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Anarchism | Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is against all forms of authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state with stateless societies and voluntary free associations. A historically left-wing movement, anarchism is usually described as the libertarian wing of the socialist movement (libertarian socialism). Although traces of anarchist ideas are found all throughout history, modern anarchism emerged from the Enlightenment. During the latter half of the 19th and the first decades of the 20th century, the anarchist movement flourished in most parts of the world and had a significant role in workers' struggles for emancipation. Various anarchist schools of thought formed during this period. Anarchists have taken part in several revolutions, most notably in the Paris Commune, the Russian Civil War and the Spanish Civil War, whose end marked the end of the classical era of anarchism. In the last decades of the 20th and into the 21st century, the anarchist movement has been resurgent once more, growing in popularity and influence within anti-capitalist, anti-war and anti-globalisation movements. Anarchists employ diverse approaches, which may be generally divided into revolutionary and evolutionary strategies; there is significant overlap between the two. Evolutionary methods try to simulate what an anarchist society might be like, but revolutionary tactics, which have historically taken a violent turn, aim to overthrow authority and the state. Many facets of human civilization have been influenced by anarchist theory, critique, and praxis. |
A | A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is a (pronounced ), plural aes. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version is often written in one of two forms: the double-storey and single-storey . The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English, a is the indefinite article, with the alternative form an. Name In English, the name of the letter is the long A sound, pronounced . Its name in most other languages matches the letter's pronunciation in open syllables. History The earliest known ancestor of A is aleph—the first letter of the Phoenician alphabet—where it represented a glottal stop , as Phoenician only used consonantal letters. In turn, the ancestor of aleph may have been a pictogram of an ox head in proto-Sinaitic script influenced by Egyptian hieroglyphs, styled as a triangular head with two horns extended. When the ancient Greeks adopted the alphabet, they had no use for a letter representing a glottal stop—so they adapted sign to represent the vowel , calling the letter by the similar name alpha. In the earliest Greek inscriptions dating to the 8th century BC following the Greek Dark Ages, the letter rests upon its side. However, in the later Greek alphabet it generally resembles the modern capital form—though many local varieties can be distinguished by the shortening of one leg, or by the angle at which the cross line is set. The Etruscans brought the Greek alphabet to the Italian Peninsula, and left the form of alpha unchanged. When the Romans adopted the Etruscan alphabet to write Latin, the resulting form used in the Latin script would come to be used to write many other languages, including English. |
Alabama | Alabama is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th largest by area, and the 24th-most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Alabama is nicknamed the Yellowhammer State, after the state bird. Alabama is also known as the "Heart of Dixie" and the "Cotton State". The state has diverse geography, with the north dominated by the mountainous Tennessee Valley and the south by Mobile Bay, a historically significant port. Alabama's capital is Montgomery, and its largest city by population and area is Huntsville. Its oldest city is Mobile, founded by French colonists (Alabama Creoles) in 1702 as the capital of French Louisiana. Greater Birmingham is Alabama's largest metropolitan area and its economic center. Politically, as part of the Deep South, or "Bible Belt", Alabama is a predominantly conservative state, and is known for its Southern culture. Within Alabama, American football, particularly at the college level, plays a major part of the state's culture. Originally home to many native tribes, present-day Alabama was a Spanish territory beginning in the sixteenth century until the French acquired it in the early eighteenth century. The British won the territory in 1763 until losing it in the American Revolutionary War. Spain held Mobile as part of Spanish West Florida until 1813. In December 1819, Alabama was recognized as a state. During the antebellum period, Alabama was a major producer of cotton, and widely used African American slave labor. In 1861, the state seceded from the United States to become part of the Confederate States of America, with Montgomery acting as its first capital, and rejoined the Union in 1868. Following the American Civil War, Alabama would suffer decades of economic hardship, in part due to agriculture and a few cash crops being the main driver of the state's economy. Similar to other former slave states, Alabamian legislators employed Jim Crow laws from the late 19th century up until the 1960s. During and after World War II, Alabama grew as the state's economy diversified with new industries. In 1960, the establishment of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville helped boost Alabama's economic growth by developing a local aerospace industry. Alabama's economy in the 21st century is based on automotive, finance, tourism, manufacturing, aerospace, mineral extraction, healthcare, education, retail, and technology. Etymology The name of the Alabama River and state is derived from the Alabama people, a Muskogean-speaking tribe whose members lived just below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers on the upper reaches of the river. In the Alabama language, the word for a person of Alabama lineage is (or variously or in different dialects; the plural form is ). The word's spelling varies significantly among historical sources. The first usage appears in three accounts of the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540: Garcilaso de la Vega used , while the Knight of Elvas and Rodrigo Ranjel wrote Alibamu and Limamu, respectively, in transliterations of the term. As early as 1702, the French called the tribe the , with French maps identifying the river as . Other spellings of the name have included Alibamu, Alabamo, Albama, Alebamon, Alibama, Alibamou, Alabamu, and Allibamou. The use of state names derived from Native American languages is common in the U.S. An estimated 26 states have names of Native American origin. Sources disagree on the word's meaning. Some scholars suggest the word comes from the Choctaw (meaning 'plants' or 'weeds') and (meaning 'to cut', 'to trim', or 'to gather'). The meaning may have been 'clearers of the thicket' or 'herb gatherers', referring to clearing land for cultivation or collecting medicinal plants. The state has numerous place names of Native American origin. An 1842 article in the Jacksonville Republican proposed it meant 'Here We Rest'. This notion was popularized in the 1850s through the writings of Alexander Beaufort Meek. Experts in the Muskogean languages have not found any evidence to support such a translation. |
Achilles | In Greek mythology, Achilles or Achilleus was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's Iliad, he was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, king of Phthia and famous Argonaut. Achilles was raised in Phthia along with his childhood companion Patroclus and received his education by the centaur Chiron. In the Iliad, he is presented as the commander of the mythical tribe of the Myrmidons. Achilles' most notable feat during the Trojan War was the slaying of the Trojan prince Hector outside the gates of Troy. Although the death of Achilles is not presented in the Iliad, other sources concur that he was killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him with an arrow. Later legends (beginning with Statius' unfinished epic Achilleid, written in the 1st century AD) state that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for one heel. According to that myth, when his mother Thetis dipped him in the river Styx as an infant, she held him by one of his heels, leaving it untouched by the waters and thus his only vulnerable body part. Alluding to these legends, the term Achilles' heel has come to mean a point of weakness which can lead to downfall, especially in someone or something with an otherwise strong constitution. The Achilles tendon is named after him following the same legend. Etymology Linear B tablets attest to the personal name Achilleus in the forms a-ki-re-u and a-ki-re-we, Retrieved 5 May 2017. the latter being the dative of the former. The name grew more popular, becoming common soon after the seventh century BCEpigraphical database gives 476 matches for Ἀχιλ-.The earliest ones: Corinth 7th c. BC, Delphi 530 BC, Attica and Elis 5th c. BC. and was also turned into the female form (Achilleía), attested in Attica in the fourth century BