 2002.
The American artist Doctor Steel released a song called 'Atomic Superstar' about Godzilla on his album People of Earth in 2002. In 2003, the British singer Siouxsie Sioux released the album Hái! with her band The Creatures; the album had a Japanese theme with a song dedicated to the monster, simply titled "Godzilla!". The record label Shifty issued the compilation album Destroysall with 15 songs from 15 bands, ranging from hardcore punk to doom-laden death metal. Not all of the songs are dedicated to Godzilla, but all do appear connected to monsters from Toho Studios. Fittingly, the disc was released on August 1, 2003, the 35th anniversary of the Japanese release of Destroy All Monsters.
King Geedorah (a.k.a. MF DOOM) released Take Me to Your Leader, a hip-hop album featuring guests from the group Monsta Island Czars, another Godzilla-themed hip-hop group. These albums include multiple Godzilla samples throughout the series. Taiwanese American electronic musician Mochipet released the EP Godzilla Rehab Center on August 21, 2012, featuring songs named after monsters in the series including Gigan, King Ghidorah, Moguera and Hedorah.
In 2019, American rock band Think Sanity released their debut album featuring songs based on Godzilla, Mothra, and Hedorah. The songs are titled "Sad Kaiju", "Mothra", and "Sludge", respectively. The monsters are also mentioned by name on the track "News at Six" in which they are comically described by newscaster Chip Bentley as destroying a nearby town. The band has mentioned in interviews that they have also written songs based on Biollante, King Ghidorah, and Rodan as well.
=== Geographic features ===
The largest megamullion, located 600 kilometres to the south-east of Okinotorishima, the southernmost Japanese island, is named the Godzilla Megamullion. The Japan Coast Guard played a role in name, reaching an agreement with Toho who owns the rights to Godzilla. Toho's Chief Godzilla officer Keiji Ota stated that "I am truly honored that (the megamullion) bears Godzilla's name, the Earth's most powerful monster."
== Cultural impact ==
Godzilla is one of the most recognizable symbols of Japanese popular culture worldwide and is an important facet of Japanese films, embodying the kaiju subset of the tokusatsu genre. It has been considered an allegory of nuclear weapons. The earlier Godzilla films, especially the original Godzilla, portrayed Godzilla as a frightening, nuclear monster. Godzilla represented the fears that many Japanese held about the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the possibility of recurrence.
As the series progressed, so did Godzilla, changing into a less destructive and more heroic character. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) was the turning point in Godzilla's transformation from villain to hero, by pitting him against a greater threat to humanity, King Ghidorah. Godzilla has since been viewed as an anti-hero. Roger Ebert cites Godzilla as a notable example of a villain-turned-hero, along with King Kong, the James Bond films' Jaws, the Terminator, and Rambo.
Godzilla is considered "the original radioactive superhero" due to his accidental radioactive origin story predating Spider-Man (1962 debut), though Godzilla did not become a hero until Ghidorah in 1964. By the 1970s, Godzilla came to be viewed as a superhero, with the magazine King of the Monsters in 1977 describing Godzilla as "Superhero of the '70s." In 1973, Godzilla was voted the most popular movie monster in The Monster Times poll, beating Count Dracula, King Kong, Wolf Man, The Mummy, Creature From the Black Lagoon, and Frankenstein's monster.
In 2010, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society named their most recently acquired scout vessel MV Gojira. Toho, the people in charge of the Godzilla franchise, served them with a notice to remove the name and in response the boat's name was changed in May 2011 to MV Brigitte Bardot.
Steven Spielberg cited Godzilla as an inspiration for Jurassic Park (1993), specifically Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), which he grew up watching. During its production, Spielberg described Godzilla as "the most masterful of all the dinosaur movies because it made you believe it was really happening." Godzilla also influenced the Spielberg film Jaws (1975). Godzilla has also been cited as an inspiration by actor Tim Allen and filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton.
=== Awards ===
==== Won ====
1954 Japan Movie Association Awards – Special Effects (Godzilla (1954))
1966 Japan Academy Award – Special Effects (Invasion of Astro-Monster)
1986 Japan Academy Award – Special Effects and Newcomer of the Year (The Return of Godzilla)
1986 Razzie Awards – Worst Supporting Actor and Worst New Star (The Return of Godzilla)
1992 Japan Academy Award – Special Effects (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah)
1993 Tokyo Sports Movie Awards – Best Leading Actor (Godzilla vs. Mothra)
1993 Best Grossing Films Award – Golden Award and Money-Making Star Award (Godzilla vs. Mothra)
1993 Japan Academy Award – Best Score (Godzilla vs. Mothra)
1994 Japan Academy Award – Best Score (Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II)
1995 Best Grossing Films Award – Silver Award (Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla)
1996 Best Grossing Films Award – Golden Award (Godzilla vs. Destoroyah)
1996 Japan Academy Award – Special Effects (Godzilla vs. Destoroyah)
1996 MTV Movie Awards – Lifetime Achievement*
1998 Golden Raspberry Awards – Worst Supporting Actress and Worst Remake or Sequel (Godzilla (1998))
1999 Saturn Awards – Best Special Effects (Godzilla (1998))
2001 Saturn Awards – Best Home Video Release (Godzilla 2000)
2002 Best Grossing Films Award – Silver Award (Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack)
2004 Hollywood Walk of Fame. – (Godzilla: Final Wars)
2007 Saturn Awards – Best DVD Classic Film Release (Godzilla (1954))
2014 22nd Annual Japan Cool Content Contribution Award (Godzilla (2014))
2017 40th Japan Academy Prize – Best Picture, Best Director, Cinematography, Lighting Direction, Art Direction, Sound Recording, Film Editing (Shin Godzilla)
2017 11th Asian Film Awards – Best Visual Effects (Shin Godzilla)
2021 21st Golden Trailer Awards – Best Fantasy Adventure TV Spot for a Feature Film ( Godzilla: King of the Monsters)
2022 47th Saturn Awards – Best Special Effects (Godzilla vs. Kong)
2024 17th Asian Film Awards – Best Sound and Best Visual Effects (Godzilla Minus One)
2024 47th Japan Academy Film Prize – Best Picture, Best Screenplay (Yamazaki), Best Supporting Actress (Sakura Ando), Best Cinematography, Best Lighting Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Sound Recording and Best Film Editing (Godzilla Minus One)
2024 96th Academy Awards – Best Visual Effects (Godzilla Minus One)
(*) In 1996 Godzilla received an award for Lifetime Achievement at the MTV Movie Awards. Creator and producer Shōgo Tomiyama accepted on his behalf via satellite and was joined by "Godzilla" himself.
==== Nominations ====
2022 20th Visual Effects Society Awards – Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project, Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature (Godzilla vs. Kong)
2024 22nd Visual Effects Society Awards – Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature for"Godzilla" (Godzilla Minus One)
2024 22nd Visual Effects Society Awards – Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode ( Monarch: Legacy of Monsters)
=== Name usage ===
"-zilla" is a well-known slang suffix, used to imply some form of excess to a person, object or theme; some examples being the reality TV show Bridezillas and the Netscape-derived web browser Mozilla Firefox. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstructing_Harry | Deconstructing Harry | Deconstructing Harry is a 1997 American black comedy film written, directed by, and co-starring Woody Allen, with an ensemble cast, including Caroline Aaron, Kirstie Alley, Bob Balaban, Richard Benjamin, Eric Bogosian, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis, and Elisabeth Shue, as well as Jennifer Garner in her feature film debut. The film tells the story of a successful writer named Harry Block, played by Allen, who draws inspiration from people he knows in real life, and from events that happen to him, sometimes causing these people to become alienated from him.
The central plot features Block driving to a university (from which he was once expelled) to receive an honorary degree. Three passengers accompany him on the trip: a prostitute, a friend, and his son, whom he has kidnapped from his ex-wife. There are many flashbacks, segments taken from Block's writing, and interactions with his own fictional characters. Deconstructing Harry received moderately positive reviews from critics.
== Plot ==
One night, Lucy takes a taxi to the home of famous Manhattan author Harry Block. She has just read Harry's latest novel, where the character Leslie is having an affair with her sister's husband Ken. Lucy is angry because the novel is patently based on her and Harry's own affair; as a result, everyone knows about it. Lucy pulls a gun from her purse, threatening to kill herself. She turns the gun on Harry and begins firing. As she chases him onto the roof, he insists that he has already been punished: his latest girlfriend Fay has left him for his best friend Larry. To distract Lucy, Harry tells her a story that he is currently writing: a semi-autobiographical story of a sex-obsessed young man named Harvey who is mistakenly claimed by Death during an encounter with a prostitute.
In therapy, Harry realizes that he has not changed since his sex-obsessed youth. He discusses his honoring ceremony at his old university in upstate New York, taking place the next day; he is particularly unhappy that he has nobody with whom to share the occasion. After the session, Harry asks his ex-wife and former therapist Joan if he can take their son Hilliard to the ceremony. She refuses, stating that Harry is a bad influence on Hilliard. She is also furious at Harry for the novel he wrote. In it, the character Epstein marries his therapist Helen, but the marriage begins to crumble after the birth of their son.
Harry runs into an acquaintance, Richard, who is worried about his health. After accompanying Richard to the hospital, Harry invites him to the university ceremony; Richard claims he will be busy that day. Harry meets with his ex-girlfriend Fay, who reveals that she is now engaged. Harry begs Fay to get back together with him. He asks Fay to accompany him to his ceremony, but it clashes with her wedding, scheduled the following day.
That night, Harry sleeps with a prostitute, Cookie, who agrees to accompany him to his ceremony. In the morning, Richard unexpectedly arrives to join Harry and Cookie on the trip. On a whim, Harry decides to "kidnap" his son Hilliard. Along the way, they stop at a carnival, then at Harry's half-sister Doris's. Doris, a devout Jew, is upset by Harry's portrayals of Judaism in his stories, as is her husband. During the trip, Harry encounters his fictional creations Ken and Helen, who force him to confront some painful truths about his life. Before arriving at the university, Richard dies peacefully in the car.
While filming, Harry's fictional alter ego Mel literally slides out of focus, becoming blurred. The university's staffers gush over Harry, asking what he plans to write next. He describes a story about a man (based on himself) who journeys to Hell to reclaim his true love (based on Fay) from the Devil (based on Larry). Harry and the Devil engage in a verbal duel regarding who is truly the more evil of the two. Harry argues that he is a kidnapper, but the story is interrupted by the arrival of the police. Harry is arrested for kidnapping Hilliard, for possessing a gun (it was Lucy's), and for having drugs in the car (belonging to Cookie).
Larry and Fay come from their wedding to bail out Harry from jail. Harry reluctantly gives them his blessings. At his apartment, a miserable Harry fantasizes that the university's ceremony is taking place. He eventually overcomes his writer's block by starting to write a book about a man who, like him, can function only in art, not in life.
== Cast ==
=== Casting ===
Woody Allen offered the role of Harry Block to Elliott Gould, Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Hopper and Albert Brooks, all of whom turned it down. Allen took the role himself.
== Influences ==
The film is a general reworking of Allen's 1980 film Stardust Memories, which also had an artist attend a ceremony in his honor, while reminiscing over past relationships and trying to fix and stabilize current ones.
Allen is an admirer of several renowned European directors, and his films in particular often draw on the works of Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini. The rough outline of the plot of Deconstructing Harry, that of an academic on a long drive to receive an honorary award from his old university while reflecting on his life's experiences, essentially mirrors that of Bergman's Wild Strawberries. Additionally, the film is similar to Fellini's 8½, in being about an artist struggling with his current relationships and remembering his old ones, interspersed with dream sequences, as well as works based on events from his life.
It is acknowledged by some critics that Allen based the name of Harry Block on Antonius Block (Max von Sydow), the protagonist from Bergman's The Seventh Seal. Some critics, including Roger Ebert, have suggested that the character of Harry Block is based on real-life author Philip Roth, and not on Allen.
== Soundtrack ==
== Reception ==
=== Critical reaction ===
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 74%, based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.
Writing for Variety, David Stratton stated: "Deconstructing Harry is abrasive, complex, lacerating and self-revelatory. It's also very funny, most of the time. Woody Allen's latest is one of his most provocative and challenging films."
=== Accolades ===
Allen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. The film was nominated for the Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterostylis_aestiva#Description | Pterostylis aestiva#Description | Pterostylis aestiva, commonly known as the long-tongued summer greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. As with similar greenhoods, the flowering plants differ from those which are not flowering. The non-flowering plants have a rosette of leaves flat on the ground but the flowering plants have a single flower with leaves on the flowering spike.
== Description ==
Pterostylis aestiva is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and when not flowering, a rosette of dark bluish-green leaves, each leaf 10–30 millimetres (0.4–1 in) long and 10–15 millimetres (0.4–0.6 in) wide. Flowering plants have a single flower 20–30 millimetres (0.8–1 in) long and 7–9 millimetres (0.3–0.4 in) wide borne on a spike 150–350 millimetres (6–10 in) high with between three and five stem leaves. The flowers are dark bluish-green, white and brown. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column. The dorsal sepal curves forward with a thread-like tip 8–12 millimetres (0.3–0.5 in) long. The lateral sepals are held closely against the galea, have an erect, thread-like tip 25–35 millimetres (0.98–1.4 in) long and a protruding sinus between their bases. The labellum is 15–19 millimetres (0.6–0.7 in) long, about 4 millimetres (0.2 in) wide, brown, blunt, and curved and protrudes above the sinus. Flowering occurs from January to April.
== Taxonomy and naming ==
Pterostylis aestiva was first formally described in 1972 by David Jones from a specimen collected near Wulgulmerang. The description was published in Muelleria. The specific epithet (aestiva) is a Latin word meaning "pertaining to summer".
== Distribution and habitat ==
The long-tongued summer greenhood grows among grasses in high rainfall forests in north-east Victoria and New South Wales as far north as Mount Canobolas.
== Use in horticulture ==
This greenhood is easily grows in pots although plants must be kept moist during the growing season and dry when dormant. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Ghana | Languages of Ghana | Ghana is a multilingual country in which about eighty languages are spoken. Of these, English, which was inherited from the colonial era, is the official language and lingua franca. Of the languages indigenous to Ghana, Akan is the most widely spoken in the south. Dagbani, Dagare, Sisaala, Waale, and Gonja are among the most widely spoken in the northern part of the country.
Ghana has more than seventy ethnic groups, each with its own distinct language. Languages that belong to the same ethnic group are usually mutually intelligible. The Dagbanli, Nanumba and Mamprusi languages of Northern Region, are almost the same and, are mutually intelligible with the Frafra and Waali languages of the Upper East and Upper West Regions of Ghana. The Mole–Dagbani languages are spoken by more than 20% of the population.
Eleven languages have the status of government-sponsored languages: three Akan dialects (Akuapem Twi, Asante Twi and Fante) and two Mole–Dagbani languages (Dagaare and Dagbanli). The others are Ewe, Dangme, Ga, Nzema, Gonja, and Kasem.
In April 2019, the Ghanaian government declared its intention to make French one of Ghana's official languages due to the country being surrounded by Francophone countries (Burkina Faso to a lesser extent, the Ivory Coast and Togo) and the presence of a French speaking minority in the country.
== Government-sponsored languages ==
The number of government-sponsored languages is either eleven or nine, depending on whether or not Akuapem Twi, Asante Twi, and Fante are considered a single language. They are supported by the Bureau of Ghana Languages, which was established in 1951 and publishes materials in the languages; during the periods when Ghanaian languages were used in primary education, these were the languages which were used. All these languages belong to the Niger–Congo language family, though to several different branches.
=== Akan (Fante, Asante Twi and Akuapem Twi) ===
Akan, part of the Kwa branch of the Niger–Congo family, is a dialect continuum, but with regard to official status, only a few out of the many varieties of Akan are recognised: Fante, Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi. Taken as a whole, Akan is the most-widely spoken language in Ghana.
=== Ewe ===
Ewe is a Gbe language, part of the Volta–Niger branch of the Niger–Congo family. The Ewe Language is spoken in Ghana, Togo and Benin with a trace of the language in West Nigeria. Out of the many dialects of Ewe spoken in Ghana, the major ones are Anlo, Tongu, Vedome, Gbi, and Krepi.
=== Dagbani ===
Dagbani is one of the Gur languages. It is the most spoken language in Northern Ghana. The number of native speakers numbers more than three million, this number will reach six million if dialects such as Nanumba, Mamprusi and Kamara are added. It belongs to the larger Mole–Dagbani ethnic group found in Ghana and makes up about 18.5% of the population. It is spoken by Dagombas in the Northern Region of Ghana.
=== Dangme ===
Dangme is one of the Ga–Dangme languages within the Kwa branch. It is spoken in Greater Accra, in south-east Ghana and Togo. Dangme is a West African Kwa language spoken in Ghana, and it has been gaining popularity among Ghana residents.
=== Dagaare ===
Dagaare is another of the Gur languages. It is spoken in the Upper West Region of Ghana. It is also spoken in Burkina Faso. Waali, spoken by the Wala people, and the Dagaare language are languages that can be understood by each other's speakers.
=== Ga ===
Ga is the other Ga–Dangme language within the Kwa branch. Ga is spoken in south-eastern Ghana, in and around the capital Accra. It is a Niger-Congo language in the Kwa branch, spoken by around 600,000 people in Ghana. Six separate towns comprised the Ga-speaking peoples: Accra, Osu, Labadi, Teshi, Nungua, and Tema. Each town had a central stool of importance in Ga traditions. Accra, among these towns, rose to prominence and now serves as Ghana's capital.
=== Nzema ===
Nzema is one of the Bia languages, closely related to Akan. It is spoken by the Nzema people in the Western Region of Ghana. It is also spoken in the Ivory Coast. Nzema, also known as Appolo, is mainly spoken in Ghana's Jomoro district and Ivory Coast's Comoé district. In 2004, it had around 330,000 speakers. The Nzema language utilizes a Latin-based script and comprises a total of twenty-four alphabetic characters.
=== Kasem ===
Kasem is a Gurunsi language, in the Gur branch. It is spoken in the Upper Eastern Region of Ghana. It is also spoken in Burkina Faso. By 1998, Kasem had around 250,000 speakers, divided between Ghana (130,000) and Burkina Faso (120,000). It's alternatively known as Kasena, Kasim, Kassem, Kasɩm, or Kassena.
=== Gonja ===
Gonja is one of the Guang languages, part of the Tano languages within the Kwa branch along with Akan and Bia. It is spoken in the Northern Region of Ghana and Wa. "Gonja" comes from "Kada Goro-Jaa" in Hausa, signifying "land of Red Cola." Ghana has over 285,000 Gonja people.
== Languages spoken in Ghana by number of speakers ==
This chart reflects data provided by Ethnologue.
== Language classification ==
The language of Ghana belong to the following branches within the Niger–Congo language family:
Kwa languages (Akan, Bia, Guang in Tano; Ga and Adangme)
Gbe languages (Ewe)
Gur languages (Gurunsi, Dagbani, Mossi, Dagaare, and Frafra in Oti–Volta)
Senufo languages (Nafaanra)
Kulango languages
Mande languages (Wangara, Ligbi)
Older classifications may instead group them as Kwa, Gur, and Mande. |
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mayors_of_Utica,_New_York | List of mayors of Utica, New York | This article contains a list of mayors of the city of Utica in the U.S. State of New York, in the United States.
== List == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICC_men%27s_player_rankings#Top_10_Test_batsmen | ICC men's player rankings#Top 10 Test batsmen | |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London | London | London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of 9.1 million people in 2024. Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 15.1 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, for centuries has been as the site of the national government and parliament. London grew rapidly in the 19th century, becoming the world's largest city at the time. Since the 19th century the name "London" has referred to the metropolis around the City of London, historically split among the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire. Since 1965 it has largely comprised the administrative area of Greater London, governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority.
As one of the world's major global cities, London exerts a strong influence on world art, architecture, culture, cinema, entertainment, fashion, commerce, finance, education, healthcare, media, science, technology, tourism, transport and communications. London is Europe's largest city economy and one of the world's major financial centres. London hosts Europe's largest concentration of higher education institutions, comprising over 50 universities and colleges and enrolling more than 500,000 students in 2023. It is home to several of the world's leading academic institutions; Imperial College London, internationally recognised for its excellence in natural and applied sciences, and University College London (UCL), a comprehensive research-intensive university, consistently rank among the top ten globally. Other notable institutions include King's College London (KCL), highly regarded in law, humanities and health sciences; the London School of Economics (LSE), globally prominent in social sciences and economics; and specialised institutions such as the Royal College of Art (RCA), Royal Academy of Music (RAM), the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and London Business School (LBS). It is the most-visited city in Europe and has the world's busiest city airport system. The London Underground is the world's oldest rapid transit system.
London's diverse cultures encompass over 300 languages. The 2025 population of Greater London of just over 9.8 million made it Europe's third-most populous city, accounting for 13.1 per cent of the United Kingdom's population and 15.5 per cent of England's population. The Greater London Built-up Area is the fourth-most populous in Europe, with about 9.8 million inhabitants as of 2011. The London metropolitan area is the third-most-populous in Europe, with about 15 million inhabitants as of 2025, making London a megacity. Four World Heritage Sites are located in London: Kew Gardens; the Tower of London; the site featuring the Palace of Westminster, the Church of St Margaret, and Westminster Abbey; and the historic settlement in Greenwich where the Royal Observatory defines the prime meridian (0° longitude) and Greenwich Mean Time. Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge and Trafalgar Square. The city has the most museums, art galleries, libraries and cultural venues in the UK, including the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, the British Library and numerous West End theatres. Important annual sporting events held in London include the FA Cup Final, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and the London Marathon. It became the first city to host three Summer Olympic Games upon hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics.
== Etymology ==
London is an ancient name, attested in the first century AD, usually in the Latinised form Londinium. Modern scientific analyses of the name must account for the origins of the different forms that are found in early sources: Latin (usually Londinium), Old English (usually Lunden), and Welsh (usually Llundein), with reference to the known developments over time of sounds in those different languages. It is agreed that the name came into these languages from Common Brythonic; recent work tends to reconstruct the lost Celtic form of the name as *Londonjon or something similar. This was then adapted into Latin as Londinium and borrowed into Old English.
Until 1889, the name "London" applied officially only to the City of London, but since then it has also referred to the County of London and to Greater London.
== History ==
=== Prehistory ===
In 1993 remains of a Bronze Age bridge were found on the south River Thames foreshore, upstream from Vauxhall Bridge. Two of the timbers were radiocarbon dated to 1750–1285 BC. In 2010 foundations of a large timber structure, dated to 4800–4500 BC, were found on the Thames' south foreshore downstream from Vauxhall Bridge. Both structures are on the south bank of the Thames, where the now-underground River Effra flows into the Thames.
=== Roman London ===
Despite the evidence of scattered Brythonic settlements in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the Romans around AD 47, about 4 years after their invasion of AD 43. This only lasted until about AD 61, when the Iceni tribe led by Queen Boudica stormed it and burnt it to the ground.
The next planned incarnation of Londinium prospered, superseding Colchester as the principal city of the Roman province of Britannia in 100. At its height in the 2nd century, Roman London had a population of about 60,000.
=== Anglo-Saxon and Viking-period London ===
With the early-5th-century collapse of Roman rule, the walled city of Londinium was effectively abandoned, although Roman civilisation continued around St Martin-in-the-Fields until about 450. From about 500 an Anglo-Saxon settlement known as Lundenwic developed slightly west of the old Roman city. By about 680 the city had become a major port again, but there is little evidence of large-scale production. From the 820s repeated Viking assaults brought decline. Three are recorded; those in 851 and 886 succeeded, while the last, in 994, was rebuffed.
The Vikings applied Danelaw over much of eastern and northern England, its boundary running roughly from London to Chester as an area of political and geographical control imposed by the Viking incursions formally agreed by the Danish warlord named Guthrum and the West Saxon king Alfred the Great in 886. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Alfred "refounded" London in 886. Archaeological research shows this involved abandonment of Lundenwic and a revival of life and trade within the old Roman walls. London then grew slowly until a dramatic increase in about 950.
By the 11th century, London was clearly the largest town in England. Westminster Abbey, rebuilt in Romanesque style by King Edward the Confessor, was one of the grandest churches in Europe. Winchester had been the capital of Anglo-Saxon England, but from this time, London became the main forum for foreign traders and the base for defence in time of war. In the view of Frank Stenton: "It had the resources, and it was rapidly developing the dignity and the political self-consciousness appropriate to a national capital."
=== Middle Ages ===
After winning the Battle of Hastings, William, Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England as William I in the newly completed Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. William built the Tower of London, the first of many such in England rebuilt in stone in the south-eastern corner of the city, to intimidate the inhabitants. In 1097 William II began building Westminster Hall, near the abbey. It became the basis of a new Palace of Westminster.
In the 12th century the institutions of central government, which had hitherto followed the royal English court around the country, grew in size and sophistication and became increasingly fixed, for most purposes at Westminster, although the royal treasury came to rest in the Tower of London. While the City of Westminster developed into a true governmental capital, its distinct neighbour, the City of London, remained England's largest city and principal commercial centre and flourished under its own unique administration, the Corporation of London. In 1100 its population was some 18,000; by 1300 it had grown to nearly 100,000. With the Black Death in the mid-14th century, London lost nearly a third of its population. London was the focus of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381.
London was a centre of England's Jewish population before their expulsion by Edward I in 1290. Violence against Jews occurred in 1190, when it was rumoured that Richard I had ordered their massacre after some of their leaders had presented themselves at his coronation. In 1264, during the Second Barons' War, Simon de Montfort's rebels killed 500 Jews while attempting to seize records of debts.
=== Early modern ===
During the Tudor period the Reformation produced a gradual shift to Protestantism. Much property in London passed from church to private ownership, which accelerated trade and business in the city. In 1475 the Hanseatic League set up a main trading base (kontor) of England in London, called the Stalhof or Steelyard. It remained until 1853, when the Hanseatic cities of Lübeck, Bremen and Hamburg sold the property to South Eastern Railway. Woollen cloth was shipped undyed and undressed from 14th- and 15th-century London to the nearby shores of the Low Countries.
Yet English maritime enterprise hardly reached beyond the seas of northwestern Europe. The commercial route to the Italian peninsula and the Mediterranean Sea was normally through Antwerp and over the Alps; any ships passing through the Strait of Gibraltar to or from England were likely to be Italian or Ragusan. The reopening of the Netherlands to English shipping in January 1565 spurred a burst of commercial activity. The Royal Exchange was founded. Mercantilism grew and monopoly traders such as the East India Company were founded as trade expanded to the New World. London became the main North Sea port, with migrants arriving from England and abroad. The population rose from about 50,000 in 1530 to about 225,000 in 1605.
The poet and playwright William Shakespeare and his contemporaries lived in London during the time of English Renaissance theatre (1558–1642). Shakespeare's Globe Theatre was constructed in 1599 in Southwark. Stage performances came to a halt in London when Puritan authorities shut down the theatres in the 1640s. The ban on theatre was lifted during the Restoration in 1660, and London's oldest operating theatre, Drury Lane, opened in 1663 in what is now the West End theatre district.
By the end of the Tudor period in 1603, London was still compact. There was an assassination attempt on James I in Westminster, in the Gunpowder Plot of 5 November 1605. In 1637 the government of Charles I attempted to reform administration in the London area. This called for the Corporation of the city to extend its jurisdiction and administration over expanding areas around the city. Fearing an attempt by the Crown to diminish the Liberties of London, coupled with a lack of interest in administering these additional areas or concern by city guilds of having to share power, caused the Corporation's "The Great Refusal", a decision which largely continues to account for the unique governmental status of the City of London.
In the English Civil War the majority of Londoners supported the Parliamentary cause. After an initial advance by the Royalists in 1642, culminating in the battles of Brentford and Turnham Green, London was surrounded by a defensive perimeter wall known as the Lines of Communication. The lines were built by up to 20,000 people, and were completed in under two months. The fortifications failed their only test when the New Model Army entered London in 1647, and they were levelled by Parliament the same year. London was plagued by disease in the early-17th century, culminating in the Great Plague of 1665–1666, which killed up to 100,000 people, or a fifth of the population. The Great Fire of London broke out in September 1666 in Pudding Lane in the city and quickly swept through the wooden buildings. Rebuilding took over 10 years and was supervised by the polymath Robert Hooke.
In 1710 Christopher Wren's masterpiece St Paul's Cathedral was completed, replacing its medieval predecessor, which burnt down in the Great Fire. The dome of St Paul's dominated the London skyline for centuries, inspiring the artworks and writing of William Blake, with his 1789 poem "Holy Thursday" referring to 'the high dome of Pauls'. During the Georgian era new districts such as Mayfair were formed in the west; new bridges over the Thames encouraged development in South London. In the east the Port of London expanded downstream. London's development as an international financial centre matured for much of the 18th century.
In 1762 George III acquired Buckingham House, which was enlarged over the next 75 years. During the 18th century London was said to be dogged by crime, and the Bow Street Runners were established in 1750 as a professional police force. Epidemics during the 1720s and 30s saw most children born in the city die before reaching their fifth birthday.
Coffeehouses became a popular place to debate ideas, as growing literacy and development of the printing press made news widely available, with Fleet Street becoming the centre of the British press. The invasion of Amsterdam by armies of Napoleon led many financiers to relocate to London and the first London international issue was arranged in 1817. Around the same time, the Royal Navy became the world's leading war fleet, acting as a major deterrent to potential economic adversaries. Following a fire in 1838, the Royal Exchange was redesigned by William Tite and rebuilt in 1844. The repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 was specifically aimed at weakening Dutch economic power. London then overtook Amsterdam as the leading international financial centre.
=== Late modern and contemporary ===
With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, an unprecedented growth in urbanisation took place, and the number of High Streets (the primary street for retail in Britain) rapidly grew. London was the world's largest city from about 1831 to 1925, with a population density of 132 per acre (325 per hectare). In addition to the growing number of stores selling goods, such as Harding, Howell & Co., one of the first department stores, located on Pall Mall, the streets had scores of street sellers. Rising traffic congestion led to the creation of the London Underground, the world's first urban rail network.
London's overcrowded conditions and the "Great Stink" of the River Thames led to cholera epidemics, claiming 14,000 lives in 1848, and 6,000 in 1866. A key development in public health and sanitation took place at the Great Exhibition of 1851 at Hyde Park when George Jennings installed the first public flush toilets. In response to the exacerbation of sanitary conditions brought on by heavy industrialisation and urbanisation, the modern sewage system was created in London by the Metropolitan Board of Works led by its chief engineer Joseph Bazalgette. The London sewer system included 82 miles (132 km) of main and 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of street sewers that diverted waste to the Thames Estuary, and by the 1890s it would also feature the revolutionary biological treatment of sewage to oxidise the waste. The Metropolitan Board of Works oversaw infrastructure expansion in the capital and some surrounding counties; it was abolished in 1889 when the London County Council was created out of county areas surrounding the capital.
From the early 20th century onwards, teashops were found on High Streets across London and the rest of Britain, with Lyons, who opened the first of their chain of teashops in Piccadilly in 1894, leading the way. Tearooms, such as the Criterion in Piccadilly, became a popular meeting place for women from the suffrage movement. The city was the target of many attacks during the suffragette bombing and arson campaign, between 1912 and 1914, in which historic landmarks such as Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral were bombed.
London was bombed by the Germans in the First World War, and during the Second World War, the Blitz and other bombings by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany killed over 30,000 Londoners, destroying large tracts of housing and other buildings across the city. The tomb of the Unknown Warrior, an unidentified member of the British armed forces killed during the First World War, was buried in Westminster Abbey on 11 November 1920. The Cenotaph, located in Whitehall, was unveiled on the same day, and is the focal point for the National Service of Remembrance held annually on Remembrance Sunday, the closest Sunday to 11 November.
The 1948 Summer Olympics were held at the original Wembley Stadium, while London was still recovering from the war. From the 1940s, London became home to many immigrants, primarily from Commonwealth countries such as Jamaica, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, making London one of the most multiracial cities in the world. In 1951 the Festival of Britain was held on the South Bank. The Great Smog of 1952 led to the Clean Air Act 1956, which ended the "pea soup fogs" for which London had been notorious, and had earned it the nickname the "Big Smoke".
Starting mainly in the mid-1960s, London became a centre for worldwide youth culture, exemplified by the Swinging London sub-culture associated with the King's Road, Chelsea and Carnaby Street. The role of trendsetter revived in the punk era. In 1965 London's political boundaries were expanded in response to the growth of the urban area, and a new Greater London Council was created. During the Troubles in Northern Ireland, London was hit from 1973 by bomb attacks by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. These attacks lasted for two decades, starting with the Old Bailey bombing. Racial inequality was highlighted by the 1981 Brixton riot.
Greater London's population declined in the decades after the Second World War, from an estimated peak of 8.6 million in 1939 to around 6.8 million in the 1980s. The principal ports for London moved downstream to Felixstowe and Tilbury, with the London Docklands area becoming a focus for regeneration, including the Canary Wharf development. This was born out of London's increasing role as an international financial centre in the 1980s. Located about 2 miles (3 km) east of central London, the Thames Barrier was completed in 1982 to protect London against tidal surges from the North Sea.
The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, leaving London with no central administration until 2000 and the creation of the Greater London Authority. To mark the 21st century the Millennium Dome, the London Eye and the Millennium Bridge were constructed. On 6 July 2005 London was awarded the 2012 Summer Olympics, as the first city to stage the Olympic Games three times. On 7 July 2005, three London Underground trains and a double-decker bus were bombed in a series of terrorist attacks.
In 2008 Time magazine named London alongside New York City and Hong Kong as Nylonkong, hailing them as the world's three most influential global cities. In January 2015 Greater London's population was estimated to be 8.63 million, its highest since 1939. During the Brexit referendum in 2016, the UK as a whole decided to leave the European Union, but most London constituencies voted for remaining. However, Britain's exit from the EU in January 2020 only marginally weakened London's position as an international financial centre.
In terms of international connectedness, as of 2024, London was one of two cities worldwide classified as an "Alpha++" city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
== Administration ==
=== Local government ===
The administration of London is formed of two tiers: a citywide, strategic tier and a local tier. Citywide administration is coordinated by the Greater London Authority (GLA), while local administration is carried out by 33 smaller authorities. The GLA consists of two elected components: the mayor of London, who has executive powers, and the London Assembly, which scrutinises the mayor's decisions and can accept or reject the mayor's budget proposals each year. The GLA has responsibility for the majority of London's transport system through its functional arm Transport for London (TfL), it is responsible for overseeing the city's police and fire services, and also for setting a strategic vision for London on a range of issues. The headquarters of the GLA is City Hall, Newham. The mayor since 2016 has been Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital. The mayor's statutory planning strategy is published as the London Plan, which was most recently revised in 2011.
The local authorities are the councils of the 32 London boroughs, and the City of London Corporation. They are responsible for most local services, such as local planning, schools, libraries, leisure and recreation, social services, local roads and refuse collection. Certain functions, such as waste management, are provided through joint arrangements. In 2009–2010 the combined revenue expenditure by London councils and the GLA amounted to just over £22 billion (£14.7 billion for the boroughs and £7.4 billion for the GLA). Although Greater London is almost entirely unparished, there is one parish council; Queen's Park Community Council, which forms a third tier of local government in its area.
The London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for Greater London, run by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. It is the third largest fire service in the world. National Health Service ambulance services are provided by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) NHS Trust, the largest free-at-the-point-of-use emergency ambulance service in the world. The London Air Ambulance charity operates in conjunction with the LAS where required. His Majesty's Coastguard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution operate on the River Thames, which is under the jurisdiction of the Port of London Authority from Teddington Lock to the sea.
=== National government ===
London is the seat of the Government of the United Kingdom. Many government departments, as well as the prime minister's residence at 10 Downing Street, are based close to the Palace of Westminster, particularly along Whitehall. There are 75 members of Parliament (MPs) from London; As at June 2024, 59 are from the Labour Party, 9 are Conservatives, 6 are Liberal Democrats and one constituency is held by an independent. The ministerial post of Minister for London was created in 1994; however, it has been vacant since July 2024.
=== Policing and crime ===
Policing in Greater London, with the exception of the City of London, is provided by the Metropolitan Police ("The Met"), overseen by the mayor through the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). The Met is also referred to as Scotland Yard after the location of its original headquarters in a road called Great Scotland Yard in Whitehall. The City of London has its own police force – the City of London Police. First worn by Met police officers in 1863, the custodian helmet has been called a "cultural icon" and a "symbol of British law enforcement". Introduced by the Met in 1929, the blue police telephone box (the basis for the TARDIS in the television series Doctor Who) was once a common sight throughout London and regional cities in the UK.
The British Transport Police are responsible for police services on National Rail, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway and Tramlink services.
The Ministry of Defence Police is a special police force in London, which does not generally become involved with policing the general public. The UK's domestic counterintelligence service, MI5, is headquartered in Thames House on the north bank of the River Thames and the foreign intelligence service, MI6, is headquartered in the SIS Building on the south bank.
Crime rates vary widely across different areas of London. Crime figures are made available nationally at Local Authority and Ward level. In 2015 there were 118 homicides, a 25.5 per cent increase over 2014.
Recorded crime has been rising in London, notably violent crime and murder by stabbing and other means have risen. There were 50 murders from the start of 2018 to mid April 2018. Funding cuts to police in London are likely to have contributed to this, though other factors are involved. However, homicide figures fell in 2022 with 109 recorded for the year, and the murder rate in London is much lower than other major cities around the world.
== Geography ==
=== Scope ===
London, also known as Greater London, is one of nine regions of England and the top subdivision covering most of the city's metropolis. The City of London at its core once comprised the whole settlement, but as its urban area grew, the Corporation of London resisted attempts to amalgamate the city with its suburbs, causing "London" to be defined several ways.
Forty per cent of Greater London is covered by the London post town, in which 'London' forms part of postal addresses. The London telephone area code (020) covers a larger area, similar in size to Greater London, although some outer districts are excluded and some just outside included. The Greater London boundary has been aligned to the M25 motorway in places.
Further urban expansion is now prevented by the Metropolitan Green Belt, although the built-up area extends beyond the boundary in places, producing a separately defined Greater London Urban Area. Beyond this is the vast London commuter belt. Greater London is split for some purposes into Inner London and Outer London, and by the River Thames into North and South, with an informal Central London area. The coordinates of the nominal "centre of London", traditionally the original Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross near the junction of Trafalgar Square and Whitehall, are about 51°30′26″N 00°07′39″W.
=== Status ===
Within London, both the City of London and the City of Westminster have city status. The City of London and the remainder of Greater London are both counties for the purposes of lieutenancies. The area of Greater London includes areas that are part of the historic counties of Middlesex, Kent, Surrey, Essex and Hertfordshire. More recently, Greater London has been defined as a region of England and in this context is known as London.
It is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England by convention rather than statute. The capital of England was moved to London from Winchester as the Palace of Westminster developed in the 12th and 13th centuries to become the permanent location of the royal court, and thus the political capital of the nation.
=== Topography ===
Greater London encompasses a total area of 611 square miles (1,583 km2). The extended area known as the London Metropolitan Region or the London Metropolitan Agglomeration, comprises a total area of 3,236 square miles (8,382 km2).
Modern London stands on the Thames, its primary geographical feature, a navigable river which crosses the city from the south-west to the east. The Thames Valley is a flood plain surrounded by gently rolling hills including Parliament Hill, Addington Hills, and Primrose Hill. Historically, London grew up at the lowest bridging point on the Thames. The Thames was once a much broader, shallower river with extensive marshlands; at high tide, its shores reached five times their present width.
Since the Victorian era the Thames has been extensively embanked, and many of its London tributaries now flow underground. The Thames is a tidal river, and London is vulnerable to flooding. The threat has increased over time because of a slow but continuous rise in high water level caused by climate change and by the slow 'tilting' of the British Isles as a result of post-glacial rebound.
=== Climate ===
London has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb). Rainfall records have been kept in the city since at least 1697, when records began at Kew. At Kew, the most rainfall in one month is 7.4 inches (189 mm) in November 1755 and the least is 0 inches (0 mm) in both December 1788 and July 1800. Mile End also had 0 inches (0 mm) in April 1893. The wettest year on record is 1903, with a total fall of 38.1 inches (969 mm) and the driest is 1921, with a total fall of 12.1 inches (308 mm). The average annual precipitation amounts to about 600mm, which is half the annual rainfall of New York City. Despite relatively low annual precipitation, London receives 109.6 rainy days on the 1.0mm threshold annually. London is vulnerable to climate change, and there is concern among hydrological experts that households may run out of water before 2050.
Temperature extremes in London range from 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) at Heathrow on 19 July 2022 down to −17.4 °C (0.7 °F) at Northolt on 13 December 1981. Records for atmospheric pressure have been kept at London since 1692. The highest pressure ever reported is 1,049.8 millibars (31.00 inHg) on 20 January 2020.
Summers are generally warm, sometimes hot. London's average July high is 23.5 °C (74.3 °F). On average each year, London experiences 31 days above 25 °C (77.0 °F) and 4.2 days above 30.0 °C (86.0 °F). During the 2003 European heat wave, prolonged heat led to hundreds of heat-related deaths. A previous spell of 15 consecutive days above 32.2 °C (90.0 °F) in England in 1976 also caused many heat related deaths. A previous temperature of 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) in August 1911 at the Greenwich station was later disregarded as non-standard. Droughts can also, occasionally, be a problem, especially in summer, most recently in summer 2018, and with much drier than average conditions prevailing from May to December. However, the most consecutive days without rain was 73 days in the spring of 1893.
Winters are generally cool with little temperature variation. Heavy snow is rare, but snow usually falls at least once each winter. Spring and autumn can be pleasant. As a large city, London has a considerable urban heat island effect, making the centre of London at times 5 °C (9 °F) warmer than the suburbs and outskirts.
=== Areas ===
Places within London's vast urban area are identified using area names, such as Mayfair, Southwark, Wembley and Whitechapel. These are either informal designations, reflect the names of villages that have been absorbed by sprawl, or are superseded administrative units such as parishes or former boroughs.
Such names have remained in use through tradition, each referring to a local area with its own distinctive character, but without official boundaries. Since 1965, Greater London has been divided into 32 London boroughs in addition to its once walled ancient core, the City of London. The City of London is the main financial district, and Canary Wharf has recently developed into a new financial and commercial hub in the Docklands to the east.
West London is located west of the City of London. The West End of London is a prestigious area of inner West London focused on parts of Westminster close to the City of London. The West End includes London’s main shopping and entertainment areas, including West End theatre, and as such attracts many tourists. West London includes expensive residential areas where properties can sell for tens of millions of pounds. The average price for properties in Kensington and Chelsea is over £2 million.
East London is located to the east of the City of London, with the East End being the part of East London closest to the City of London. It has long been known for its high immigrant population and for being one of the poorest areas of the capital. East London included the main northern part of the Port of London and extensive industrial areas. In the late 20th century, deindustrialisation and the closure of the docks brought great hardship. Throughout the area many large brownfield areas now being redeveloped including London Riverside and the Lower Lea Valley, which was developed into the Olympic Park for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
North London is situated north of the City of London, with South London (whose development started with the ancient borough of Southwark at the southern end of London Bridge) occupying all of London south of the River Thames.
=== Architecture ===
London's buildings are too diverse to be characterised by any particular architectural style, partly because of their varying ages. Many grand houses and public buildings, such as the National Gallery, are constructed from Portland stone. Some areas of the city, particularly those just west of the centre, are characterised by white stucco or whitewashed buildings. Few structures in central London pre-date the Great Fire of 1666, these being a few trace Roman remains, the Tower of London and a few scattered Tudor survivors in the city. Further out is, for example, the Tudor-period Hampton Court Palace.
Part of the varied architectural heritage are the 17th-century churches by Christopher Wren, neoclassical financial institutions such as the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England, to the early-20th-century Old Bailey courthouse and the 1960s Barbican Estate. The 1939 Battersea Power Station by the river in the south-west is a local landmark, while some railway termini are excellent examples of Victorian architecture, most notably St. Pancras and Paddington. The density of London varies, with high employment density in the central area and Canary Wharf, high residential densities in inner London, and lower densities in Outer London.
The Monument to the Great Fire of London in the City of London provides views of the surrounding area while commemorating the Great Fire of London, which originated nearby. Marble Arch and Wellington Arch, at the north and south ends of Park Lane, have royal connections, as do the Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall in Kensington. Nelson's Column (built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson who is depicted in a 17 feet (5.2 m) statue at the top) is a nationally recognised monument in Trafalgar Square, one of the focal points of Central London. Older buildings are mainly brick, commonly the yellow London stock brick.
In the dense areas, most of the concentration is via medium- and high-rise buildings. London's skyscrapers, such as 30 St Mary Axe (designed by Foster and Partners and dubbed "The Gherkin"), Tower 42, the Broadgate Tower and One Canada Square, are mostly in the two financial districts, the City of London and Canary Wharf. High-rise development is restricted at certain sites if it would obstruct protected views of St Paul's Cathedral and other historic buildings. This protective policy, known as 'St Paul's Heights', has been in operation by the City of London since 1937. Nevertheless, there are a number of tall skyscrapers in Central London, including the 95-storey Shard London Bridge, the tallest building in the UK and Western Europe.
Other notable modern buildings include The Scalpel, 20 Fenchurch Street (dubbed 'The Walkie-Talkie'), the former City Hall in Southwark, the Art Deco BBC Broadcasting House plus the Postmodernist British Library in Somers Town/Kings Cross and No 1 Poultry by James Stirling. The BT Tower stands at 620 feet (189 m) and has a 360-degree coloured LED screen near the top. What was formerly the Millennium Dome, by the Thames to the east of Canary Wharf, is now an entertainment venue called the O2 Arena.
=== Natural history ===
The London Natural History Society suggests that London is "one of the World's Greenest Cities" with more than 40% green space or open water. They indicate that 2000 species of flowering plant have been found growing there and that the tidal Thames supports 120 species of fish. They state that over 60 species of bird nest in central London and that their members have recorded 47 species of butterfly, 1,173 moths and more than 270 kinds of spider around London. London's wetland areas support nationally important populations of many water birds. In 2024 there was an estimated 3 million pigeons in London. At least six ravens are kept at the Tower of London at all times. London has 38 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), two national nature reserves and 76 local nature reserves.
Amphibians are common in the capital, including smooth newts living by the Tate Modern, and common frogs, common toads, palmate newts, and great crested newts. On the other hand, native reptiles such as slowworms, common lizards, barred grass snakes and adders, are mostly only seen in Outer London.
Among other inhabitants of London are 10,000 red foxes, so that there are now 16 foxes for every square mile (6 per square km) of London. Other mammals found in Greater London are hedgehog, brown rat, mice, rabbit, shrew, vole and grey squirrel. In wilder areas of Outer London, such as Epping Forest, a wide variety of mammals are found, including European hare, badger, field, bank and water vole, wood mouse, yellow-necked mouse, mole, shrew and weasel, in addition to red fox, grey squirrel and hedgehog. A dead otter was found at The Highway, in Wapping, about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Tower Bridge, which would suggest that they have begun to move back after being absent a hundred years from the city. Ten of England's eighteen species of bats have been recorded in Epping Forest: soprano, Nathusius' and common pipistrelles, common noctule, serotine, barbastelle, Daubenton's, brown long-eared, Natterer's and Leisler's.
Herds of red and fallow deer roam freely within much of Richmond and Bushy Park. A cull takes place each November and February to ensure numbers can be sustained. Epping Forest is also known for its fallow deer, which can frequently be seen in herds to the north of the Forest. A rare population of melanistic, black fallow deer is also maintained at the Deer Sanctuary near Theydon Bois. Muntjac deer are also found in the forest. While Londoners are accustomed to wildlife such as birds and foxes sharing the city, more recently urban deer have started becoming a regular feature, and whole herds of fallow deer come into residential areas at night to take advantage of London's green spaces.
== Demographics ==
London's continuous urban area extends beyond Greater London and numbered 9,787,426 people in 2011, while its wider metropolitan area had a population of 15.1 million in 2025. A net 726,000 immigrants arrived there in the period 1991–2001.
The region covers 610 square miles (1,579 km2), giving a population density of 13,410 inhabitants per square mile (5,177/km2) more than ten times that of any other British region. In population terms, London is the 19th largest city and the 18th largest metropolitan region.
In tenure, 23.1% socially rent within London, 46.8% either own their house outright or with a mortgage or loan and 30% privately rent at the 2021 census. Many Londoners work from home; 42.9% did so at the 2021 census, while 20.6% drove a car to work. The biggest decrease in method of transportation was seen within those who take the train and underground, declining from 22.6% in 2011 to 9.6% in 2021. In qualifications, 46.7% of London had census classified Level 4 qualifications or higher, which is predominately university degrees. 16.2% had no qualifications at all.
=== Age structure and median age ===
London's median age is one of the youngest regions in the UK. It was recorded in 2018 that London's residents were 36.5 years old, which was younger than the UK median of 40.3.
Children younger than 14 constituted 20.6% of the population in Outer London in 2018, and 18% in Inner London. The 15–24 age group was 11.1% in Outer and 10.2% in Inner London, those aged 25–44 years 30.6% in Outer London and 39.7% in Inner London, those aged 45–64 years 24% and 20.7% in Outer and Inner London respectively. Those aged 65 and over are 13.6% in Outer London, but only 9.3% in Inner London.
=== Country of birth ===
The 2021 census recorded that 3,575,739 people (40.6%) of London's population were foreign-born, making it among the cities with the largest immigrant population in terms of absolute numbers and a growth of roughly 3 million since 1971 when the foreign born population was 668,373. 13% of the total population were Asian born (32.1% of the total foreign born population), 7.1% are African born (17.5%), 15.5% are Other European born (38.2%), and 4.2% were born in the Americas and Caribbean (10.3%). The 5 largest single countries of origin were respectively India, Romania, Poland, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
About 56.8 per cent of children born in London in 2021 were born to a mother who was born abroad. This trend has been increasing in the past two decades when foreign born mothers made up 43.3% of births in 2001 in London, becoming the majority in the middle of the 2000s by 2006, comprising 52.5%.
A large degree of the foreign born population who were present at the 2021 census had arrived relatively recently. Of the total population, those that arrived between the years of 2011 and 2021 account for 16.6% of London. Those who arrived between 2001 and 2010 are 10.4%, between 1991 and 2001, 5.7%, and prior to 1990, 7.3%.
=== Ethnic groups ===
According to the Office for National Statistics, based on the 2021 census, 53.8% of the 8,173,941 inhabitants of London were White, with 36.8% White British, 1.8% White Irish, 0.1% Gypsy or Irish Traveller, 0.4% Roma and 14.7% classified as Other White. Meanwhile, 22.2% of Londoners were of Asian or mixed-Asian descent, with 20.8% being of full Asian descent and 1.4% being of mixed-Asian heritage. Indians accounted for 7.5% of the population, followed by Bangladeshis and Pakistanis at 3.7% and 3.3% respectively. Chinese people accounted for 1.7%, and Turks and Arabs for 1.6%. A further 4.6% were classified as "Other Asian." 15.9% of London's population were of Black or mixed-Black descent. 13.5% were of full Black descent, with persons of mixed-Black heritage comprising 2.4%. Black Africans accounted for 7.9% of London's population; 3.9% identified as Black Caribbean, and 1.7% as "Other Black." 5.7% were of mixed race. This ethnic structure has changed considerably since the 1960s. Estimates for 1961 put the total non-White ethnic minority population at 179,109 comprising 2.3% of the population at the time, having risen since then to 1,346,119 and 20.2% in 1991 and 4,068,553 and 46.2% in 2021. Of those of a White British background, estimates for 1971 put the population at 6,500,000 and 87% of the total population, which fell to 3,239,281 and 36.8% in 2021.
As of 2021, the majority of London's school pupils come from ethnic minority backgrounds. 23.9% were White British, 14% Other White, 23.2% Asian, 17.9% Black, 11.3% Mixed, 6.3% Other and 2.3% unclassified. Altogether at the 2021 census, of London's 1,695,741 population aged 0 to 15, 42% were White in total, splitting it down into 30.9% who were White British, 0.5% Irish, 10.6% Other White, 23% Asian, 16.4% Black, 12% Mixed and 6.6% another ethnic group.
=== Languages ===
In January 2005, a survey of London's ethnic and religious diversity claimed that more than 300 languages were spoken in London and more than 50 non-indigenous communities had populations of more than 10,000. At the 2021 census, 78.4% of Londoners spoke English as their first language. The 5 biggest languages outside English were Romanian, Spanish, Polish, Bengali and Portuguese. French is said to be the 6th language spoken in London, with the city home for between 300,000 to 400,000 people from France.
=== Religion ===
According to the 2021 Census, the largest religious groupings were Christians (40.66%), followed by those of no religion (20.7%), Muslims (15%), no response (8.5%), Hindus (5.15%), Jews (1.65%), Sikhs (1.64%), Buddhists (1.0%) and other (0.8%).
London has traditionally been Christian, and has a large number of churches, particularly in the City of London. The well-known St Paul's Cathedral in the City and Southwark Cathedral south of the river are Anglican administrative centres, while the Archbishop of Canterbury, principal bishop of the Church of England and worldwide Anglican Communion, has their main residence at Lambeth Palace in the London Borough of Lambeth.
Important national and royal ceremonies are shared between St Paul's and Westminster Abbey. The Abbey is not to be confused with nearby Westminster Cathedral, the largest Roman Catholic cathedral in England and Wales. Despite the prevalence of Anglican churches, observance is low within the denomination. Anglican Church attendance continues a long, steady decline, according to Church of England statistics.
Notable mosques include the East London Mosque in Tower Hamlets, which is allowed to give the Islamic call to prayer through loudspeakers, the London Central Mosque on the edge of Regent's Park and the Baitul Futuh of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. After the oil boom, increasing numbers of wealthy Middle-Eastern Arab Muslims based themselves around Mayfair, Kensington and Knightsbridge in West London. There are large Bengali Muslim communities in the eastern boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Newham.
Large Hindu communities are found in the north-western boroughs of Harrow and Brent, the latter hosting what was until 2006 Europe's largest Hindu temple, Neasden Temple. London is home to 44 Hindu temples, including the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London. There are Sikh communities in East and West London, particularly in Southall, home to one of the largest Sikh populations and the largest Sikh temple outside India.
The majority of British Jews live in London, with notable Jewish communities in Stamford Hill, Stanmore, Golders Green, Finchley, Hampstead, Hendon and Edgware, all in North London. Opened in 1701, Bevis Marks Synagogue in the City of London is affiliated to London's historic Sephardic Jewish community. It is the oldest continually active synagogue in Europe having held regular services for over 300 years. Stanmore and Canons Park Synagogue has the largest membership of any Orthodox synagogue in Europe. The London Jewish Forum was set up in 2006 in response to the growing significance of devolved London Government.
=== Accents ===
Cockney is an accent heard across London, mainly spoken by working-class and lower-middle-class Londoners. It is mainly attributed to the East End and wider East London, having originated there in the 18th century, although it has been suggested that the Cockney style of speech is much older. Some features of Cockney include Th-fronting (pronouncing "th" as "f"), "th" inside a word is pronounced with a "v", H-dropping, and, like most English accents, a Cockney accent drops the "r" after a vowel. John Camden Hotten, in his A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words of 1859, makes reference to Cockney "use of a peculiar slang language" (Cockney rhyming slang) when describing the costermongers of the East End. Since the start of the 21st century the extreme form of the Cockney dialect is less common in parts of the East End itself, with modern strongholds including other parts of London and suburbs in the home counties. This is particularly pronounced in areas like Romford (in the London Borough of Havering) and Southend (in Essex), which have received significant inflows of older East End residents in recent decades.
Estuary English is an intermediate accent between Cockney and Received Pronunciation. It is widely spoken by people of all classes.
Multicultural London English (MLE) is a multiethnolect becoming increasingly common in multicultural areas amongst young, working-class people from diverse backgrounds. It is a fusion of an array of ethnic accents, in particular Afro-Caribbean and South Asian, with a significant Cockney influence.
Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard for British English. It has no specific geographical correlate, although it is also traditionally defined as the standard speech used in London and south-eastern England. It is mainly spoken by upper-class and upper-middle class Londoners. Standard Southern British English (SSBE) has been considered as an evolution of RP that is now common and widely spoken in London and the south-east of England by a wide variety of people, but is distinct from Estuary English and MLE.
== Economy ==
London's gross regional product in 2019 was £503 billion, around a quarter of UK GDP. London has five major business districts: the City, Westminster, Canary Wharf, Camden & Islington, and Lambeth & Southwark. One way to get an idea of their relative importance is to look at relative amounts of office space: Greater London had 27 million m2 of office space in 2001, and the City contains the most space, with 8 million m2 of office space. London has some of the highest real estate prices in the world.
=== Finance ===
London's finance industry is based in the City of London and Canary Wharf, the two major business districts. London took over as a major financial centre shortly after 1795 when the Dutch Republic collapsed before the Napoleonic armies. This caused many bankers established in Amsterdam (e.g. Hope, Baring I'm), to move to London. Also, London's market-centred system (as opposed to the bank-centred one in Amsterdam) grew more dominant in the 18th century. The London financial elite was strengthened by a strong Jewish community from all over Europe capable of mastering the most sophisticated financial tools of the time. This economic strength of the city was attributed to its diversity.
By the mid-19th century London was the leading global financial centre, and at the end of the century over half the world's trade was financed in British currency. As of 2023, London ranks second in the world rankings on the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), and it ranked second in A.T. Kearney's 2018 Global Cities Index.
London's largest industry is finance, and its financial exports make it a large contributor to the UK's balance of payments. Notwithstanding a post-Brexit exodus of stock listings from the London Stock Exchange, London is one of Europe's most economically powerful cities, and it remains one of the major financial centres of the world. It is the world's biggest currency trading centre, accounting for some 37% of the $5.1 trillion average daily volume, according to the BIS. Over 85% (3.2 million) of the employed population of greater London works in the services industries. Because of its prominent global role, London's economy had been affected by the 2008 financial crisis. However, by 2010, the city had recovered, put in place new regulatory powers, proceeded to regain lost ground and re-established London's economic dominance. Along with professional services headquarters, the City of London is home to the Bank of England, London Stock Exchange, and Lloyd's of London insurance market. Founded in 1690, Barclays, whose branch in Enfield, north London installed the first cash machine (ATM) in 1967, is one of the oldest banks in continuous operation.
Over half the UK's top 100 listed companies (the FTSE 100) and over 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies have their headquarters in central London. Over 70% of the FTSE 100 are within London's metropolitan area, and 75% of Fortune 500 companies have offices in London. In a 1992 report commissioned by the London Stock Exchange, Sir Adrian Cadbury, chairman of his family's confectionery company Cadbury, produced the Cadbury Report, a code of best practice which served as a basis for reform of corporate governance around the world.
=== Media and technology ===
Media companies are concentrated in London, and the media distribution industry is London's second most competitive sector. The BBC, the world's oldest national broadcaster, is a significant employer, while other broadcasters, including ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky, also have headquarters around the city. Many national newspapers, including The Times, founded in 1785, are edited in London; the term Fleet Street (where most national newspapers operated) remains a metonym for the British national press. The communications company WPP plc is the world's largest advertising agency.
A large number of technology companies are based in London, notably in East London Tech City, also known as Silicon Roundabout. In 2014 the city was among the first to receive a geoTLD. In February 2014 London was ranked as the European City of the Future in the 2014/15 list by fDi Intelligence.
The gas and electricity distribution networks that manage and operate the towers, cables and pressure systems that deliver energy to consumers across the city are managed by National Grid plc, SGN and UK Power Networks.
=== Tourism ===
London is one of the leading tourist destinations in the world. In 2015, it was also the top city in the world by visitor cross-border spending, estimated at US$20.23 billion. Tourism is one of London's prime industries, employing 700,000 full-time workers in 2016, and contributes £36 billion a year to the economy. The city accounts for 54% of all inbound visitor spending in the UK.
In 2024, nine of the ten most-visited attractions in the UK were in London (shown with visits per venue):
British Museum: 6,479,952
Natural History Museum (South Kensington): 6,301,972
Windsor Great Park: 5,670,430
Tate Modern: 4,603,025
Southbank Centre: 3,734,075
Victoria and Albert Museum (South Kensington): 3,525,700
National Gallery: 3,203,451
Somerset House: 3,074,736
Tower of London: 2,902,385
Science Museum: 2,827,242
The number of hotel rooms in London in 2023 stood at 155,700 and is expected to grow to 183,600 rooms, the most of any city outside China. Luxury hotels in London include the Savoy (opened in 1889), Claridge's (opened in 1812 and rebuilt in 1898), the Ritz (opened in 1906) and the Dorchester (opened in 1931), while budget hotel chains include Premier Inn and Travelodge.
== Transport ==
Transport is one of the four main areas of policy administered by the Mayor of London, but the mayor's financial control does not extend to the longer-distance rail network that enters London. In 2007, the Mayor of London assumed responsibility for some local lines, which now form the London Overground network, adding to the existing responsibility for the London Underground, trams and buses. The public transport network is administered by Transport for London (TfL).
The lines that formed the London Underground, as well as trams and buses, became part of an integrated transport system in 1933 when the London Passenger Transport Board or London Transport was created. Transport for London is now the statutory corporation responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London, and is run by a board and a commissioner appointed by the Mayor of London.
=== Aviation ===
London is a major international air transport hub with the busiest city airspace in the world. Eight airports use the word London in their name, but most traffic passes through six of these. Additionally, various other airports also serve London, catering primarily to general aviation flights.
Heathrow Airport, in Hillingdon, West London, was for many years the busiest airport in the world for international traffic, and is the major hub of the nation's flag carrier, British Airways. In March 2008 its fifth terminal was opened.
Gatwick Airport, south of London in West Sussex, handles flights to more destinations than any other UK airport and is the main base of easyJet, the UK's largest airline by number of passengers.
London Stansted Airport, north-east of London in Essex, has flights that serve the greatest number of European destinations of any UK airport and is the main base of Ryanair, the world's largest international airline by number of international passengers.
Luton Airport, to the north of London in Bedfordshire, is used by several budget airlines (especially easyJet and Wizz Air) for short-haul flights.
London City Airport, the most central airport and the one with the shortest runway, in Newham, East London, is focused on business travellers, with a mixture of full-service short-haul scheduled flights and considerable business jet traffic.
London Southend Airport, east of London in Essex, is a smaller, regional airport that caters for short-haul flights on a limited, though growing, number of airlines. In 2017, international passengers made up over 95% of the total at Southend, the highest proportion of any London airport.
=== Rail ===
==== Underground and DLR ====
Opened in 1863, the London Underground, commonly referred to as the Tube or just the Underground, is the oldest and third-longest metro system in the world. The system serves 272 stations, and was formed from several private companies, including the world's first underground electric line, the City and South London Railway, which opened in 1890.
Over 4 million journeys are made every day on the Underground network, over 1 billion each year. An investment programme is attempting to reduce congestion and improve reliability, including £6.5 billion (€7.7 billion) spent before the 2012 Summer Olympics. The Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which opened in 1987, is a second, more local metro system using smaller and lighter tram-type vehicles that serve the Docklands, Greenwich and Lewisham.
==== Suburban ====
There are 368 railway stations in the London fare zones on an extensive above-ground suburban railway network. South London, particularly, has a high concentration of railways as it has fewer Underground lines. Most rail lines terminate around the centre of London, running into eighteen terminal stations, with the exception of the Thameslink trains connecting Bedford in the north and Brighton in the south via Luton and Gatwick airports. London has Britain's busiest station by number of passengers, Waterloo, with over 184 million people using the interchange station complex (which includes Waterloo East station) each year. Clapham Junction is one of Europe's busiest rail interchanges.
With the need for more rail capacity, the Elizabeth line (also known as Crossrail) opened in May 2022. It is a new railway line running east to west through London and into the Home Counties with a branch to Heathrow Airport. It was Europe's biggest construction project, with a £15 billion projected cost.
==== Inter-city and international ====
London is the centre of the National Rail network, with 70% of rail journeys starting or ending in London. King's Cross station and Euston station, both in London, are the starting points of the East Coast Main Line and the West Coast Main Line – the two main railway lines in Britain. Like suburban rail services, regional and inter-city trains depart from several termini around the city centre, directly linking London with most of Great Britain's major cities and towns. The Flying Scotsman is an express passenger train service that has operated between London and Edinburgh since 1862; the world famous steam locomotive named after this service, Flying Scotsman, was the first locomotive to reach the officially authenticated speed of 100 miles per hour (161 km/h) in 1934.
Some international railway services to Continental Europe were operated during the 20th century as boat trains. The opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 connected London directly to the continental rail network, allowing Eurostar services to begin. Since 2007, high-speed trains link St. Pancras International with Lille, Calais, Paris, Disneyland Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and other European tourist destinations via the High Speed 1 rail link and the Channel Tunnel. The first high-speed domestic trains started in June 2009, linking Kent to London. There are plans for a second high speed line linking London to the Midlands, North West England, and Yorkshire.
=== Buses, coaches and trams ===
London's bus network runs 24 hours a day with about 9,300 vehicles, over 675 bus routes and about 19,000 bus stops. In 2019 the network had over 2 billion commuter trips per year. Since 2010 an average of £1.2 billion is taken in revenue each year. London has one of the largest wheelchair-accessible networks in the world, which, from 2009, became more accessible to hearing and visually impaired passengers as audio-visual announcements were introduced.
An emblem of London, the red double-decker bus first appeared in the city in 1947 with the AEC Regent III RT (predecessor to the AEC Routemaster). London's coach hub is Victoria Coach Station, opened in 1932. Nationalised in 1970 and then purchased by London Transport (now Transport for London), Victoria Coach Station has over 14 million passengers a year and provides services across the UK and continental Europe.
There is a modern tram network serving South London, known as Tramlink. Since June 2008, Transport for London has completely owned and operated Tramlink.
=== Cable car ===
London's first and to date only cable car is the London Cable Car, which opened in June 2012. The cable car crosses the Thames and links Greenwich Peninsula with the Royal Docks in the east of the city. It is able to carry up to 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction at peak times.
=== Cycling ===
In the Greater London Area, around 670,000 people use a bike every day, meaning around 7% of the total population of around 8.8 million use a bike on an average day. Cycling has become an increasingly popular way to get around London. The launch of a bicycle hire scheme in July 2010 was successful and generally well received.
=== Port and river boats ===
The Port of London, once the largest in the world, is now only the second-largest in the United Kingdom, handling 45 million tonnes of cargo each year as of 2009. Most of this cargo passes through the Port of Tilbury, outside the boundary of Greater London.
London has river boat services on the Thames known as Thames Clippers, which offer both commuter and tourist boat services. At major piers including Canary Wharf, London Bridge City, Battersea Power Station and London Eye (Waterloo), services depart at least every 20 minutes during commuter times. The Woolwich Ferry, with 2.5 million passengers every year, is a frequent service linking the North and South Circular Roads.
=== Roads ===
Although the majority of journeys in central London are made by public transport, car travel is common in the suburbs. The inner ring road (around the city centre), the North and South Circular roads (just within the suburbs), and the outer orbital motorway (the M25, just outside the built-up area in most places) encircle the city and are intersected by a number of busy radial routes, but very few motorways penetrate into inner London. The M25 is the second-longest ring-road motorway in Europe at 117 miles (188 km) long. The A1 and M1 connect London to Leeds, and Newcastle and Edinburgh.
The Austin Motor Company began making hackney carriages (London taxis) in 1929, and models include Austin FX3 from 1948, Austin FX4 from 1958, with more recent models TXII and TX4 manufactured by London Taxis International. The BBC states, "ubiquitous black cabs and red double-decker buses all have long and tangled stories that are deeply embedded in London's traditions".
Although traditionally black, some are painted in other colours or bear advertising.
London is notorious for its traffic congestion; in 2009, the average speed of a car in the rush hour was recorded at 10.6 mph (17.1 km/h). In 2003, a congestion charge was introduced to reduce traffic volumes in the city centre. With a few exceptions, motorists are required to pay to drive within a defined zone encompassing much of central London. Motorists who are residents of the defined zone can buy a greatly reduced season pass. Over the course of several years, the average number of cars entering the centre of London on a weekday was reduced from 195,000 to 125,000. The zebra crossing, the world's first marked pedestrian crossing, appear across London; they were developed and trialled by the Ministry of Transport in 1949 due to the increase in car traffic after the Second World War before the first was officially installed in 1951. Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN) were widely introduced in London.
== Education ==
=== Tertiary education ===
London is a major global centre of higher education, teaching and research and has the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe. According to the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, London has the greatest concentration of top class universities in the world and its international student population of around 110,000 is larger than any other city in the world. A 2014 PricewaterhouseCoopers report termed London the global capital of higher education.
A number of world-leading education institutions are based in London. In the 2022 QS World University Rankings, Imperial College London is ranked No. 6 in the world, University College London (UCL) is ranked 8th, and King's College London (KCL) is ranked 37th. All are regularly ranked highly, with Imperial College being the UK's leading university in the Research Excellence Framework ranking 2021. The London School of Economics (LSE) has been described as the world's leading social science institution for both teaching and research. The London Business School is considered one of the world's leading business schools and in 2015 its MBA programme was ranked second-best in the world by the Financial Times. The city is also home to three of the world's top ten performing arts schools (as ranked by the 2020 QS World University Rankings): the Royal College of Music (ranking 2nd in the world), the Royal Academy of Music (ranking 4th) and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (ranking 6th).
With students in London and around 48,000 in University of London Worldwide, the federal University of London is the largest contact teaching university in the UK. It includes five multi-faculty universities – City, King's College London, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway and UCL – and a number of smaller and more specialised institutions including Birkbeck, the Courtauld Institute of Art, Goldsmiths, the London Business School, the London School of Economics, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Royal Academy of Music, the Central School of Speech and Drama, the Royal Veterinary College and the School of Oriental and African Studies.
Universities in London outside the University of London system include Brunel University, Imperial College London, Kingston University, London Metropolitan University, University of East London, University of West London, University of Westminster, London South Bank University, Middlesex University and University of the Arts London (the largest university of art, design, fashion, communication and the performing arts in Europe). There are also three international universities – Regent's University London, Richmond American University London and Schiller International University.
London is home to five major medical schools – Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry (part of Queen Mary), King's College London School of Medicine (the largest medical school in Europe), Imperial College School of Medicine, UCL Medical School and St George's, University of London – and has many affiliated teaching hospitals. It is also a major centre for biomedical research, and three of the UK's eight academic health science centres are based in the city – Imperial College Healthcare, King's Health Partners and UCL Partners (the largest such centre in Europe). Additionally, many biomedical and biotechnology spin out companies from these research institutions are based around the city, most prominently in White City. Founded by Florence Nightingale at St Thomas' Hospital in 1860, the first nursing school is now part of King's College London. It was at King's in 1952 where a team led by Rosalind Franklin captured Photo 51, the critical evidence in identifying the structure of DNA. There are a number of business schools in London, including the London School of Business and Finance, Cass Business School (part of City University London), Hult International Business School, ESCP Europe, European Business School London, Imperial College Business School, the London Business School and the UCL School of Management.
London is also home to many specialist arts education institutions, including esteemed drama schools such as RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), Drama Studio London, Sylvia Young Theatre School, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, as well as the London College of Contemporary Arts (LCCA), Central School of Ballet, London Contemporary Dance School, National Centre for Circus Arts, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, the Royal College of Art and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. The BRIT School in the London borough of Croydon provides training for the performing arts and technologies.
=== Primary and secondary education ===
The majority of primary and secondary schools and further-education colleges in London are controlled by the London boroughs or otherwise state-funded; leading examples include Ashbourne College, Bethnal Green Academy, Brampton Manor Academy, City and Islington College, City of Westminster College, David Game College, Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College, Leyton Sixth Form College, London Academy of Excellence, Tower Hamlets College, and Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre. There are also a number of private schools and colleges in London, some old and famous, such as City of London School, Harrow (alumni includes seven former British prime ministers), St Paul's School, University College School, The John Lyon School, Highgate School and Westminster School.
=== Royal Observatory, Greenwich and learned societies ===
Founded in 1675, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich was established to address the problem of calculating longitude for navigational purposes. This pioneering work in solving longitude featured in astronomer royal Nevil Maskelyne's Nautical Almanac which made the Greenwich meridian the universal reference point, and helped lead to the international adoption of Greenwich as the prime meridian (0° longitude) in 1884.
Important scientific learned societies based in London include the Royal Society - the UK's national academy of sciences and the oldest national scientific institution in the world - founded in 1660, and the Royal Institution, founded in 1799. Since 1825, the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures have presented scientific subjects to a general audience, and speakers have included the physicist and inventor Michael Faraday, the aerospace engineer Frank Whittle, the naturalist David Attenborough and the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.
== Culture ==
=== Leisure and entertainment ===
Leisure is a major part of the London economy. A 2003 report attributed a quarter of the entire UK leisure economy to London at 25.6 events per 1000 people. The city is one of the four fashion capitals of the world, and, according to official statistics, is the world's third-busiest film production centre, presents more live comedy than any other city, and has the biggest theatre audience of any city in the world.
Within the City of Westminster, the entertainment district of the West End has its focus around Leicester Square, where London and world film premieres are held, and Piccadilly Circus, with its giant electronic advertisements. London's theatre district is here, as are many cinemas, bars, clubs, and restaurants, including the city's Chinatown district (in Soho), and just to the east is Covent Garden, an area housing speciality shops. In 1881, the West End's Savoy Theatre, which was built to showcase the plays of Gilbert and Sullivan, was fitted with the incandescent light bulb developed by Sir Joseph Swan to become the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity. The city is the home of Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose musicals have dominated West End theatre since the late 20th century. Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, the world's longest-running play, has been performed in the West End since 1952. The Laurence Olivier Awards–named after Laurence Olivier–are given annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional London theatre. The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Royal Opera, and English National Opera are based in London and perform at the Royal Opera House, the London Coliseum, Sadler's Wells Theatre and the Royal Albert Hall, as well as touring the country. London was the centre of music hall, with the Hackney Empire, host to many music hall stars, among the best-surviving Edwardian era variety theatres.
Islington's 1 mile (1.6 km) long Upper Street, extending northwards from Angel, has more bars and restaurants than any other street in the UK. Europe's busiest shopping area is Oxford Street, a shopping street nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) long, making it the longest shopping street in the UK. It is home to vast numbers of retailers and department stores, including Selfridges flagship store. Knightsbridge, home to the equally renowned Harrods department store, lies to the south-west. One of the world's largest retail destinations, London frequently ranks at or near the top of retail sales of any city. Opened in 1760 with its flagship store on Regent Street since 1881, Hamleys is the oldest toy shop in the world. The Camden Town shoe retailer of Dr. Martens footwear was a favourite haunt of punk musicians. Madame Tussauds wax museum opened in Baker Street in 1835, an era viewed as being when London's tourism industry began.
London is home to the designers John Galliano, Stella McCartney, Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo, among others; its renowned art and fashion schools make it one of the four international centres of fashion. Mary Quant designed the miniskirt in her King's Road boutique in Swinging Sixties London. In 2017, London was ranked the top city for luxury store openings. London Fashion Week takes place twice a year, in February and September; exhibitions have included Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims, the first collection by Alexander McQueen. Londoners on the catwalk have included Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne.
London offers a great variety of cuisine as a result of its ethnically diverse population. Gastronomic centres include the Bangladeshi restaurants of Brick Lane and the Chinese restaurants of Chinatown. There are Chinese takeaways throughout London, as are Indian restaurants which provide Indian and Anglo-Indian cuisine. Around 1860, the first fish and chips shop in London was opened by Joseph Malin, a Jewish immigrant, in Bow. The full English breakfast dates from the Victorian era, and many cafes in London serve a full English throughout the day. London has five 3-Michelin star restaurants, including Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea. Many hotels in London provide a traditional afternoon tea service, such as the Oscar Wilde Lounge at the Hotel Café Royal in Piccadilly, and a themed tea service is also available, for example an Alice in Wonderland themed afternoon tea served at the Egerton House Hotel, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory themed afternoon tea at One Aldwych in Covent Garden. The nation's most popular biscuit to dunk in tea, chocolate digestives have been manufactured by McVitie's at their Harlesden factory in north-west London since 1925.
There is a variety of annual events, beginning with the relatively new New Year's Day Parade, a fireworks display at the London Eye; the world's second largest street party, the Notting Hill Carnival, is held on the late August Bank Holiday each year. Traditional parades include November's Lord Mayor's Show, a centuries-old event celebrating the annual appointment of a new Lord Mayor of the City of London with a procession along the streets of the city, and June's Trooping the Colour, a formal military pageant, which culminates with a flypast over London, performed by regiments of the Commonwealth and British armies to celebrate the King's Official Birthday. The Boishakhi Mela is a Bengali New Year festival celebrated by the British Bangladeshi community. It is the largest open-air Asian festival in Europe. After the Notting Hill Carnival, it is the second-largest street festival in the United Kingdom attracting over 80,000 visitors. First held in 1862, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (run by the Royal Horticultural Society) takes place in May every year.
=== LGBT scene ===
The first gay bar in London in the modern sense was The Cave of the Golden Calf, established as a nightclub in an underground location at 9 Heddon Street, just off Regent Street, in 1912 and "which developed a reputation for sexual freedom and tolerance of same-sex relations".
While London has been an LGBT tourism destination, after homosexuality was decriminalised in England in 1967 gay bar culture became more visible, and from the early 1970s Soho (and in particular Old Compton Street) became the centre of the London LGBT community. G-A-Y, previously based at the Astoria, and now Heaven, is a long-running nightclub.
Wider British cultural movements have influenced LGBT culture: for example, the emergence of glam rock in the UK in the early 1970s, via Marc Bolan and David Bowie, saw a generation of teenagers begin playing with the idea of androgyny, and the West End musical The Rocky Horror Show, which debuted in London in 1973, is also widely said to have been an influence on countercultural and sexual liberation movements. The Blitz Kids (which included Boy George) frequented the Tuesday club-night at Blitz in Covent Garden, helping launch the New Romantic subcultural movement in the late 1970s. Today, the annual London Pride Parade and the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival are held in the city.
=== Literature, film and television ===
London has been the setting for many works of literature. The pilgrims in Geoffrey Chaucer's late 14th-century Canterbury Tales set out for Canterbury from London. William Shakespeare spent a large part of his life living and working in London; his contemporary Ben Jonson was also based there, and some of his work, most notably his play The Alchemist, was set in the city. A Journal of the Plague Year (1722) by Daniel Defoe is a fictionalisation of the events of the 1665 Great Plague.
The literary centres of London have traditionally been hilly Hampstead and (since the early 20th century) Bloomsbury. Writers closely associated with the city are the diarist Samuel Pepys, noted for his eyewitness account of the Great Fire; Charles Dickens, whose representation of a foggy, snowy, grimy London of street sweepers and pickpockets has influenced people's vision of early Victorian London; and Virginia Woolf, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the 20th century. Letitia Elizabeth Landon wrote Calendar of the London Seasons in 1834. Later important depictions of London from the 19th and early-20th centuries are Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. Robert Louis Stevenson mixed in London literary circles, and in 1886 he wrote the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, a gothic novella set in Victorian London. In 1898 H. G. Wells' science fiction novel The War of the Worlds sees London (and southern England) invaded by Martians. On Christmas Eve 1925, Winnie-the-Pooh debuted in London's Evening News, with the character based on a stuffed toy A. A. Milne bought for his son Christopher Robin in Harrods. In the 1940s, George Orwell wrote essays in the London Evening Standard, including "A Nice Cup of Tea" (method for making tea) and "The Moon Under Water" (an ideal pub). The evacuation of children from London during the Second World War is depicted in C. S. Lewis' first Narnia book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950). In 1958 Michael Bond created Paddington Bear, a refugee found in Paddington station. A screen adaptation, Paddington (2014), features the calypso song "London is the Place for Me". Buckingham Palace appears in Roald Dahl's 1982 novel The BFG.
Modern writers influenced by the city include Peter Ackroyd, author of London: The Biography, and Iain Sinclair, who writes in the genre of psychogeography.
London has played a significant role in the film industry. Major studios within or bordering London include Pinewood, Elstree, Ealing, Shepperton, Twickenham, and Leavesden, with the James Bond and Harry Potter series among many notable films produced here. Working Title Films has its headquarters in London. A post-production community is centred in Soho, and London houses six of the world's largest visual effects companies, such as Framestore. The Imaginarium, a digital performance-capture studio, was founded by Andy Serkis. London has been the setting for numerous films including Oliver Twist (1948), Scrooge (1951), Peter Pan (1953), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), My Fair Lady (1964), Mary Poppins (1964), Blowup (1966), A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Long Good Friday (1980), The Great Mouse Detective (1986), Notting Hill (1999), 28 Days Later (2002), Love Actually (2003), V for Vendetta (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2008) and The King's Speech (2010). Notable actors and filmmakers from London include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Caine, Julie Andrews, Peter Sellers, David Lean, Julie Christie, Gary Oldman, Emma Thompson, Guy Ritchie, Christopher Nolan, Alan Rickman, Jude Law, Helena Bonham Carter, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Daniel Radcliffe, Keira Knightley, Riz Ahmed, Dev Patel, Daniel Kaluuya, Tom Holland and Daniel Day-Lewis. Post-war Ealing comedies featured Alec Guinness, from the 1950s Hammer Horrors starred Christopher Lee, films directed by Michael Powell included the London-set early slasher Peeping Tom (1960), the 1970s comedy troupe Monty Python had film editing suites in Covent Garden, while since the 1990s Richard Curtis's romantic comedies have featured Hugh Grant. The largest cinema chain in the country, Odeon Cinemas, was founded in London in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch. The BFI IMAX on the South Bank is the largest cinema screen in the UK. The British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) have been held in London since 1949, with the BAFTA Fellowship the Academy's highest accolade. Founded in 1957, the BFI London Film Festival takes place over two weeks every October.
London is a major centre for television production, with studios including Television Centre, ITV Studios, Sky Campus and Fountain Studios; the latter hosted the original talent shows, Pop Idol, The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent, before each format was exported around the world. Formerly a franchise of ITV, Thames Television featured comedians such as Benny Hill and Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean was first screened by Thames), while Talkback produced Da Ali G Show, which featured Sacha Baron Cohen as Ali G. Many television shows have been set in London, including the popular television soap opera EastEnders.
=== Museums, art galleries and libraries ===
London is home to many museums, galleries, and other institutions, many of which are free of admission charges and are major tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The first of these to be established was the British Museum in Bloomsbury, in 1753. Originally containing antiquities, natural history specimens, and the national library, the museum now has 7 million artefacts from around the globe. In 1824 the National Gallery was founded to house the British national collection of Western paintings; this now occupies a prominent position in Trafalgar Square.
The British Library is the second largest library in the world, and the national library of the United Kingdom. There are many other research libraries, including the Wellcome Library and Dana Centre, as well as university libraries, including the British Library of Political and Economic Science at LSE, the Abdus Salam Library at Imperial, the Maughan Library at King's, and the Senate House Libraries at the University of London.
In the 19th century the locale of South Kensington was developed as "Albertopolis", a cultural and scientific quarter. Three major national museums are there: the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. The National Portrait Gallery was founded in 1856 to house depictions of figures from British history; its holdings now comprise the world's most extensive collection of portraits. The national gallery of British art is at Tate Britain, originally established as an annexe of the National Gallery in 1897. The Tate Gallery, as it was formerly known, also became a major centre for modern art. In 2000 this collection moved to Tate Modern, a new gallery housed in the former Bankside Power Station.
=== Music ===
London is one of the major classical and popular music capitals of the world and hosts major music corporations, such as Universal Music Group International and Warner Music Group, and countless bands, musicians and industry professionals. The city is also home to many orchestras and concert halls, such as the Barbican Arts Centre (principal base of the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Chorus), the Southbank Centre (London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra), Cadogan Hall (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) and the Royal Albert Hall (The Proms). The Proms, an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music first held in 1895, ends with the Last Night of the Proms. London's two main opera houses are the Royal Opera House and the London Coliseum (home to the English National Opera). The UK's largest pipe organ is at the Royal Albert Hall. Other significant instruments are in cathedrals and major churches, the church bells of St Clement Danes feature in the 1744 nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons". Several conservatoires are within the city: Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Trinity Laban. The record label EMI was formed in the city in 1931, and an early employee for the company, Alan Blumlein, created stereo sound that year. The guitar amp engineer Jim Marshall founded Marshall Amplification in London in 1962.
London has numerous venues for rock and pop concerts, including the world's busiest indoor venue, the O2 Arena, and Wembley Arena, as well as many mid-sized venues, such as Brixton Academy, the Hammersmith Apollo and the Shepherd's Bush Empire. Several music festivals, including the Wireless Festival, Lovebox, and Hyde Park's British Summer Time, are held in London.
The city is home to the original Hard Rock Cafe and the Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles recorded many of their hits. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, musicians and groups like Elton John, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Queen, Eric Clapton, the Who, the Kinks, Cliff Richard, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, T. Rex, the Police, Elvis Costello, Dire Straits, Cat Stevens, Fleetwood Mac, the Cure, Madness, the Jam, Culture Club, Dusty Springfield, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, Status Quo and Sade, derived their sound from the streets and rhythms of London.
London was instrumental in the development of punk music, with groups such as the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood based in the city. Other artists to emerge from the London music scene include George Michael, Kate Bush, Seal, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bush, the Spice Girls, Jamiroquai, Blur, the Prodigy, Suede, Gorillaz, Mumford & Sons, Coldplay, Dido, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Leona Lewis, Ellie Goulding, Dua Lipa and Florence and the Machine. Artists from London played a prominent role in the development of synth-pop, including Gary Numan, Depeche Mode, the Pet Shop Boys and Eurythmics; the latter's "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" was recorded in the attic of their north London home, heralding a trend for home recording methods. Recent London-based alternative artists include Wolf Alice, the Vaccines, the xx, Bloc Party, the Libertines and Sleep Token. Artists from London with a Caribbean influence include Hot Chocolate, Billy Ocean, Soul II Soul and Eddy Grant, with the latter fusing reggae, soul and samba with rock and pop. London is also a centre for urban music. In particular the genres UK garage, drum and bass, dubstep, and grime evolved in the city from the foreign genres of house, hip hop and reggae, alongside local drum and bass. Urban acts from London include Stormzy, M.I.A., Jay Sean, Rita Ora and Central Cee. Music station BBC Radio 1Xtra was set up to support the rise of local urban contemporary music both in London and in the rest of the United Kingdom. The British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards, the Brit Awards, are held in London.
== Recreation ==
=== Parks and open spaces ===
A 2013 report by the City of London Corporation said that London is the "greenest city" in Europe with 35,000 acres (14,164 hectares) of public parks, woodlands and gardens. In 2019, London became the world's first National Park City, highlighting its dedication to preserving green spaces and nature. The city is home to nearly half of its area covered in green and blue spaces, featuring around 3,000 parks, over 8 million trees, and 150 nature reserves.
The largest parks in the central area of London are three of the eight Royal Parks, namely Hyde Park and its neighbour Kensington Gardens in the west, and Regent's Park to the north. Hyde Park in particular is popular for sports and sometimes hosts open-air concerts. Regent's Park contains London Zoo, the world's oldest scientific zoo, and is near Madame Tussauds wax museum. Primrose Hill is a popular spot from which to view the city skyline. Close to Hyde Park are smaller Royal Parks, Green Park and St James's Park. A number of large parks lie outside the city centre, including Hampstead Heath and the remaining Royal Parks of Greenwich Park to the southeast, and Bushy Park and Richmond Park (the largest) to the southwest. Hampton Court Park is also a royal park, but, because it contains a palace, it is administered by the Historic Royal Palaces, unlike the eight Royal Parks. Crystal Palace Park in south-east London was laid out as a pleasure ground, and, reflecting the public enthusiasm for dinosaurs that first developed in Victorian England, it contains the first-ever life-sized models of dinosaurs.
Close to Richmond Park is Kew Gardens, which has the world's largest collection of living plants. In 2003, the gardens were put on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. There are also parks administered by London's borough Councils, including Victoria Park in the East End and Battersea Park in the centre. Some more informal, semi-natural open spaces also exist, including Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest, both controlled by the City of London Corporation. Hampstead Heath incorporates Kenwood House, a former stately home and a popular location in the summer months when classical musical concerts are held by the lake. Epping Forest is a popular venue for various outdoor activities, including mountain biking, walking, horse riding, golf, angling, and orienteering. Three of the UK's most-visited theme parks, Thorpe Park near Staines-upon-Thames, Chessington World of Adventures in Chessington and Legoland Windsor, are located within 20 miles (32 km) of London.
=== Walking ===
Walking is a popular recreational activity in London. Areas that provide for walks include Wimbledon Common, Epping Forest, Hampton Court Park, Hampstead Heath, the eight Royal Parks, Regents Canal Walk, canals and disused railway tracks. Access to canals and rivers has improved recently, including the creation of the Thames Path, some 28 miles (45 km) of which is within Greater London, and the Wandle Trail along the River Wandle.
Other long-distance paths, linking green spaces, have also been created, including the Capital Ring, the Green Chain Walk, London Outer Orbital Path ("Loop"), Jubilee Walkway, Lea Valley Walk and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk.
== Sport ==
London has hosted the Summer Olympics three times: in 1908, 1948, and 2012, making it the first city to host the modern Games three times. The city was also the host of the British Empire Games in 1934. In 2017, London hosted the World Championships in Athletics for the first time.
London's most popular sport is association football, and it has seven clubs in the Premier League in the 2025–26 season: Arsenal, Brentford, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United. Other professional men's teams in London are AFC Wimbledon, Barnet, Bromley, Charlton Athletic, Dagenham & Redbridge, Leyton Orient, Millwall, Queens Park Rangers and Sutton United. Five London-based teams are in the Women's Super League: Arsenal, Chelsea, London City Lionesses, Tottenham and West Ham United.
Two Premiership Rugby union teams are based in Greater London: Harlequins and Saracens. Ealing Trailfinders and London Scottish play in the RFU Championship; other rugby union clubs in the city include Richmond, Rosslyn Park, Westcombe Park, and Blackheath. Twickenham Stadium in south-west London hosts home matches for the England national rugby union team. While rugby league is more popular in the north of England, the sport has one professional club in London – the London Broncos, while the Challenge Cup final often takes place in the city.
One of London's best-known annual sports competitions is the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, held at the All England Club in the south-western suburb of Wimbledon since 1877. Played in late June to early July, it is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and widely considered the most prestigious. Founded in London in 1881, Slazenger has provided tennis balls for Wimbledon since 1902, the oldest sponsorship in sport.
London has two Test cricket grounds which host the England cricket team, Lord's (home of Middlesex C.C.C.) and the Oval (home of Surrey C.C.C.). Lord's has hosted four finals of the Cricket World Cup and is known as the "Home of Cricket". In golf, the Wentworth Club is located in Virginia Water, Surrey on the south-west fringes of London, while the closest venue to London that is used as one of the courses for the Open Championship, the oldest major and tournament in golf, is Royal St George's in Sandwich, Kent. The rules of modern boxing, the Queensberry Rules, were formulated in London in 1867, and since then fights have taken place at York Hall (the spiritual home of British boxing), and larger arenas and stadiums across the city. Alexandra Palace in north London hosts the PDC World Darts Championship and the Masters snooker tournament. Other key annual events are the mass-participation London Marathon and the University Boat Race on the Thames contested between Oxford and Cambridge.
== Notable people == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states | List of sovereign states | The following is a list providing an overview of sovereign states around the world with information on their status and recognition of their sovereignty.
The 205 listed states can be divided into three categories based on membership within the United Nations System: 193 UN member states, 2 UN General Assembly non-member observer states, and 10 other states. The sovereignty dispute column indicates states having undisputed sovereignty (189 states, of which there are 188 UN member states and one UN General Assembly non-member observer state), states having disputed sovereignty (14 states, of which there are 5 UN member states, 1 UN General Assembly non-member observer state, and 8 de facto states), and states having a special political status (two states, both in free association with New Zealand).
Compiling a list such as this can be complicated and controversial, as there is no definition that is binding on all the members of the community of nations concerning the criteria for statehood. For more information on the criteria used to determine the contents of this list, please see the criteria for inclusion section below. The list is intended to include entities that have been recognised as having de facto status as sovereign states, and inclusion should not be seen as an endorsement of any specific claim to statehood in legal terms.
== Criteria for inclusion ==
The dominant customary international law standard of statehood is the declarative theory of statehood, which was codified by the Montevideo Convention of 1933. The Convention defines the state as a person of international law if it "possess[es] the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) a capacity to enter into relations with the other states" so long as it was not "obtained by force whether this consists in the employment of arms, in threatening diplomatic representations, or in any other effective coercive measure".
Debate exists on the degree to which recognition should be included as a criterion of statehood. The declarative theory of statehood argues that statehood is purely objective and recognition of a state by other states is irrelevant. On the other end of the spectrum, the constitutive theory of statehood defines a state as a person under international law only if it is recognised as sovereign by other states. For the purposes of this list, included are all polities that consider themselves sovereign states (through a declaration of independence or some other means) and either:
are often regarded as satisfying the declarative theory of statehood, or
are recognised as a sovereign state by at least one UN member state
In some cases, there is a divergence of opinion over the interpretation of the first point, and whether an entity satisfies it is disputed. Unique political entities which fail to meet the classification of a sovereign state are considered proto-states.
On the basis of the above criteria, this list includes the following 205 entities:
204 states recognised by at least one UN member state
One state (Transnistria) that satisfies the declarative theory of statehood and is recognised only by non-UN member states
The table includes bullets in the right-hand column representing entities that are either not sovereign states or have a close association to another sovereign state. It also includes subnational areas where the sovereignty of the titular state is limited by an international agreement. Taken together, these include:
Entities that are in a free association relationship with another state
Two entities controlled by Pakistan which are neither sovereign states, dependent territories, nor part of another state: Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan
Dependent territories of another state, as well as areas that exhibit many characteristics of dependent territories according to the dependent territory page
Subnational entities created by international agreements
== List of states ==
=== UN member states and General Assembly observer states ===
=== Other states === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Holland_1 | HMS Holland 1 | Holland 1 (or HM submarine Torpedo Boat No 1) is the first submarine commissioned by the Royal Navy. The first in a five-boat batch of the Holland-class submarine, launched in 1901, she was lost twelve years later in 1913 while under tow to be scrapped following her decommissioning. Recovered in 1982, she was put on display at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport. Her battery bank found in the boat was discovered to be functional after being cleaned and recharged.
== History ==
She was ordered in 1901 from John Philip Holland and built at Barrow-in-Furness. Her keel was laid down 4 February 1901. In order to keep the boat's construction secret, she was assembled in a building labelled "Yacht Shed", and the parts that had to be fabricated in the general yard were marked for "pontoon no 1". She was launched on 2 October 1901 and dived for the first time (in an enclosed basin) on 20 March 1902. Her sea trials began in April 1902.
In September 1902 she arrived at Portsmouth, along with the other completed Holland boat and their tender, HMS Hazard. Together they made up the "First Submarine Flotilla", commanded by Captain Reginald Bacon. Holland 1 suffered an explosion on 3 March 1903 that caused four injuries.
On 24 October 1904, with the rest of the Holland fleet and three A-class boats, Holland 1 sailed from Portsmouth to attack a Russian fleet that had mistakenly sunk a number of British fishing vessels in the North Sea in the Dogger Bank incident. The boats were recalled before any attack could take place.
The submarine was decommissioned and sold in 1913 to Thos. W. Ward for £410. By the time the submarine was sold she was considered so obsolete that she was sold with all fittings intact, and the only requirement put on the purchaser was that the torpedo tube be put out of action.
== Loss ==
While being towed to the scrapyard, Holland 1 encountered very severe weather and sank about a mile and a half off Eddystone Lighthouse. No one was on board the submarine at the time, and, since the submarine had been seen to be sinking earlier in the journey, the crew of the tug were ready to release the tow rope, preventing any damage to the tug.
== Recovery ==
The wreck was located in 1981 by Plymouth historian Michael Pearn and she was raised in November 1982. From 1983, after coating in anti-corrosion chemicals, she was displayed at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. Work on restoring the submarine continued until September 1988. A talking figure was included to explain the details of the craft to visitors. However, by 1993 it was apparent that the anti-corrosion treatment had proved inadequate. A fibreglass tank was built around her, and she was immersed in sodium carbonate solution from 1995. After four years the corrosive chloride ions had been removed, and she was able to be displayed again after restoration work.
Listed as part of the National Historic Fleet, in 2001, on her centenary, a new purpose-built climate-controlled building was opened by Countess Mountbatten. In the same year the Royal Mail put a photo of the submarine on a 65 pence stamp. In 2011 the submarine was given an Engineering Heritage Award by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
The original bank of batteries, recovered with the wreckage, were submitted for testing by the original manufacturer, Chloride Industrial Batteries Ltd based in Swinton, Greater Manchester. Following the initial clean, the lead batteries were recharged and found to be in good working order. Some of the original batteries still remain in the possession of Enersys (ex-CIBL) at the Newport plant, in South Wales. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Luck | Jordan Luck | Jordan William Hunter Luck (born 15 October 1961) is the former lead singer and songwriter of the New Zealand rock band the Exponents. He was born in Vanderhoof in the province of British Columbia, Canada. His family moved to Tokarahi (near Oamaru) and later moved to Geraldine where he grew up. He attended University of Canterbury and College House. He is now in a band called The Jordan Luck Band.
At the 2007 APRA Silver Scroll Awards on 18 September, Luck was named as the first inductee to the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. He was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to music in the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours.
In 2019, Luck would cover Al Park's "I Walked Away" for the covers collection Better Already - The Songs Of Al Park. Park, a singer-songwriter sometimes credited as the father figure for the 'Lyttelton Sound' and the first guy to bring punk music to Otautahi, had featured in the video for "Victoria", a top ten hit in 1982 for Luck and his band The Dance Exponents.
Also in 2019, Luck would tour New Zealand with The Jordan Luck Band, starting off at Peach & Porker in Te Awamutu on 23 February 2019 and ending the tour in Christchurch on 22 June 2019.
== Discography ==
=== Singles === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Vivaldi | Antonio Vivaldi | Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread across Europe, giving origin to many imitators and admirers. He pioneered many developments in orchestration, violin technique and programmatic music. He consolidated the emerging concerto form, especially the solo concerto, into a widely accepted and followed idiom.
Vivaldi composed many instrumental concertos, for the violin and a variety of other musical instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more than fifty operas. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons. Many of his compositions were written for the all-female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children in his native Venice. Vivaldi began studying for the Catholic priesthood at the age of 15 and was ordained at 25, but was given dispensation no longer to say public Masses due to a health problem. Vivaldi also had some success with expensive stagings of his operas in Venice, Mantua and Vienna. After meeting the Emperor Charles VI, Vivaldi moved to Vienna, hoping for royal support. However, the Emperor died soon after Vivaldi's arrival, and Vivaldi himself died in poverty less than a year later.
After almost two centuries of decline, Vivaldi's musical reputation underwent a revival in the early 20th century, with much scholarly research devoted to his work. Many of Vivaldi's compositions, once thought lost, have been rediscovered – some as recently as 2015. His music remains widely popular in the present day and is regularly played all over the world.
== Early life ==
=== Birth and background ===
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born on 4 March 1678 in Venice, then the capital of the Republic of Venice. He was the son of Giovanni Battista Vivaldi and Camilla Calicchio, as recorded in the register of San Giovanni in Bragora.
He was baptized immediately after his birth at his home by the midwife, the reason for which has led to speculation. It was most likely done due to his poor health. There is a false rumor that an earthquake struck the city that day. This rumor may have originated from an earthquake that struck Venice on 17 April 1688. The baptismal ceremonies which had been omitted were supplied two months later.
Vivaldi had five known siblings: Bonaventura Tomaso, Margarita Gabriela, Cecilia Maria, Francesco Gaetano, and Zanetta Anna. Vivaldi's health was problematic. One of his symptoms, strettezza di petto ("tightness of the chest"), has been interpreted as a form of asthma. This did not prevent him from learning to play the violin, composing, or taking part in musical activities, although it prevented him from playing wind instruments.
=== Youth ===
His father, Giovanni Battista, was a barber before becoming a professional violinist and was one of the founders of the Sovvegno dei musicisti di Santa Cecilia, an association of musicians. He taught Antonio to play the violin and then toured Venice, playing the violin with his young son. Antonio was probably taught at an early age, judging by the extensive musical knowledge he had acquired by the age of 24, when he started working at the Ospedale della Pietà (Devout Hospital of Mercy), an orphanage in Venice.
The president of the sovvegno was Giovanni Legrenzi, an early Baroque composer and the maestro di cappella at St Mark's Basilica. It is possible that Legrenzi gave the young Antonio his first lessons in composition. Vivaldi's father may have been a composer himself: in 1689, an opera titled La Fedeltà sfortunata was composed by a Giovanni Battista Rossi—the name under which Vivaldi's father had joined the Sovvegno di Santa Cecilia.
In 1693, at the age of fifteen, he began studying to become a priest. He was ordained in 1703, aged 25, and was soon nicknamed il Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest"; Rosso is Italian for "red" and would have referred to the color of his hair, a family trait.
== Career ==
=== Ospedale della Pietà ===
Although Vivaldi is most famous as a composer, he was regarded as an exceptional technical violinist as well. The German architect Johann Friedrich Armand von Uffenbach referred to Vivaldi as "the famous composer and violinist" and noted in his diary that "Vivaldi played a solo accompaniment excellently, and at the conclusion he added a free fantasy [an improvised cadenza] which absolutely astounded me, for it is hardly possible that anyone has ever played, or ever will play, in such a fashion." In September 1703, Vivaldi (24) became maestro di violino (master of violin) at the Ospedale della Pietà; although his talents as a violinist probably secured him the job, he soon became a successful teacher of music there.
Over the next thirty years he composed most of his major works while working at the Ospedale. There were four similar institutions in Venice; their purpose was to give shelter and education to children who were abandoned or orphaned, or whose families could not support them. They were financed by funds provided by the Republic. The boys learned a trade and had to leave when they reached the age of fifteen. The girls received a musical education, and the most talented among them stayed and became members of the Ospedale's renowned orchestra and choir.
Shortly after Vivaldi's appointment, the orphans began to gain appreciation and esteem abroad, too. Vivaldi wrote concertos, cantatas and sacred vocal music for them. These sacred works, which number over 60, are varied: they included solo motets and large-scale choral works for soloists, double chorus, and orchestra. In 1704, the position of teacher of viola all'inglese was added to his duties as violin instructor. The position of maestro di coro, which was at one time filled by Vivaldi, required a lot of time and work. He had to compose an oratorio or concerto for every feast and teach the orphans both music theory and how to play certain instruments.
His relationship with the board of directors of the Ospedale was often strained. The board had to vote every year on whether to keep a teacher. The vote on Vivaldi was seldom unanimous and went 7 to 6 against him in 1709. In 1711, after a year as a freelance musician, he was recalled by the Ospedale with a unanimous vote; clearly during his year's absence the board had realized the importance of his role. He became responsible for all of the musical activity of the institution when he was promoted to maestro de' concerti (music director) in 1716 and responsible for composing two new concertos every month.
In 1705, the first collection of his works was published by Giuseppe Sala. His Opus 1 is a collection of 12 sonatas for two violins and basso continuo, in a conventional style. In 1709, a second collection of 12 sonatas for violin and basso continuo appeared (Opus 2). A real breakthrough as a composer came with his first collection of 12 concerti for one, two, and four violins with strings, L'estro armonico (Opus 3), which was published in Amsterdam in 1711 by Estienne Roger, and dedicated to Grand Prince Ferdinand of Tuscany. The prince sponsored many musicians, including Alessandro Scarlatti and George Frideric Handel. He was a musician himself, and Vivaldi probably met him in Venice. L'estro armonico was a resounding success all over Europe. It was followed in 1714 by La stravaganza (Opus 4), a collection of concerti for solo violin and strings, and dedicated to an old violin student of Vivaldi's, the Venetian noble Vettor Dolfin.
In February 1711, Vivaldi and his father traveled to Brescia, where his setting of the Stabat Mater (RV 621) was played as part of a religious festival. The work seems to have been written in haste: the string parts are simple, the music of the first three movements is repeated in the next three, and not all the text is set. Nevertheless, perhaps in part because of the forced essentiality of the music, the work is considered to be one of his early masterpieces.
Despite his frequent travels from 1718, the Ospedale paid him 2 sequins to write two concerti a month for the orchestra and to rehearse with them at least five times when in Venice. The orphanage's records show that he was paid for 140 concerti between 1723 and 1733.
=== Opera impresario ===
In early 18th-century Venice, opera was the most popular musical entertainment. It proved most profitable for Vivaldi. There were several theaters competing for the public's attention. Vivaldi started his career as an opera composer as a sideline: his first opera, Ottone in villa (RV 729) was performed not in Venice, but at the Garzerie Theater in Vicenza in 1713. The following year, Vivaldi became the impresario of the Teatro San Angelo in Venice, where his opera Orlando finto pazzo (RV 727) was performed. The work was not to the public's taste, and it closed after a couple of weeks, being replaced with a repeat of a different work already given the previous year.
In 1715, he presented Nerone fatto Cesare (RV 724, now lost), with music by seven different composers, of which he was the leader. The opera contained eleven arias and was a success. In the late season, Vivaldi planned to put on an opera entirely of his own creation, Arsilda, regina di Ponto (RV 700), but the state censor blocked the performance. The main character, Arsilda, falls in love with another woman, Lisea, who is pretending to be a man. Vivaldi got the censor to accept the opera the following year, and it was a resounding success.
During this period, the Pietà commissioned several liturgical works. The most important were two oratorios. Moyses Deus Pharaonis, (RV 643) is now lost. The second, Juditha triumphans (RV 644), celebrates the victory of the Republic of Venice against the Turks and the recapture of the island of Corfu. Composed in 1716, it is one of his sacred masterpieces. All eleven singing parts were performed by girls of the orphanage, both the female and male roles. Many of the arias include parts for solo instruments—recorders, oboes, violas d'amore, and mandolins—that showcased the range of talents of the girls.
Also in 1716, Vivaldi wrote and produced two more operas, L'incoronazione di Dario (RV 719) and La costanza trionfante degli amori e degli odi (RV 706). The latter was so popular that it was performed two years later, re-edited and retitled Artabano re dei Parti (RV 701, now lost). It was also performed in Prague in 1732. In the years that followed, Vivaldi wrote several operas that were performed all over Italy.
His progressive operatic style caused him some trouble with more conservative musicians such as Benedetto Marcello, a magistrate and amateur musician who wrote a pamphlet denouncing Vivaldi and his operas. The pamphlet, Il teatro alla moda, attacks the composer even though it does not mention him directly. The cover drawing shows a boat (the San Angelo), on the left end of which stands a little angel wearing a priest's hat and playing the violin. The Marcello family claimed ownership of the Teatro San Angelo, and a long legal battle had been fought with the management for its restitution, without success. The obscure text under the engraving mentions non-existent places and names: for example, ALDIVIVA is an anagram of "A. Vivaldi".
In a letter written by Vivaldi to his patron Marchese Bentivoglio in 1737, he makes reference to his "94 operas". Only about 50 operas by Vivaldi have been discovered, and no other documentation of the remaining operas exists. Although Vivaldi could have been exaggerating, it is plausible that, in his dual role of composer and impresario, he might have either written or been responsible for the production of as many as 94 operas—given that his career had by then spanned almost 25 years. Although Vivaldi certainly composed many operas in his time, he never attained the prominence of other great composers such as George Frederic Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti, Johann Adolph Hasse, Leonardo Leo, and Baldassare Galuppi, as evidenced by his inability to keep a production running for an extended period of time in any major opera house.
=== Mantua and the Four Seasons ===
In 1717 or 1718, Vivaldi was offered a prestigious new position as Maestro di Cappella of the court of Prince Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt, governor of Mantua, in the northwest of Italy He moved there for three years and produced several operas, among them Tito Manlio (RV 738). In 1721, he was in Milan, where he presented the pastoral drama La Silvia (RV 734); nine arias from it survive. He visited Milan again the following year with the oratorio L'adorazione delli tre re magi al bambino Gesù (RV 645, now lost). In 1722 he moved to Rome, where he introduced his operas' new style. The new Pope Benedict XIII invited Vivaldi to play for him. In 1725, Vivaldi returned to Venice, where he produced four operas in the same year.
During this period, Vivaldi wrote the Four Seasons, four violin concertos that give musical expression to the seasons of the year. The composition is probably one of his most famous. Although three of the concerti are wholly original, the first, "Spring", borrows motifs from a Sinfonia in the first act of Vivaldi's contemporaneous opera Il Giustino. The inspiration for the concertos was probably the countryside around Mantua. They were a revolution in musical conception: in them, Vivaldi represented flowing streams, singing birds (of different species, each specifically characterized), barking dogs, buzzing mosquitoes, crying shepherds, storms, drunken dancers, silent nights, hunting parties from both the hunters' and the prey's point of view, frozen landscapes, ice-skating children, and warming winter fires. Each concerto is associated with a sonnet, possibly by Vivaldi, describing the scenes depicted in the music. They were published as the first four concertos in a collection of twelve, Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione, Opus 8, published in Amsterdam by Michel-Charles Le Cène in 1725.
During his time in Mantua, Vivaldi became acquainted with an aspiring young singer Anna Tessieri Girò, who would become his student, protégée, and favorite prima donna. Anna, along with her older half-sister Paolina, moved in with Vivaldi and regularly accompanied him on his many travels. There was speculation as to the nature of Vivaldi's and Girò's relationship, but no evidence exists to indicate anything beyond friendship and professional collaboration. Vivaldi, in fact, adamantly denied any romantic relationship with Girò in a letter to his patron Bentivoglio, dated 16 November 1737.
=== Late period ===
Vivaldi collaborated with choreographer Giovanni Gallo on several of his later operas stage in Venice with Gallo choreographing the ballets found within those works. At the height of his career, he received commissions from European nobility and royalty, some of which were:
The serenata (cantata) Gloria e Imeneo (RV 687), which was commissioned in 1725 by the French ambassador to Venice in celebration of the marriage of Louis XV, when Vivaldi was 48 years old.
The serenata, La Sena festeggiante (RV 694), written in 1726 and also premiered at the French embassy, to celebrate the birth of the French royal princesses, Henriette and Louise Élisabeth.
Vivaldi's Opus 9, La cetra, which was dedicated to Emperor Charles VI. In 1728, Vivaldi met the emperor while the emperor was visiting Trieste to oversee the construction of a new port. Charles VI admired the music of the Red Priest so much that he is said to have spoken more with the composer during their one meeting than he spoke to his ministers in more than two years. He gave Vivaldi the title of knight, a gold medal and an invitation to Vienna. Vivaldi gave Charles a manuscript copy of La cetra, a set of concerti almost completely different from the set of the same title published as Opus 9. The printing was probably delayed, forcing Vivaldi to gather an improvised collection for the emperor.
His opera Farnace (RV 711) was presented in 1730; it garnered six revivals. Some of his later operas were created in collaboration with two of Italy's major writers of the time. Accompanied by his father, Vivaldi traveled to Vienna and Prague in 1730.
L'Olimpiade and Catone in Utica were written by Pietro Metastasio, the major representative of the Arcadian movement and court poet in Vienna. La Griselda was rewritten by the young Carlo Goldoni from an earlier libretto by Apostolo Zeno.
Like many composers of the time, Vivaldi faced financial difficulties in his later years. His compositions were no longer held in such high esteem as they had once been in Venice; changing musical tastes quickly made them outmoded. In response, Vivaldi chose to sell off sizeable numbers of his manuscripts at paltry prices to finance his migration to Vienna. The reasons for Vivaldi's departure from Venice are unclear, but it seems likely that, after the success of his meeting with Emperor Charles VI, he wished to take up the position of a composer in the imperial court. On his way to Vienna, Vivaldi might have stopped in Graz to see Anna Girò.
== Death ==
Vivaldi probably moved to Vienna to stage operas, especially as he took up residence near the Kärntnertortheater. Shortly after his arrival in Vienna, Charles VI died, which left the composer without any imperial patronage or a steady source of income. Soon afterwards, Vivaldi became impoverished and, during the night of 27/28 July 1741, aged 63, he died of "internal infection", in a house owned by the widow of a Viennese saddlemaker.
On 28 July, Vivaldi's funeral took place at St. Stephen's Cathedral. Contrary to popular legend, the young Joseph Haydn who was in the cathedral choir at the time had nothing to do with his burial, since no music was performed on that occasion. The funeral was attended by six pall-bearers and six choir boys (Kuttenbuben), at a "mean" cost of 19 florins and 45 kreuzer. Only a Kleingeläut (small peal of bells), the lowest class, was provided, at a cost of 2 florins and 36 kreuzer.
Vivaldi was buried in a simple grave in a burial ground that was owned by the public hospital fund – the Bürgerspital-Gottesacker cemetery, next to St Charles Church, a baroque church in an area that is now part of the site of the TU Wien university. The cemetery existed until 1807. The house where he lived in Vienna has since been destroyed; the Hotel Sacher is built on part of the site. Memorial plaques have been placed at both locations, as well as a Vivaldi "star" in the Viennese Musikmeile and a monument at the Rooseveltplatz.
Only two, possibly three, original portraits of Vivaldi are known to survive: an engraving, an ink sketch and an oil painting. The engraving, which was the basis of several copies produced later by other artists, was made in 1725 by François Morellon de La Cave for the first edition of Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione, and shows Vivaldi holding a sheet of music. The ink sketch, a caricature, was done by Ghezzi in 1723 and shows Vivaldi's head and shoulders in profile. It exists in two versions: a first jotting kept at the Vatican Library, and a much lesser-known, slightly more detailed copy recently discovered in Moscow. The oil painting, which can be seen in the International Museum and Library of Music of Bologna, is by an anonymous artist and is thought to depict Vivaldi due to its strong resemblance to the La Cave engraving.
During his lifetime, Vivaldi was popular in many countries throughout Europe, including France, but after his death his popularity dwindled. After the end of the Baroque period, Vivaldi's published concerti became relatively unknown, and were largely ignored. Even his most famous work, The Four Seasons, was unknown in its original edition during the Classical and Romantic periods. Vivaldi's work was rediscovered in the 20th century.
== Works ==
A composition by Vivaldi is identified by RV number, which refers to its place in the "Ryom-Verzeichnis" or "Répertoire des oeuvres d'Antonio Vivaldi", a catalog created in the 20th century by the musicologist Peter Ryom.
Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons) of 1723 is his most famous work. The first four of the 12 concertos, titled Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione ("The Contest between Harmony and Invention"), they depict moods and scenes from each of the four seasons. This work has been described as an outstanding example of pre-19th-century program music. Vivaldi's other notable sets of 12 violin concertos include La stravaganza (The Eccentricity), L'estro armonico (The Harmonic Inspiration) and La cetra (The Lyre).
Vivaldi wrote more than 500 concertos. About 350 of these are for solo instrument and strings, of which 230 are for violin; the others are for bassoon, cello, oboe, flute, viola d'amore, recorder, lute, or mandolin. About forty concertos are for two instruments and strings, and about thirty are for three or more instruments and strings.
As well as about 46 operas, Vivaldi composed a large body of sacred choral music, such as the Gloria, RV 589; Nisi Dominus, RV 608; Magnificat, RV 610 and Stabat Mater, RV 621. Gloria, RV 589 remains one of Vivaldi's more popular sacred works. Other works include sinfonias, about 90 sonatas and chamber music.
Some sonatas for flute, published as Il Pastor Fido, have been erroneously attributed to Vivaldi, but were composed by Nicolas Chédeville.
=== Catalogues of Vivaldi works ===
Vivaldi's works attracted cataloging efforts befitting a major composer. Scholarly work intended to increase the accuracy and variety of Vivaldi performances also supported new discoveries that made old catalogs incomplete. Works still in circulation today might be numbered under several different systems (some earlier catalogs are mentioned here).
Because the simply consecutive Complete Edition (CE) numbers did not reflect the individual works (Opus numbers) into which compositions were grouped, numbers assigned by Antonio Fanna were often used in conjunction with CE numbers. Combined Complete Edition (CE)/Fanna numbering was especially common in the work of Italian groups driving the mid-20th-century revival of Vivaldi, such as Gli Accademici di Milano under Piero Santi. For example, the Bassoon Concerto in B♭ major, "La Notte", RV 501, became CE 12, F. VIII,1
Despite the awkwardness of having to overlay Fanna numbers onto the Complete Edition number for meaningful grouping of Vivaldi's oeuvre, these numbers displaced the older Pincherle numbers as the (re-) discovery of more manuscripts had rendered older catalogs obsolete.
This cataloging work was led by the Istituto Italiano Antonio Vivaldi, where Gian Francesco Malipiero was both the director and the editor of the published scores (Edizioni G. Ricordi). His work built on that of Antonio Fanna, a Venetian businessman and the institute's founder, and thus formed a bridge to the scholarly catalog dominant today.
Compositions by Vivaldi are identified today by RV number, the number assigned by Danish musicologist Peter Ryom in works published mostly in the 1970s, such as the "Ryom-Verzeichnis" or "Répertoire des oeuvres d'Antonio Vivaldi". Like the Complete Edition before it, the RV does not typically assign its single, consecutive numbers to "adjacent" works that occupy one of the composer's single opus numbers. Its goal as a modern catalog is to index the manuscripts and sources that establish the existence and nature of all known works.
=== Style and influence ===
The German scholar Walter Kolneder has discerned the influence of Legrenzi's style in Vivaldi's early liturgical work Laetatus sum (RV Anh 31), written in 1691 at the age of thirteen.
Vivaldi was also influenced by the Composer Arcangelo Corelli.
Johann Sebastian Bach was deeply influenced by Vivaldi's concertos and arias (recalled in his St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, and cantatas). Bach transcribed six of Vivaldi's concerti for solo keyboard, a further three for organ, and one for four harpsichords, strings, and basso continuo (BWV 1065) based upon the concerto for four violins, two violas, cello, and basso continuo (RV 580).
== Legacy ==
In the early 20th century, Fritz Kreisler's Concerto in C, in the Style of Vivaldi (which he passed off as an original Vivaldi work) helped revive Vivaldi's reputation. Kreisler's concerto in C spurred the French scholar Marc Pincherle to begin an academic study of Vivaldi's oeuvre. Many Vivaldi manuscripts were rediscovered, and were acquired by the Turin National University Library as a result of the generous sponsorship of Turinese businessmen Roberto Foa and Filippo Giordano, in memory of their sons. This led to a renewed interest in Vivaldi by, among others, Mario Rinaldi, Alfredo Casella, Ezra Pound, Olga Rudge, Desmond Chute, Arturo Toscanini, Arnold Schering and Louis Kaufman, all of whom were instrumental in the revival of Vivaldi throughout the 20th century.
In 1926, in a monastery in Piedmont, researchers discovered fourteen bound volumes of Vivaldi's work (later discovered to be fifteen) that were previously thought to have been lost during the Napoleonic Wars. Some missing tomes in the numbered set were discovered in the collections of the descendants of the Grand Duke Durazzo, who had acquired the monastery complex in the 18th century. The volumes contained 300 concertos, 19 operas and over 100 vocal-instrumental works.
The resurrection of Vivaldi's unpublished works in the 20th century greatly benefited from the noted efforts of Alfredo Casella, who in 1939 organized the historic Vivaldi Week, in which the rediscovered Gloria (RV 589) and l'Olimpiade were revived. Since World War II, Vivaldi's compositions have enjoyed wide success. Historically informed performances, often on "original instruments", have increased Vivaldi's fame still further.
Recent rediscoveries of works by Vivaldi include two psalm settings: Psalm 127, Nisi Dominus RV 803 (in eight movements); and Psalm 110, Dixit Dominus RV 807 (in eleven movements). These were identified in 2003 and 2005, respectively, by the Australian scholar Janice Stockigt. The Vivaldi scholar Michael Talbot described RV 807 as "arguably the best nonoperatic work from Vivaldi's pen to come to light since ... the 1920s".
In February 2002, musicologist Steffen Voss discovered 70% of the music for the opera Motezuma (RV 723) in the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin archives. Long thought lost, it was described by Dutch musicologist Kees Vlaardingerbroek as "the most important Vivaldi discovery in 75 years." One of the earliest operas to have been set in the Americas, versions of it were staged in Düsseldorf in 2005 and Long Beach in 2009.
Vivaldi's 1730 opera, Argippo (RV 697), which had also been considered lost, was rediscovered in 2006 by the harpsichordist and conductor Ondřej Macek, whose Hofmusici orchestra performed the work at Prague Castle on 3 May 2008—its first performance since 1730.
Modern depictions of Vivaldi's life include a 2005 radio play, commissioned by ABC Radio National and written by Sean Riley. Entitled The Angel and the Red Priest, the play was later adapted for the stage and performed at the Adelaide Festival of the Arts. Films about Vivaldi include: Red Venice (1989), an Italian-French co-production under the direction of Étienne Périer; Antonio Vivaldi, a Prince in Venice (2006), an Italian-French co-production under the direction of Jean-Louis Guillermou; and Vivaldi, the Red Priest (2009), an Italian film created and directed by Liana Marabini, and loosely based on Vivaldi's life as both priest and composer.
In 2010, Google commemorated the 332nd anniversary of Vivaldi's birth with a Google Doodle showing four violins patterned after The Four Seasons.
In 2016, Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite premiered her ballet based The Four Seasons, The Seasons' Canon, with the Paris Opera Ballet at the Palais Garnier before bringing it to the Royal Ballet in London. The piece subsequently won Pite the Prix Benois de la Danse for Best Choreographer. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Digital_Affairs | Ministry of Digital Affairs | The Ministry of Digital Affairs (Polish: Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji) is a ministry of the Polish government founded in December 2015, dissolved in October 2020 and founded again in May 2023. Split from the Ministry of Administration and Digitization, the Ministry is responsible for matters regarding development in the cyber sphere for Poland. The first Minister of Digital Affairs was Anna Streżyńska. After she was recalled on 9 January 2018, the Ministry was under personal supervision of the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki until 17 April 2018 when Marek Zagórski was appointed the Minister of Digital Affairs. The ministry was made defunct in 2020 following a Council of Ministers decree. The Ministry is functioning again since 1 May 2023 following a Council of Ministers decree.
The current minister is Krzysztof Gawkowski, serving since 13 December 2023, serving concurrently as a Deputy Prime Minister, under Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
== Responsibilities ==
The Ministry of Digital Affairs is to develop infrastructure related to broadband, to support the creation of web content in Poland and electronic services. It is also promoting digital awareness among Polish citizens.
The Ministry is responsible for 8 departments and 4 bureaux.
== Departments ==
Minister's Office provides parliamentary, governmental and protocol support for the minister and other members of leadership within the Ministry. The Office is also responsible for co-ordinating international trips and visits and helps to organise European and international events relating to Digital Affairs. It is also liaising with other EU institutions and international organisations. The Office also providing analytical and communications to support other departments in the Ministry. It is also was responsible for all co-ordination of internet and social media communications with the public.
Department of Telecommunication is responsible for legal matters relating to telecommunication and the development of networks and services. It is also responsible for the execution and implementation of the Polish National Broadband Plan.
Department of Data Management
Department of Cyber Security
Department of Projects and Strategy
Department of Digital Transformation
Department of Innovation and Technology
Center for Digital Skills Development
Communications Bureau
Administration Bureau
Financial-Budget Bureau |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animated_television_series_by_episode_count | List of animated television series by episode count | This is a list of animated television series by episode count. This article does not include anime series which originate from Japan (for this see the list of anime series by episode count). Single series with at least 100 episodes and television franchises with at least 40 episodes are listed.
== Single series ==
== Longest-running animated television franchises == |
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastasia_(1997_film) | Anastasia (1997 film) | Anastasia is a 1997 American animated musical historical fantasy film directed and produced by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman from a screenplay by the writing teams of Susan Gauthier and Bruce Graham, and Bob Tzudiker and Noni White, and based on a story adaptation by Eric Tuchman. It features songs written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens and a musical score composed and conducted by David Newman. The film stars the voices of Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria, Bernadette Peters, Kirsten Dunst, and Angela Lansbury. Set in an alternate 1926, it follows an amnesiac Anastasia Romanov who embarks on a journey to discover her past.
Anastasia was the first 20th Century Fox animated feature to be produced by its own animation division, 20th Century Fox Animation, through its subsidiary Fox Animation Studios. The film premiered at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on November 14, 1997, and was released in the United States on November 21. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the animation, voice performances, and soundtrack, though it attracted criticism from some historians for its fantastical retelling of the Grand Duchess. Anastasia grossed $140 million worldwide, making it the most profitable film from Bluth and Fox Animation Studios. It received nominations for several awards, including for Best Original Song ("Journey to the Past") and Best Original Musical or Comedy Score at the 70th Academy Awards.
The success of Anastasia spawned a franchise, including a direct-to-video spin-off in 1999 and a stage musical adaptation in 2016.
== Plot ==
In 1916, at a ball in Saint Petersburg, Russia celebrating the Romanov tricentennial, Dowager Empress Marie gives a music box and a necklace inscribed with the words "Together in Paris" as parting gifts to her youngest granddaughter, 8-year-old Grand Duchess Anastasia. The ball is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Grigori Rasputin, the Romanovs’ former royal advisor who was exiled for treason. Seeking revenge, Rasputin sold his soul in exchange for the power to kill the Romanovs, which manifests in an unholy reliquary that he uses to start the Russian Revolution. As the palace is attacked, Marie and Anastasia flee through a hidden door with the help of 10-year-old servant boy Dimitri, who covers their escape. Rasputin confronts the two royals on the frozen Little Nevka river, only to fall through the ice and drown. The pair reaches a moving train; Marie climbs aboard, but Anastasia falls and hits her head while also trying to board, giving her amnesia.
Ten years later, rumors of Anastasia's survival spreads throughout Russia, and Marie offers 10 million rubles for her safe return. A now 20-year-old Dimitri works as a conman with his partner-in-crime, former nobleman Vladimir "Vlad" Vasilovich; together they search for an Anastasia look-alike so they can collect the reward. Elsewhere, a now 18-year-old Anastasia (now called "Anya") leaves the rural orphanage where she has been living since her amnesia. Accompanied by a stray puppy she names Pooka, she decides to head to Paris to uncover her past, inspired by the inscription on her necklace, but finds she needs an exit visa. An old woman advises her to see Dimitri at the abandoned palace; there, Dimitri and Vlad are impressed by Anya's resemblance to the "real" Anastasia and decide to take her to Paris.
Rasputin's albino bat sidekick, Bartok, is nearby and notices his master's dormant reliquary revived by Anya's presence; it drags him to limbo, where he finds Rasputin has survived. Enraged to hear that Anastasia escaped the curse, Rasputin sends his demonic minions from the reliquary to kill her. They sabotage the trio's train as it leaves St. Petersburg and later try to lure Anya into sleepwalking off their ship to France. The trio unwittingly foils both attempts, forcing Rasputin and Bartok to travel back to the surface to kill Anya themselves. Meanwhile, as Dimitri and Vlad teach Anya court etiquette and the Romanov family's history, Dimitri and Anya begin to fall in love.
The trio eventually reaches Paris and visits Marie, who has given up on finding Anastasia after meeting numerous impostors. Despite this, Marie's cousin Sophie quizzes Anya to confirm her identity. Though Anya gives every answer taught to her, Dimitri finally realizes she is the real Anastasia when she vaguely recalls him helping her escape the palace siege. Sophie, also convinced, arranges a meeting with Marie at the Palais Garnier where they watch the Russian ballet version of Cinderella. There, Dimitri tries to establish an introduction but Marie refuses, having heard of his initial scheme. Anya overhears the conversation, angrily confronts Dimitri and then leaves. Dimitri later abducts Marie in her car to force her to see Anya, finally convincing her when he presents the music box Anastasia dropped during their escape. As Marie and Anya converse, Anya regains her memories; the pair sings the lullaby the music box plays, and are joyfully reunited.
Marie offers Dimitri the reward, recognizing him as the servant boy who saved them, but he declines and intends to return to St. Petersburg, bidding Vlad farewell. At Anastasia's return celebration, Marie informs her of Dimitri's gesture, leaving Anastasia torn between staying or going with him. Anastasia is then lured to the Pont Alexandre III, where Rasputin and his minions attack her, though Bartok refuses to help. Dimitri returns to save her but is injured and knocked unconscious. In the struggle, with Pooka's help, Anastasia takes Rasputin's reliquary and crushes it, avenging her family as Rasputin disintegrates and dies.
In the aftermath, Anastasia and Dimitri reconcile; they elope, and Anastasia sends a farewell letter to Marie and Sophie, promising to return one day. Bartok shares a kiss with a pink female bat before bidding the audience farewell.
== Voice cast ==
Meg Ryan as Anya / Anastasia, an eighteen-year-old orphaned Russian grand duchess, youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and granddaughter of Maria Feodorovna, who sets out on a journey to re-discover her past.
Liz Callaway provides the singing voice for Anya / Anastasia.
Kirsten Dunst provides the speaking voice for young Anastasia.
Lacey Chabert provides the singing voice for young Anastasia.
John Cusack as Dimitri, a young conman, former servant of the Romanovs, and Anya's love interest.
Jonathan Dokuchitz provides the singing voice for Dimitri.
Glenn Walker Harris Jr. provides the voice for young Dimitri.
Kelsey Grammer as Vladimir Valya "Vlad" Vonitsky Vasilovich, a former nobleman-turned-con artist and friend of Dimitri.
Christopher Lloyd as Grigori Rasputin, an evil, megalomaniac lich sorcerer and former advisor of the Romanovs, who casts a curse upon the family when they exile him for treason.
Jim Cummings provides the singing voice of Rasputin.
Hank Azaria as Bartok, Rasputin's mild-mannered, talking albino bat, who serves as the film's comic relief.
Angela Lansbury as Maria Feodorovna, the Dowager Empress, mother of Nicholas II, and Anya's paternal grandmother.
Bernadette Peters as Sophie Stanislovskievna Somorkov-Smirnoff, Maria's first cousin and lady-in-waiting.
Andrea Martin as:
"Comrade" Phlegmenkoff, the orphanage's inconsiderate owner.
An old woman
Rick Jones as:
Nicholas II Romanov, the last Tsar of Imperial Russia and Anastasia's father.
A revolutionary soldier
A servant
A ticket agent
Charity James as an Anastasia imposter
Debra Mooney as an Actress
Arthur Malet as:
Traveling Man
The Romanov's Majordomo
Frank Welker as Pooka, Anastasia's Pet Dog
The Black Pegasus
Victoria Clark, Billy Porter, Patrick Quinn, J. K. Simmons, and Lillias White were among the ensemble and character voices. Eric Bogosian voiced Lazingo, Rasputin's pet raven, in deleted scenes.
== Production ==
=== Development ===
In May 1994, Don Bluth and Gary Goldman had signed a long-term deal to produce animated features with 20th Century Fox, with the studio channeling more than $100 million in constructing a new animation studio. They selected Phoenix, Arizona, for the location of Fox Animation Studios because the state offered the company about $1 million in job training funds and low-interest loans for the state-of-the-art digital animation equipment. It was staffed with 300 artists and technicians, a third of whom worked with Bluth and Goldman in Dublin, Ireland, for Sullivan Bluth Studios. For their first project, the studio insisted they select one out of a dozen existing properties which they owned where Bluth and Goldman suggested adapting The King and I and My Fair Lady, though Bluth and Goldman said it would be impossible to improve on Audrey Hepburn's performance and Lerner and Loewe's score. Following several story suggestions, the idea to adapt Anastasia (1956) originated from Fox Filmed Entertainment CEO Bill Mechanic. They later adapted story elements from Pygmalion with the peasant Anya being molded into a regal woman.
Early into production, Bluth and Goldman began researching the actual events through enlisting former CIA agents stationed in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Around this same time, screenwriter Eric Tuchman had written a script. Eventually, Bluth and Goldman decided the history of Anastasia and the Romanov dynasty was too dark for their film. In 1995, Bruce Graham and Susan Gauthier reworked Tuchman's script into a light-hearted romantic comedy. When Graham and Gauthier moved onto other projects, the husband-and-wife screenwriting team Bob Tzudiker and Noni White were hired for additional rewrites. Actress Carrie Fisher also made uncredited rewrites of the film, particularly the scene in which Anya leaves the orphanage for Paris.
For the villains, Bluth did not take into consideration depicting Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks, initially toying with the idea of a police chief with a vendetta against Anastasia (an idea which the musical adaptation revived in the form of Gleb Vaganov). Instead, they decided to have Grigori Rasputin as the villain with Goldman explaining it was because of "all the different things they did to try to destroy Rasputin and what a horrible man he really was, the more it seemed appetizing to make him the villain". In reality, Rasputin was already dead when the Romanovs were assassinated. In addition to this, Bluth created the idea for Bartok, the albino bat, as a sidekick for Rasputin: "I just thought the villain had to have a comic sidekick, just to let everyone know that it was all right to laugh. A bat seemed a natural friend for Rasputin. Making him a white bat came later – just to make him different". Composers Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens recalled being at the Au Bon Pain in New York City where Rasputin and Bartok were pitched. They were dismayed at the decision to go down a historically inaccurate route; they made their stage musical adaption "more sophisticated, more far-reaching, more political" to encompass their original vision.
=== Creating competition ===
Leading up to the late 90s, Walt Disney Studios was the leader of animation. 20th Century Fox invested $53 million into creating an animated adaptation of Anastasia. The protagonist was similar to those who were popular with young audiences during this time. They adapted several familiar stories, including the 1956 film Anastasia. The challenge was now taking these stories and adapting them for a younger audience. Anastasia grossed over $140 million, making it one of the studios most successful projects.
=== Casting ===
Bluth stated that Meg Ryan was his first and only choice for the title character, but Ryan was indecisive about accepting the role due to its dark historical events. To persuade her, the animation team took an audio clip of Annie Reed from Sleepless in Seattle and created an animation reel based on it which was screened for her following an invitation to the studio. Ryan later accepted the role; in her words "I was blown away that they did that". Before Ryan was cast, Broadway singer and actress Liz Callaway was brought in to record several demos of the songs hoping to land a job in background vocals, but the demos were liked well enough by the songwriters that they were ultimately used in the final film.
After he was cast, John Cusack openly admitted that he couldn't sing; his singing duties were performed by Jonathan Dokuchitz. Goldman had commented that originally, as with the rest of the cast, they were going to have Ryan record her lines separately from the others, with Bluth reading the lines of the other characters to her. However, after Ryan and the directors were finding the method to be too challenging when her character was paired with Dimitri, she and Cusack recorded the dialogue of their characters together, with Goldman noting that "it made a huge difference".
Peter O'Toole, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Pryce and Tim Curry were considered for the role of Rasputin, but Christopher Lloyd was hired because of his popularity from the Back to the Future trilogy. Bartok was initially written for Woody Allen, but the studio was reluctant to hire him following revelations of his relationship with his ex-partner Mia Farrow's adoptive daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. Martin Short was also considered, but Hank Azaria won the role ten minutes into his audition.
=== Musical score and soundtrack album ===
The film score was composed, co-orchestrated, and conducted by David Newman, whose father, Alfred Newman, composed the score of the 1956 film of the same name. The songs, of which "Journey to the Past" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, were written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. The first song they wrote for the project was "Once Upon a December"; it was written during a heatwave "so [they were] sweating and writing winter imagery". The film's soundtrack was released in CD and audio cassette format on October 28, 1997.
== Release ==
20th Century Fox scheduled for Anastasia to be released on November 21, 1997, notably a week after the re-release of Disney's The Little Mermaid. Disney claimed it had long-planned for the re-release to coincide with a consumer products campaign leading into Christmas and the film's home video release in March 1998, as well continue the tradition of re-releasing their animated films within a seven-to-eight year interval. In addition to this, Disney would release several competing family films including Flubber on the following weekend, as well as a double feature of George of the Jungle and Hercules. To avoid branding confusion, Disney banned television advertisements for Anastasia from being aired on the ABC program The Wonderful World of Disney.
Commenting on the studios' fierce competition, Disney spokesman John Dreyer brushed off allegations of studio rivalry, claiming: "We always re-release our movies around holiday periods". However, Fox executives refused to believe Dreyer's statement with Bill Mechanic responding that "it's a deliberate attempt to be a bully, to kick sand in our face. They can't be trying to maximize their own business; the amount they're spending on advertising is ridiculous... It's a concentrated effort to keep our film from fulfilling its potential".
Nonetheless, the film has been confused to have been made by Walt Disney Animation Studios due to similar style. This is not helped by the fact that 20th Century Fox, the film's primary distributor, was eventually purchased by the Walt Disney Company in 2019, thus adding the film to the studio's library and increasing confusion even more. Still, Anastasia is not part of the Disney Princess lineup.
=== Marketing ===
Anastasia was accompanied by a marketing campaign of more than $50 million with promotional sponsors from Burger King, Dole Food Company, Hershey, Chesebrough-Ponds, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Shell Oil, and the 1997 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Overall, the marketing costs exceeded that of Independence Day by more than 35 percent. For merchandising, Fox selected Galoob to license dolls based on Anastasia. Many storybooks adapted from the film were released by Little Golden Books. In August 1997, the SeaWorld theme parks in San Diego and Orlando featured a 40-foot-long, 20-foot-high inflatable playground for children called "Anastasia's Kingdom".
After the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, in December 2022 Disney released its first merchandise based on the film in the form of a mug to honor its 25th anniversary.
=== Home media ===
On April 28, 1998, April 6, 1999, and November 16, 1999, Anastasia was released on VHS, LaserDisc and DVD respectively and sold eight million units. The film was first rereleased on February 19, 2002, as part of the Fox Family Features lineup alongside Thumbelina and FernGully: The Last Rainforest. The film was again rereleased on a two-disc "Family Fun Edition" DVD with the film in its original theatrical 2.35:1 widescreen format on March 28, 2006. The first disc featured an optional audio commentary from directors/writers Bluth and Goldman, and additional bonus material. The second included a making-of documentary, music video and making-of featurette of Aaliyah's "Journey to the Past", and additional bonus content. The film was released on Blu-ray on March 22, 2011; this included Bartok the Magnificent in the special features.
==== Streaming ====
Following Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox on March 20, 2019, Anastasia became available on Disney+. In the U.S., it was removed from Disney+ on March 1, 2022, and transferred to Starz on March 18; contrary to popular belief, the film's disappearance bears no connection to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine (Disney had suspended theatrical releases in Russia such as the then-upcoming Turning Red, which led to confusion that Anastasia's withdrawal was related.) Anastasia eventually returned to Disney+ on June 2, 2023.
== Reception and legacy ==
Anastasia received mostly positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 83% based on 58 reviews and an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "Beautiful animation, an affable take on Russian history, and strong voice performances make Anastasia a winning first film from Fox Animation Studios". On Metacritic, the film has a score of 61 out of 100 based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, praising "the quality of the story" and writing the result as entertaining and sometimes exciting. Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave Anastasia three stars, calling the lead character "pretty and charming" but criticized the film for a lack of historical accuracy. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Though originality is not one of its accomplishments, Anastasia is generally pleasant, serviceable and eager to please. And any film that echoes the landscape of Doctor Zhivago is hard to dislike for too long". Todd McCarthy of Variety noted the film was "dazzlingly colorful", but that "all the ingredients thrown into the pot don't congeal entirely congenially, and the artistic touch applied doesn't allow the whole to become more than the sum of its various, but invariably familiar, elements". Margaret McGurk, reviewing for The Cincinnati Enquirer, described the film as "charming" and "entertaining", and calling Anastasia as a tasty tale about a fairy-tale princess. Lisa Osbourne of Boxoffice called the film "pure family entertainment". Awarding the film three out of five stars, Empire's Philip Thomas wrote that it has historical inaccuracies, but is charming.
Several critics have positively compared Anastasia and the Disney films released during the Disney Renaissance, with similar styles of story and animation. Marjorie Baumgarten of The Austin Chronicle awarded the film three out of five stars. Baumgarten wrote that Anastasia "may not beat Disney at its own game, but it sure won't be for lack of trying. ... [t]his sumptuous-looking film clearly spared no expense in its visual rendering; its optical flourishes and attention to detail aim for the Disney gold standard and, for the most part, come pretty darn close". The Phoenix's Jeffrey Gantz jokingly stated: "[I]f imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, then the folks at Disney should feel royally complimented by Twentieth Century Fox's new animated feature about Tsar Nicholas II's youngest daughter". Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Fox has a beautifully animated musical that can challenge Disney's peer, but also said that Anastasia has inferior animation style compared to Disney's and lacks its magic.
=== Russian critical response ===
Critical reception in Russia was also mostly positive aside from artistic liberties with Russian history. Gemini Films, the Russian distributor of Anastasia, stressed the fact that the story was "not history", but rather "a fairy tale set against the background of real Russian events" in the film's Russian marketing campaign so that its Russian audience would not view it as a historical film. As a result, many Russians praised the film for its art and storytelling and saw it as not a piece of history but another Western import to be enjoyed.
Some Russian Orthodox Christians found Anastasia to be an offensive depiction of the Grand Duchess, who was canonized as a new martyr in 1981 by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Many historians echoed their sentiments, criticizing the film as a sanitized, sugar-coated reworking of the story of the Czar's youngest daughter. Its filmmakers acknowledged the fact that "Anastasia uses history only as a starting point", but others complained that the film would provide its audience with misleading ideas about Russian history, which, according to the author and historian Suzanne Massie, has been falsified for so many years. Similarly, the amateur historian Bob Atchison said that Anastasia was akin to someone making a film in which Anne Frank "moves to Orlando and opens a crocodile farm with a guy named Mort".
Some of Anastasia's contemporary relatives also said that the film was distasteful, but most Romanovs have come to accept the "repeated exploitation of Anastasia's romantic tale... with equanimity".
=== Box office ===
A limited release of Anastasia at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on the weekend of November 14, 1997, grossed $120,541. The following weekend, the wide release of Anastasia in the United States earned $14.1 million, ranking second behind Mortal Kombat Annihilation. By the end of its theatrical run, Anastasia had grossed $58.4 million in the United States and Canada and $81.4 million internationally. The worldwide gross totaled up to about $139.8 million, making it Don Bluth's highest-grossing film to date and beating out his next highest-grossing film, An American Tail, by about $55 million. This was Don Bluth's first financially successful film since All Dogs Go to Heaven.
=== Accolades ===
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score and Best Original Song (for "Journey to the Past"). The R&B singer Aaliyah performed the pop version at the ceremony.
=== Adaptations and other media ===
==== Ice Follies ====
Anastasia on Ice is a licensed adaptation produced by Feld Entertainment's Ice Follies that ran from at least 1998 to 1999.
==== Spin-off film ====
In 1999, a direct-to-video standalone spin-off titled Bartok the Magnificent was released which focuses on the character of Bartok.
==== Stage musical adaptation ====
Hartford Stage developed a stage production of Anastasia, with the book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty and directed by Darko Tresnjak. The production ran from May 13 through June 19, 2016.
It is an original musical adaptation of the 1997 animated film whilst incorporating some elements from the 1956 Arthur Laurents film. The musical features six songs from the animated film and 16 new songs. Additionally, there have been some newly rewritten characters including Checkist secret police officer Gleb Vaganov (in the place of Rasputin), and Lily, who has been renamed in the place of Sophie. McNally said: "This is a stage version for a modern theatre audience... The libretto's 'a blend' of old and new... There are characters in the musical that appear in neither the cartoon nor the Ingrid Bergman version".
The Hartford production featured Christy Altomare as Anastasia / Anya, Derek Klena as Dimitri, Mary Beth Peil as The Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, Manoel Felciano as Gleb Vaganov, John Bolton as Vladimir, Caroline O'Connor as Lily, and Nicole Scimeca as Young Anastasia. The musical transferred to Broadway with much of the original Hartford cast, opening on April 24, 2017, at the Broadhurst Theater to mixed reviews. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Miami_Dolphins_season | 1998 Miami Dolphins season | The 1998 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 33rd overall in professional football and its 29th in the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins improved upon their previous season's record of 9–7, with a 10-6 record. The team qualified for the playoffs for the second straight year. The Dolphins defeated the Buffalo Bills 24–17 in the Wild Card round, but lost to the defending as well as the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos 38–3 in the Divisional round of the 1998 NFL postseason tournament.
The 2012 Football Outsiders Almanac states that the 1998 Dolphins had the single biggest defensive improvement (from the previous season) from 1991 to 2011.
As with the 1985 Bears, the Dolphins defeated a team (the Broncos) widely favored a few weeks earlier to surpass their unbeaten 1972 season, although this time the Dolphins were not defending their status as the only unbeaten team; the Giants had beaten the Broncos the in week 15 by the score of 20-16. Prior to the admission of the Texans in 2002, scheduling for NFL games outside a team's division was subject to much greater influence from table position during the previous season, that game was the first time the Dolphins had played the Broncos since that same 1985 season.
This season marked the last time the Dolphins finished with the #1 Defense in the NFL.
== Offseason ==
=== NFL draft ===
=== Undrafted free agents ===
== Roster ==
== Schedule ==
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
== Playoffs ==
== Standings == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Place | The Good Place | The Good Place is an American fantasy-comedy television series created by Michael Schur for NBC. The series premiered on September 19, 2016, and concluded on January 30, 2020, after four seasons consisting of 53 episodes.
Although the plot evolves significantly over the course of the series, the initial premise of the series follows Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), a dead woman who is placed in the "Good Place", a Heaven-esque utopia designed and supervised by afterlife "architect" Michael (Ted Danson). However, Eleanor knows that she does not deserve it, and she attempts to avoid being found out and sent to the hell-like "Bad Place" by hiding her morally imperfect past behavior while trying to become a more ethical person. William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, and Manny Jacinto co-star as other residents of the Good Place, with D'Arcy Carden as Janet, an advanced artificial being who assists the residents.
The Good Place received critical acclaim for its originality, writing, acting, setting, and tone. Its plot twists were particularly praised, as were the show's exploration and creative use of ethics and philosophy. Among its accolades, the series received a Peabody Award and four Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. It was nominated for 14 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series for its last two seasons.
== Premise and synopsis ==
The series is centered on an afterlife in which humans are sent to "the Good Place" or "the Bad Place" after death. All deceased are assigned a numerical score based on the morality of their conduct in life, and only those with the very highest scores are sent to the Good Place, where they enjoy eternal happiness with their every wish granted, guided by an artificial intelligence named Janet; all others experience an eternity of torture in the Bad Place.
In the first season, amoral loner Eleanor and small-time crook Jason believe they have been sent to the Good Place incorrectly. Eleanor's soulmate, Chidi, a moral philosopher, attempts to teach them ethics so they can earn their place. Jason's soulmate, the wealthy socialite Tahani, attempts to help Michael, the kindly designer of their afterlife neighborhood, deal with the chaos apparently caused by Eleanor and Jason's presence. In a twist ending, Eleanor realizes that the four humans have actually been in the Bad Place all along, selected by Michael to torture each other emotionally and psychologically for eternity.
In the second season, Michael repeatedly erases the humans' memories to try to restart their psychological torture, but they figure out the truth each time. After many reboots, Michael grows to genuinely care for the four, and sees that, contrary to the accepted wisdom of those in charge of the afterlife, humans can improve their goodness after they die. Michael appeals their case to the Judge, who settles disputes in the afterlife; she rules that the humans may be returned to their lives on Earth, with no memory of the afterlife, to attempt to prove their "true" moral character.
Back on Earth in the third season, the group is reunited by Michael's intervention. They participate in a research study led by Chidi and his colleague Simone, but Michael, continuing to meddle, blows his cover. Having learned about the afterlife again, they try to help others improve their moral behavior to get into the Good Place. Eventually, they discover that no one has been admitted to the Good Place in centuries. They convince the Judge to allow them to run an experiment to show that humans can improve their moral character when freed from the challenges of modern Earth life.
In the final season, the group begins their experiment in a new simulated Good Place neighborhood with three new human subjects plus Chidi. The Bad Place repeatedly tries to sabotage the experiment, but in the end, the humans show moral growth. A new afterlife system is created, in which deceased humans can confront their moral weaknesses and improve. Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, Jason, Michael, and Janet are admitted to the actual Good Place, where their final challenge is to find a way to make eternal happiness fulfilling, so that all humans can find peace and meaning in their existence.
== Cast and characters ==
=== Main ===
Kristen Bell as Eleanor Shellstrop, a deceased American woman from Phoenix, Arizona, who seemingly winds up in the Good Place due to being mistaken for an unrelated homonymous lawyer who exonerated innocent clients facing death sentences; in truth, this Eleanor was a selfish, rude pharmaceutical saleswoman who cared only about herself. In order to actually earn her spot, she recruits Chidi to teach her the fundamentals of becoming a better person, all while hiding her true identity from Michael and the other inhabitants.
William Jackson Harper as Chidi Anagonye, a deceased French-speaking Nigerian-Senegalese professor of ethics and moral philosophy who taught at universities in France and Australia. Although he is kind, supportive and highly-qualified, his inability to make choices frequently leaves him overthinking, overanxious and indecisive, often resulting in poor decision-making. Assigned as Eleanor's soulmate in Michael's Good Place, he gives her ethics lessons in an attempt to make her a better person.
Jameela Jamil as Tahani Al-Jamil, a deceased wealthy British Pakistani philanthropist and fashion model who forms an unlikely friendship with Eleanor, who initially dislikes Tahani's positive attitude, tendency to name-drop, and perceived condescension; Tahani hides deeply buried insecurities from the way her family treated her.
D'Arcy Carden as Janet, a programmed guide and knowledge bank who acts as the Good Place's main source of information and can provide its residents with whatever they desire. She is described as a foundational mainframe for all neighborhoods across the Good and Bad Places. Later, Janet gains a more humanlike disposition and begins to act differently from the way she was designed.
Carden also portrays multiple Janet iterations throughout the series. Among them are "Bad Janet", a Bad Place counterpart specifically designed by the demons to respond to residents in an inappropriate and impolite manner; "Neutral Janet", an impartial, robotic version of Janet that works in the Accountant's Office; "Disco Janet" who is "fun, but a lot" and, in "Janet(s)", Janet-versions of Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason.
Manny Jacinto as Jason Mendoza, a deceased Filipino American amateur disc jockey and drug dealer from Jacksonville, Florida. He is introduced as Jianyu Li, a Taiwanese Buddhist monk who took a vow of silence; however, he, like Eleanor, was seemingly brought to the Good Place by mistake, and joins in her efforts to become better people. Jason has a child-like personality, kindhearted and positive, but also immature, clueless and impulsive.
Ted Danson as Michael, a being from the afterlife who is the "architect" who runs the Good Place neighborhood in which Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason reside. Michael has a fascination with the mundane aspects of human life, like playing with paper clips or searching for one's car keys. Introduced as an angel, he is revealed in the first-season finale to be a demon who tortured Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani and Jason all along in a Bad Place masquerading as a Good Place. In late seasons, he finds himself allying and then genuinely befriending them. "Michael" is a Hebrew name meaning "who is like God". The character of Michael was based on the archangel Michael.
=== Recurring ===
==== Demons ====
Tiya Sircar as Vicky, a Bad Place demon who portrays the "real Eleanor Shellstrop", whose position in the Good Place Eleanor supposedly stole in the first season. In the second season, when Michael's plans repeatedly fail, she tries to blackmail Michael into giving her control over the neighborhood. Late in the series, Michael places her in charge of introducing the other demons to the revised afterlife system.
Adam Scott as Trevor, a cruel Bad Place demon who bullies the main group. He makes a return in the third season posing as an overenthusiastic member of Chidi's academic study on Earth, only to be later exiled by the Judge upon being discovered.
Marc Evan Jackson as Shawn, Michael's wicked boss and ruler of the Bad Place, who is first presumed to be the Judge, an impartial godlike being who decides on matters of the universe. Shawn gives Michael two chances to pull off the torture experiment and later turns against him when he finds out about Michael's betrayal. He is also the main character of the spin-off web series The Selection.
Luke Guldan as Chris Baker, a muscular Bad Place demon. After initially struggling to play Eleanor's gym rat soulmate in Michael's second neighborhood, he eventually adopts much of this persona into his actual personality. Chris is a minor antagonist on multiple occasions.
Bambadjan Bamba as Bambadjan, a Bad Place demon pretending to be a lawyer in the Good Place. He is among the more cunning of Shawn's demons.
Josh Siegal as Glenn, a Bad Place demon pretending to be a cheerfully dopey Good Place resident. He is among the few demons to show actual concern for another being. He blows up in "Tinker, Tailor, Demon, Spy", but reconstitutes himself with time.
==== Humans ====
Maribeth Monroe as Mindy St. Claire, a deceased corporate lawyer and addict who died in the process of founding a charity she had planned during a cocaine high. The charity generated enough good points after her death that her point total exceeded that required to enter the Good Place. As a compromise, the Judge ruled that she would receive her own private Medium Place, where everything is mediocre and grounded in the 1980s.
Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Simone Garnett, an Australian neuroscientist and, briefly, Chidi's girlfriend. She is also the second test subject to be sent to the experimental Good Place, but initially believes that the entire neighborhood is a hallucination generated by her brain at the moment of death.
Eugene Cordero as Steven "Pillboi" Peleaz, Jason's best friend and partner in crime. Jason, Tahani and Michael manage to convince him to avoid criminal behavior and focus on his career in elder care so that he could get into the Good Place.
Mitch Narito as Donkey Doug, Jason's dopey father and other partner in crime. Doug treats Jason as more of a "homie" than a son, and their familial relation is not revealed until the third season. Doug is Jason's first choice to reform into deserving the Good Place, but he proves too set in his ways.
Rebecca Hazlewood as Kamilah Al-Jamil, Tahani's exceedingly successful and competitive younger sister. Tahani died attempting to humiliate her and often struggles with feelings of inferiority compared to her.
Ajay Mehta and Anna Khaja as Waqas and Manisha Al-Jamil, Tahani's verbally abusive parents, who are the true cause behind her and Kamilah's relationship.
Leslie Grossman as Donna Shellstrop, Eleanor's cruel, self-centered, negligent mother. In the third season, it is revealed that she faked her death in Arizona and reformed herself as a PTA mom in a Nevada suburb.
Keston John as Uzo, Chidi's best friend. He had long suffered from Chidi's indecisiveness and witnessed Chidi's original death.
Brandon Scott Jones as John Wheaton, the first test subject sent to the experimental Good Place. In life, he was a gossip columnist and published inflammatory articles, especially about Tahani.
Ben Koldyke as Brent Norwalk, a bigoted and arrogant corporate chief executive, and the fourth test subject sent to the experimental Good Place. He proves to be a significant wrench in Eleanor and Michael's plans, as Michael's old methods do not work on him as they did on Eleanor.
Michael McKean and Noah Garfinkel as Doug Forcett, a Canadian who once took psychedelics (circa 1970) and coincidentally guessed the workings of the afterlife to a far higher degree of precision than any known religion or prophet. Michael keeps a picture of Forcett on his office wall, which is seen in many episodes. (Garfinkel, a friend of the producers, was the image used for this picture of Forcett.) In a later episode, Michael McKean portrays an much older, neurotic Forcett who lives a torturously frugal and self-sacrificial life to avoid the Bad Place. Garfinkel is later briefly seen in a sequence as a younger Forcett.
==== Other celestial beings ====
Jason Mantzoukas as Derek, a malfunctioning artificial rebound boyfriend created by Janet. Gifted by the humans to Mindy for helping them escape the fake Good Place, he gets "rebooted" an extreme number of times over the course of the series and becomes more advanced and slightly less off-kilter each time.
Maya Rudolph as Gen, the true Judge of the universe, who has near-omnipotent governance over reality and mediates affairs between the Good Place and Bad Place. She first oversees trials of worthiness for the four humans, and later oversees Michael's experiments in seasons 3 and 4.
Mike O'Malley as Jeff the Doorman, the gatekeeper of the doorway between the afterlife and Earth. He has an affinity for frogs.
Paul Scheer as Chuck, leader of the Good Place committee. Ostensibly wanting to help Eleanor and her friends, the committee is very hesitant to take any actual action and is overly deferential to any demands by the Bad Place in negotiations. Chuck and the rest of the committee abandon the Good Place after tricking Michael into accepting responsibility over it, having run out of ideas of how to lift the ennui hanging over its residents.
Stephen Merchant as Neil, the manager in the Accounting office where all the life points are calculated. He reveals that nobody has been sent to the Good Place for about 500 years.
== Episodes ==
== Production ==
=== Casting ===
NBC issued a press release on August 13, 2015, announcing it had given the then-untitled show a 13-episode order based purely on a pitch by Michael Schur. On January 12, 2016, it was announced that Kristen Bell and Ted Danson had been cast in the lead roles for the series. The first synopsis of the show was also released, stating that it would revolve around Eleanor designing her own self-improvement course with Michael as her guide – although the afterlife element had always been a part of the series, as Bell stated she was aware of the first-season finale twist when she signed on.
William Jackson Harper was cast as Chris on February 11, 2016, though the character was renamed Chidi. Jameela Jamil was cast as Tessa on February 25, 2016, and her character was renamed Tahani. On March 3, 2016, Manny Jacinto was revealed to have been cast as a "sweet and good-natured Jason" whose "dream is to make a living as a DJ in Southern Florida". On March 14, 2016, D'Arcy Carden was cast as a series regular announced as "Janet Della-Denunzio, a violin salesperson with a checkered past" – although writer Megan Amram later admitted that this was a hoax.
=== Development ===
The show's final premise, including the afterlife element, was announced on May 15, 2016, when NBC announced its 2016–17 TV season.
According to Schur, they originally planned to include religious elements after doing research on various faiths and groups. Instead, he decided on a more diverse concept that included all faiths and was free of religious views. "I stopped doing research because I realized it's about versions of ethical behavior, not religious salvation," he says. "The show isn't taking a side, the people who are there are from every country and religion." He also pointed out that the setting (shot in San Marino, California's Huntington Gardens) already had the feeling of a pastiche of different cultures, and said the neighborhoods would feature people who were part of nondenominational and interdenominational backgrounds who interacted with each other regardless of religion.
The series' setting and premises, as well as the serialized cliffhangers, were modeled on Lost, a favorite of Schur's. One of the first people he called when he developed the series was Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof. "I took him to lunch and said, 'We're going to play a game [of] 'Is this anything?'" He then added "I imagine this going in the Lost way, with cliffhangers and future storylines."
The first season's surprise twist, that the Good Place was the Bad Place, and Chidi, Eleanor, Jason and Tahani were chosen because they were best suited to torture each other indefinitely, is very similar in premise to philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre's stage play No Exit, where three strangers die and are escorted to a single room by a friendly bellhop and informed they must co-exist. They ultimately determine they are entirely incompatible and reach the conclusion that "hell is other people". Danson and Bell were the only actors who knew the ultimate premise from the start.
Critics have suggested similarities to the 1960s surreal TV show The Prisoner in its isolated, rule-bound setting.
== Broadcast and release ==
The series premiered September 19, 2016. On January 30, 2017, NBC renewed the series for a second season of 13 episodes, which premiered on September 20, 2017, with an hour-long opening episode. On November 21, 2017, NBC renewed the series for a 13-episode third season, which premiered on September 27, 2018. On December 4, 2018, NBC renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on September 26, 2019. On June 7, 2019, it was announced that the fourth season would be the last.
=== International ===
In several international territories, the show is distributed on Netflix. The first season was released September 21, 2017, and episodes of subsequent seasons became available within 24 hours of their U.S. broadcast.
=== Home media ===
Home media releases for The Good Place were distributed by the Shout! Factory. The first season was released on DVD in region 1 on October 17, 2017, the second on July 17, 2018, and the third on July 30, 2019. The complete series was released on Blu-ray on May 19, 2020.
== Reception ==
=== Ratings ===
=== Critical response ===
The Good Place has received widespread acclaim from television critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a rating of 92%, based on 74 reviews, with an average rating of 7.80/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Kristen Bell and Ted Danson knock it out of the park with supremely entertaining, charming performances in this absurd, clever and whimsical portrayal of the afterlife." On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 78 out of 100, based on reviews from 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
The editors of TV Guide placed The Good Place second among the top ten picks for the most anticipated new shows of the 2016–17 season. In its review from writer Liam Matthews, "NBC's new comedy has an impressive pedigree" (referring to Mike Schur and stars, Kristen Bell and Ted Danson, the latter cited as "arguably the greatest sitcom actor of all time"). Matthews concludes, "The hope is that their combined star power can restore NBC's tarnished comedy brand to its former glory. It won't be the next Friends, but it's something even better: a network comedy that feels different than anything that's come before."
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has a rating of 100%, based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 9.0/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "By voluntarily blowing up its premise, The Good Place sets up a second season that proves even funnier than its first." On Metacritic, the second season has a score of 87 out of 100, based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season has a rating of 98%, based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 8.35/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Charming and curious as ever, The Good Place remains a delightfully insightful bright spot on the television landscape." On Metacritic, the third season has a score of 96 out of 100, based on reviews from five critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
On Rotten Tomatoes, the fourth season has a rating of 100%, based on 53 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A wild philosophical ride to the very end, The Good Place brings it home with a forking good final season."
Several critics have commended the show for its exploration and creative use of ethics and philosophy. Featured topics include the trolley problem thought experiment originally devised by Philippa Foot, the categorical imperative first formulated by Immanuel Kant, T. M. Scanlon's What We Owe to Each Other, and the works of Aristotle and Søren Kierkegaard. Andrew P. Street of The Guardian wrote that "moral philosophy is the beating heart of the program" and that the show "made philosophy seem cool." Elizabeth Yuko of The Atlantic noted that "The Good Place stands out for dramatizing actual ethics classes onscreen, without watering down the concepts being described, and while still managing to be entertaining." For their part, several philosophers have celebrated the show's largely accurate popularization of their line of work, while noting some minor inaccuracies.
Several critics have noted that The Good Place often eschews antiheroes and cynical themes in favor of likable characters and positive messages. James Poniewozik of The New York Times said, "The most refreshing thing about The Good Place, in an era of artistic bleakness, is its optimism about human nature. It's made humane and sidesplittingly entertaining television out of the notion that people – and even the occasional immortal demon – are redeemable." Jenna Scherer of Rolling Stone wrote that The Good Place proved that "slapstick and banter can coexist alongside tragedy and hardship – that a show doesn't need to be self-serious to be serious-minded." Erik Adams of The A.V. Club praised the show as portraying an "uncommonly decent TV world". Stuart Heritage of The Guardian called The Good Place "relentlessly optimistic", a quality which Stephanie Palumbo of Vulture called "a salve for despair in the Trump era".
In 2019, The Good Place was ranked 69th on The Guardian's list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.
==== Critics' top-ten lists ====
=== Accolades ===
During its airing, The Good Place received many awards and nominations. It received fourteen Primetime Emmy Award nominations during its run, including two nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series for its third and fourth seasons. It also received two Golden Globe Award nominations in 2019, including a nomination for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. In genre awards, the show has won four Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form for "The Trolley Problem", "Janet(s)", "The Answer", and "Whenever You're Ready"; it has also been nominated two other times in the category. The show also received three consecutive nominations from the Saturn Awards for Best Fantasy Television Series and three nominations from the Nebula Awards for the Ray Bradbury Award, winning once for the latter. In 2017, the American Film Institute named the show as one of its top 10 television programs of the year, and in 2019, the show received a Peabody Award for its contributions to entertainment.
Several cast members have received awards for their performances on the show. Danson received three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance as Michael. He has also been nominated for three Critics' Choice Television Awards (winning one in 2018), two Satellite Awards, and a TCA Award for his work. Bell was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for her performance as Eleanor, as well as one Critics' Choice Television Award, two People's Choice Awards (winning one in 2019), one Teen Choice Award, and one TCA Award. Maya Rudolph has received three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, and Harper, Jamil, Carden, and Adam Scott have all received nominations for awards for their work on the show.
== Philosophical inspirations ==
The Good Place makes use of many different theories of moral philosophy and ethics through the character of Chidi Anagonye, the moral philosophy professor. Within the show, there is reference to John Locke, Tim Scanlon, Peter Singer, and Derek Parfit, and "the show has covered everything from Jonathan Dancy's theory of moral particularism, to Aristotelian virtue ethics, to Kantian deontology, to moral nihilism." UCLA philosophy professor Pamela Hieronymi and Clemson philosophy professor Todd May served as consultants to the show. They both made cameo appearances in the final episode.
The beginning of The Good Place takes its inspiration from the idiom "Hell is other people" from Jean-Paul Sartre's play No Exit. In the play three people are trapped in Hell, represented as one room, and they torture one another psychologically while reflecting upon the sins that got them there. The concept "Hell is other people" is an often-misunderstood philosophical idiom meant to reflect that "Hell is other people because you are, in some sense, forever trapped within them, subject to their apprehension of you."
The second season's philosophy is most closely related to that of Aristotle, with Schur in particular highlighting Aristotle's "practice-makes-perfect" attitude to acting ethically. Chidi's impenetrable 4,000-page ethical treatise was inspired by Parfit's On What Matters – which attempts "to propose a grand unified theory of all ethical theories". Schur was unable to finish reading due to its length. Tim Scanlon's What We Owe to Each Other "forms the spine of the entire show" according to Schur. The book presents the idea of contractualism: the idea is that "to act morally is to abide by principles that no one could reasonably reject". The show and the relationships between the characters act as an investigation into contractualism with the four main humans, Michael, and Janet forming their own society whereby they must act in ways that no one could reasonably reject even when that goes against the rules and tenets of higher powers. The overarching thesis of the show, greatly influenced by the contractualist theory, is "the point of morality ... isn't to accumulate goodness points, as in the elaborate point system the organizers of the Good Place and its corresponding Bad Place employ to determine who goes to which upon death. It's to live up to our duties to each other."
== The Selection ==
In September 2019, prior to the release of the fourth season of The Good Place, NBC released a six-episode web series on their website, app, and their YouTube channel, titled The Selection (full title: The Good Place Presents: The Selection), directed by Eric Kissack. The series, set during an ellipsis taking place during the season 3 episode 11: "Chidi Sees the Time-Knife", follows Michael's former demon boss Shawn as he and his underlings decide which four people to pick for Michael's new incarnation of "the Good Place". Marc Evan Jackson, Josh Siegal, Bambadjan Bamba, Amy Okuda, and Jama Williamson form the main cast by reprising their roles from The Good Place as Shawn and his underlings, with Joe Mande reprising his role as Toddrick "Todd" Hemple in the third episode. At the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, the series was nominated for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Loiola | José Loiola | José Geraldo Loiola (born March 28, 1970) is a Brazilian former beach volleyball player. He won the gold medal at the 1999 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Marseille, partnering with Emanuel Rego.
Loiola began playing beach volleyball in the AVP in 1993 with partner Eduardo "Anjinho" Bacil. He was selected as the AVP Rookie of the Year in 1993. He eventually won 11 tournaments partnering with Adam Johnson and 17 partnering with Kent Steffes. He was named MVP of the AVP tour in 1997, and was voted Best Offensive Player of the AVP four times. In total, he won 55 tournaments and $1,900,000 in prize money in the AVP and FIVB. Loiola was noted for his exceptional vertical jump.
Loiola represented his native country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and added a silver medal to his tally a year later at the 2001 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Klagenfurt, alongside Ricardo Santos.
== Hall of Fame ==
In 2014, Loiola was inducted into the California Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.
== Coaching ==
Loiola coached Sara Hughes and Kelly Claes of the United States in preparation for the 2020 Olympic beach volleyball qualification. He currently works as a coach for the United States beach national team.
== Awards ==
AVP Rookie of the Year 1993
AVP Most Valuable Player 1997
Four-time AVP Best Offensive Player 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
Gold Medal at World Championships at Marseille 1999
CBVA Hall of Fame 2014
International Volleyball Hall of Fame 2017 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Pharr_Davis | Jennifer Pharr Davis | Jennifer Pharr Davis (May 25, 1983) is an American long-distance hiker and author. She previously held the record for the fastest known time of hiking the Appalachian Trail, hiking it in 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes in 2011.
== Early life and education ==
Pharr Davis grew up in Hendersonville, North Carolina. She attended Hendersonville High School (North Carolina) and the Asheville School. She first hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2005 after graduating from Samford University. To prepare for her initial hike, she attended a class taught by Warren Doyle at the Appalachian Trail Institute.
== Hiking career ==
In 2008, she set the record for the fastest Appalachian Trail hike by a woman in 57 days and 8 hours at an average of 38 miles (61 km) per day. She had previously set the Long Trail trail record in 7 days and 15 hours in 2007. She also established the fastest known time on the Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia in 2008.
In 2008, Pharr Davis founded Blue Ridge Hiking Company, with the belief that "the trail is there for everyone at every phase of life" and with the goal of getting people outdoors on their own terms.
In 2011, Pharr Davis set the fastest known time on the Appalachian Trail completing it in 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes. In 2015, Scott Jurek finished 3 hours and 12 minutes faster. New records have subsequently been set by Karl Meltzer, Joe McConaughy, Karel Sabbe, and most recently Tara Dower.
In 2012, Pharr Davis was named one of National Geographic's Adventurers of the Year. She was also made an Ambassador for the American Hiking Society.
In 2012, Pharr Davis hiked 600 miles on the Laugavegur Trail in Iceland and the GR 11 (Spain) across the Pyrenees in her second and third trimesters while pregnant with her daughter Charley. While on an 18-month book tour, Pharr Davis and her husband Brew took Charley hiking in all 50 states before their daughter turned two.
In 2017, she hiked the 1,175 mile Mountains to Sea Trail in partnership with the Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail for the trail's 40th anniversary and completed the hike while still nursing her newborn child, Gus.
In 2020, she began serving on the President's Council for Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition under a two-year position.
She has hiked over 12,000 miles on six different continents, including all 50 states of the United States.
As a member of the National Speakers Association, Pharr Davis has shared her trail lessons throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Her articles have appeared in print and online editions for the New York Times, Outside Magazine, Trail Runner, Backpacker, and Guideposts.
Pharr Davis served as a board member for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, received a 2016 Laurel Wreath Award for athletic achievement from the Governor of North Carolina and was recognized as 2019 "Female Entrepreneur of the Year" by the Chamber of Commerce in Asheville, North Carolina. She was also named one of the 25 Most Adventurous Women of the Past 25 Years by Men's Journal, Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine's Person of the Year in 2008 and her record-setting 2011 A.T. hike was named "Performance of the Year" by Ultrarunning Magazine.
Pharr Davis has hiked other long-distance trails including the Pinhoti Trail, the Bartram Trail, the Foothills Trail, the Art Loeb Trail, and the Benton Mackaye Trail. She has also hiked the Continental Divide Trail in sections through the Rocky Mountains.
== Writing ==
Pharr Davis has written a number of books. She has written two guidebooks about hiking in the Charlotte, North Carolina area, and one about hiking near Asheville, North Carolina. She has also written two memoirs- 2010's Becoming Odyssa, about her 2005 Appalachian Trail thru-hike, and 2013's Called Again, about her record setting A.T. hike, both published by Beaufort Books. Jennifer has also written 2017's Families on Foot and 2018's The Pursuit of Endurance as well as 2019's "I Come From a Place" with watercolorist Alan Shuptrine, from Chattanooga, Tennessee.
== Personal life ==
Pharr Davis lives in Asheville, North Carolina with her husband Brew, their daughter Charley, and son Gus. Brew Davis wrote about his wife's 2011 hike and how he provided support throughout it in his 2011 book 46 Days: Keeping Up With Jennifer Pharr Davis on the Appalachian Trail (Davis, 2011).
22. Davis, B. (2011). 46 Days: Keeping Up With Jennifer Pharr Davis on the Appalachian Trail. Beaufort Books. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director_Special_Forces | Director Special Forces | Director Special Forces (DSF) is the senior British Armed Forces officer responsible for the United Kingdom Special Forces. The post is a senior role within the Ministry of Defence (MoD). As director, the incumbent is responsible for the provision of special forces capability to MoD, and holds operational command for discrete special forces operations.
== History ==
The post of Colonel SAS (Special Air Service) was created in 1964; this post evolved into Director SAS with the post holder commanding the SAS corps from 1969.
In March 1987, the post of Director SAS became Director Special Forces; it consisted of the Army's Special Air Service, Royal Navy's Special Boat Service and the Army's 14 Intelligence Company under the command of the DSF, who held the rank of brigadier, and with a Deputy, who held the rank of colonel.
During the 2000s, the size of the directorate increased substantially with the inclusion of the Special Forces Support Group and the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing. Other changes included the 14th Intelligence Company renamed as the Special Reconnaissance Regiment. This was to meet a demand for a special reconnaissance capability identified in the Strategic Defence Review: A New Chapter published in 2002 in response to the 2001 September 11 attacks. Following a review, it was found that the SAS Reserve lacked a clearly defined role, and also stated that the reservists lacked the capability, equipment, and skills to serve alongside the regular special forces. What followed was a reduction in the scope of UK Special Forces. As an outcome of this review, on 1 September 2014, 21 and 23 SAS were removed from the UKSF order of battle and placed with the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC), under the command of 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade. This change was partly reversed in 2019 with 21 and 23 SAS returning as an integrated part of the UKSF group.
In 2008, the rank of the DSF was upgraded from brigadier to major-general with the directorate becoming an independent, operational-level component command, alongside Land, Navy and Air elements in the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) and in the deployable Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ).
The DSF is accountable to only the Defence Secretary and the Prime Minister. UKSF may operate in locations where the UK does not formally acknowledge a military presence.
== List of commanders ==
Commanders of special forces have been:
=== Colonel SAS ===
1964–1967 Colonel John Waddy (late Parachute Regiment)
1967–1969 Colonel Mike Wingate Gray (late Black Watch)
=== Director SAS ===
1969–1972 Brigadier Fergie Semple (late Royal Engineers)
1972–1975 Brigadier John Simpson (late Gordon Highlanders)
1975–1979 Brigadier John Watts (late Royal Ulster Rifles)
1979–1983 Brigadier Peter de la Billière (late Durham Light Infantry)
1983–1985 Brigadier John Foley (late Royal Green Jackets)
=== Director Special Forces ===
1986–1988 Brigadier Michael Wilkes (late Royal Artillery)
1988–1989 Brigadier Michael Rose (late Coldstream Guards)
1989–1993 Brigadier Jeremy Phipps (late Queen's Own Hussars)
1993–1996 Brigadier Cedric Delves (late Devonshire and Dorset Regiment)
1996–1999 Brigadier John Sutherell (late Royal Anglian Regiment)
1999–2001 Brigadier John Holmes (late Scots Guards)
2001–2003 Brigadier Graeme Lamb (late Queen's Own Highlanders)
2003–2006 Brigadier Jonathan Shaw (late Parachute Regiment)
2006–2009 Brigadier Adrian Bradshaw (late King's Royal Hussars)
2009–2012 Major General Jacko Page (late Parachute Regiment)
2012–2015 Major General Mark Carleton-Smith (late Irish Guards)
2015–2018 Major General James Chiswell (late Parachute Regiment)
2018–2021 Major General Roland Walker (late Grenadier Guards)
2021–2022 Major General Gwyn Jenkins Royal Marines
2022–2024 Major General Nick Perry (late King's Royal Hussars) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvon_Chouinard | Yvon Chouinard | Yvon Chouinard (born November 9, 1938) is an American rock climber, environmentalist, and businessman. His company, Patagonia, sells outdoor products, outerwear, and food. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
== Early life ==
Chouinard's father was a French Canadian handyman, mechanic, and plumber. In 1947, Yvon and his family moved from Lewiston, Maine, to Southern California. They were Catholic.
His early climbing partners included Royal Robbins and Tom Frost. A Sierra Club member, in his youth he founded the Southern California Falconry Club, and it was his investigations of falcon aeries that led him to rock climbing. To save money and to make adaptations for the way he was climbing, he decided to make his own climbing tools by teaching himself blacksmithing, and eventually started a business.
== Yosemite rock climber to leading alpinist ==
Chouinard was one of the leading climbers of the "Golden Age of Yosemite Climbing." He was one of the protagonists of the film made about this era: Valley Uprising (2014). He participated in the first ascent of the North America Wall in 1964 (with Royal Robbins, Tom Frost, and Chuck Pratt), using no fixed ropes. The next year, his and TM Herbert's ascent of the Muir Wall on El Capitan improved the style of previous first ascents. Chouinard became the most articulate advocate of the importance of style, the basis of modern rock climbing.
In 1961, he visited Western Canada with Fred Beckey, and made several important first ascents, including the North Face of Mount Edith Cavell (Rockies), the Beckey-Chouinard Route on South Howser Tower in the Bugaboos (Purcell Mountains), and the North Face of Mount Sir Donald (Selkirk Mountains). These climbs opened his eyes to the idea of applying Yosemite big-wall climbing techniques to mountain climbing, and his advocacy was important to modern, high-grade alpinism. Also in 1961, he visited Shawangunk Ridge for the first time, freeclimbing the first pitch of Matinee (the hardest free climb done at Shawangunk Ridge at the time); and introducing chrome-molybdenum steel pitons to the area, which revolutionized climbing protection. In 1968, he climbed Cerro Fitzroy in Patagonia by a new route (The Californian Route, 3rd overall ascent of the mountain) with Dick Dorworth, Chris Jones, Lito Tejada-Flores, and Douglas Tompkins.
Chouinard has also traveled and climbed in the European Alps and in Pakistan.
== Chouinard Equipment, Ltd. ==
In 1957, he bought a second-hand coal-fired forge, and started making hardened steel pitons for use in Yosemite Valley. Between time spent surfing and climbing, he sold pitons out of the back of his car to support himself. The improved pitons were a big factor in the birth of big-wall climbing from 1957 to 1960 in Yosemite. The success of his pitons caused him to found Chouinard Equipment, Ltd.
In the late 1960s, Chouinard and business partner Tom Frost began studying ice climbing equipment, and re-invented the basic tools (crampons and ice axes) to perform on steeper ice. These new tools and his book Climbing Ice (1978) started the modern sport of ice climbing.
Around 1970, he became aware that the use of steel pitons made by his company was causing significant damage to the cracks of Yosemite. These pitons composed 70 percent of his income. In 1971 and 1972, Chouinard and Frost introduced new aluminum chockstones, called Hexentrics and Stoppers, along with the less successful steel Crack-n-Ups, and committed the company to the advocacy of the new tools and a new style of climbing called "clean climbing." This concept revolutionized rock climbing and led to further success of the company, despite cannibalizing the sales of pitons, formerly his most important product.
They applied for a U.S. patent on Hexentrics in 1974, and it was granted on April 6, 1976. These are still manufactured by Black Diamond Equipment.
In the latter 1960s, Chouinard attempted a number of significant technological and technique changes to ice climbing after trips to the Alps in Europe and Sierra Nevada ice gullies in autumn. He removed the flex from crampons, making them more rigid for front-pointing. He drew the taper of a rock hammer into a point for better ice purchase. He increased the cross section of ice screws while also using lighter materials. He experimented with pick and blade issues with ice axes. Prior to this, much of ice climbing was seen as mere step cutting. He attempted to replace hand ice picks (climbing type) with a small ice axe head called a Climaxe.
In 1989, Chouinard Equipment, Ltd. filed for bankruptcy protection in order to protect it from liability lawsuits. The hard assets of Chouinard Equipment, Ltd. were acquired by its employees through the Chapter 11 process, and the company was reestablished as Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd.
== Patagonia and environmentalism ==
Chouinard is most known for founding the clothing and gear company Patagonia. Chouinard started to sell clothes by chance as a way to support his moderately profitable equipment business. In 1970 on a trip to Scotland, he purchased some rugby shirts and sold them with great success. From this small start, the Patagonia company developed a wide selection of rugged technical clothing. According to Chouinard, the intent of Patagonia is to make clothes for people under the rugged, southern Andes/Cape Horn conditions of places like Patagonia.
Recognizing that the financial success of the company provided the opportunity to also achieve personal goals, Chouinard committed the company to being an outstanding place to work, and to be an important resource for environmental activism. In 1984, Patagonia opened an on-site cafeteria offering "healthy, mostly vegetarian food," and started providing on-site child care. In 1986, Chouinard committed the company to "tithing" for environmental activism, committing one percent of sales or ten percent of profits, whichever is the greater. The commitment included paying employees working on local environmental projects so they could commit their efforts full-time.
In the early 1990s, an environmental audit of Patagonia revealed the surprising result (at the time), that corporate cotton, although it was a natural material, had a heavy environmental footprint. In 1996, Chouinard committed the company to using all organic cotton.
In 2002, Yvon Chouinard founded 1% for the Planet and Patagonia became the first business to commit 1% of annual sales to the environment.
In 2014, Patagonia supported the advocacy documentary film DamNation, which is about changing attitudes in America towards its dams. Chouinard was the executive producer of the film, and he was also featured in the film commenting about dams.
In 2018, in acknowledgment that sustainability and responsible practices are core to Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard was recognized with the Sierra Club's top award, the John Muir Award.
In 2022, Chouinard announced that he was donating ownership in Patagonia to a trust to ensure profits are used for addressing climate change. Chouinard's family retains control of the company's voting stock through the Patagonia Purpose Trust.
== Personal life ==
In 1971, Chouinard met and married his wife, Malinda Pennoyer, who was an art and home economics student at California State University, Fresno. They have a son (Fletcher) and a daughter (Claire), both of whom work for Patagonia.
In 2008, Chouinard received an honorary doctorate from Bowdoin College. In 2021, he received an honorary degree from Bates College. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirosaki_Station | Hirosaki Station | Hirosaki Station (弘前駅, Hirosaki-eki) is a railway station in the city of Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the private railway operator Kōnan Railway. It is also a freight terminal for the Japan Freight Railway Company.
== Lines ==
Hirosaki Station is served by the Ōu Main Line, and is located 447.1 km from the southern starting point of the Ōu Main Line at Fukushima. Although the terminus of the Gonō Line is at Kawabe, most trains continue on to terminate at Hirosaki for ease of connections. It also forms the terminus of the 16.8 km private Kōnan Railway Kōnan Line to Kuroishi.
== Limited express trains ==
Hirosaki Station is served by the following limited express train services.
Tsugaru (Aomori - Akita)
Akebono overnight sleeper service (Ueno - Aomori)
Nihonkai overnight sleeper service (Osaka - Aomori)
== Station layout ==
Hirosaki Station is an elevated station. The JR portion has a single side platform and an island platform, serving three tracks, and the Kōnan Railway has a bay platform serving another two tracks. The station has a JR East Midori no Madoguchi staffed ticket office and View Plaza travel agency.
=== JR East platforms ===
=== Konan Railway platforms ===
== History ==
Hirosaki Station opened on December 1, 1894. On September 7, 1927, the Konan Railway also began operations at Hirosaki Station. The station building was again reconstructed in 1981 to incorporate a shopping center. With the privatization of JNR on April 1, 1987, the station came under the operational control of JR East. A new station building was completed in December 2004.
== Passenger statistics ==
In fiscal 2018, the JR East station was used by an average of 4,497 passengers daily (boarding passengers only). The Konan Railway station was used by an average of 2,851 passengers daily in fiscal 2011. The JR East passenger figures for previous years are as shown below.
== Surrounding area ==
Hirosaki Post office
Hirosakiekimae Post Office
Hirosaki Bus terminal
== Bus services ==
=== Local services ===
Kōnan Bus
For Karekitaira via Dake hot spring
For Fujishiro via Hamanomashi or Komagoshi
For Goshogawara Station via Fujisaki, Itayanagi and Tsuruta
For Namioka via Fujisaki
For Kuroishi Station via Inakadate
For Koguriyama via Hirosaki University
For Sōma via Akudo
For Tashiro via Kuniyoshi
For Aomori Airport (Express bus)
=== Long-distance bus services ===
Jodel (ヨーデル, Yōderu) (operated by Kōnan Bus, JR Bus Tohoku, Iwate-Kenpoku Bus, and Iwate-Kenkōtsu)
For Morioka Station |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nippon_Paper_Cranes | Nippon Paper Cranes | The Nippon Paper Cranes (日本製紙クレインズ, Nippon Seishi Kureinzu) were an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Kushiro City in Hokkaidō, Japan.
== History ==
The club was founded as Jūjō Paper Kushiro Ice Hockey Club in 1949. They adopted the new name Nippon Paper Cranes in 1993 when Jūjō Paper and Sanyō Kokusaku Pulp merged to form Nippon Paper.
They won the inaugural Asia League Ice Hockey title in the 2003–04 season, and have won it four times overall. They have also won the All Japan Ice hockey Championship seven times. After the 2018–19 season, the team was dissolved due to financial difficulties, and was replaced by the East Hokkaido Cranes.
== Honours ==
Asia League:
Winners (4): 2003–04, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2013–14
All Japan Championship:
Winners (7): 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015
== Season-by-season record ==
=== Asia League ===
*prior to the 2008–2009 season, there were no shoot-outs and games ended in a tie
== Past import players ==
Georgy Yevtyukhin, 1996–97 C
Joel Dyck 2003–2009, D
Chris Lindberg 2004–05, LW
Derek Plante 2005–07, D
Jamie McLennan 2007–08, G
Tyson Nash 2007–08, LW
Kelly Fairchild 2008–09, C
Brad Tiley 2008–09, D
Pierre-Olivier Beaulieu 2009–10, D
Ash Goldie 2010–11, FW
Mike Madill 2010–11, D
Ray DiLauro 2011, D
Tyler Mosienko 2011–12, C
John Hecimovic 2011–12, RW |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roche_Tower | Roche Tower | Roche Tower (German: Roche-Turm), also known as Building 1 (German: Bau 1), is an office skyscraper in the Swiss city of Basel. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron for the pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche, it stands 178 metres (584 ft) tall with 41 floors. At the time of its opening, it was the tallest building in Switzerland, surpassing the Prime Tower (126 meters) in Zürich by 52 metres. The building has a total floor space of 74,200 m2 (799,000 sq ft) and cost CHF 550 million to construct. It houses around 2,000 employees.
In 2020, Roche Tower was overtaken in height by the adjacent 205-metre Building 2, also developed by Roche.
== History ==
Construction of Building 1 began in 2012, and it was officially inaugurated on 18 September 2015. Upon completion, it surpassed the Prime Tower in Zürich (126 m), which had been Switzerland’s tallest building for just under four years. Strict planning regulations in Swiss cities mean that there are few skyscrapers in the country.
== Architecture and engineering ==
The structure stands on 143 piles driven up to 24 metres (79 ft) into the ground, topped by a foundation slab intended to enhance stability in earthquakes. Basel lies in one of Switzerland’s highest-risk earthquake zones along with the canton of Valais. The tower was engineered to withstand a magnitude 6.9 earthquake on the Richter scale, a standard higher than legally required, corresponding to an event statistically expected once every 1,500 years.
The building features a closed-cavity facade that reduces cleaning requirements, provides solar shading, and maintains outward visibility. It also incorporates a well-insulated envelope and LED lighting with daylight-based controls, along with automated systems for light, ventilation, heating, and cooling. The heating, cooling, and ventilation systems use groundwater cooling along with waste-heat recovery.
== Gallery == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Gaulden_Jagger | Mary Gaulden Jagger | Mary Esther Gaulden Jagger (April 30, 1921 – September 1, 2007), known professionally as Mary Esther Gaulden, was an American radiation geneticist, professor of radiology and political activist who authored some 60 scientific publications.
== Early life ==
Mary Esther Gaulden was the daughter of Daniel Harley Gaulden, Sr. and Virginia Carson Gaulden. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Winthrop College, where she double-majored in music and biology, and later earned her doctorate in biology at the University of Virginia.
== Oak Ridge ==
In 1949, she began working as a senior radiation biologist in the Biology Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee under Alexander Hollaender. There, in 1956, she met biophysicist John Jagger, whom she married 19 October 1956. While working in Oak Ridge, Gaulden Jagger became locally famous as the person who "threw the rascals out" of the Anderson County Election Commission, and was also active in the county's desegregation movement, participating in drugstore and restaurant sit-ins alongside her husband. Gaulden was a founding member of the Radiation Research Society and the Environmental Mutagen Society and was president of the Association of Southeastern Biologists in 1959.
== UT Southwestern Medical Center ==
In the mid-1960s, the couple and their two young children relocated to Dallas, Texas. Gaulden took a position as a professor of radiology at the UT Southwestern Medical Center, where she retired in 1992. In 1966 she was a co-founder of the National Organization for Women.
Gaulden served on the Committee on Toxicology of the U.S. National Research Council from 1989 to 1999, studying (among other things) the environment on the International Space Station.
== Awards ==
She was given a plaque by the alumni of the Dept. of Radiology, Southwestern Medical School, for the years 1967-1977.
In 1982 she was given the Academia Award as the Best Lecturer in Genetics by the Freshman Medical School Class.
In the nonscientific arena, she also distinguished herself. In Oak Ridge, she became locally famous as the person who "threw the rascals out" of the Anderson County Election Commission, and was also active in the desegregation movement in that county. In recognition of these activities, the Oak Ridge legal community gave her the Liberty Bell Award for 1963.
In 1983, she was given the Maura McNiel Award (Women Helping Women) by the Women's Center of Dallas. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateran_Treaty | Lateran Treaty | The Lateran Treaty (Italian: Patti Lateranensi; Latin: Pacta Lateranensia) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between Italy under King Victor Emmanuel III and Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle the long-standing Roman question.
The treaty recognised Vatican City as an independent state under the sovereignty of the Holy See. Italy also agreed to give the Catholic Church financial compensation for the loss of the Papal States. In 1948, the Lateran Treaty was recognized in the Constitution of Italy as regulating the relations between the Italian Republic and the Catholic Church. While the treaty was significantly revised in 1984, ending the status of Catholicism as the sole state religion of Italy, the Vatican remains a distinct sovereign entity to the present day.
The treaty and associated pacts were named after the Lateran Palace, where they were signed on 11 February 1929. The Italian Parliament ratified them on 7 June 1929.
== Content ==
The Lateran Pacts are often presented as three treaties: a 27-article treaty of conciliation, a three-article financial convention, and a 45-article concordat; however, the website of the Holy See presents the financial convention as an annex of the treaty of conciliation, considering the pacts as two documents:
A political treaty recognising the full sovereignty of the Holy See in the State of Vatican City, which was thereby established, accompanied by four annexes:
A map of the territory of Vatican City State
Maps of buildings with extraterritorial privilege and exemption from expropriation and taxes (owned by the Holy See but located in Italy and not forming part of Vatican City)
Maps of buildings with exemption from expropriation and taxes (but without extraterritorial privilege)
A financial convention agreed on as a definitive settlement of the claims of the Holy See following the capture of Rome in 1870 of its territories and property
A concordat regulating relations between the Catholic Church and the Italian state.
The treaty defines only part of the public funding of the Catholic Church in Italy.
== History ==
During the unification of Italy in the mid-19th century, the Papal States under Pope Pius IX resisted incorporation into the new nation, even as almost all the other Italian countries joined it; Camillo Cavour's dream of proclaiming the Kingdom of Italy from the steps of St. Peter's Basilica did not come to pass. The nascent Kingdom of Italy invaded and occupied Romagna (the eastern portion of the Papal States) in 1860, leaving only Lazio (Latium) in the pope's domains.
Latium, including Rome itself, was occupied and annexed in 1870. For the following sixty years, relations between the Papacy and the Italian government were hostile, and the sovereign rights of the pope became known as the Roman question.
The Popes knew that Rome was irrevocably the capital of Italy. There was nothing they wanted less than to govern it or be burdened with a papal kingdom. What they wished was independence, a foothold on the earth that belonged to no other sovereign.
Under the terms of the Law of Guarantees of 1871, the Italian government offered to Pius IX and his successors the use of, but not sovereignty over, the Vatican and Lateran Palaces and a yearly income of 3,250,000 Lire. The Holy See refused this settlement, on the grounds that the pope's spiritual jurisdiction required clear independence from any political power, and thereafter each pope considered himself a "prisoner in the Vatican". The Lateran Treaty ended this impasse.
Negotiations for the settlement of the Roman question began in 1926 between the Holy See and the Italian fascist government led by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, and culminated in the agreements of the Lateran Pacts, signed—the Treaty says—for King Victor Emmanuel III by Mussolini and for Pope Pius XI by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri, on 11 February 1929. It was ratified on 7 June 1929.
The agreements included a political treaty which created the state of the Vatican City and guaranteed full and independent sovereignty to the Holy See. The Pope was pledged to perpetual neutrality in international relations and to abstention from mediation in a controversy unless specifically requested by all parties. In the first article of the treaty, Italy reaffirmed the principle established in the 1848 Constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, that "the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Religion is the only religion of the State".
The attached financial agreement was accepted as settlement of all the claims of the Holy See against Italy from the loss of temporal power over the Papal States in 1870, though the sum agreed to was actually less than Italy had offered in 1871. To commemorate the successful conclusion of the negotiations, Mussolini commissioned the Via della Conciliazione ("Road of the Conciliation"), which would symbolically link the Vatican City to the heart of Rome.
=== After 1946 ===
The post-World War II Constitution of the Italian Republic, adopted in 1948, states that relations between the State and the Catholic Church "are regulated by the Lateran Treaties". In 1984, the concordat was significantly revised. Both sides declared: "The principle of the Catholic religion as the sole religion of the Italian State, originally referred to by the Lateran Pacts, shall be considered to be no longer in force."
The exclusive state financial support for the Church was ended, and replaced by financing through a dedicated personal income tax called the otto per mille, under which Italian taxpayers devolve a compulsory 0.8% from their annual income tax return to a religious group recognized by Italy, or a state-run social assistance program. To gain access to the tax funds, a religion must formally agree to participating in the program by signing a document called "stipulation of intese", along with the Prime Minister, which must then be ratified by Parliament. As of 2023, there were 13 religious groups with access: Confederation of Methodist and Waldensian Churches, Seventh-day Adventists, Assemblies of God, Jews, Baptists, Lutherans, the Church of Jesus Christ, Orthodox Church of the Constantinople Patriarchate, Italian Apostolic Church, Buddhist Union, Soka Gakkai Buddhists, Hindus, and the Anglican Church. However, two of the largest minority religions in Italy are excluded from this system: Jehovah's Witnesses and Islam. Although two Prime Ministers have signed "intese" agreements with the Jehovah's Witnesses, in both instances Parliament neglected to put the matter up to a vote for ratification, leading the Witnesses to take legal action against this apparent discrimination with the European Court of Human Rights. The Italian government has attempted to negotiate a "intese" with Islamic groups on at least two occasions, but the negotiations were unsuccessful, as the numerous Islamic associations in Italy could not agree upon the terms needed to a establish a unified organization that could sign an "intesa" and receive the 0.8 percent tax.
The revised concordat regulated the conditions under which the state accords legal recognition to church marriages and to ecclesiastical declarations of nullity of marriages. The agreement also ended state recognition of knighthoods and titles of nobility conferred by the Holy See, the right of the state to request ecclesiastical honours for those chosen to perform religious functions for the state or the royal household, and the right of the state to present political objections to the proposed appointment of diocesan bishops. In 2008, it was announced that the Vatican would no longer immediately adopt all Italian laws, citing conflict over right-to-life issues, partially attributed to the November, 2008 Italian court ruling in the trial and ruling of the Eluana Englaro case.
== Violations ==
The Italian racial laws of 1938 prohibited marriages between Jews and non-Jews, including Catholics: the Vatican viewed this as a violation of the Concordat, which gave the church the sole right to regulate marriages involving Catholics. Article 34 of the Concordat specified that marriages performed by the Catholic Church would always be considered valid by civil authorities. The Holy See understood this to apply to all marriages in Italy celebrated by Roman Catholic clergy, regardless of the faiths of those being married. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Shout_Never | Never Shout Never | Never Shout Never (originally typeset as nevershoutnever! and NeverShoutNever!) was an American rock band formed in Joplin, Missouri, in 2007. Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Christofer Drew began the band as a solo project before expanding it to a band, whose best-known lineup included himself, bassist Taylor MacFee, and drummer Hayden Kaiser. The band that accompanied Drew when it was a solo project were originally known as "The Shout". Never Shout Never released eight full-length albums and nine EPs.
== History ==
=== 2007–2009: Formation and early career ===
Christofer Drew Ingle began making music under the alias nevershoutnever! in 2007, when he was 16 years old in his parents basement. His first exposure came through the internet, where he achieved success on Myspace before issuing the extended play, The Yippee EP on July 29, 2008, and selling 46,000 copies in the US. On July 30, 2008, he was featured on TRL, where he performed his debut single "Big City Dreams". The single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart. To support the EP, he went on tour in the US with Jamestown Story, Owl City, and Handshakes and Highfives during the summer of 2008. He toured with Hellogoodbye and Ace Enders in the fall of 2008.
NeverShoutNever! released the lead single "Trouble" from his third EP, Me & My Uke on December 29, 2008. The song peaked at number five on the Hot Singles Sales chart. The song was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in May 2012. In January 2009, Me & My Uke was officially released.
NeverShoutNever! started touring with The Scene Aesthetic, The Honorary Title, and The Bigger Lights in late February 2009 and then toured with bands such as Forever the Sickest Kids, The Cab, and Mercy Mercedes, among others in spring 2009, as part of The Bamboozle Roadshow 2009. He played at both The Bamboozle Left 2009 and The Bamboozle 2009. In 2009, Never Shout Never won the mtvU Woodie Awards for Breaking Woodie.
=== 2009–2010: What Is Love and Harmony ===
It was announced on May 29, 2009, that Ingle had signed to Warner Bros. Records, ending a major-label bidding war. As part of the deal, Ingle runs and make releases on his own imprint label, Loveway Records. Ingle's alias became officially stylized as Never Shout Never. Around this time, Never Shout Never also transitioned into a full band, with Drew recruiting his friends from Joplin, as his backing band. The Summer EP was Ingle's first release under Warner Bros. and was released on June 23, 2009. It sold 46,000 copies and the first single from the EP, titled "Happy", was released on iTunes on March 3, 2009. Production for Never Shout Never's debut album began in June 2009, where Butch Walker produced the album. The album was recorded in Los Angeles and at Abbey Road Studios in London. In July 2009, Never Shout Never performed at the mtvU Sunblock Festival. The band embarked on a headlining tour in October 2009, with Carter Hulsey and Now Now Every Children, before joining Dashboard Confessional on their headlining tour in November.
A self-titled EP, Never Shout Never was released on December 8, 2009, and featured two songs from their upcoming debut album ("What Is Love?" and "Jane Doe"), a re-recorded version of a song from The Yippee EP ("She's Got Style"), and a live version of a song from The Yippee EP ("Big City Dreams"). That same month, he was featured on a Christmas single by the Ready Set titled, "Blizzard of '89". The debut studio album from Never Shout Never, What Is Love?, was released on January 26, 2010. The album peaked at number 24 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold 21,000 copies. The album's first single, "What Is Love?" was released on December 15, 2009. "I Love You 5" was released on February 4, 2010, as the second single from the album. "Can't Stand It" was released on March 4, 2010, as the third and final single from the album along with its music video directed by Isaac Ravishankara. The song peaked at number 29 on the Billboard US Rock Digital Song Sales chart. The group headlined the Alternative Press AP Tour in the spring of 2010 with support from Joplin, The Cab, Hey Monday, Every Avenue and The Summer Set. Never Shout Never released a music video for "Seewhatweseas", which the song was featured on the soundtrack of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.
Never Shout Never performed at the Vans Warped Tour in summer of 2010. The band released a digital EP on July 27, 2010, titled Melody, which contained three tracks: "CheaterCheaterBestFriendEater", "Coffee & Cigarettes" and "Lousy Truth". Their second studio album, Harmony, was released in August 2010. The album peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold 23,000 copies in its first week. The band embarked on the VMA Tour with the Ready Set in August 2010. In September 2010, Never Shout Never performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. On September 8, Never Shout Never released the demo track, "No Pain No Gain" for a free download. In October and November 2010, Never Shout Never co-headlined the Harmony Tour with The Maine, where the bands had fans gather can foods to help those in need. As a gift to the fans, they released a live split EP and was made available for free download on Never Shout Never's website. Never Shout Never won the AP Magazine Readers' Awards for Artist of the Year at the end of 2010.
=== 2011–2012: Time Travel and Indigo ===
On April 12, 2011, Never Shout Never released the compilation album, Year One, featuring songs from Me & My Uke, The Yippee EP and Demo-shemo, as well as demo tracks. The band's hometown, Joplin, Missouri, was heavily damaged by a deadly EF5 tornado on May 22, 2011. Following the destruction, Ingle began a relief fund with United Way to raise $1.2 million for his hometown. To raise awareness about the devastation of Joplin, Ingle took video footage of the destruction and posted it on YouTube on June 1, 2011. The video, which features the song "Time Travel", encouraged viewers to donate to the relief of the town via his United Way fund. The song later went on to become the lead single from their third studio album on July 22, 2011. The album was recorded in Springfield, Missouri at the 2100 Studios. It is also the first album where Never Shout Never recorded as a full band. The album's second single "Simplistic Trance - Like Getaway" was released on August 26, 2011. Never Shout Never's third studio album, Time Travel was released on September 20, 2011. The album peaked at number 35 on the Billboard 200. In support of the album's release, they embarked on a fall headliner tour called The Time Travel Tour. The official music video for "Time Travel" was directed by Joey Boukadakis and was released in September 2011.
Ingle first revealed the title of the group's fourth studio album in an interview with Alter The Press! on May 8, 2012, and on September 20, via his Twitter account, he announced the release date of the band's new album Indigo. According to Drew, he wanted to record every song with a different producer, all in different cities, to give each song a unique feel and its own style. In support of the album's release, the band released five free tracks from their album through Alternative Press and Billboard. "Life Goes On" was the first track that premiered from the album on September 18. It was then followed up with "Magic", released on September 25. On October 30, "All Mine" was released. In November, "Between Two Worlds" and "Hazel Eyes" were both released. Never Shout Never's fourth full-length studio album, Indigo was released November 13, 2012. It debuted at 194 on the Billboard 200, a steep decline from the group's previous high of 14. The band toured the U.S. on the Indigo tour in late 2012.
=== 2013: Sunflower and The Xmas EP ===
In May 2013, Never Shout Never revealed their fifth studio album, Sunflower, which was released on July 2, 2013. The band released the first promotional single, "Good Times" for streaming on May 23, 2013. On May 28, the group released the album's second promotional single, "Subliminal Messages" which premiered exclusively on PropertyOfZack.com. "Malibu" was released for streaming via PureVolume on June 4, as the third promotional single from the album. The album's fourth and final promotional single, "Knock, Knock" was released on June 18. The band performed at Warped Tour in the summer of 2013. During the Warped Tour, Ingle had also teamed with BandHappy, an organization in which experienced musicians taught amateurs how to reach success. He had led a workshop in which a limited number of fans could ask questions and learn from him, with the addition of a one-on-one meet and greet.
A festive EP titled The Xmas EP was released on November 22, 2013. Drew produced and recorded the covers himself and collaborated with Dia Frampton on the original track "Under The Mistletoe". The song was released for streaming on November 15. The EP was recorded in Drew's home. The group headlined the Xmas Tour with support from The Downtown Fiction and Nick Santino in December 2013.
=== 2014–2016: Recycled Youth, Black Cat, and Departure of MacFee ===
In late 2013, Never Shout Never announced that the group was working on a new album called Recycled Youth, Vol. 1. The album featured re-worked songs from previous Never Shout Never releases. In January 2014, the band announced that the group had begun recording the album, and was expected to be released later that year. The album was the first installment of what Drew envisioned to be a three part collection of re-recorded fan and band favorites. It was produced by Eric Palmquist in Los Angeles, California. In June 2014, Never Shout Never announced that Ian Crawford joined the band as the lead guitarist. Recycled Youth, Vol. 1 was released on March 3, 2015.
On June 9, 2015, it was announced that Never Shout Never would be releasing their seventh studio album, Black Cat on August 7, 2015. The first single off of the album, titled "Hey! We Ok", was released the same day. The album was recorded in the DTLA Recording Studio in Los Angeles, California and was produced by Dennis Herring. On June 17, the group released "Boom!" as the first promotional single from the album. On July 16, the band premiered a new track titled, "Red Balloon" and was released as the album's second promotional single. The album peaked at number 52 on the Billboard 200. On November 24, 2015, Ian Crawford confirmed on his Facebook page that he had been let go from the band.
The band embarked on the Black Cat Tour in January 2016. "Red Balloon" was officially released as the album's second single on February 5, 2016. "Hey! We Ok" was nominated at the 2016 Alternative Press Music Awards for Song of the Year. The group headlined a US tour in June 2016 with support from Hundred Handed and Me Like Bees. On June 26, 2016, bassist Taylor MacFee announced his departure from the band. In November 2016, the group released their ninth EP, Advent Of Violett Soul.
=== 2017–2018: Cancelled studio albums and break-up ===
In June 2017, Never Shout Never performed at the 2017 Warped Tour. They later embarked on the Throwback Tour, as well as performing at the So What?! Music Festival. The tour lasted throughout 2017 where they played songs from earlier albums that likely wouldn't be played again. In April 2017, Drew revealed he had plans on releasing Never Shout Never's eighth studio album, Emerald Sun. He described the record as "conceptual," dealing with the theme of love. He stated, "It's something I wrote that I feel has a higher message behind it. It's the album I've been wanting to make — [it] portrays my heart and how I see the world." 13 tracks were written for the album. The album was expected to be released in the summer of 2018, but never made its way onto streaming services.
On March 23, 2018, the band released a cover of Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" on their upcoming cover album, All for Love, composed entirely of covers of love songs. On April 2, they released their cover of the Beatles' "Something". It is unlikely All for Love was finished and will ever be released. Drew continued to upload a handful of covers on YouTube during this time.
Ingle revealed in December 2018, that after a small tour in Mexico and Brazil the following month that Never Shout Never would disband. However, he reached out to fans via an Instagram post two days later asking if he should keep making music under the name. Despite the initial announcement, the band performed shows in Brazil and Mexico in early 2019. Following the final show in Brazil (with long-time drummer Hayden Kaiser absent) he stated he was uncertain of the band's future, but no official breakup announcement was confirmed.
=== 2020–2023, 2025: Unborn Spark, retirement ===
On April 29, 2020, Drew announced a solo acoustic album titled Unborn Spark, due for release on May 13, his son's 1st birthday. However, on May 5, he announced that he needed a little more time for mixing and artwork to be completed. On May 17, he announced that the album would be released on June 12. On June 8, the first single, "Time to Change", was released. With it came the announcement that it would be released as a Never Shout Never album.
Never Shout Never returned in late 2021, releasing a new single titled "Easy Swagger" in October. On March 8, 2022, Drew announced his retirement from music, putting an end to the band. In addition, Drew confirmed on Twitter that Never Shout Never was finished. However, on December 24, 2022, he announced that Never Shout Never would be returning the following year and also announced a release of a new album. On November 25, 2023, Drew announced via Twitter his second retirement from music, to pursue a new career in professional painting. He also released the final mixes of his intended album, Advent of Violet Soul on the same day. Never Shout Never was originally set to perform at When We Were Young in October 2025. However, on September 11, Drew announced that he would not be performing at the festival due to a mouth infection.
== Musical styles and influences ==
Never Shout Never is described as pop rock, alternative rock, indie rock, emo pop and acoustic. Additionally, Kerrang! referred to them as a "Myspace band" due to their popularity on Myspace early in their career, despite their stylistic disimilarities with other bands associated with this label, such as Job for a Cowboy and Suicide Silence. Ingle stated the band was influenced by Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Woody Guthrie.
== Band members ==
=== Former members ===
Christofer Drew – lead vocals, guitars, bass, ukulele, violin, drums, percussion, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, programming, banjo, harmonica, (2007–2023, 2025)
Caleb Denison – guitars, drums, percussion, backing vocals (2008–2011)
Ian Crawford – guitars, backing vocals (2014–2015)
Taylor Macfee – bass, backing vocals (2008–2016)
Hayden Kaiser – auxiliary percussion, backing vocals, drums, guitars (2009–2018)
Dustin Dobernig – piano, percussion, keyboards, violin (2009–2011)
Nathan Ellison – drums, percussion (2008–2011)
Tof Hoglen – keyboards (2016–2018)
==== Timeline ====
== Discography ==
Albums
What Is Love? (2010)
Harmony (2010)
Time Travel (2011)
Indigo (2012)
Sunflower (2013)
Recycled Youth (2015)
Black Cat (2015)
Unborn Spark (2020)
== Awards and nominations == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Garfield | James A. Garfield | James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 1881 until his death in September that year after being shot in July. A preacher, lawyer, and Civil War general, Garfield served nine terms in the United States House of Representatives and is the only sitting member of the House to be elected president. Before he ran for president, the Ohio General Assembly had elected him to the U.S. Senate, a position he declined upon becoming president-elect.
Garfield was born into poverty in a log cabin and grew up in northeast Ohio. After graduating from Williams College in 1856, he studied law and became an attorney. Garfield was a preacher in the Restoration Movement and president of the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, affiliated with the Disciples. He was elected as a Republican member of the Ohio State Senate in 1859, serving until 1861. Garfield opposed Confederate secession, was a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and fought in the battles of Middle Creek, Shiloh, and Chickamauga. He was elected to Congress in 1862 to represent Ohio's 19th district. Throughout his congressional service, Garfield firmly supported the gold standard and gained a reputation as a skilled orator. He initially agreed with Radical Republican views on Reconstruction but later favored a Moderate Republican–aligned approach to civil rights enforcement for freedmen. Garfield's aptitude for mathematics extended to his own proof of the Pythagorean theorem, published in 1876, and his advocacy of using statistics to inform government policy.
At the 1880 Republican National Convention, delegates chose Garfield, who had not sought the White House, as a compromise presidential nominee on the 36th ballot. In the 1880 presidential election, he conducted a low-key front porch campaign and narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee, Winfield Scott Hancock. Garfield's accomplishments as president included his assertion of presidential authority against senatorial courtesy in executive appointments, a purge of corruption in the Post Office, and his appointment of a Supreme Court justice. He advocated for agricultural technology, an educated electorate, and civil rights for African Americans. He also proposed substantial civil service reforms, which were passed by Congress in 1883 as the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act and signed into law by his successor, Chester A. Arthur. Garfield was a member of the intraparty "Half-Breed" faction that used the powers of the presidency to defy the powerful "Stalwart" Senator Roscoe Conkling from New York. He did this by appointing Blaine faction leader William H. Robertson to the lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. The ensuing political battle resulted in Robertson's confirmation and the resignations of Conkling and Thomas C. Platt from the Senate.
On July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau, a deluded office seeker. He died on September 19 from infections related to the wounds and was succeeded by Vice President Chester A. Arthur. Due to Garfield's brief term in office and lack of major changes during his tenure, historians tend to rank him as a below-average president or omit his name entirely from rankings, though some view Garfield's potential favorably, praising him for anti-corruption and pro-civil rights stances.
== Childhood and early life ==
James Abram Garfield was born the youngest of five children on November 19, 1831, in a log cabin in Orange Township, which later became Moreland Hills, Ohio. Garfield's ancestor Edward Garfield migrated from Hillmorton, Warwickshire, England, to Massachusetts around 1630. James's father Abraham was born in Worcester, New York, and came to Ohio to woo his childhood sweetheart, Mehitabel Ballou, only to find her married. He instead wed her sister Eliza, who was born in New Hampshire. James was named after an earlier son of Eliza and Abram who had died in infancy.
In early 1833, Abram and Eliza Garfield joined a Stone-Campbell church, a decision that influenced their youngest son's life. Abram died later that year, and James was raised in poverty in a household led by his strong-willed mother. He was her favorite child and the two remained close for the rest of his life. Eliza remarried in 1842, but soon left her second husband, Warren (or Alfred) Belden, and a divorce was awarded in 1850. James took his mother's side in the matter and noted Belden's 1880 death with satisfaction in his diary. Garfield also enjoyed his mother's stories about his ancestry, especially those about his Welsh great-great-grandfathers and an ancestor who served as a knight of Caerphilly Castle.
Poor and fatherless, Garfield was mocked by his peers and became sensitive to slights throughout his life; he sought escape through voracious reading. He left home at age 16 in 1847 and was rejected for work on the only ship in port in Cleveland. Garfield instead found work on a canal boat, managing the mules that pulled it. Horatio Alger later used this labor to good effect when he wrote Garfield's campaign biography in 1880.
After six weeks, illness forced Garfield to return home, and during his recuperation, his mother and a local school official secured his promise to forgo canal work for a year of school. In 1848, he began at Geauga Seminary, in nearby Chester Township, Geauga County, Ohio. Garfield later said of his childhood, "I lament that I was born to poverty, and in this chaos of childhood, seventeen years passed before I caught any inspiration ... a precious 17 years when a boy with a father and some wealth might have become fixed in manly ways."
== Education, marriage and early career ==
Garfield attended Geauga Seminary from 1848 to 1850 and learned academic subjects for which he had not previously had time. He excelled as a student and was especially interested in languages and elocution. He began to appreciate the power a speaker had over an audience, writing that the speaker's platform "creates some excitement. I love agitation and investigation and glory in defending unpopular truth against popular error." Geauga was coeducational, and Garfield was attracted to one of his classmates, Lucretia Rudolph, whom he later married. To support himself at Geauga, he worked as a carpenter's assistant and teacher. The need to go from town to town to find work as a teacher aggravated Garfield, and he developed a dislike of what he called "place-seeking", which became, he said, "the law of my life." In later years, he astounded his friends by disregarding positions that could have been his with little politicking. Garfield had attended church more to please his mother than to worship God, but in his late teens he underwent a religious awakening. He attended many camp meetings, which led to his being born again on March 4, 1850, when he was baptized by being submerged in the icy waters of the Chagrin River.
After he left Geauga, Garfield worked for a year at various jobs, including teaching jobs. Finding that some New Englanders worked their way through college, Garfield determined to do the same and sought a school that could prepare him for the entrance examinations. From 1851 to 1854, he attended the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later named Hiram College) in Hiram, Ohio, a school founded by and still affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). While there, he was most interested in the study of Greek and Latin but was inclined to learn about and discuss any new thing he encountered. Securing a position on entry as janitor, he obtained a teaching position while he was still a student there. Lucretia Rudolph also enrolled at the Institute and Garfield wooed her while teaching her Greek. He developed a regular preaching circuit at neighboring churches and, in some cases, earned one gold dollar per service. By 1854, Garfield had learned all the Institute could teach him and was a full-time teacher. Garfield then enrolled at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, as a third-year student; he received credit for two years' study at the Institute after passing a cursory examination. Garfield was also impressed with the college president, Mark Hopkins, who had responded warmly to Garfield's letter inquiring about admission. He said of Hopkins, "The ideal college is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log with a student on the other." Hopkins later said of Garfield in his student days, "There was a large general capacity applicable to any subject. There was no pretense of genius, or alternation of spasmodic effort, but a satisfactory accomplishment in all directions." After his first term, Garfield was hired to teach penmanship to the students of nearby Pownal, Vermont, a post Chester A. Arthur previously held.
Garfield graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams in August 1856, was named salutatorian, and spoke at the commencement. His biographer Ira Rutkow writes that Garfield's years at Williams gave him the opportunity to know and respect those of different social backgrounds, and that, despite his origin as an unsophisticated Westerner, socially conscious New Englanders liked and respected him. "In short," Rutkow writes, "Garfield had an extensive and positive first experience with the world outside the Western Reserve of Ohio."
Upon his return to Ohio, the degree from a prestigious Eastern college made Garfield a man of distinction. He returned to Hiram to teach at the Institute and in 1857 was made its principal, though he did not see education as a field that would realize his full potential. The abolitionist atmosphere at Williams had enlightened him politically, after which he began to consider politics as a career. He campaigned for Republican presidential candidate John C. Frémont in 1856. In 1858, he married Lucretia, and they had seven children, five of whom survived infancy. Soon after the wedding, he registered to read law at the office of attorney Albert Gallatin Riddle in Cleveland, though he did his studying in Hiram. He was admitted to the bar in 1861.
Local Republican leaders invited Garfield to enter politics upon the death of Cyrus Prentiss, the presumptive nominee for the local state senate seat. He was nominated at the party convention on the sixth ballot and was elected, serving from 1860 to 1861. Garfield's major effort in the state senate was an unsuccessful bill providing for Ohio's first geological survey to measure its mineral resources.
== Civil War ==
After Abraham Lincoln's election as president, several Southern states announced their secession from the Union to form a new government, the Confederate States of America. Garfield read military texts while anxiously awaiting the war effort, which he regarded as a holy crusade against the Slave Power. In April 1861, the rebels bombarded Fort Sumter, one of the South's last federal outposts, beginning the Civil War. Although he had no military training, Garfield knew his place was in the Union Army.
At Governor William Dennison's request, Garfield deferred his military ambitions to remain in the legislature, where he helped appropriate the funds to raise and equip Ohio's volunteer regiments. When the legislature adjourned, Garfield spent the spring and early summer on a speaking tour of northeastern Ohio, encouraging enlistment in the new regiments. Following a trip to Illinois to purchase muskets, Garfield returned to Ohio and, in August 1861, received a commission as a colonel in the 42nd Ohio Infantry regiment. The 42nd Ohio existed only on paper, so Garfield's first task was to fill its ranks. He did so quickly, recruiting many of his neighbors and former students. The regiment traveled to Camp Chase, outside Columbus, Ohio, to complete training. During this period, on November 19, 1861, Garfield became a Freemason, at Magnolia Lodge, No. 20 in Columbus, Ohio, receiving the third degree after his military service was completed in 1864. In December, Garfield was ordered to bring the 42nd to Kentucky, where they joined the Army of the Ohio under Brigadier General Don Carlos Buell.
=== Buell's command ===
Buell quickly assigned Garfield the task of driving Confederate forces out of eastern Kentucky, giving him the 18th Brigade for the campaign, which, besides his own 42nd, included the 40th Ohio Infantry, two Kentucky infantry regiments and two cavalry units. They departed Catlettsburg, Kentucky, in mid-December, advancing through the valley of the Big Sandy River. The march was uneventful until Union forces reached Paintsville, Kentucky, on January 6, 1862, where Garfield's cavalry engaged the rebels at Jenny's Creek. Confederate troops under Brigadier General Humphrey Marshall held the town in numbers roughly equal to Garfield's own, but Garfield positioned his troops so as to deceive Marshall into believing the rebels were outnumbered. Marshall ordered his troops to withdraw to the forks of Middle Creek, on the road to Virginia, and Garfield ordered his troops to take up the pursuit. They attacked the rebel positions on January 9, 1862, in the Battle of Middle Creek, the only pitched battle Garfield commanded personally. At the fighting's end, the Confederates withdrew from the field and Garfield sent his troops to Prestonsburg to reprovision.
In recognition of his success, Garfield was promoted to brigadier general. After Marshall's retreat, Garfield's command was the sole remaining Union force in eastern Kentucky and he announced that any men who had fought for the Confederacy would be granted amnesty if they returned to their homes, lived peaceably, and remained loyal to the Union. The proclamation was surprisingly lenient, as Garfield now believed the war was a crusade for eradication of slavery. Following a brief skirmish at Pound Gap, the last rebel units in the area were outflanked and retreated to Virginia.
Garfield's promotion gave him command of the 20th Brigade of the Army of the Ohio, which received orders to join Major General Ulysses S. Grant's forces as they advanced on Corinth, Mississippi, in early 1862. Before the 20th Brigade arrived, however, Confederate forces under General Albert Sidney Johnston surprised Grant's men in their camps, driving them back. Garfield's troops received word of the battle and advanced quickly, joining the rest of the army on the second day to drive the Confederates back across the field and into retreat. The action, later known as the Battle of Shiloh, was the bloodiest of the war to date; Garfield was exposed to fire for much of the day, but emerged uninjured. Major General Henry W. Halleck, Grant's superior, took charge of the combined armies and advanced ponderously toward Corinth; when they arrived, the Confederates had fled.
That summer, Garfield suffered from jaundice and significant weight loss. He was forced to return home, where his wife nursed him back to health. While he was home, Garfield's friends worked to gain him the Republican nomination for Congress, but he refused to campaign with the delegates. He returned to military duty that autumn and went to Washington to await his next assignment. During this period of idleness, a rumor of an extramarital affair caused friction in the Garfields' marriage until Lucretia eventually chose to overlook it. Garfield repeatedly received tentative assignments that were quickly withdrawn, to his frustration. In the meantime, he served on the court-martial of Fitz John Porter for his tardiness at the Second Battle of Bull Run. He was convinced of Porter's guilt and voted with his fellow generals to convict Porter. The trial lasted almost two months, from November 1862 to January 1863, and, by its end, Garfield had procured an assignment as chief of staff to Major General William S. Rosecrans.
=== Chief of staff for Rosecrans ===
Generals' chiefs of staff were usually more junior officers, but Garfield's influence with Rosecrans was greater than usual, with duties extending beyond communication of orders to actual management of his Army of the Cumberland. Rosecrans had a voracious appetite for conversation, especially when unable to sleep; in Garfield, he found "the first well read person in the Army" and the ideal candidate for discussions that ran deep into the night. They discussed everything, especially religion, and the two became close despite Garfield's being 12 years his junior. Rosecrans, who had converted from Methodism to Roman Catholicism, softened Garfield's view of his faith.
Garfield recommended that Rosecrans replace wing commanders Alexander McCook and Thomas Crittenden, as he believed they were ineffective, but Rosecrans ignored the suggestion. With Rosecrans, Garfield devised the Tullahoma Campaign to pursue and trap Confederate General Braxton Bragg in Tullahoma. After initial Union success, Bragg retreated toward Chattanooga, where Rosecrans stalled and requested more troops and supplies. Garfield argued for an immediate advance, in line with demands from Halleck and Lincoln. After a council of war and lengthy deliberations, Rosecrans agreed to attack.
At the ensuing Battle of Chickamauga on September 19 and 20, 1863, confusion among the wing commanders over Rosecrans's orders created a gap in the lines, resulting in a rout of the right flank. Rosecrans concluded that the battle was lost and fell back on Chattanooga to establish a defensive line. Garfield, however, thought part of the army had held and, with Rosecrans's approval, headed across Missionary Ridge to survey the scene. Garfield's hunch was correct. Consequently, his ride became legendary and Rosecrans's error reignited criticism about the latter's leadership. While Rosecrans's army had avoided disaster, they were stranded in Chattanooga, surrounded by Bragg's army. Garfield sent a telegram to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton alerting Washington to the need for reinforcements to avoid annihilation. Lincoln and Halleck responded to the request for reinforcements by sending 20,000 troops to Garfield by rail within nine days. In the meantime, Grant was promoted to command of the western armies and quickly replaced Rosecrans with George H. Thomas. Garfield was ordered to report to Washington, where he was promoted to major general. According to historian Jean Edward Smith, Grant and Garfield had a "guarded relationship" since Grant promoted Thomas, rather than Garfield, to command of the Army of the Cumberland after Rosecrans's dismissal.
== Congressional career ==
=== Election in 1862; Civil War years ===
While he served in the Army in early 1862, friends of Garfield approached him about running for Congress from Ohio's newly redrawn and heavily Republican 19th district. He worried that he and other state-appointed generals would receive obscure assignments, and running for Congress would allow him to resume his political career. That the new Congress would not hold its first regular session until December 1863 allowed him to continue his war service for a time. Home on medical leave, he refused to campaign for the nomination, leaving that to political managers who secured it at the local convention in September 1862 on the eighth ballot. In the October general election, he defeated D.B. Woods by a two-to-one margin for a seat in the 38th Congress.
Days before his Congressional term began, Garfield lost his eldest daughter, three-year-old Eliza, and became anxious and conflicted, saying his "desolation of heart" might require his return to "the wild life of the army." He also assumed that the war would end before his joining the House, but it had not, and he felt strongly that he belonged in the field, rather than in Congress. He also thought he could expect a favorable command, so he decided to see President Lincoln. During their meeting, Lincoln recommended he take his House seat, as there was an excess of generals and a shortage of administration congressmen, especially those with knowledge of military affairs. Garfield accepted this recommendation and resigned his military commission to do so.
Garfield met and befriended Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, who saw Garfield as a younger version of himself. The two agreed politically and both were part of the Radical wing of the Republican Party. Once he took his seat in December 1863, Garfield was frustrated at Lincoln's reluctance to press the South hard. Many radicals, led in the House by Pennsylvania's Thaddeus Stevens, wanted rebel-owned lands confiscated, but Lincoln threatened to veto any bill that proposed to do so on a widespread basis. In debate on the House floor, Garfield supported such legislation and, discussing England's Glorious Revolution, hinted that Lincoln might be thrown out of office for resisting it. Garfield had supported Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and marveled at the "strange phenomenon in the world's history, when a second-rate Illinois lawyer is the instrument to utter words which shall form an epoch memorable in all future ages."
Garfield not only favored the abolition of slavery, but also believed the leaders of the rebellion had forfeited their constitutional rights. He supported the confiscation of Southern plantations and even exile or execution of rebellion leaders as a means to ensure a permanent end to slavery. Garfield felt Congress had an obligation "to determine what legislation is necessary to secure equal justice to all loyal persons, without regard to color." He was more supportive of Lincoln when he took action against slavery.
Garfield showed leadership early in his congressional career; he was initially the only Republican vote to terminate the use of bounties in military recruiting. Some financially able recruits had used the bounty system to buy their way out of service (called commutation), which Garfield considered reprehensible. He gave a speech pointing out the flaws in the existing conscription law: 300,000 recruits had been called upon to enlist, but barely 10,000 had done so, with the remainder claiming exemption, providing money, or recruiting a substitute. Lincoln appeared before the Military Affairs committee on which Garfield served, demanding a more effective bill; even if it cost him reelection, Lincoln was confident he could win the war before his term expired. After many false starts, Garfield, with Lincoln's support, procured the passage of a conscription bill that excluded commutation.
Under Chase's influence, Garfield became a staunch proponent of a dollar backed by a gold standard, and strongly opposed the "greenback". He also accepted the necessity of suspension of payment in gold or silver during the Civil War with strong reluctance. He voted with the Radical Republicans in passing the Wade–Davis Bill, designed to give Congress more authority over Reconstruction, but Lincoln defeated it with a pocket veto.
Garfield did not consider Lincoln very worthy of reelection, but there seemed to be no viable alternative. "He will probably be the man, though I think we could do better", he said. Garfield attended the party convention and promoted Rosecrans as Lincoln's running mate, but delegates chose Military Governor of Tennessee Andrew Johnson. Lincoln was reelected, as was Garfield. By then, Chase had left the Cabinet and been appointed Chief Justice, and his relations with Garfield became more distant.
Garfield took up the practice of law in 1865 to improve his personal finances. His efforts took him to Wall Street where, the day after Lincoln's assassination, a riotous crowd drew him into an impromptu speech to calm their passions: "Fellow citizens! Clouds and darkness are round about Him! His pavilion is dark waters and thick clouds of the skies! Justice and judgment are the establishment of His throne! Mercy and truth shall go before His face! Fellow citizens! God reigns, and the Government at Washington still lives!" The speech, with no mention or praise of Lincoln, was, according to Garfield biographer Robert G. Caldwell, "quite as significant for what it did not contain as for what it did." In the following years, Garfield had more praise for Lincoln; a year after Lincoln's death, Garfield said, "Greatest among all these developments were the character and fame of Abraham Lincoln," and in 1878 he called Lincoln "one of the few great rulers whose wisdom increased with his power".
When in Washington, Garfield attended Vermont Avenue Christian Church, which later became National City Christian Church, a building constructed and funded by the Disciples.
=== Reconstruction ===
In 1864, the U.S. Senate passed the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery throughout the Union. The bill failed to pass the House by a two-thirds majority until January 31, 1865, when it was then sent to the states for ratification. The Amendment opened other issues concerning African American civil rights. Garfield asked, "[What] is freedom? Is it the bare privilege of not being chained?...If this is all, then freedom is a bitter mockery, a cruel delusion."
Garfield supported black suffrage as firmly as he supported abolition. President Johnson sought the rapid restoration of the Southern states during the months between his accession and the meeting of Congress in December 1865; Garfield hesitantly supported this policy as an experiment. Johnson, an old friend, sought Garfield's backing and their conversations led Garfield to assume Johnson's differences with Congress were not large. When Congress assembled in December (to Johnson's chagrin, without the elected representatives of the Southern states, who were excluded), Garfield urged conciliation to his colleagues, although he feared that Johnson, a former Democrat, might join other Democrats to gain political control. Garfield foresaw conflict even before February 1866, when Johnson vetoed a bill to extend the life of the Freedmen's Bureau, charged with aiding the former slaves. By April, Garfield had concluded that Johnson was either "crazy or drunk with opium."
The conflict between Congress and President Johnson was the major issue of the 1866 campaign, with Johnson taking to the campaign trail in a Swing Around the Circle and Garfield facing opposition within the Republican party in his home district. With the South still disenfranchised and Northern public opinion behind the Republicans, they gained a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress. Garfield, having overcome his challengers at the district nominating convention, won reelection easily.
Garfield opposed the proposed impeachment of Johnson initially when Congress convened in December 1866, but supported legislation to limit Johnson's powers, such as the Tenure of Office Act, which restricted Johnson's ability to remove presidential appointees. Distracted by committee duties, Garfield spoke about these bills rarely, but was a loyal Republican vote against Johnson.
On January 7, 1867, Garfield voted in support of the resolution that launched the first impeachment inquiry against Johnson (run by the House Committee on the Judiciary). On December 7, 1867, he voted against the unsuccessful resolution to impeach Johnson that the House Committee on the Judiciary had sent the full House. On January 27, 1868, he voted to pass the resolution that authorized the second impeachment inquiry against Johnson (run by the House Select Committee on Reconstruction). Due to a court case, he was absent on February 24, 1868, when the House impeached Johnson, but gave a speech aligning himself with Thaddeus Stevens and others who sought Johnson's removal shortly thereafter. Garfield was present on March 2 and 3, 1868, when the House voted on specific articles of impeachment, and voted in support of all 11 articles. During the March 2 debate on the articles, Garfield argued that what he characterized as Johnson's attempts to render Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and William H. Emory personal tools of his demonstrated Johnson's intent to disregard the law and override the Constitution, suggesting that Johnson's trial perhaps could be expedited to last only a day in order to hasten his removal. When Johnson was acquitted in his trial before the Senate, Garfield was shocked and blamed the outcome on the trial's presiding officer, Chief Justice Chase, his onetime mentor.
By the time Grant succeeded Johnson in 1869, Garfield had moved away from the remaining radicals (Stevens, their leader, had died in 1868). By this time, many in the Republican Party wanted to remove the "Negro question" from national affairs. Garfield hailed the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870 as a triumph and favored Georgia's readmission to the Union as a matter of right, not politics. An influential Republican, Garfield said, "[The] Fifteen Amendment confers on the African race the care of its own destiny. It places their fortunes in their own hands." In 1871, Congress took up the Ku Klux Klan Act, which was designed to combat attacks on African Americans' suffrage rights. Garfield opposed the act, saying, "I have never been more perplexed by a piece of legislation." He was torn between his indignation at the Klan, whom he called "terrorists", and his concern for the power given to the president to enforce the act through suspension of habeas corpus.
=== Tariffs and finance ===
Throughout his political career, Garfield favored the gold standard and decried attempts to increase the money supply through the issuance of paper money not backed by gold, and later, through the free and unlimited coinage of silver. In 1865, he was put on the House Ways and Means Committee, a long-awaited opportunity to focus on financial and economic issues. He reprised his opposition to the greenback, saying, "Any party which commits itself to paper money will go down amid the general disaster, covered with the curses of a ruined people." In 1868 Garfield gave a two-hour speech on currency in the House, which was widely applauded as his best oratory to that point; in it, he advocated a gradual resumption of specie payments, that is, the government paying out silver and gold, rather than paper money that could not be redeemed.
Tariffs had been raised to high levels during the Civil War. Afterward, Garfield, who made a close study of financial affairs, advocated moving toward freer trade, though the standard Republican position was a protective tariff that would allow American industries to grow. This break with his party likely cost him his place on the Ways and Means Committee in 1867, and though Republicans held the majority in the House until 1875, Garfield remained off that committee. Garfield came to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee, but it was Ways and Means, with its influence over fiscal policy, that he really wanted to lead. One reason he was denied a place on Ways and Means was the opposition of the influential Republican editor Horace Greeley.
Starting in January 1870, Garfield, then chairman of the House Banking Committee, led an investigation into the Black Friday Gold Panic scandal. In 1869, during Grant's first term in office, two New York conspirators, Jay Gould and James Fisk, launched a scheme to corner the gold market. The conspiracy was broken on Friday, September 24, 1869, when Grant and Treasury Secretary George Boutwell released gold into the market, causing widespread financial panic. During the investigation, rumors spread that Grant's family might have been involved. In order not to force Grant's wife to testify, Garfield had a private meeting with Grant at the White House. When Garfield showed Grant testimony about him and his family, Grant thanked Garfield but refused to read it or give a response. Grant personally resented Garfield for investigating Black Friday and his wife Julia concerning possible involvement in the scandal.
Garfield's investigation and final majority report, released on September 12, 1870, were thorough but found no indictable offenses and exonerated Grant and Julia of wrongdoing. Garfield thought the scandal was enabled by the greenbacks that financed the speculation. Garfield was not at all enthused about President Grant's reelection in 1872—until Greeley, who emerged as the candidate of the Democrats and Liberal Republicans, became the only serious alternative. Garfield said, "I would say Grant was not fit to be nominated and Greeley is not fit to be elected." Both Grant and Garfield were overwhelmingly reelected.
=== Crédit Mobilier scandal; salary grab ===
The Crédit Mobilier of America scandal involved corruption in the financing of the Union Pacific Railroad, part of the transcontinental railroad which was completed in 1869. Union Pacific officers and directors secretly purchased control of the Crédit Mobilier of America company, then contracted with it to undertake construction of the railroad. The railroad paid the company's grossly inflated invoices with federal funds appropriated to subsidize the project, and the company was allowed to purchase Union Pacific securities at par value, well below the market rate. Crédit Mobilier showed large profits and stock gains, and distributed substantial dividends. The high expenses meant Congress was called upon to appropriate more funds. One of the railroad officials who controlled Crédit Mobilier was also a congressman, Oakes Ames of Massachusetts. He offered some of his colleagues the opportunity to buy Crédit Mobilier stock at par value, well below what it sold for on the market, and the railroad got its additional appropriations.
The story broke in July 1872, in the middle of the presidential campaign. Among those named were Vice President Schuyler Colfax, Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson (the Republican candidate for vice president), Speaker James G. Blaine of Maine, and Garfield. Greeley had little luck taking advantage of the scandal. When Congress reconvened after the election, Blaine, seeking to clear his name, demanded a House investigation. Evidence before the special committee exonerated Blaine. Garfield had said in September 1872 that Ames had offered him stock but he had repeatedly refused it. Testifying before the committee in January, Ames said he had offered Garfield ten shares of stock at par value, but that Garfield had never taken them or paid for them, though a year passed, from 1867 to 1868, before Garfield had finally refused. Appearing before the committee on January 14, 1873, Garfield confirmed much of this. Ames testified several weeks later that Garfield agreed to take the stock on credit, and that it was paid for by the company's huge dividends. The two men differed over $300 that Garfield received and later paid back, with Garfield deeming it a loan and Ames a dividend.
Garfield's biographers have been unwilling to exonerate him in the scandal. Allan Peskin writes, "Did Garfield lie? Not exactly. Did he tell the truth? Not completely. Was he corrupted? Not really. Even Garfield's enemies never claimed that his involvement in the affair influenced his behavior." Rutkow writes, "Garfield's real offense was that he knowingly denied to the House investigating committee that he had agreed to accept the stock and that he had also received a dividend of $329." Caldwell suggests Garfield "told the truth [before the committee, but] certainly failed to tell the whole truth, clearly evading an answer to certain vital questions and thus giving the impression of worse faults than those of which he was guilty." That Crédit Mobilier was a corrupt organization had been a badly kept secret, even mentioned on the floor of Congress, and editor Sam Bowles wrote at the time that Garfield, in his positions on committees dealing with finance, "had no more right to be ignorant in a matter of such grave importance as this, than the sentinel has to snore on his post."
Another issue that caused Garfield trouble in his 1874 reelection bid was the so-called "Salary Grab" of 1873, which increased the compensation for members of Congress by 50%, retroactive to 1871. As chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Garfield was responsible for shepherding the appropriations bill through the House; during the debate in February 1873, Massachusetts Representative Benjamin Butler offered the increase as an amendment, and despite Garfield's opposition, it passed the House and eventually became law. The law was very popular in the House, as almost half the members were lame ducks, but the public was outraged, and many of Garfield's constituents blamed him, though he personally refused to accept the increase. In a bad year for Republicans, who lost control of the House for the first time since the Civil War, Garfield had his closest congressional election, winning with only 57% of the vote.
=== Floor leader; Hayes administration ===
The Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives in 1875 meant the loss of Garfield's chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee, though the Democrats did put him on the Ways and Means Committee. With many of his leadership rivals defeated in the 1874 Democratic landslide, and Blaine elected to the Senate, Garfield was seen as the Republican floor leader, and the likely Speaker, should the party regain control of the chamber.
Garfield thought the land grants given to expanding railroads was an unjust practice. He also opposed monopolistic practices by corporations, as well as the power sought by workers' unions. He supported the proposed establishment of the United States civil service as a means of ridding officials of the annoyance of aggressive office seekers. He especially wished to eliminate the practice of forcing government workers, in exchange for their positions, to kick back a percentage of their wages as political contributions.
As the 1876 presidential election approached, Garfield was loyal to the candidacy of Senator Blaine, and fought for the former Speaker's nomination at the 1876 Republican National Convention in Cincinnati. When it became clear, after six ballots, that Blaine could not prevail, the convention nominated Ohio Governor Rutherford B. Hayes. Although Garfield had supported Blaine, he had kept good relations with Hayes, and wholeheartedly supported the governor. Garfield had hoped to retire from politics after his term expired to devote himself full-time to the practice of law, but to help his party, he sought re-election, and won it easily that October. Any celebration was short-lived, as Garfield's youngest son, Neddie, fell ill with whooping cough shortly after the congressional election, and soon died.
When Hayes appeared to have lost the presidential election the following month to Democrat Samuel Tilden, the Republicans launched efforts to reverse the results in South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida, where they held the governorship. If Hayes won all three states, he would take the election by a single electoral vote. Grant asked Garfield to serve as a "neutral observer" of the recount in Louisiana. The observers soon recommended to the state electoral commissions that Hayes be declared the winner—Garfield recommended the entire vote of West Feliciana Parish, which had given Tilden a sizable majority, be thrown out. The Republican governors of the three states certified that Hayes had won their states, to the outrage of Democrats, who had the state legislatures submit rival returns, and threatened to prevent the counting of the electoral vote—under the Constitution, Congress is the final arbiter of the election. Congress then established an Electoral Commission, consisting of eight Republicans and seven Democrats, to determine the winner. Despite his objection to the Commission, Garfield was appointed to it. He felt Congress should count the vote and proclaim Hayes victorious. Hayes emerged the victor by a party line vote of 8–7. In exchange for recognizing Hayes as president, Southern Democrats secured the removal of federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction.
Although an Ohio Senate seat would be vacated by the resignation of John Sherman to become Treasury Secretary, Hayes needed Garfield's expertise to protect him from the agenda of a hostile Congress, and asked him not to seek it. Garfield agreed. As Hayes's key legislator in the House, he gained considerable prestige and respect for his role there. When Congress debated the Bland–Allison Act, to have the government purchase large quantities of silver and strike it into legal tender dollar coins, Garfield opposed it as a deviation from the gold standard; it was enacted over Hayes's veto in February 1878.
In 1876, Garfield purchased the property in Mentor that reporters later dubbed Lawnfield, where he later conducted the first successful front porch campaign for the presidency. Hayes suggested that Garfield run for governor in 1879, seeing that as a road likely to take Garfield to the White House. Garfield preferred to seek election as a U.S. senator. Rivals were spoken of for the seat, such as Secretary Sherman, but he had presidential ambitions (for which he sought Garfield's support), and other candidates fell by the wayside. The General Assembly elected Garfield to the Senate in January 1880, though his term was not scheduled to commence until March 4, 1881.
=== Legal career and other activities ===
In 1865, Garfield became a partner in the law firm of Jeremiah Black. They had much in common, except politics: Black was an avid Democrat, having served in the cabinet of President James Buchanan. The next year, Black was retained by some pro-Confederate northern civilians who had been found guilty of treason in a military court and sentenced to death. Black saw an opportunity to strike a blow against military courts and the Republicans. He had heard Garfield's military speeches, and learned of not only his oratory skills but also his resistance to expansive powers of military commissions. Black assigned the case to Garfield one week before arguments were to be made before the U. S. Supreme Court. When Black warned him of the political peril, Garfield responded, "It don't make any difference. I believe in English liberty and English law." In this landmark case, Ex parte Milligan, Garfield successfully argued that civilians could not be tried before military tribunals, despite a declaration of martial law, as long as civil courts were still operating. In his first court appearance, Garfield's oral argument lasted over two hours, and though his wealthy clients refused to pay him, he had established himself as a preeminent lawyer.
During Grant's first term, Garfield was discontented with public service and in 1872 again pursued opportunities in the law. But he declined a partnership offer from a Cleveland law firm when told his prospective partner was of "intemperate and licentious" reputation. In 1873, after Chase's death, Garfield appealed to Grant to appoint Justice Noah H. Swayne Chief Justice, but Grant appointed Morrison R. Waite.
In 1871, Garfield traveled to Montana Territory to negotiate the removal of the Bitterroot Salish tribe to the Flathead Indian Reservation. Having been told that the people would happily move, Garfield expected an easy task. Instead, he found the Salish determined to stay in their Bitterroot Valley homeland. His attempts to coerce Chief Charlo to sign the agreement nearly brought about a military clash. In the end, he convinced two subchiefs to sign and move to the reservation with a few of the Salish people. Garfield never convinced Charlo to sign, although the official treaty document voted on by Congress bore his forged mark.
In 1876, Garfield developed a trapezoid proof of the Pythagorean theorem, which was published in the New England Journal of Education. Mathematics historian William Dunham wrote that Garfield's trapezoid work was "really a very clever proof." According to the Journal, Garfield arrived at the proof "in mathematical amusements and discussions with other members of congress."
After his conversion experience in 1850, religious inquiry was a high priority for Garfield. He read widely and moved beyond the confines of his early experience as a member of the Disciples of Christ. His new, broader perspective was rooted in his devotion to freedom of inquiry and his study of history. The intensity of Garfield's religious thought was also influenced by his experience in combat and his interaction with voters.
== Presidential election of 1880 ==
=== Republican nomination ===
Having just been elected to the Senate with John Sherman's support, Garfield was committed to Sherman for the 1880 Republican presidential nomination. Before the convention began, however, a few Republicans, including Wharton Barker of Philadelphia, thought Garfield the best choice for the nomination. Garfield denied any interest in the position, but the attention was enough to make Sherman suspicious of his lieutenant's ambitions. Besides Sherman, the early favorites for the nomination were Blaine and former President Grant; several other candidates attracted delegates as well.
The Republican Party at the time was split into two factions: the "Stalwarts", who supported the existing federal government patronage system, and the "Half-Breeds", who wanted civil service reform. As the convention began, New York Senator Roscoe Conkling, floor leader for the Stalwarts, who supported former President Ulysses S. Grant, proposed that the delegates pledge to back the eventual nominee in the general election. When three West Virginia delegates declined to be so bound, Conkling sought to expel them from the convention. Garfield rose to defend the men, giving a passionate speech in defense of their right to reserve judgment. The crowd turned against Conkling, and he withdrew the motion. The performance delighted Garfield's boosters, who were then convinced he was the only one who could attract a majority of the delegates' votes.
Following the initial convention business, Conkling took the stage to present his candidate, Ulysses S. Grant, electrifying the crowd in a speech repeatedly interrupted by cheers, leading most reporters to believe Grant would win the nomination immediately by acclamation. Garfield then took the stage to nominate his fellow Ohioan, John Sherman, delivering a calm address that reminded the delegates the presidential election would be decided "at the ballot-boxes in the Republic" in November rather than "in Chicago in the heat of July". Garfield's speech focused on the delegates' right to vote their conscience rather than being controlled by party bosses; Garfield was seen as embodying the integrity the public desired amid widespread political exhaustion and corruption. Focus shifted to Garfield, prompting one delegate to remark, “If any outsider is taken, I hope it will be Garfield". The first ballot showed Grant with 304 votes to Blaine's 284, and Sherman in a distant third with 93. Subsequent ballots were deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, with neither having the 379 votes needed for nomination. Jeremiah McLain Rusk, a member of the Wisconsin delegation, and Benjamin Harrison, an Indiana delegate, sought to break the deadlock by shifting a few of the anti-Grant votes to a dark horse candidate—Garfield. Garfield gained 50 votes on the 35th ballot, and a stampede began. Garfield protested to the Ohio delegation that he did not seek the nomination and would not betray Sherman, but they overruled his objections and voted for him. On the next ballot, nearly all the Sherman and Blaine delegates shifted their support to Garfield, giving him 399 votes and the nomination. Most of Grant's supporters backed him to the end, creating a disgruntled Stalwart minority in the party. To obtain that faction's support for the ticket, Chester A. Arthur, a former New York customs collector and member of Conkling's political machine, was nominated for vice president. Levi P. Morton was initially offered the vice-presidential nomination, but declined after consulting with Conkling.
=== Campaign against Hancock ===
Even with a Stalwart on the ticket, animosity between the Republican factions carried over from the convention, so Garfield traveled to New York to meet with party leaders. After convincing the Stalwart crowd to put aside their differences and unite for the coming campaign, Garfield returned to Ohio, leaving the active campaigning to others, as was traditional at the time. Meanwhile, the Democrats settled on their nominee, Major General Winfield Scott Hancock of Pennsylvania, a career military officer. Hancock and the Democrats expected to carry the Solid South, while much of the North was considered safe territory for Garfield and the Republicans; most of the campaign focused on a few close states, including New York and Indiana.
Practical differences between the candidates were few, but Republicans began the campaign with the familiar theme of waving the bloody shirt. They reminded Northern voters the Democratic Party was responsible for secession and four years of civil war, and Democrats would reverse the gains of that war, dishonor Union veterans, and pay Confederate veterans pensions out of the federal treasury. Fifteen years had passed since the end of the war, and with Union generals at the head of both tickets, the bloody shirt was of diminishing value in exciting the voters. With a few months to go before the election, the Republicans switched tactics to emphasize the tariff. Seizing on the Democratic platform's call for a "tariff for revenue only", Republicans told Northern workers a Hancock presidency would weaken the tariff protection that kept them in good jobs. Hancock made the situation worse when, attempting to strike a moderate stance, he said, "The tariff question is a local question." The Republican ploy proved effective in uniting the North behind Garfield. Ultimately, of the more than 9.2 million popular votes cast, fewer than 2,000 separated the two candidates. But in the Electoral College, Garfield had an easy victory over Hancock, 214 to 155. The election made Garfield the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected to the presidency.
== Presidency (1881) ==
=== Cabinet and inauguration ===
Before his inauguration, Garfield was occupied with assembling a cabinet that might engender peace between the party's Conkling and Blaine factions. Blaine's delegates had provided much of the support for Garfield's nomination, so the Maine senator received the place of honor as Secretary of State. Blaine was not only the president's closest advisor, but he was also obsessed with knowing all that took place in the White House, and allegedly posted spies there in his absence. Garfield nominated William Windom of Minnesota as Secretary of the Treasury, William H. Hunt of Louisiana as Secretary of the Navy, Robert Todd Lincoln as Secretary of War, and Samuel J. Kirkwood of Iowa as Secretary of the Interior. New York was represented by Thomas Lemuel James as Postmaster General. Garfield appointed Pennsylvania's Wayne MacVeagh, an adversary of Blaine's, as Attorney General. Blaine tried to sabotage the appointment by convincing Garfield to name an opponent of MacVeagh, William E. Chandler, as Solicitor General under MacVeagh. Only Chandler's rejection by the Senate forestalled MacVeagh's resignation over the matter.
Because Garfield was distracted by cabinet maneuvering, his inaugural address was a "compendium of platitudes" and fell below expectations. At one high point, however, Garfield emphasized the civil rights of African Americans, saying "Freedom can never yield its fullness of blessings so long as the law or its administration places the smallest obstacle in the pathway of any virtuous citizen." After discussing the gold standard, the need for education, and an unexpected denunciation of Mormon polygamy, the speech ended. The crowd applauded, but the speech, according to Peskin, "however sincerely intended, betrayed its hasty composition by the flatness of its tone and the conventionality of its subject matter."
Garfield's appointment of James infuriated Conkling, a factional opponent of the Postmaster General, who demanded a compensatory appointment for his faction, such as the position of Secretary of the Treasury. The resulting squabble occupied much of Garfield's brief presidency. The feud with Conkling reached a climax when the president, at Blaine's instigation, nominated Conkling's enemy, Judge William H. Robertson, to be Collector of the Port of New York. This was one of the prize patronage positions below cabinet level and was then held by Edwin A. Merritt. Conkling raised the time-honored principle of senatorial courtesy in an attempt to defeat the nomination, to no avail. Garfield, who believed the practice was corrupt and refused to rubber-stamp selections by powerful senators, did not back down and threatened to withdraw all nominations unless Robertson was confirmed, intending to "settle the question whether the president is registering clerk of the Senate or the Executive of the United States". Ultimately, Conkling and his New York colleague Senator Thomas C. Platt resigned their Senate seats to seek vindication but found only further humiliation when the New York legislature elected others in their places. Robertson was confirmed as Collector and Garfield's victory was clear. To Blaine's chagrin, Garfield returned to his goal of balancing the interests of party factions and nominated a number of Conkling's Stalwart friends to offices.
With his cabinet complete, Garfield had to contend with myriad office seekers. He exclaimed, "My God! What is there in this place that a man should ever get into it." Garfield's family happily settled into the White House, but he found presidential duties exasperating.
=== Refinance of national debt ===
Garfield ordered Treasury Secretary William Windom to refund (refinance) the national debt by calling in outstanding U.S. bonds paying 6% interest. Holders would have the option of accepting cash or new bonds at 3%, closer to the interest rates of the time. Taxpayers were saved an estimated $10 million. By comparison, federal expenditures in 1881 were below $261 million (~$7.28 billion in 2024).
=== Supreme Court nomination ===
In 1880, President Hayes had nominated Stanley Matthews to the Supreme Court but the Senate declined to act on the nomination. In March 1881, Garfield re-nominated Matthews to the Court and the Senate confirmed Matthews by a vote of 24–23. According to The New York Times, "opposition to Matthews's Supreme Court appointment ... stemmed from his prosecution in 1859 of a newspaper editor who had assisted two runaway slaves." Because Matthews was "a professed abolitionist at the time, the matter was later framed as political expediency triumphing over moral principle." Matthews served on the Court until his death in 1889.
=== Reforms ===
Grant and Hayes had both advocated civil service reform, and by 1881 such reform associations had organized with renewed energy across the nation. Garfield sympathized with them, believing the spoils system damaged the presidency and often eclipsed more important concerns. Some reformers became disappointed when Garfield promoted limited tenure only to minor office seekers and gave appointments to his old friends.
Corruption in the post office also cried out for reform. In April 1880, there had been a congressional investigation of corruption in the Post Office Department, where profiteering rings allegedly stole millions of dollars, securing bogus mail contracts on star routes. After obtaining contracts with the lowest bid, costs to run the mail routes would be escalated and profits would be divided among ring members. Shortly after taking office, Garfield received word of postal corruption by an alleged star route ringleader, Assistant Postmaster General Thomas J. Brady. Garfield demanded Brady's resignation and ordered prosecutions that ended in trials for conspiracy. When told that his party, including his campaign manager, Stephen W. Dorsey, was involved, Garfield directed that the corruption in the Post Office be rooted out "to the bone", regardless of where it might lead. Brady resigned and was indicted for conspiracy, though jury trials in 1882 and 1883 found Brady not guilty.
=== Civil rights and education ===
Garfield believed the key to improving the state of African American civil rights was government supported education. During Reconstruction, freedmen had gained citizenship and suffrage, which enabled them to participate in government, but Garfield believed their rights were being eroded by Southern white resistance and illiteracy, and he was concerned that blacks would become America's permanent "peasantry". He proposed a "universal" education system funded by the federal government. In February 1866, as a congressman from Ohio, Garfield and Ohio School Commissioner Emerson Edward White had drafted a bill for the National Department of Education. They believed that through the use of statistics they could push the U.S. Congress to establish a federal agency for school reform. But by the time of Garfield's presidency, Congress and the northern white public had lost interest in African-American rights, and Congress did not pass federal funding for universal education during his term.
Garfield also worked to appoint several African Americans to prominent positions: Frederick Douglass, recorder of deeds in Washington; Robert Elliot, special agent to the Treasury; John M. Langston, Haitian minister; and Blanche K. Bruce, register to the Treasury. Garfield believed Southern support for the Republican Party could be gained by "commercial and industrial" interests rather than race issues and began to reverse Hayes's policy of conciliating Southern Democrats. He appointed William H. Hunt, a Republican from Louisiana, as Secretary of the Navy. To break the hold of the resurgent Democratic Party in the Solid South, Garfield took patronage advice from Virginia Senator William Mahone of the biracial independent Readjuster Party, hoping to add the independents' strength to the Republicans' there.
=== Foreign policy and naval reform ===
Garfield had little foreign policy experience, so he leaned heavily on Blaine. They agreed on the need to promote free trade, especially within the Western Hemisphere. Garfield and Blaine believed increasing trade with Latin America would be the best way to keep the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from dominating the region. By encouraging exports, they believed they could increase American prosperity. Garfield authorized Blaine to call for a Pan-American conference in 1882 to mediate disputes among the Latin American nations and to serve as a forum for talks on increasing trade.
At the same time, they hoped to negotiate a peace in the War of the Pacific then being fought by Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Blaine favored a resolution that would result in Peru yielding no territory, but Chile by 1881 had occupied the Peruvian capital of Lima, and rejected any settlement that restored the previous status quo.
Garfield sought to expand American influence in other areas, calling for renegotiation of the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty to allow the United States to construct a canal through Panama without British involvement and attempting to reduce British influence in the strategically located Kingdom of Hawaii. Garfield's and Blaine's plans for the United States' involvement in the world stretched even beyond the Western Hemisphere, as he sought commercial treaties with Korea and Madagascar.
Garfield also considered increasing U.S. military strength abroad, asking Navy Secretary Hunt to investigate the navy's condition with an eye toward expansion and modernization. In the end, these ambitious plans came to nothing after Garfield was assassinated. Nine countries had accepted invitations to the Pan-American conference, but the invitations were withdrawn in April 1882 after Blaine resigned from the cabinet and Arthur, Garfield's successor, canceled the conference. Naval reform continued under Arthur, on a more modest scale than Garfield and Hunt had envisioned, ultimately ending in the construction of the Squadron of Evolution.
=== Political views ===
As president, Garfield opposed labor unions and sided with the Republican Party's hard-money wing. He was also suspicious of cooperative farm programs supported by the Grange, a farmers' organization he called "communism in disguise". But Garfield also opposed corporate monopoly and advocated a federal education department along with increased federal support for the education of African Americans in southern states.
Another study has said of Garfield:
No man could be in politics as long as Garfield had been without forming some opinions of the nature of presidential leadership, and his, by and large, were negative. Philosophically, as has been noted, he was a believer in laissez faire, and he had been suspicious of presidential power from the time when he fought Andrew Johnson.
Garfield's successor as president, Chester A. Arthur, shared his laissez-faire views.
== Assassination ==
=== Guiteau and shooting ===
Charles J. Guiteau had followed various professions in his life, but in 1880 had determined to gain federal office by supporting what he expected would be the winning Republican ticket. He composed a speech, "Garfield vs. Hancock", and got it printed by the Republican National Committee. One means of persuading the voters in that era was through orators expounding on the candidate's merits, but with the Republicans seeking more famous men, Guiteau received few opportunities to speak. On one occasion, according to Kenneth D. Ackerman, Guiteau was unable to finish his speech due to nerves. Guiteau, who considered himself a Stalwart, deemed his contribution to Garfield's victory sufficient to justify his appointment to the position of consul in Paris, despite the fact that he spoke no French, nor any foreign language. One medical expert has since described Guiteau as possibly a narcissistic schizophrenic; neuroscientist Kent Kiehl assessed him as a clinical psychopath.
One of Garfield's more wearying duties was seeing office-seekers, and he saw Guiteau at least once. White House officials suggested to Guiteau that he approach Blaine, as the consulship was within the Department of State. Blaine also saw the public regularly, and Guiteau became a regular at these sessions. Blaine, who had no intention of giving Guiteau a position he was unqualified for and had not earned, simply said the deadlock in the Senate over Robertson's nomination made it impossible to consider the Paris consulship, which required Senate confirmation. Once the New York senators had resigned, and Robertson had been confirmed as Collector, Guiteau pressed his claim, and Blaine told him he would not receive the position.
Guiteau came to believe he had lost the position because he was a Stalwart. He decided the only way to end the Republican Party's internecine warfare was for Garfield to die—though he had nothing personal against the president. Arthur's succession would restore peace, he felt, and lead to rewards for fellow Stalwarts, including Guiteau.
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was deemed a fluke due to the Civil War, and Garfield, like most people, saw no reason the president should be guarded; his movements and plans were often printed in the newspapers. Guiteau knew Garfield would leave Washington for a cooler climate on July 2, 1881, and made plans to kill him before then. He purchased a gun he thought would look good in a museum, and followed Garfield several times, but each time his plans were frustrated, or he lost his nerve. His opportunities dwindled to one—Garfield's departure by train for New Jersey on the morning of July 2.
Guiteau concealed himself by the ladies' waiting room at the Sixth Street Station of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad, from where Garfield was scheduled to depart. Most of Garfield's cabinet planned to accompany him at least part of the way. Blaine, who was to remain in Washington, came to the station to see him off. The two men were deep in conversation and did not notice Guiteau as he took out his revolver and shot Garfield twice. Guiteau was quickly captured. As Blaine recognized him, Guiteau was led away, and said, "I did it. I will go to jail for it. I am a Stalwart and Arthur will be President." News of his motivation to benefit the Stalwarts reached many with the news of the shooting, causing rage against that faction.
=== Treatment and death ===
One shot glanced off Garfield's arm while the other pierced his back, shattering a rib and embedding itself in his abdomen. "My God, what is this?" he exclaimed. He was tended to by Charles Burleigh Purvis, who became the first African-American physician to attend to a sitting president. Among those at the station was Robert Todd Lincoln, who was deeply upset, thinking back to when his father Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated 16 years earlier. Garfield was taken on a mattress upstairs to a private office, where several doctors examined him. At his request, Garfield was taken back to the White House, and his wife, then in New Jersey, was sent for. Blaine sent word to Vice President Arthur in New York City, who received threats against his life because of his animosity toward Garfield and Guiteau's statements.
Although Joseph Lister's pioneering work in antisepsis was known to American doctors, few of them had confidence in it, and none of his advocates was among Garfield's treating physicians. The physician who took charge at the depot and then at the White House was Doctor Willard Bliss. A noted physician and surgeon, Bliss was an old friend of Garfield, and about a dozen doctors, led by Bliss, were soon probing the wound with unsterilized fingers and instruments. Garfield was given morphine for the pain and asked Bliss to tell him frankly what his chances were, which Bliss put at one in a hundred. "Well, Doctor, we'll take that chance."
Over the next few days Garfield made some improvement, as the nation viewed the news from the capital and prayed. Although he never stood again, he was able to sit up and write several times, and his recovery was viewed so positively that a steamer was fitted out as a seagoing hospital to aid with his convalescence. He was nourished on oatmeal porridge (which he detested) and milk from a cow on the White House lawn. When told that Indian chief Sitting Bull, a prisoner of the army, was starving, Garfield said, "Let him starve..." initially, but a few moments later said, "No, send him my oatmeal."
X-ray imaging, which could have assisted physicians in precisely locating the bullet in Garfield's body, would not be invented for another 14 years. Alexander Graham Bell tried to locate the bullet with a primitive metal detector but was unsuccessful, though the device had been effective when tested on others. But Bliss limited its use on Garfield, ensuring he remained in charge. Because Bliss insisted the bullet rested someplace it did not, the detector could not locate it. Bell shortly returned after adjusting his device, which emitted an unusual tone in the area where Bliss believed the bullet was lodged. Bliss took this as confirmation that the bullet was where he declared it to be. Bliss recorded the test as a success, saying it was: now unanimously agreed that the location of the ball has been ascertained with reasonable certainty, and that it lies, as heretofore stated, in the front wall of the abdomen, immediately over the groin, about five inches [130 mm] below and to the right of the navel.
One means of keeping Garfield comfortable in Washington's summer heat was one of the first successful air conditioning units: air propelled by fans over ice and then dried reduced the temperature in the sickroom by 20 °F (11 °C). Engineers from the navy and other scientists worked together to develop the unit, though there were problems to solve, such as excessive noise and increased humidity.
On July 23 Garfield took a turn for the worse when his temperature increased to 104 °F (40 °C); doctors, concerned by an abscess at the wound, inserted a drainage tube. This initially helped, and the bedridden Garfield held a brief cabinet meeting on July 29; members were under orders from Bliss to discuss nothing that might excite Garfield. Doctors probed the abscess, hoping to find the bullet; they likely made the infections worse. Garfield performed only one official act in August, signing an extradition paper. By the end of the month he was much feebler than he had been and his weight had decreased from 210 pounds (95 kg) to 130 pounds (59 kg).
Garfield had long been anxious to escape hot, unhealthy Washington, and in early September the doctors agreed to move him to Elberon, part of Long Branch, New Jersey, where his wife had recovered earlier in the summer. He left the White House for the last time on September 5, traveling in a specially cushioned railway car; a spur line to the Francklyn Cottage, a seaside mansion given over to his use, was built in a night by volunteers. After arriving in Elberon the next day, Garfield was moved from the train car to a bedroom from which he could see the ocean as officials and reporters maintained what became (after an initial rally) a death watch. Garfield's personal secretary, Joe Stanley Brown, wrote forty years later, "to this day I cannot hear the sound of the low slow roll of the Atlantic on the shore, the sound which filled my ears as I walked from my cottage to his bedside, without recalling again that ghastly tragedy."
On September 18 Garfield asked Colonel A.F. Rockwell, a friend, if he would have a place in history. Rockwell assured him he would and told Garfield he had much work still before him, but his response was, "No, my work is done." The following day Garfield, then also suffering from pneumonia and hypertension, marveled that he could not pick up a glass despite feeling well and went to sleep without discomfort. He awoke that evening around 10:15 p.m. complaining of great pain in his chest to his chief of staff General David Swaim, who was watching him, as he placed his hand over his heart. The president then requested a drink of water from Swaim. After finishing his glass, Garfield said, "Oh Swaim, this terrible pain—press your hand on it." As Swaim put his hand on Garfield's chest, Garfield's hands went up reflexively. Clutching his heart, he exclaimed, "Oh, Swaim, can't you stop this? Oh, oh, Swaim!" Those were Garfield's last words. Swaim ordered another attendant to send for Bliss, who found Garfield unconscious. Despite efforts to revive him, Garfield never awoke, and he was pronounced dead at about 10:30 p.m. Learning from a reporter of Garfield's death the following day, Chester A. Arthur took the presidential oath of office administered by New York Supreme Court Justice John R. Brady.
According to some historians and medical experts, Garfield might have survived his wounds had the doctors attending him had at their disposal today's medical research, knowledge, techniques and equipment. Standard medical practice at the time dictated that priority be given to locating the path of the bullet. Several of his doctors inserted their unsterilized fingers into the wound to probe for the bullet, a common practice in the 1880s. Historians agree that massive infection was a significant factor in Garfield's demise. Biographer Peskin said medical malpractice did not contribute to Garfield's death; the inevitable infection and blood poisoning that would ensue from a deep bullet wound resulted in damage to multiple organs and spinal fragmentation. Rutkow, a professor of surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, has argued that starvation also played a role. Rutkow suggests "Garfield had such a nonlethal wound. In today's world, he would have gone home in a matter of two or three days." The conventional narrative regarding Garfield's post-shooting medical condition was challenged by Theodore Pappas and Shahrzad Joharifard in a 2013 article in The American Journal of Surgery. They argued that Garfield died from a late rupture of a splenic artery pseudoaneurysm, which developed secondary to the path of the bullet adjacent to the splenic artery. They also argued that his sepsis was actually caused by post-traumatic acute acalculous cholecystitis. Based on the autopsy report, the authors speculate that his gallbladder subsequently ruptured, leading to the development of a large bile-containing abscess adjacent to the gallbladder. Pappas and Joharifard say this caused the septic decline in Garfield's condition that was visible starting from July 23, 1881. Pappas and Joharifard also state that they don't believe that Garfield's doctors could have saved him even if they had been aware of his cholecystitis, since the first successful cholecystectomy (surgical removal of the gallbladder) was performed a year after Garfield's death.
Guiteau was indicted on October 14, 1881, for the murder of the president. During his trial, Guiteau declared that he was not responsible for Garfield's death, admitting to the shooting but not the killing. In his defense, Guiteau wrote: "General Garfield died from malpractice. According to his own physicians, he was not fatally shot. The doctors who mistreated him ought to bear the odium of his death, and not his assailant. They ought to be indicted for murdering James A. Garfield, and not me." After a chaotic trial in which Guiteau often interrupted and argued, and in which his counsel used the insanity defense, the jury found him guilty on January 25, 1882, and he was sentenced to death by hanging. Guiteau may have had neurosyphilis, a disease that causes physiological mental impairment. He was executed on June 30, 1882.
== Funeral, memorials and commemorations ==
Garfield's funeral train left Long Branch on the same special track that had brought him there, traveling over tracks blanketed with flowers and past houses adorned with flags. His body was transported to the Capitol and then continued on to Cleveland for burial. Shocked by his death, Marine Band leader John Philip Sousa composed the march "In Memoriam", which was played when Garfield's body was received in Washington, D.C. More than 70,000 citizens, some waiting over three hours, passed by Garfield's coffin as his body lay in state from September 21 to 23, 1881, at the United States Capitol rotunda; on September 25, in Cleveland, Garfield's casket was paraded down Euclid Avenue from Wilson Avenue to Public Square, with those in attendance including former presidents Grant and Hayes, and Generals William Sherman, Sheridan and Hancock. More than 150,000—a number equal to the city's population—likewise paid their respects, and Sousa's march was again played. Garfield's body was temporarily interred in the Schofield family vault in Cleveland's Lake View Cemetery until his permanent memorial was built.
Memorials to Garfield were erected across the country. On April 10, 1882, seven months after Garfield's death, the U.S. Post Office Department issued a postage stamp in his honor. In 1884, sculptor Frank Happersberger completed a monument on the grounds of the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers. In 1887, the James A. Garfield Monument was dedicated in Washington. Another monument, in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, was erected in 1896. In Victoria, Australia, Cannibal Creek was renamed Garfield in his honor.
On May 19, 1890, Garfield's body was permanently interred, with great solemnity and fanfare, in a mausoleum in Lake View Cemetery. Attending the dedication ceremonies were former President Hayes, President Benjamin Harrison, and future president William McKinley. Treasury Secretary William Windom also attended. Harrison said Garfield was always a "student and instructor" and that his life works and death would "continue to be instructive and inspiring incidents in American history". Three panels on the monument display Garfield as a teacher, Union major general, and orator; another shows him taking the presidential oath, and a fifth shows his body lying in state at the Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C.
Garfield's murder by a deranged office-seeker awakened public awareness of the need for civil service reform legislation. Senator George H. Pendleton, a Democrat from Ohio, launched a reform effort that resulted in the Pendleton Act in January 1883. This act reversed the "spoils system" where office seekers paid up or gave political service to obtain or keep federally appointed positions. Under the act, appointments were awarded on merit and competitive examination. To ensure the reform was implemented, Congress and Arthur established and funded the Civil Service Commission. The Pendleton Act, however, covered only 10% of federal government workers. For Arthur, previously known for having been a "veteran spoilsman", civil service reform became his most noteworthy achievement.
A marble statue of Garfield by Charles Niehaus was added to the National Statuary Hall Collection in the Capitol in Washington, D.C., a gift from the State of Ohio in 1886.
Garfield is honored with a life-size bronze sculpture inside the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in Cleveland, Ohio.
Many cities and towns in the U.S., Canada, and Australia are named for Garfield, as are several high schools.
On March 2, 2019, the National Park Service erected exhibit panels in Washington to mark the site of his assassination.
== Legacy and historical view ==
For a few years after his assassination, Garfield's life story was seen as an exemplar of the American success story—that even the poorest boy might someday become President of the United States. Peskin wrote: "In mourning Garfield, Americans were not only honoring a president; they were paying tribute to a man whose life story embodied their own most cherished aspirations." As the rivalry between Stalwarts and Half-Breeds faded from the scene in the late 1880s and after, so too did memories of Garfield. In the 1890s, Americans became disillusioned with politicians, and looked elsewhere for inspiration, focusing on industrialists, labor leaders, scientists, and others as their heroes. Increasingly, Garfield's short time as president was forgotten.
The 20th century saw no revival for Garfield. Thomas Wolfe deemed the presidents of the Gilded Age, including Garfield, "lost Americans" whose "gravely vacant and bewhiskered faces mixed, melted, swam together". The politicians of the Gilded Age faded from the public eye, their luster eclipsed by those who had influenced America outside of political office during that time; the robber barons, the inventors, those who had sought social reform, and others who had lived as America rapidly changed. Current events and more recent figures occupied America's attention. According to Ackerman, "the busy Twentieth Century has made Garfield's era seem remote and irrelevant, its leaders ridiculed for their very obscurity."
Garfield's biographers, and those who have studied his presidency, tend to think well of him, and that his presidency saw a promising start before its untimely end. Historian Justus D. Doenecke, while deeming Garfield a bit of an enigma, chronicles his achievements: "by winning a victory over the Stalwarts, he enhanced both the power and prestige of his office. As a man, he was intelligent, sensitive, and alert, and his knowledge of how government worked was unmatched." Doenecke criticizes Garfield's dismissal of Merritt in Robertson's favor, and wonders if the president was truly in command of the situation even after the latter's confirmation. In 1931, Caldwell wrote: "If Garfield lives in history, it will be partly on account of the charm of his personality—but also because in life and in death, he struck the first shrewd blows against a dangerous system of boss rule which seemed for a time about to engulf the politics of the nation. Perhaps if he had lived he could have done no more." Rutkow writes that "James Abram Garfield's presidency is reduced to a tantalizing 'what if.'"
In 2002, historian Bernard A. Weisberger said, "[Garfield] was, to some extent, a perfect moderate. He read widely (and unobtrusively) without its visibly affecting his Christianity, his Republicanism, or his general laissez-faire orthodoxy. He was not so much a scholar in politics as a politic scholar." Peskin believes Garfield deserves more credit for his political career than he has received: "True, his accomplishments were neither bold nor heroic, but his was not an age that called for heroism. His stormy presidency was brief, and in some respects, unfortunate, but he did leave the office stronger than he found it. As a public man he had a hand in almost every issue of national importance for almost two decades, while as a party leader he, along with Blaine, forged the Republican Party into the instrument that would lead the United States into the twentieth century."
Interest in Garfield was rekindled by the 2025 miniseries Death by Lightning, in which he is portrayed by Michael Shannon. Other notable portrayals of Garfield on screen include Francis Sayles's in the 1939 film The Night Riders, and Shuler Hensley's in the 2016 American Experience episode "Murder of a President". |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monteiro-Mor_Palace | Monteiro-Mor Palace | The Monteiro-Mor Palace (Portuguese: Palácio do Monteiro-Mor) is a Portuguese palace located in Lisbon, Portugal.
== History ==
Monteiro-Mor Palace is located in the Lumiar parish in Lisbon.
The name of the palace dates back to the 18th century when the High Huntsman of the Royal House (Portuguese: Monteiro-Mor) D. Henrique de Noronha and his wife D. Fernao Telles da Silva occupied the palace.
The Portuguese National Museum of Costume and Fashion is currently installed in the palace.
The palace is surrounded by an eleven hectare botanical garden.
== Sources ==
Palácio do Monteiro-Mor |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Resht | Treaty of Resht | The Treaty of Resht was signed between the Russian Empire and Safavid Empire in Rasht on 21 January 1732. According to this treaty Russia waived its claim to any territory south of the Kura River. This included return of the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, and Astarabad, conquered by Peter I in the early 1720s. The Iranian cities of Derbent, Tarki, Ganja, etc. north of the Kura river would be returned three years later. In return, the Iranians, now de facto ruled by the militarily successful Nader, granted trade privileges to Russian merchants and promised to restore the Georgian king Vakhtang VI, then residing in exile in Russia, on the throne of Kartli as soon as the Ottoman troops could be expelled from that country. The provisions were confirmed by the 1735 Treaty of Ganja, according which treaty all the regions north of the Kura river were returned as well. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Miami_Dolphins_season | 1999 Miami Dolphins season | The 1999 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 34th campaign, and 30th in the National Football League (NFL). It was the 17th and final season for Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino. Marino suffered an injury on October 17 against the New England Patriots, with Damon Huard taking over at quarterback. The team would go 4–1 under Huard, including a 17–0 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Marino would return on November 25, against the Dallas Cowboys, throwing five interceptions in the 20–0 loss.
The Dolphins reached the midway point of the 1999 season with a 7–1 record, but in the second half of the year, the team struggled, finishing out the season 2–6, winning only one game after Marino's return. The team finished the season 9–7, beating out the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC's last wild card spot via tiebreakers; Miami held a better record against common opponents, going 6–1 to the Chiefs' 5–3. In the Wild Card round, the Dolphins upset the no. 3 seed Seattle Seahawks 20–17. In the Divisional round, the Dolphins were humiliated by the no. 1 seed Jacksonville Jaguars, losing 62–7, the most lopsided playoff loss in the Super Bowl era.
== Offseason ==
=== 1999 NFL draft ===
== Roster ==
== Regular season ==
=== Schedule ===
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Source:
=== Standings ===
=== Game summaries ===
==== Week 1 at Denver Broncos ====
The Dolphins opened the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. The Broncos were without their longtime quarterback John Elway, who announced his retirement during the off-season. Brian Griese, son of former Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese, was Denver's starting quarterback, throwing a 61-yard touchdown pass to Ed McCaffrey early in the 1st quarter. Griese would play inconsistently for the rest of the game and was sacked twice, while Dan Marino was sacked zero times. In the 4th quarter, Griese fumbled the ball, with Jason Taylor recovering it and running it into the end zone for a touchdown.
==== Week 2 vs. Arizona Cardinals ====
The Dolphins' defense picked off Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer four times during the game. Arizona only scored one touchdown during the game, a 34-yard interception return by Rob Fredrickson in the 2nd quarter.
==== Week 4 at Buffalo Bills ====
==== Week 5 at Indianapolis Colts ====
The Dolphins were trailing 31–22 in the 4th quarter before staging a furious comeback with just under 3:30 left to play, scoring 12 unanswered points in the span of nearly 3 minutes. The run started with a 43-yard field goal from Olindo Mare with 3:20 left. With 1:54 left, Miami's defense forced Peyton Manning to run out the end zone, resulting in a safety. On the ensuing drive, Dan Marino led the offense down the field, capping it off with a 2-yard pass to Oronde Gadsden for the game-winning score. The Dolphins' defense sealed the game, with Terrell Buckley intercepting a Manning pass on the Colts' final drive of the game.
Miami compiled 469 yards of offense and committed no turnovers. Marino threw for 393 yards while two players finished with over 100 yards receiving: Gadsden with 123 yards and Tony Martin with 166.
==== Week 6 at New England Patriots ====
Dan Marino's only completion of the game was on a 8-yard pass that put him over 60,000 passing yards for his career. On Marino's second pass attempt, he was hit by Lawyer Milloy, with Andy Katzenmoyer intercepting the ball and returning it 57 yards for a touchdown. On the following drive, Marino would attempt a short pass that fell short of his intended receiver. Coach Jimmy Johnson would pull Marino from the game due to a possible shoulder injury; in the week heading into the game, Marino thought he might have injured his right trapezius. Marino was replaced by Damon Huard, whose first pass was intercepted by Ty Law and returned 27 yards for a touchdown. Despite the rocky start, Huard would lead the Dolphins to a 31–30 comeback victory, throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to fullback Stanley Pritchett with 23 seconds left in the game for the game-winning score.
==== Week 7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles ====
With Dan Marino out due to injury, Damon Huard started at quarterback for the Dolphins, his first NFL start.
==== Week 8 at Oakland Raiders ====
Damon Huard started at quarterback for the second week in a row. After having thrown a pick six in each of the previous two games, Huard committed no turnovers against Oakland.
==== Week 9 vs. Tennessee Titans ====
The Dolphins' defense shutout the Titans, picking off Steve McNair three times. This was one of only three games that Tennessee would lose during the regular season.
==== Week 10 at Buffalo Bills ====
Damon Huard struggled throughout the game, only completing 36% of his passes for 65 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. This was the only game of the season Miami would lose with Huard starting at quarterback.
==== Week 11 vs. New England Patriots ====
Miami's defense picked off Drew Bledsoe five times. This was the last game of the season Damon Huard would start at quarterback, as Dan Marino would return for the following game four days later. Miami finished 4–1 with Huard as starter.
==== Week 12 at Dallas Cowboys ====
NFL on Thanksgiving Day
Dan Marino's first game after returning from injury was a disaster. Marino threw five interceptions, one of which was returned 46 yards by Dexter Coakley in the 3rd quarter for the first score of the game. The Dolphins' defense tried to help keep the team in the game, shutting out the Cowboys' offense for three quarters. The game's only offensive score came in the 4th, with Troy Aikman throwing a 65-yard touchdown pass to Rocket Ismail.
==== Week 13 vs. Indianapolis Colts ====
The Dolphins trailed 24–10 at halftime, but tied the game twice in the 4th quarter, including a 32-yard field goal from Olindo Mare with 0:36 left in regulation. However, Indianapolis kicker Mike Vanderjagt made a 53-yard field goal as time expired to give the Colts a 37–34 victory.
==== Week 14 at New York Jets ====
The Dolphins had a 13–6 lead at the start of the 4th quarter, but the team collapsed in the final quarter of play. The Jets scored 22 unanswered points in the 4th quarter, including a 67-yard interception return by Omar Stoutmire.
==== Week 15 vs. San Diego Chargers ====
Neither team managed to a score a touchdown during the game. The Dolphins' defense held the Chargers to 186 yards of total offense and forced one turnover. This was the last regular season game Dan Marino would win in his career.
==== Week 16 vs. New York Jets ====
==== Week 17 at Washington Redskins ====
Dan Marino started at quarterback, but was pulled from the game and replaced by Damon Huard; Marino finished 11-of-24 for 118 yards with one interception. Despite the loss, the Dolphins still qualified for the playoffs as the Chiefs lost earlier in the day to the Raiders.
== Playoffs ==
=== AFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (3) Seattle Seahawks ===
The Seattle Seahawks played host to their first playoff game since the 1984 season. The Seahawks were dominated by the Dolphins defense, who held them to only 171 yards, with just 32 in the second half, and sacked Seahawks quarterback Jon Kitna six times, three by Trace Armstrong. Although Seattle jumped out to a 17–10 lead in the 3rd quarter, the Dolphins would rally back behind quarterback Dan Marino, who threw for 196 yards and a touchdown, leading his team to their first road playoff win since 1972 in what ultimately proved to be the final game played at The Kingdome (the Seahawks moved into Husky Stadium for the 2000 season) and the final win of Marino's career.
The Dolphins were the only away team to win in the wild-card round.
=== AFC Divisional Playoffs: at (1) Jacksonville Jaguars ===
The Jacksonville Jaguars shredded their in-state rivals the Dolphins with 520 total offensive yards in what became Miami quarterback Dan Marino's last game in the NFL and the most lopsided postseason contest since the Chicago Bears defeated the Redskins 73–0 in the 1940 NFL Championship Game. Their defense forced seven turnovers and held the Dolphins to 131 total yards. Marino was held to just 11 of 25 completions for 95 yards and 1 touchdown, with 2 interceptions and a fumble that was returned for a touchdown in his final game. Marino retired shortly after the season ended.
This was also Jimmy Johnson's final game as an NFL head coach; Johnson resigned the day after the game.
== Notes and references == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman,_Oklahoma | Norman, Oklahoma | Norman () is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 census. It is the most populous city in and the county seat of Cleveland County and the second-most populous city in the Oklahoma City Metro Area after the state capital, Oklahoma City, 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Norman.
The city was settled during the Land Run of 1889, which opened the former Unassigned Lands of Indian Territory to American pioneer settlement. It was named in honor of Abner Norman, the area's initial land surveyor, and was formally incorporated on May 13, 1891. Norman has prominent higher education and related research industries, as it is home to the University of Oklahoma, the largest university in the state, with nearly 32,000 students. The university is well known for its sporting events by teams under the banner of the nickname "Sooners", with over 85,000 people routinely attending football games. The university is home to several museums, including the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, which contains the largest collection of French Impressionist art ever given to an American university, as well as the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.
Norman's National Weather Center houses a unique collection of university, state, federal, and private-sector organizations that work together to improve the understanding of events related to the Earth's atmosphere. Norman lies within Tornado Alley, a geographic region colloquially known for frequent and intense tornadic activity. The Storm Prediction Center, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that delivers forecasts for severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and other high-impact hazardous weather in the contiguous United States, is located at the National Weather Center. Additionally, research is conducted at the co-located National Severe Storms Laboratory, which operates various experimental weather radars and develops innovative tools, applications, and techniques aimed at improving forecasts and warnings of severe weather.
== History ==
The Oklahoma region became part of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Before the American Civil War, the U.S. government began relocating the Five Civilized Tribes—the five Native American tribes that the United States officially recognized via treaty—to Oklahoma. Treaties of 1832 and 1833 assigned the area known today as Norman to the Creek Nation.
After the Civil War, the Creeks were accused of aiding the Confederacy; as a result they ceded the region back to the United States in 1866. In the early 1870s, the federal government undertook a survey of these unassigned lands. Abner Ernest Norman, a 23-year-old surveyor from Kentucky, was hired to oversee part of this project. Norman's work crew set up camp near what is today the corner of Classen Boulevard and Lindsey Street; it was there that the men, perhaps jokingly, carved a sign on an elm tree that read "Norman's Camp," in honor of their young boss. In 1887, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway began service to the area, which was later opened to settlement as part of the Land Run of 1889; early settlers decided to keep the name "Norman."
On April 22, 1889, that first Land Run in what would become the state of Oklahoma saw the founding of Norman, with at least 150 residents spending the night in makeshift campsites, and by the next morning a downtown was already being constructed. Almost immediately two prominent Norman businessmen, former Purcell railroad freight agent Delbert Larsh and railroad station chief cashier Thomas Waggoner, began lobbying for the territorial government to locate its first university in Norman. The two were interested in growing the city and had reasoned that, rather than try to influence territorial lawmakers to locate the heavily contested territory capital in Norman, it made sense to attempt to secure the state's first university instead (a move that would be far less controversial). On December 19, 1890, Larsh and Waggoner were successful with the passage of Territorial Council Bill 114, establishing the University of Oklahoma in Norman about 17 years before Oklahoma statehood.
The City of Norman was formally incorporated on May 13, 1891.
The new Norman was a sundown town. African Americans were not allowed to live within the city limits or stay overnight until the early 1960s, nor could they study at the University of Oklahoma. In 2020, the Norman City Council issued an apology.
Norman has grown throughout the decades. By 1902 the downtown district contained two banks, two hotels, a flour mill, and other businesses; by 1913 over 3,700 people lived in Norman when the Oklahoma Railway Company decided to extend its interurban streetcar running from Oklahoma City to Moore into Norman, spurring additional population growth. The rail lines eventually transitioned to freight during the 1940s as the United States Numbered Highway system developed. The population reached 11,429 in 1940.
With the completion of Interstate 35 in June 1959, Norman found its role as a bedroom community to Oklahoma City increasing rapidly; in 1960 Norman's population was 33,412 but by the end of the decade had grown to 52,117. Throughout the 1960s Norman's land mass increased by 174 sq mi (450 km2) by annexing surrounding areas. The city's growth trends have continued early in the 21st century, with the population reaching 95,694 in 2000, 110,925 in 2010, and 128,026 in 2020.
=== Military in Norman ===
In 1941, the University of Oklahoma and Norman city officials established Max Westheimer Field, a university airstrip, and then leased it to the U.S. Navy as a Naval Flight Training Center in 1942. It became the Naval Air Station Norman, and it was used for training combat pilots during World War II. A second training center, known as Naval Air Technical Training Center, and a naval hospital were later established to the south. In the years following World War II the airstrip was transferred back to the university's control. Today the airstrip is called the University of Oklahoma Westheimer Airport. Following the war the remaining military presence and post-war veterans who came to Norman to get an education again grew the city's population, which was 27,006 by 1950. The Navy again utilized the bases in a lesser capacity from 1952 to 1959 in support of the Korean War effort.
== Geography ==
As of 2010, the city has a total area of 189.42 sq mi (490.6 km2), of which 178.77 sq mi (463.0 km2) is land and 10.65 sq mi (27.6 km2) is water.
The center of this large incorporated area is 20 mi (30 km) from the center of Oklahoma City, and separated primarily by Moore, is in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
=== Topography ===
Norman and the surrounding areas are mostly flat with an elevation near 1,171 ft (357 m). The terrain in the western section of Norman is prairie, while the eastern section, including the area surrounding Lake Thunderbird, consists of some 6,000 acres (24 km2) of lakes and Cross Timbers forest.
=== Climate ===
Norman falls within a temperate, humid subtropical climate region that is identified as "Cfa" class on the Köppen climate classification. On average Norman receives about 38 in (970 mm) of precipitation per year; May and June are the wettest months. Temperatures average 61 °F (16 °C) for the year. Average daytime highs range from 50 °F (10 °C) in January to 92.5 °F (33.6 °C) in July; average lows range from around 28 °F (−2 °C) in January to 71 °F (22 °C) in July. While Summers generally range from warm to hot, some summers can be very hot, as was evident in the historically hot summers of 1980 and 2011, when temperatures climbed above 100 °F (38 °C) over most days from mid-June through early September in those years. Consistent winds, averaging near 10 mph (16 km/h) and usually from the south to southeast, help to temper hotter weather during the summer and intensify cold periods during the winter.
The average growing season in Norman is 209 days, but plants that can withstand short periods of colder temperatures may have an additional three to six weeks. Winter months tend to be cloudier than those in summer, with the percentage of possible sunshine ranging from an average of about 55% in winter to nearly 80% in summer.
Norman lies within an area colloquially referred to as "Tornado Alley", a region of the United States known for frequent tornadic activity, and the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, which encompasses Norman, is known for being one of the more tornado-prone areas in the United States. The risk for tornadoes is greatest in the springtime months of March through June when the majority of all reported tornadoes occur. Severe weather, including tornadoes, still occurs outside this range. Notably, a high-end EF2 tornado tore through the southeastern side of Norman on the night of February 26, 2023, passing within a mile of the NWC. There have been several other tornado events in recent years. On May 10, 2010, numerous tornadoes occurred in Cleveland County, resulting in the loss of multiple homes and businesses within Norman city limits. Weak tornadoes also struck Norman on April 13, 2012 and May 6, 2015.
== Neighborhoods ==
=== Downtown ===
Downtown Norman is an area of approximately 2 sq mi (5 km2) bounded by University Blvd., Symmes St., Porter Ave., and Daws St.; primary streets include Main St. and Gray St. The area consists of restaurants, art galleries, and other businesses; it is home to some of the oldest buildings in Oklahoma.
=== Hall Park ===
Hall Park is an area northeast of downtown Norman that was initially an independent township; in 2005, it was annexed into Norman, becoming one of its neighborhoods. The area is home to many middle-class suburban homes and is historically significant in that it was advertised as the United States' first "all-electric town." President Ronald Reagan, then an executive with General Electric, attended Hall Park's grand opening ceremonies in 1962, where he was named the town's honorary first mayor.
=== OU Campus ===
The University of Oklahoma and the area surrounding it are home to many historically significant neighborhoods. The university itself has a unique Gothic-inspired architecture known as "Cherokee Gothic," so named by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Churches and houses in the surrounding neighborhoods can be described as neo-Gothic or Queen Anne in style.
=== Miller & Chautaugua Historic Districts ===
Norman has two city-designated historic preservation districts in the area: the Miller Historic District, bounded by Symmes St., Classen Blvd., and Miller Ave.; and the Chautauqua Historic District, bounded by Symmes St., Brooks St., Chautauqua Ave., and Lahoma Ave. Both of these residential neighborhoods contain houses designed from a mixture of architectural styles dating from 1903 to 1935, with the majority of the Miller neighborhood being of the Bungalow or American Craftsman style homes. Any external changes or repairs to homes in these areas must be approved by the Norman Historic Preservation Commission.
=== Old Silk Stocking ===
Old Silk Stocking, a row along Peters Ave. between Frank St. and Beal St., was a prominent upscale residential neighborhood in the early 1900s. It was the first exclusively wealthy neighborhood in the city and is named after such affluence. Many of the houses reflect the Victorian architecture of the time.
=== Campus Corner ===
Historic Campus Corner, the area immediately north of the university, contains a mixture of businesses, bars, and restaurants. The neighborhoods to the east of the campus are home to many students, both in residential housing and high-rise condos/apartments.
== Demographics ==
=== Racial and ethnic composition ===
=== 2020 census ===
As of the 2020 census, Norman had a population of 128,026. The median age was 31.5 years. 19.7% 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 98.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.0 males age 18 and over.
89.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 10.7% lived in rural areas.
There were 50,642 households in Norman, of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.5% were married-couple households, 22.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 55,694 housing units, of which 9.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 51.4% were owner-occupied and 48.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.2%.
=== 2010 census ===
As of the census of 2010, there were 110,925 people, 44,661 households, and 24,913 families residing within the city. By population, Norman was the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the 225th-largest city in the United States. The population density was 616 inhabitants per square mile (238/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 84.7% White, 4.3% African American, 4.7% Native American, 3.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.9% from other races, and 5.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.4% of the population.
Of the 44,661 households, 25.0% had children under the age of 18, 41.5% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.2% were non-families. Individuals living alone made up 30.7% of all households; 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.94.
The age distribution was 5.8% under the age of 5, 5.7% from 5 to 9, 5.2% from 10 to 14, 8.9% from 15 to 19, 16.0% from 20 to 24, 9.0% from 25 to 29, 6.6% from 30 to 34, 5.6% from 35 to 39, 5.3% from 40 to 44, 5.9% from 45 to 49, 5.9% from 50 to 54, 5.4% from 55 to 59, 4.6% from 60 to 64, 3.2% from 65 to 69, 2.3% from 70 to 74, 1.8% from 75 to 79, 1.4% from 80 to 84, and 1.3% over 85 years of age. The median age was 29.6 years. Males made up 49.7% of the population while females made up 50.3%.
The median household income in the city was $44,396, and the median income for a family was $62,826. Males had a median income of $41,859 versus $35,777 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,586. About 11.8% of families and 19.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.9% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.
Although religious information is not collected by the U.S. census, according to a 2000 survey by Dale E. Jones of the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, 50.2% of the population in Norman is affiliated with a religious institution. Of those 43.6% were Southern Baptist, 15.0% Catholic Church, 13.0% United Methodist, 3.3% Assembly of God, 2.8% Churches of Christ, 2.1% Latter-day Saint (Mormon), 2.1% Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, 1.9% Disciples of Christ, 1.7% Presbyterian Church, and 14.6% other Christian denominations or religions.
== Economy ==
The University of Oklahoma employs over 11,600 personnel across three campuses, making it a significant driver of Norman's economy. The campus is a center for scientific and technological research, having contributed over $277 million to such programs in 2009.
Norman is also home of the National Weather Center, a cooperative research effort between the University of Oklahoma and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that houses a number of weather- and climate-related organizations; the city is also the location of the National Weather Museum & Science Center. As a result of this ongoing academic and public weather research, several private meteorological businesses are present in the city, including Weathernews Americas, Inc., Vieux and Associates, Inc., Verisk Analytics, Pivotal Weather, and DTN (formerly Weather Decision Technologies).
In addition to weather, Norman is a center for other scientific ventures, public and private. The Oklahoma Geological Survey, which conducts geological research, and the Oklahoma Renewable Energy Council, which is a public-private alliance that fosters renewable energy technology with the aim of establishing more viable applications, make the city their home. Southwest NanoTechnologies is a producer of single-walled carbon nanotubes. Bergey Windpower is a supplier of small wind turbines.
Other major employers in the city include Norman Regional Health System, Norman Public Schools, Johnson Controls, Griffin Memorial Hospital, Hitachi, Astellas Pharma Technologies, Albon Engineering, Xyant Technology, MSCI, SITEL, the United States Postal Service National Center for Employee Development, Sysco Corporation, and AT&T.
=== Fair trade ===
In 2010, Norman became the 17th city in the United States to adopt a council resolution giving it status as a Fair Trade Town. The resolution states that the city of Norman supports the purchasing of goods from the local community; when goods cannot be purchased locally the city will support buying from producers abroad who meet Fair Trade standards. These standards include supporting quality of life in developing countries and planning for environmental sustainability.
=== Top employers ===
According to the Norman's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
== Arts and culture ==
=== Museums and theater ===
Norman enjoys many cultural attractions that are funded by the university. The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art made national and international news in 2000 when it was given the Weitzenhoffer Collection, the largest collection of French Impressionist art ever given to an American university. The collection includes works by Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro.
The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is a museum containing over 50,000 sq ft (5,000 m2) of exhibits ranging from archaeology, paleontology, ethnology, herpetology, ornithology, and Native American studies. Its exhibits are intended to immerse visitors in the state's long history. The museum features many complete collections of dinosaur fossils and is also noted for its Paleozoic collection, considered to be one of the largest and most important in existence.
The Moore-Lindsay House is a Queen Anne-style home built prior to 1900 by prominent Norman home builder William Moore; it was purchased by the city of Norman in 1973 and today serves as the city and Cleveland County's historical museum. Located at 508 N. Peters, the Moore-Lindsay House's architecture is representative of Norman during the Victorian era. The Cleveland County Historical Society maintains a collection of over 5,000 rare books, documents, and other artifacts in its archives located inside the house.
Catlett Music Center at the University of Oklahoma features many orchestral and jazz performances and the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts' Schools of Dance, Drama, and Musical Theatre offer many student programs throughout the year.
The city is also home to many privately funded galleries and performance sites.
The city is the place of origin of the band Exitium.
=== Community events ===
Norman hosts many free festivals and community events that occur throughout the year.
The Norman Medieval Fair is a celebration of medieval-themed games, art, and culture, with highlights of jousting, human chessmatch combats & other combat shows, and several musical & dance acts. The event is typically held during the last weekend of March or first weekend of April in Reaves Park, near the university. It has been held annually in Norman since 1976 and was originally a forum for the English Department at the University of Oklahoma. It is the largest weekend event held in the state of Oklahoma, with over 325,000 people in attendance in 2006 and growing yearly. Events Media Network has named Medieval Fair one of the top 100 events in the United States.
Norman Music Festival is an annual weekend music festival held in April in downtown Norman. Established in 2008, the event had over 26,000 people in attendance during the 2009 festival. Originally a one-day event, the festival has quickly grown so large that it is now an all-weekend concert series. The festival highlights both local musicians and internationally acclaimed artists and features many forms and styles of music.
Groovefest is a music festival hosted annually at Andrews Park. On the last Sunday in September, the music festival is held to help raise awareness about human rights. The event was established in 1986 by the University of Oklahoma chapter of Amnesty International.
The Chocolate Festival, the only fundraiser of the year for the city's Firehouse Arts Center, was ranked No. 3 for food festivals across America by the Food Network. This festival offers various chocolate tasting sessions, chocolate art competitions and exhibits, chocolate dessert competitions and more. It has been an annual tradition since 1983.
The National Weather Festival takes place at the National Weather Service every fall, featuring food trucks, weather balloon launches, educational booths, and meet-and-greets with local meteorologists.
Jazz in June is a music festival held the last full weekend in June at various venues across Norman. The festival features both jazz and blues musical performances as well as jazz educational clinics taught by professional musicians appearing in the festival and post-concert jam sessions at local venues which bring headliners and local artists together. Jazz in June, one of the major cultural events in the state as well as the City of Norman, attracts a combined concert audience of 50,000 drawn from throughout the state, region and nation. Another 100,000 or more enjoy these same performances through post-festival broadcasts on KGOU Public Radio as well as other public radio stations throughout the state, region and nation.
May Fair is an arts festival held every year during the first weekend in May at Andrews Park. It features top area performers, fine art, crafts, and food.
Summer Breeze Concert Series is a series of concerts held from Spring to Fall at various park venues across Norman. The series is sponsored by the Performing Arts Studio.
Midsummer Nights' Fair is a nighttime arts festival held during two evenings in June. The fair features art, music, and food and is held outside the Firehouse Art Center located in Lions Park.
The Norman Mardi Gras parade is a celebration of Mardi Gras occurring on the Saturday closest to Fat Tuesday. The parade is held in downtown Norman and features themed costumes and floats.
The Main Street Christmas Holiday Parade is a celebration of Christmas and the holiday season held every December in downtown Norman. The parade features holiday-themed costumes and floats.
=== Libraries ===
Norman is served by three public libraries, Norman Public Library Central, Norman Public Library East, and Norman Public Library West, all of which are part of the 12-branch Pioneer Library System which serves the entirety of Cleveland County, McClain County and Pottawatomie County in Central Oklahoma. The library has a reciprocal agreement with the Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma City through which those eligible for a library card in one system are also eligible in the other. Cardholders are also able to borrow books unavailable in the PLS collection through the use of Interlibrary Loan. Books can be reserved and shipped to a local library free of charge. In addition to books, the library maintains a collection of periodicals, DVD videos, audio books, e-books and research materials.
The Bizzell Memorial Library at the University of Oklahoma is the largest library in the state of Oklahoma, containing more than five million volumes. In addition to books, the library maintains over 17,000 ft (5,200 m) in length of manuscripts and archives, 1.6 million photographs, and more than 1.5 million maps. The library also houses more than 50 books printed before the year 1500.
== Sports ==
The University of Oklahoma sponsors many collegiate sporting events in Norman. The school is well known for its football program, having won seven NCAA Division I National Football Championships. In addition, it has the best winning percentage of any Division I FBS team since the introduction of the AP Poll in 1936 and has played in four BCS National Championship Games since 1998.
During football season, the Oklahoma Sooners football program contributes significantly to Norman's economy. During game day weekends, Norman sees an influx out of town traffic from all over the country with over 80,000 people routinely attending football games. Norman's local businesses, especially areas around campus and Campus Corner, benefit greatly from the game day traffic alone. The program ranks in the top 10 of ESPN's top college football money-makers with home games generating revenues at approximately $59 million and game day operating expenses at about $6.1 million.
In 1951 and 1994 its baseball team won the NCAA national championship, and the women's softball team won the national championship in 2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. The men's and women's gymnastics teams have won ten national championships since 2001.
Other university men's sports include: basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, football, Ultimate Frisbee, tennis, track and field, and wrestling. The OU Sooners men's hockey team competes in the American College Hockey Association, at the "club" level, but has yet to apply for higher-level play. Due to the lack of a rink in Norman, the team plays at the Blazers Ice Centre in south Oklahoma City. Women's sports include: basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, football, Ultimate Frisbee, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.
The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), a non-profit professional association of men's collegiate golf coaches, is located in Norman.
== Parks and recreation ==
Norman's Parks and Recreation Department facilitates 55 neighborhood and community parks, three recreation centers, a golf course and driving range, three disc golf courses, a complete swim complex with waterslides, a wading pool, 32 tennis courts, and three special services centers (that offer cultural arts and senior citizen activities). Griffin Community Park Sports Complex includes 16 soccer fields, 14 baseball/softball fields, and four football fields.
Norman enjoys many tree-lined landscapes, participating in the ReLeaf Norman and Tree City USA programs.
== Government ==
A council-manager government has been in place in Norman since the adoption of its city charter on June 28, 1919. A councilor from each of the city's eight council wards is elected to office every two years, each serving a two-year term. Councilors are elected from their own respective wards based on a plurality voting system; a councilor from each ward serves on the Norman City Council. A mayor is elected by the entire voting population of Norman and serves as an at-large councilor; the mayor serves a three-year term. As a whole, the council acts as the legislative body of city government; it aims to pass laws, approve the city budget, and manage efficiency in the government. The City Council appoints a professional City Manager who is responsible for the city's day-to-day administrative activities. As of 2024, the City of Norman has over 850 employees working in 11 departments that help oversee and implement the city's policies and services. The City Council meets biweekly in City Hall, at 201 W. Gray Street; various boards and commissions meet in accordance with their own schedules. The mayor is Larry Heikkila (elected in 2022), and the city manager is Darrel Pyle (appointed in 2019). In accordance with the charter of the city of Norman, all city elected positions are nonpartisan.
Municipal and state laws are enforced by the Norman Police Department. The police department consists of up to 171 commissioned officers and 71 office employees and is Oklahoma's third-largest police department.
The city serves as the county seat of Cleveland County.
== Education ==
=== Higher education ===
==== Colleges and universities ====
The University of Oklahoma is the largest university in the state of Oklahoma, with approximately 30,000 students enrolled. The university was founded in 1890, prior to Oklahoma statehood. The university includes Norman, Oklahoma City and, Tulsa campuses with the main campus located in Norman. In 2007, The Princeton Review named the University of Oklahoma one of its "Best Value" colleges. The school is ranked first per capita among public universities in enrollment of National Merit Scholars and has seen 28 Rhodes Scholars graduate since the program's inception in 1902. PC Magazine and the Princeton Review rated it one of the "20 Most Wired Colleges" in both 2006 and 2008, while the Carnegie Foundation classifies it as a research university with "highest research activity."
The school is well known for its athletic programs, having won many distinctions and awards including seven NCAA Division I National Football Championships.
==== CareerTech ====
The city of Norman is served by the Moore Norman Technology Center. The school was established in 1972 and has been awarded the Oklahoma Association of Technology Center's Gold Star School Award on multiple occasions. The Franklin Road Campus consists of six buildings totaling 323,500 sq ft (30,100 m2) of classroom, meeting, and office space. The school has a full-time staff of 207.
=== Primary and secondary schools ===
==== Public schools ====
Public school districts in Oklahoma are independent of other local governments. Several districts overlap the municipal boundaries of the City of Norman.
Norman Public Schools is the largest district serving Norman; there are 15 elementary schools, four middle schools, and two high schools in the district. More than 17,000 students are enrolled in the district, making it one of the largest in the state.
Noble Public Schools is a school district that serves southeastern portions of Norman, the adjoining cities of Noble and Slaughterville, and other parts of Cleveland County. It consists of two elementary schools, an intermediate school, a middle school, and a high school.
Little Axe Public Schools serves the eastern area of Norman. It consists of an elementary, junior, and high school.
Other school districts with territory within the city are McLoud, Mid-Del, Moore, and Robin Hill.
==== Private schools ====
Several private schools also serve the area:
All Saints Catholic School (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City) – pre-kindergarten through 8th grade
Blue Eagle Christian Academy – kindergarten through 10th grade
Community Christian School – kindergarten through 12th grade
Norman Christian Academy – pre-kindergarten through 7th grade
Robinson Street Academy – kindergarten through 12th grade
Rose Rock School – pre-kindergarten through kindergarten
Terra Verde Discovery School – kindergarten through 5th grade
Trinity Lutheran School – pre-kindergarten through 6th grade
Veritas Classical Christian Academy – pre-kindergarten through 12th grade
== Media ==
The Norman Transcript is the most widely circulated Norman-based newspaper in the city. It is a daily newspaper covering events in Cleveland and McClain counties. It is the oldest continuous business in Norman and was founded shortly after the Land Run of April 1889 on July 13, 1889.
The Oklahoma Daily is a student-run newspaper at the University of Oklahoma. It was first published in 1897, several years after the university's founding. The paper has received numerous awards for journalism excellence including the Associated Collegiate Press' Pacemaker Award.
KGOU is a full-service public radio station licensed to the University of Oklahoma. The station serves Norman and the greater Oklahoma City metropolitan area with a news/talk/jazz format, using programs from National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and others.
Norman TV is a government-access television station airing on Cox Communications cable television channel 20. It broadcasts programming provided by the City of Norman, including video from city council meetings.
== Infrastructure ==
=== Transportation ===
==== Airports ====
Scheduled air transport, major commercial air transportation is available at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, located approximately 20 mi (30 km) northwest of Norman. The airport serves more than 3.78 million passengers per year.
Norman is served locally by Max Westheimer Airport, a general aviation airport run by the University of Oklahoma. The airport is one of only two airports in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area designated as a reliever airport to Will Rogers World Airport. Max Westheimer Airport is capable of handling aircraft up through and including executive class jet aircraft.
==== Public transit ====
EMBARK provides fare-free bus and paratransit service throughout the 191 sq mi (490 km2) Norman area, as well as express service to Downtown Oklahoma City and the Social Security Administration offices in Moore.
Campus Area Rapid Transit (CART), operated by the University of Oklahoma, provides free transportation around the campus to students.
Norman On-Demand, a microtransit service operated by Via Transportation, provides on-demand service in parts of western Norman through a phone app.
==== Rail ====
Inter-city passenger train service is available via Amtrak at Norman Depot. Amtrak's Heartland Flyer provides daily round trip service to downtown Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, Texas.
Although Norman currently has no light rail or commuter rail service, there is growing interest in incorporating such services into the city's future transportation plans as part of the Oklahoma City metro area's regional transit system.
==== Roads and highways ====
The predominant form of transportation in Norman is roads and highways with 80.0% of all residents driving alone to work, 9.0% carpooling, and just 1.3% taking public transportation. As of 2007, Interstate 35 alone was handling over 99,000 vehicles per day. Other major highways include SH 9, a portion of which serves 28,000 vehicles per day, and US 77, which serves more than 25,000 vehicles per day.
Norman is served by two major federal highways:
I-35
US 77
Norman is served by two major Oklahoma state highways:
SH 9
SH 77H
=== Utilities ===
Electric utility companies servicing Norman include Oklahoma Gas & Electric, which is headquartered in Oklahoma City, and Oklahoma Electric Cooperative (a utility cooperative). Natural gas is provided by Oklahoma Natural Gas. The city's Utility Department offers water, wastewater, and recycling services to parts of the city as well as solid waste pickup citywide.
==== Drinking water quality ====
In 2010, drinking water in Normal was identified as levels of hexavalent chromium 3 and 6 near the higher end of the acceptable EPA limit. The Garber-Wellington Aquifer, which is known to have elevated levels of heavy metals, was identified as a possible source. Norman's water supply has also been noted for excessive levels of arsenic. The city responded by building new wells and removing old ones.
=== Healthcare ===
Norman Regional Health System is a multi-campus system that provides medical services in Norman and throughout south central Oklahoma. Its Porter Avenue campus, located north of downtown Norman, is a 337-bed general hospital providing a wide range of services including acute care. In October 2009, the Norman Regional HealthPlex campus opened in west Norman. It provides a 152-bed facility specializing in cardiology, cardiovascular services, as well as women's and children's services.
== Notable people ==
== Twin towns – sister cities ==
In accordance with Sister Cities International, an organization that began under President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, Norman has been given four international sister cities in an attempt to foster cross-cultural understanding:
Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy
Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, France
Colima, Col., Mexico
Seika, Kyoto, Japan |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_on_Precinct_13_(1976_film) | Assault on Precinct 13 (1976 film) | Assault on Precinct 13 is a 1976 American independent action-thriller film written, directed, scored, and edited by John Carpenter. It features Austin Stoker as a police officer who defends a defunct precinct against a relentless criminal gang, and Darwin Joston as a death row-bound convict who assists him. Laurie Zimmer, Tony Burton, Martin West, Charles Cyphers, and Nancy Kyes co-star as other defenders of the precinct, as well as victims of the ensuing siege.
Carpenter was approached by producer J. Stein Kaplan to make a low-budget exploitation film for under $100,000, on the condition that Carpenter would have total creative control. Carpenter's script, originally titled The Anderson Alamo, was inspired by the Howard Hawks Western film Rio Bravo and the George A. Romero horror film Night of the Living Dead. Controversy with the MPAA over a scene involving the violent killing of a young girl nearly caused the film to receive an X rating.
Assault on Precinct 13 opened in the United States on November 5, 1976. It was initially met with mixed reviews and unimpressive box-office returns, but when the film premiered in the 1977 London Film Festival, it received an ecstatic review by festival director Ken Wlaschin that led to critical acclaim first in Britain and then throughout Europe. It has garnered a cult following and reappraisal from critics, with many evaluating the film as one of the best action films of its era and of Carpenter's career.
A remake was released in 2005, directed by Jean-François Richet and starring Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne.
== Plot ==
In South-Central Los Angeles, a local gang, Street Thunder, steals a cache of assault rifles and pistols. At 3:00 am on a Saturday in Anderson, a crime-infested ghetto, a team of heavily armed LAPD officers ambush and kill six members of the gang. Later, the gang's four warlords swear a blood oath of revenge against the police and the citizens of Los Angeles.
Lieutenant Ethan Bishop, a newly promoted CHP officer, is assigned to take charge of the decommissioned Anderson police precinct during the last few hours before it is permanently closed. Only a skeleton staff remains, including Sergeant Chaney and the station's two secretaries, Leigh and Julie. A prison bus commanded by Officer Starker arrives seeking medical help for one of three men being transported to the state penitentiary: Napoleon Wilson, a convicted murderer; Wells; and Caudell, who is sick. Across town, the Street Thunder warlords drive around looking for people to kill. One of the warlords fatally shoots a little girl, Kathy, and the driver of an ice cream van. Kathy's father, Lawson, pursues and kills the warlord before other gang members chase him into the Anderson precinct. In shock, Lawson is unable to communicate what has happened to him.
As Starker's prisoners are placed in cells, the telephone lines go dead, and the station's electricity goes out. While Starker prepares to move the prisoners back onto the bus, the gang opens fire on the precinct, using weapons fitted with silencers. In seconds, they kill Chaney, the bus driver, Caudell, Starker, and two officers accompanying Starker. Bishop unchains Wilson from Starker's body and puts Wilson and Wells back into the cells. When the gang members begin a second wave of shooting, Bishop sends Leigh to release Wells and Wilson, and the four of them repel an attempted invasion. However, Julie is killed during the firefight, while Leigh is shot and wounded in one arm.
The gang members remove all evidence of the skirmish to avoid attracting outside attention. Bishop hopes that someone has heard the police weapons firing, but the neighborhood is too sparsely populated, due to most of the housing being scheduled for demolition, for nearby residents to pinpoint the location of the noise. Wells is chosen to sneak out of the precinct through a sewer line. After hot-wiring a nearby car, he is killed by a gang member hiding in the back seat before he can get to a telephone. Meanwhile, two police officers responding to reports of gunfire find the dead body of a telephone repairman hanging from a pole near the police station and call for backup.
As the gang rallies for an all-out final assault, Wilson, Leigh, and Bishop retreat to the station's basement, taking the still-catatonic Lawson with them. They protect themselves with a large, durable metal sign as the gang violently storms the building. Bishop shoots a tank full of acetylene gas, which explodes and kills all the gang members in the narrow basement hallway. The remainder of the gang flees as police arrive to secure the station. Venturing down into the basement, the officers discover that Bishop, Leigh, Wilson, and Lawson are the only survivors. Lawson is strapped onto a stretcher and removed. Another stretcher is offered to Leigh, but, after she and Wilson exchange a long look, she declines it and exits unassisted. When an officer attempts to handcuff Wilson, Bishop angrily intervenes before asking Wilson to walk out of the station with him.
== Cast ==
== Production ==
Following the release of Dark Star, Assault and a second script entitled Eyes were supposed to be two low-budget films written and directed by John Carpenter, with financing by J. Stein Kaplan. After reviewing the first draft of Assault and following the sale of the script Eyes to Barbra Streisand and Jon Peters, later renamed Eyes of Laura Mars, Kaplan and Kaufman concentrated on just Assault. "J. Stein Kaplan was a friend of mine from USC," said Carpenter. "He knew Joseph Kaufman from his days in Philadelphia ... Basically their fathers were funding Assault on Precinct 13". The two families of the producers formed the CKK Corporation to finance the film.
=== Screenplay ===
Carpenter had hoped to make a Howard Hawks-style Western like El Dorado or Rio Lobo, but when the $100,000 budget prohibited it, Carpenter refashioned the basic scenario of Rio Bravo into a modern setting. Carpenter employed the pseudonym "John T. Chance", after John Wayne's character in Rio Bravo, for his original version of the script, entitled The Anderson Alamo, but he used his own name for the writing credit on the completed film, using 'Chance' for his film editing credit. The script was written in eight days. Carpenter joked, "The script came together fast, some would say too fast."
Carpenter's script makes many allusions to film history and inspirations for this film. It has many references to the films of Howard Hawks. For example, the character of Leigh, played by Laurie Zimmer, was a reference to Rio Bravo writer Leigh Brackett. (Carpenter later featured a character named 'Sheriff Leigh Brackett' in Halloween). The running gag of having Napoleon Wilson constantly ask, "Got a smoke?", was inspired by the cigarette gags used in many of Hawks's Westerns. Also, subtle references are made to directors Sergio Leone and Alfred Hitchcock. The day and time titles were used to make the film feel more like a documentary.
=== Casting and pre-production ===
Assault underwent several months of preproduction. Carpenter assembled a main cast that consisted mostly of experienced but relatively obscure actors. The two leads were Austin Stoker, who had appeared previously in Battle for the Planet of the Apes and Sheba, Baby, and Darwin Joston, who had worked primarily in theatre and television and was also Carpenter's next-door neighbor. Carpenter cast veteran Western actor Henry Brandon, notably of The Searchers, as police officer Cheney. Boxer-turned-actor Tony Burton, soon to be known as Tony "Duke" Evers in the Rocky films, was cast as the convict Wells, in part due to his own prior stint in prison for armed robbery. After an open casting call, Carpenter added Charles Cyphers and Nancy Loomis to the cast.
Behind the scenes, Carpenter worked with cinematographer Doug Knapp (a fellow USC student), art director Tommy Lee Wallace, sound mixer Bill Varney and property master Craig Stearns. "I hardly knew what the job required," said Wallace, "but he believed in me, and, of course my price was right. It was typical of John during those lean days. He made the very best of whatever talent and facilities he had around him."
Carpenter drew storyboards for key sequences, including the "ice cream truck" sequence, the death of the white warlord, Napoleon Wilson struggling to get the keys off the guard after the siege starts, and the failed escape by prisoner Wells.
=== Filming ===
Assault started in November 1975 and was shot in only 20 days, including Thanksgiving, on a budget of $100,000. The film was shot on 35-mm Panavision in a 2.39:1 anamorphic aspect ratio on Metrocolor film stock, and was Carpenter's first experience with Panavision cameras and lenses. Carpenter has referred to this film as the most fun he has ever had directing.
Two weeks of shooting indoors were followed by two weeks on-location. The interiors of the police station were shot on the now-defunct Producers Studios set, while the exterior shots and jail cells were from the old Venice police station. The bus traveling to Sonora was shot on a closed section of the Los Angeles freeway system, with cast and crew having lunch on the freeway. Carpenter's philosophy to making Assault, which he believes can be applied to making any low-budget film, was to shoot as little footage as possible and extend the scenes for as long as he could.
The first scene, in which several gang members of Street Thunder are gunned down by cops, was shot at USC. The gang members were played by USC students, who Carpenter remembered had a lot of fun finding ways of dying while spilling blood over themselves.
"The first night I saw dailies," replied art director Wallace, "projected on a bedsheet in the producer's ratty apartment... My jaw dropped and I sat up so straight I cast a shadow with my head. This looked like a zillion dollars. This looked like a real movie."
=== Music ===
One of the film's distinctive features is its score, written in three days by John Carpenter and performed by Carpenter and Tommy Lee Wallace. Carpenter, assisted by Dan Wyman, had several banks of synthesizers that would each have to be reset when another sound had to be created, taking a great deal of time. "When I did my original themes for [Assault] ... it was done with very old technology," replied Carpenter. "It was very difficult to get the sounds, and it took very long to get something simple." Carpenter made roughly three to five separate pieces of music and edited them to the film as appropriate.
The main title theme, partially inspired by both Lalo Schifrin's score to Dirty Harry and Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", is composed of a pop synthesizer riff with a drum machine underneath that "builds only in texture, but not thematically," according to David Burnand and Miguel Mera. A held, high synthesizer note, with no other changes except inner frequency modulations, becomes the musical motif of the gang members, and reoccurs during certain violent acts in the film. In the film, synthesizers and drum machines represent the city and the gang.
Carpenter also uses a plaintive electric piano theme when Lt. Bishop first enters the abandoned precinct. It reoccurs in the film during the quiet moments of the siege, becoming in effect a musical articulation of rhythm of the siege itself. Bishop is heard whistling the tune of this particular theme at the beginning and end of the film, making the electric piano theme "a non-diegetic realization of a diegetic source." Burnand and Mera have noted that "there is some attempt to show the common denominators of human behavior regardless of 'tribal' affiliations, and there is a clear attempt to represent this through simple musical devices."
Many film critics who praised the film also praised the musical score by Carpenter. As John Kenneth Muir noted, "Carpenter wrote the riveting musical score for Assault... The final result was a unique, synthetic sound that is still quite catchy, even after 20 years ... Delightfully, it even serves as a counterpoint in one important scene." Dave Goldner of SFX wrote that Assault had "one of the most catchy theme tunes in film history." In early 2004, Piers Martin of NME wrote that Carpenter's minimalist synthesizer score accounted for much of the film's tense and menacing atmosphere and its "impact, 27 years on, is still being felt."
A vocal version of the theme, titled You Can't Fight It, with lyrics and production by Kenny Lynch, was recorded by Trinidad singer Jimmy Chambers and released in the UK as a 45 on the Pye label in April 1978, but it failed to chart and is now a rare item. Beyond its use in the film, the score is often cited as an influence on various electronic and hip hop artists with its main title theme being sampled by artists including Afrika Bambaataa, Tricky, Dead Prez, and Bomb the Bass. The main theme was reworked in 1986 as an Italo disco 12" and more famously as the 1990 UK-charting rave-song "Hardcore Uproar".
Despite this influence, except for a few compilation appearances, the film's score remained available only in bootleg form until 2003, when it was given an official release through the French label, Record Makers.
=== Post-production ===
Carpenter edited the film using the pseudonym John T. Chance; his frequent collaborator Debra Hill served as assistant editor. According to Carpenter, the editing process was a bare-bones process. One mistake Carpenter was not proud of was one shot "cut out of frame", which means the cut is made within the frame so a viewer can see it. Assault was shot on Panavision, which takes up the entire negative, and edited on Moviola, which cannot show the whole image, so if a cut was made improperly (i.e., frame line not lined up properly), then one would cut a half of a sprocket into the film and "cut out of frame," as happened to Carpenter. In the end, it did not matter because he said, "It was so dark, no one could see it, thank God!"
Tommy Lee Wallace, the film's art director, spoke admiringly about Carpenter during post. "[Carpenter] asked if I could cut sound effects. The answer, of course, was 'Sure!' Once again, here I was, a perfectly green recruit, yet John made a leap of faith ... he further insisted we get the best processing money could buy, which at that time was the legendary MGM color labs. Finally, he insisted we get the best post-production sound money could buy, which was Samuel Goldwyn Sound, another legend. The expense for this unorthodox approach ate up a huge amount of the budget. The production manager fumed that we were exploiting people to pay for processing— and it was true."
== Release ==
Although the film's title is Assault on Precinct 13, the action mainly takes place in a police station referred to as Precinct 9, Division 13, by Bishop's staff sergeant over the radio. The film's distributor was responsible for the misnomer. Carpenter originally called the film The Anderson Alamo before briefly changing the title to The Siege to shop to distributors. The film was acquired by Irwin Yablans. During post-production, however, the distributor rejected Carpenter's title in favor of the film's present name. The moniker "Precinct 13" was used to give the new title a more ominous tone. When the film became popular in Britain, Michael Myers of Miracle Films purchased the British theatrical distribution rights.
The film was released in Germany on September 3, 1979, under the title Assault – Anschlag bei Nacht, or Assault–Attack at Night.
The most infamous scene in the movie occurs when a gang member casually shoots a little girl (Kathy) standing near an ice-cream truck, with her death being shown in graphic, bloody detail. The MPAA, headed by Richard Heffner at the time, threatened to give the film an X rating if the scene were not cut. Following the advice of his distributor, Carpenter gave the appearance of complying by cutting the scene from the copy he gave to the MPAA, but he distributed the film with the "ice-cream truck" scene intact, a common practice among low-budget films. Carpenter regrets shooting the ice-cream scene in such an explicit fashion: "it was pretty horrible at the time ... I don't think I'd do it again, but I was young and stupid."
The film eventually received an R rating and has a running time of 91 minutes.
== Reception ==
=== Initial reception ===
Assault was first released in Los Angeles at the State Theater on November 3, 1976, to mixed reviews and unimpressive box-office earnings. Whitney Williams of Variety wrote, "Some exciting action in the second half packs enough interest to keep this entry alive for the violence market ... John Carpenter's direction of his screenplay, after a pokey opening half, is responsible for the realistic movement." Dan O'Bannon, Carpenter's co-writer on Dark Star, attended the Los Angeles premiere. At this point in their professional relationship, O'Bannon was envious of Carpenter's success and reluctantly attended the premiere. O'Bannon was disgusted by the film and told Carpenter so. According to author Jason Zinoman, O'Bannon saw a reflection of the coolness that Carpenter displayed toward him in the film's casual disregard for the humanity of its characters. It reminded him of how easily their friendship had been discarded. "His disdain for human beings would be serviced if he could make a film without people in it", replied O'Bannon.
The film opened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1977, where it received favorable notices from some of the British critics. "Carpenter at Cannes wiped us off the face of the earth with Precinct 13" replied director George A. Romero, who was at the festival with his film Martin. "Right from the scene when the little girl gets blown away, I was blown away." As a result, festival director Linda Myles booked the film for the Edinburgh Film Festival in August 1977. However, the film did not get critical acclaim until it was screened at the 21st London Film Festival on December 1, 1977. Ken Wlaschin, festival director, described the film in the brochure:
John Carpenter, whose small-budget science-fiction epic Dark Star was widely acclaimed, has turned his inventive imagination to the thriller for his first solo directional effort. The result, even without taking into consideration his tiny budget and cast of unknowns, is astonishing. Assault on Precinct 13 is one of the most powerful and exciting crime thrillers from a new director in a long time. It grabs hold of the audience and simply doesn't let go as it builds to a crescendo of irrational violence that reflects only too well our fears of unmotivated attack... It is a frightening look at the crumbling of rational ideas of law and order under an irresistible attack by the forces of irrationality and death.
Wlaschin found Assault to be the best film of the London Film Festival and included it in his "Action Cinema" section of that festival. It became one of the festival's best-received films, garnering tremendous critical and popular acclaim. According to Derek Malcolm of the Guardian, the applause was "deafening". Carpenter was delighted by the new praise.
The overwhelmingly positive British response to the film led to its critical and commercial success throughout Europe. Derek Malcolm of Cosmopolitan wrote, "[The film] is fast becoming one of the cult movies of the year ... The great virtue of the film is the way it grabs hold of its audience and simply refuses to let go. It exploits all our fears of irrational violence and unmotivated attack, and at the same time manages to laugh at itself without spoiling the tension - a very considerable feat. Carpenter, who is clearly a director with places to go, has succeeded in making a comedy that scares the pants off us. And don't think you're laughing at it. As a matter of fact, it's laughing at you." Malcolm later wrote that he held some reservations about the film: "I don't feel like going on and on about the movie, partly because I think it is in grave danger of being oversold anyway, and partly because it isn't much more to me than tremendous fun". The film broke one house record in the UK and was named one of the best films of the year by critics and moviegoers.
=== Later reception ===
Over the years, the film has received acclaim from critics, emphasizing Carpenter's resourceful abilities as director, writer, editor, and music composer, and Douglas Knapp's stylish cinematography, as well as exceptional acting from Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer, and Tony Burton.
Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote, "[Assault] is a much more complex film than Mr. Carpenter's 'Halloween,' though it's not really about anything more complicated than a scare down the spine. A lot of its eerie power comes from the kind of unexplained, almost supernatural events one expects to find in a horror movie but not in a melodrama of this sort ... If the movie is really about anything at all, it's about methods of urban warfare and defense. Mr. Carpenter is an extremely resourceful director whose ability to construct films entirely out of action and movement suggests that he may one day be a director to rank with Don Siegel." Jeffrey Wells of Films In Review wrote, "Skillfully paced and edited, Assault was rich with Hawksian dialogue and humor, especially in the clever caricature of the classic 'Hawks woman' by Laurie Zimmer." Tom Allen and Andrew Sarris of the Village Voice described the film as "one of the most stylishly kinetic independent films of the 1970s." Alan Jones of Starburst wrote, "Bravura remake of Rio Bravo."
Dave Golder of SFX magazine hailed the film as, "A superb, bloody thriller about a siege in an abandoned L.A. cop station." In his book The Horror Films of the 1970s, John Kenneth Muir gave the film three and a half stars, calling it "a lean, mean exciting horror motion picture... a movie of ingenuity, cunning and thrills." Mick Martin & Marsha Porter of the Video Movie Guide gave the film four and a half stars out of five, writing, "...John Carpenter's riveting movie about a nearly deserted L.A. police station that finds itself under siege by a youth gang. It's a modern-day version of Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo, with exceptional performances by the entire cast." In 2003, Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly described Assault as "a tight, tense thriller ... Carpenter's eerie score and Douglas Knapp's stylish cinematography give this low-budget shoot-out all the weight of an urban Rio Bravo." Leonard Maltin also gave the film three and a half stars out of four: "A nearly deserted L.A. police station finds itself under a state of siege by a youth gang in this riveting thriller, a modern-day paraphrase of Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo. Writer/director Carpenter also did the eerie music score for this knockout."
Tim Pulleine of The Guardian described the film as superficial despite successfully meeting the requirements of the genre. Brian Lindsey of Eccentric Cinema gave the film 6 out of a scale of 10, saying the film "isn't believable for a second—yet this doesn't stop it from being a fun little B picture in the best drive-in tradition".
The film has a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 53 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Lean, taut and compellingly gritty, John Carpenter's loose update of Rio Bravo ranks as a cult action classic and one of the filmmaker's best." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 89 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "Universal acclaim".
=== Accolades ===
John Carpenter won the 1978 annual British Film Institute award for the "originality and achievement of his first two films", Dark Star and Assault, at the 1977 London Film Festival.
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
2001: AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – Nominated
== Legacy and remake ==
Assault on Precinct 13 is now considered by many to be one of the greatest and most underrated action films of the 1970s, as well as one of the best films in John Carpenter's career. In the July 1999 issue, Premiere put the film on its list of 50 "Lost and Profound" unsung film classics, writing:
A trim, grim, vicious, and incredibly effective action movie with no cut comic-relief bit players, no winks at the audience, and no stars. Just a powder keg of a premise (lifted in part from Howard Hawks's Rio Bravo), in which a quasiterrorist group's killing spree culminates in the action described in the title. Carpenter's mastery of wide-screen and almost uncanny talent at crafting suspense and action sequences make Assault such a nerve-racking experience that you may have to reupholster your easy chair after watching it at home.
In 1988, Alan Jones of Starburst said Assault is "arguably still the best film [Carpenter] ever made." In 2000 John Kenneth Muir placed the film at No. 3 on his rated list of John Carpenter's filmography, behind The Thing and Halloween. In October 2007, Noel Murray and Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club also ranked Assault at No. 3 of John Carpenter's best films ("The Essentials"), saying, "The first John Carpenter film that really feels like a John Carpenter film, this homage to Howard Hawks Westerns suggests a path that Carpenter's career might've taken if Halloween hadn't become such a hit. Carpenter's made many different kinds of movies over the course of his long career, but he hasn't gotten to return often enough to terse tales of gun-toting heroes and villains." In Jeff Chang's 2005 book, Can't Stop Won't Stop, he cites Assault on Precinct 13 as the start of "the urban horror" genre. Chang describes the film
Instead of Indian braves, Zulu warriors, or graveyard zombies, Assault on Precinct 13's heroes defended themselves in a desolate police station against marauding waves of dark, heavily armed gang members seeking revenge for their cop-killed brothers.
In his fifth edition of The New Biographical Dictionary of Film in 2010, film historian David Thomson described Assault as "a Hawksian set of a police station besieged by hoodlums - economical, tense, beautiful, and highly arousing. It fulfills all Carpenter's ambitions for gripping the audience emotionally and never letting go." Writers Michelle Le Blanc and Colin Odell have written of the film: "[Assault] looks as fresh as the day it was first screened; its violence still shocking, its soundtrack still effective, and both the dialogue and its delivery are top notch, all in a film whose $100,000 budget wouldn't satisfy the catering demands of the average Hollywood picture. This is because there is an overriding vision, a consistency to Carpenter's work that rewards repeat viewing and presents a single unifying world view."
Film director Edgar Wright and actor Simon Pegg are big fans of Assault. "You wouldn't really call it an action film," claims Pegg, "because it was pre- the evolution of that kind of film. And yet it is kind of an action film in a way." "It's very much his [Carpenter's] kind of urban Western", adds Wright, "in the way it is staging Rio Bravo set up in downtown '70s LA... And the other thing is, for a low-budget film particularly, it looks great." In October 2011, artist Tyler Stout premiered his mondo-style poster of Assault. Stout's poster would later serve as the cover on the Region B Blu-ray of Assault.
Assault has influenced a number of action films that came after, setting the rules for the genre that would continue with films such as Die Hard and The Matrix. The second section of From Dusk till Dawn was described by Variety as a "Night of the Living Dead-tinged offshoot of ... Assault on Precinct 13". The character of Scott wears a t-shirt with the words 'Precinct 13' on it as a homage to the film. In 2002, the film inspired Florent Emilio Siri's quasi-remake The Nest. The core plot of the film has reportedly inspired a 2019 Indian Tamil film Kaithi.
As a result of the film, John Carpenter went on to work with producer Irwin Yablans on Halloween, the most successful film of Carpenter's career. Due to the success of Assault in London, Carpenter named the Shape in Halloween after Michael Myers of Miracle Films, the British distributor for Assault. Myers's son Martin considered the tribute as a "tremendous honor" and "a lasting memorial to his late father". Donald Pleasence would go on to star in Carpenter's Halloween because his daughters were big fans of Assault. Debra Hill, the film's script supervisor, went on to produce Carpenter's future features and become his girlfriend.
In 2005, the film was remade by French director Jean-François Richet and starring Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne. The Richet remake has been praised by some as an expertly made B-movie, and dismissed by others as formulaic, with many critics preferring the original Assault to the remake.
== Themes and analysis ==
Critics and commentators have often described Assault as a cross between Howard Hawks's Rio Bravo and George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead. Carpenter acknowledges the influence of both films.
In his 2000 book The Films of John Carpenter, John Kenneth Muir deconstructs Carpenter's use of Rio Bravo as a template for Assault: "Although [the film's] premise may sound like typical 1970s picture, it was quintessential Carpenter in execution — which meant it was really quintessential Howard Hawks. Of primary importance was not the bloodshed or action, but rather the developing friendship and respect in evidence between the white convict Napoleon Wilson and black cop Lt. Bishop ... also important in [Assault]'s homage to director Hawks was the unforgettable presence of actress Laurie Zimmer as a prototypical 'Hawksian Woman,' i.e., a female who gives as good as she gets and is both tough and feminine at the same time."
As with most of Carpenter's antagonists, Street Thunder is portrayed as a force that possesses mysterious origins and almost supernatural qualities. "Rather than going for any particular type of gang," replied Carpenter, "I decided to include everybody." The gang members are not humanized and are instead represented as though they were zombies or ghouls—they are given almost no dialogue, and their movements are stylized, with a slow, deliberate, relentless quality. Carpenter has acknowledged the influence of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead on his portrayal of the gang.
Assault was shot in 2.35:1 anamorphic Panavision widescreen, Carpenter's first use of the format that he would use on all of his feature films. "I just love Panavision," replied Carpenter. "It's a cinematic ratio."
== Home video releases ==
Assault was released on VHS by Media Home Entertainment in 1978 and on laserdisc by Image Entertainment on March 12, 1997. The '97 laserdisc came with commentary by John Carpenter, an isolated music score track and the original theatrical trailer.
The film was one of the first films to be released on the DVD medium on November 25, 1997, also by Image Entertainment. On March 11, 2003, Image Entertainment released in new widescreen "Special Edition" DVD of the film. Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly gave this 2003 DVD release a B+. Brian Lindsay of Eccentric Cinema gave the film's 2003 DVD release a 10 out of 10, the website's highest rating. Special features of the 2003 DVD release include:
Film shown in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) with monaural Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.
Q & A interview session with writer/director John Carpenter and actor Austin Stoker at American Cinematheque's 2002 John Carpenter retrospective (23 minutes)
Original theatrical trailer
2 radio spots
Behind-the-scenes and lobby card stills gallery (16 minutes)
Full-length audio commentary by writer/director Carpenter taken from a 1997 laserdisc release
Isolated music score, also taken from the 1997 laserdisc release
The film was later released on UMD video for the PlayStation Portable on July 26, 2005 and in a "Restored Collector's Edition" for both DVD and Blu-ray Disc in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Both releases have all of the special features found on the 2003 "Special Edition" DVD.
Assault on Precinct 13 was re-released on November 19, 2013, as Shout! Factory acquired the rights to release the film in the United States under its sublabel Scream Factory in a 'Collector's Edition'. Special features for this set include new interviews with actress Nancy Loomis Kyes and art director/sound effects designer Tommy Lee Wallace, and from previous editions, audio commentary from John Carpenter and Austin Stoker, theatrical trailer, and radio spots. All other special features from the previous editions have been excluded from this set. The film has also received Blu-ray releases in Germany, on May 25, 2012, in a '3-Disc Limited Collector's Edition' which includes two DVDs and contains a 24-page booklet in addition to the special features available on the Image Entertainment DVD and Blu-ray, with a subsequent standard edition released on November 16, 2012, in Australia, it is available via Umbrella Entertainment, released August 5, 2015. A '40th Anniversary Edition' became available in the United Kingdom by Second Sight, and features John Carpenter's score for the film on a bonus disc. The Blu-ray of the film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, with 5.1 DTS-HD surround sound and dual mono sound, and a plethora of special features including new interviews with actor Austin Stoker, executive producer Joseph Kaufman, and art director and sound effects designer Tommy Lee Wallace, along with commentaries from Wallace and John Carpenter, trailer and radio spots, and five art cards. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Joe_Patton | Billy Joe Patton | William Joseph Patton (April 19, 1922 – January 1, 2011) was an American golfer best known for almost winning the 1954 Masters Tournament.
== Early life and amateur career ==
Patton was born in Morganton, North Carolina in 1922. He graduated from Wake Forest University in 1943.
== Professional career ==
In the 1954 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Patton came within one stroke of being in a three-man playoff with Ben Hogan and Sam Snead. His final round 71 included a hole-in-one on the par-3 6th hole and a double bogey on the par-5 13th hole, when he tried to reach the green in two and put his ball into Rae's Creek.
Patton won several amateur tournaments including the North and South Amateur three times and the Southern Amateur twice. He also won the Carolinas Open twice.
Patton played on five Walker Cup teams: in 1955, 1957, 1959, 1963, and 1965 and was captain of the 1969 team. He played on the Eisenhower Trophy team in 1958 and 1962.
== Tournament wins ==
1947 Carolinas Amateur
1951 Carolinas Open
1952 Carolinas Open (tied with Bobby Locke)
1954 North and South Amateur
1958 Carolinas Amateur
1961 Southern Amateur, Azalea Invitational, Carolinas Amateur
1962 North and South Amateur
1963 North and South Amateur
1964 North Carolina Amateur
1965 Southern Amateur
1979 Carolinas Senior Amateur
1981 Carolinas Senior Amateur
== Awards and honors ==
In 1967, Patton was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
In 1974, he was inducted into the Wake Forest University's Sports Hall of Fame.
In 1975, Patton earned entry into the Southern Golf Association Hall of Fame.
In 1981, the Carolinas Golf Reporters' Association inducted him into the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame.
In 1982, Patton was awarded the Bob Jones Award by the United States Golf Association.
In 2007, he was inducted into the Burke County Sports Hall of Fame.
== Results in major championships ==
LA = low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Sources: Masters, U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, British Amateur: 1955, 1959
== U.S. national team appearances ==
Walker Cup: 1955 (winners), 1957 (winners), 1959 (winners), 1963 (winners), 1965 (tied, cup retained), 1969 (non-playing captain, winners)
Eisenhower Trophy: 1958, 1962 (winners)
Americas Cup: 1954 (winners), 1956 (winners), 1958 (winners), 1963 (winners) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Mount_Union | University of Mount Union | The University of Mount Union is a private liberal arts university in Alliance, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until 2019. It had an enrollment of 2,100 students as of 2023.
== History ==
Mount Union was founded in 1846 by Orville Nelson Hartshorn as the Select School as "a place where men and women could be educated with equal opportunity, science would parallel the humanities, and there would be no distinction due to race, color, or sex." Only three years after opening, in 1849, it was renamed as the Mount Union Seminary.
The school would not be chartered under Ohio state law until June 9, 1856, after which it adopted the name Mount Union College.
In approximately 1911, Scio College of Scio, Ohio, merged with Mount Union, moving faculty to the Mount Union campus and abandoning the Scio campus. Mount Union College was renamed University of Mount Union effective August 1, 2010.
== Campus ==
The University of Mount Union is located on a 123-acre (50-hectare) campus in Alliance, Ohio, 70 miles (110 kilometers) from Cleveland, Ohio, and 80 miles (130 kilometers) from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university's 162-acre (66-hectare) Huston-Brumbaugh Nature Center is approximately six miles away from the campus. Two buildings, Chapman Hall and Miller Hall, are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Kehres Stadium is the oldest college stadium in the state of Ohio.
== Academics ==
Mount Union offers 46 majors and 47 minors as undergraduate programs. The university also offers Pre-Health/Pre-Medicine and Pre-Law programs. Mount Union offers 13 master's degree programs, most of which are online. The university also has a Doctor of Physical Therapy program and an Emergency Nurse Practitioner certificate program.
Eighty-five percent of the faculty at Mount Union have earned a doctoral degree or other terminal degree with graduate training at universities in the United States and Europe.
=== Rankings ===
In 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked Mount Union tied for No. 24 out of 167 in Regional Universities Midwest, No. 9 in Regional Universities Midwest Best Value Schools, tied for No. 59 in Top Performers on Social Mobility in Regional Universities Midwest, tied for No. 223 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs at schools where a doctorate is not offered, and tied for No. 345 in Nursing.
=== Undergraduate admissions ===
In 2024, Mount Union accepted 75.7% of undergraduate applicants, with those admitted having an average 3.33 high school GPA. The university does not require submission of standardized test scores, Mount Union being a test optional school where scores will only be considered if scores increase the scholarship level for which the applicant is eligible although applicants who choose not to submit test scores are still eligible for academic scholarships. Those accepted that submitted test scores had an average 1070 SAT score (17% submitting scores) or average 22 ACT score (64% submitting scores). An application essay is required.
== Student life ==
Mount Union's radio station is 91.1 WRMU, and the campus paper is The Dynamo.
The university's music program offers participation in numerous bands and choirs, including Concert Choir, Mount Union Alliance Chorale, Opera Workshop, Alliance Symphony Orchestra, Repertory Strings, Marching Band, The Raider Steel Band, Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, and more.
The Theatre Department puts on two productions every fall, and varying productions in the spring. Every spring semester alternates between a musical and a straight play every year for the main stage show, and every spring there are also student-directed one-acts. Theatre productions are open to all students, regardless of major or class rank.
In the spring of 2019, the University of Mount Union started its Esports program by fielding its first Overwatch roster. Later, the team began competing in Overwatch, League of Legends, and Rocket League.
There are four major social fraternities and four major social sororities with chapters at the institution.
== Athletics ==
Mount Union's school colors are purple and white and competes in the Ohio Athletic Conference and in NCAA Division III athletics. The teams are nicknamed Purple Raiders, and the school's mascot is MUcaw, a purple macaw.
Mount Union sponsors 12 men's varsity teams: baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, track & field, soccer, swimming, diving, tennis, lacrosse, wrestling, and volleyball. The school also sponsors 10 women's varsity teams: basketball, cross-country, golf, lacrosse, track & field, soccer, softball, swimming, diving, tennis and volleyball. Club sports include bowling, and intramural sports include flag football, dodgeball, innertube water polo, ultimate frisbee, beach volleyball, 2 person golf scramble, men's basketball, women's basketball, softball, indoor soccer, indoor volleyball, 2 on 2 basketball, badminton, and pickleball.
Mount won the NCAA Men's Division III Cross Country Championship in 1974 under Coach Jim Wuske, the NCAA Men's Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in 2017, and in 2014 and 2018 Mount Union won the NCAA Men's Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships under Coach Kevin Lucas. The men’s basketball team was retroactively listed of the top team of the 1897–98 season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.
=== Football ===
Mount Union's football is currently led by head coach Geoff Dartt. The Purple Raiders have claimed 13 NCAA Division III Football Championships, 36 OAC titles, and have 12 undefeated seasons.
Mount Union holds the all-division record for consecutive victories at 55 from 2000 to 2003, which ended with their loss to St. John's University (Collegeville, MN) in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl (Division III National Championship) on December 20, 2003. Mount Union previously held the all divisions mark at 54 consecutive games until losing in the semifinals on December 12, 1999, to Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ). During both the 55 and 54 game streaks, Mount Union won 3 consecutive National Championships. Since both streaks were connected, Mount Union won 109 of 110 games played from 1997 to 2003. The Purple Raiders won 110 consecutive regular-season games between 1994 and 2005 (which was ended by conference foe Ohio Northern University on Oct 22, 2005), posted 14 undefeated regular seasons, won 16 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships, and had the best overall record in the 1990s (120–7–1, an overall winning percentage of 0.941).
== People == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Committee | World Heritage Committee | The World Heritage Committee is a committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization that selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties. It comprises representatives from 21 state parties that are elected by the General Assembly of States Parties for a four-year term. These parties vote on decisions and proposals related to the World Heritage Convention and World Heritage List.
According to the World Heritage Convention, a committee member's term of office is six years. However many States Parties choose to voluntarily limit their term to four years, in order to give other States Parties an opportunity to serve. All members elected at the 15th General Assembly (2005) voluntarily chose to reduce their term of office from six to four years.
Deliberations of the World Heritage Committee are aided by three advisory bodies, the IUCN, ICOMOS and ICCROM.
== Sessions ==
The World Heritage Committee meets once a year for an ordinary session to discuss the management of existing World Heritage Sites, and accept nominations by countries. Extraordinary meetings can be convened at the request of two-thirds of the state members. Meetings are held within the territory of state members of the World Heritage Committee at their invitation. Rotation between regions and cultures is a consideration for selection and the location for the next session is chosen by the committee at the end of each session.
== Bureau ==
At the end of each ordinary session, the committee elects a chairperson, five vice-chairpersons and a Rapporteur from those members whose term will continue through the next session. These are known as the Bureau, and their representatives are responsible for coordinating the work of the World Heritage Committee, including fixing dates, hours and the order of business meetings.
== Voting ==
Each state member of the World Heritage Committee has one vote. Decisions require a simple majority with abstentions counted as not voting. Votes are delivered by a show of hands unless a secret ballot is requested by either the chairperson or two or more states members.
== Members ==
== Criticism ==
Increasing politicization of World Heritage Committee decisions to the detriment of conservation aims has been alleged, particularly with regard to new nominations for the World Heritage List, but also with the consideration of sites for the List of World Heritage in Danger. In 2010, states parties including Hungary, Switzerland and Zimbabwe submitted an official protest against such politicization.
An external audit requested by the World Heritage Committee for its Global Strategy of the World Heritage List concluded in 2011 that political considerations were indeed influencing decisions. It observed that the composition of committee representatives had shifted from experts to diplomats in spite of World Heritage Convention Article 9 and found that opinions from advisory bodies often diverged from World Heritage Committee decisions.
In 2016, Israel recalled its UNESCO ambassador after the World Heritage Committee adopted a resolution in a secret ballot that referred to one of Jerusalem's holiest sites, the Temple Mount, only as a "Muslim holy site of worship", not mentioning that Jews and Christians venerate the site.
The committee has also been criticized with alleged racism, colorism, and geographic bias for favoring the inscription of sites in Western and industrialized countries over sites belonging to so-called "third-world" countries. A large proportion of the world heritage sites are located in Europe, Eastern Asia, and North America, where populations notably have lighter skin. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates_in_Literature | List of Nobel laureates in Literature | The Nobel Prize in Literature (Swedish: Nobelpriset i litteratur) is awarded annually by the Swedish Academy to authors for outstanding contributions in the field of literature. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the 1895 will of Alfred Nobel, which are awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature, peace, and physiology or medicine. As dictated by Nobel's will, the award is administered by the Nobel Foundation and awarded by the Swedish Academy. Each recipient receives a medal, a diploma and a monetary award prize that has varied throughout the years. In 1901, the first laureate Sully Prudhomme received 150,782 SEK, which is equivalent to 8,823,637.78 SEK in January 2018. The award is presented in Stockholm at an annual ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.
As of 2025, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to 122 individuals. 18 women have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the second highest number of any of the Nobel Prizes behind the Nobel Peace Prize. As of 2024, there have been 29 English-speaking laureates of the Nobel Prize in Literature, followed by French with 16 laureates and German with 14 laureates. France has the highest number of Nobel laureates.
== Laureates ==
== Nobel laureates by country ==
The 122 Nobel laureates in literature from 1901 to 2025 came from the following countries:
== Nobel laureates by language ==
The 122 Nobel laureates in literature from 1901 to 2025 wrote in the following languages:
== Nobel laureates by gender ==
The 122 Nobel laureates in literature from 1901 to 2025 were from the following genders: |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_La_Land#Cast | La La Land#Cast | 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. |
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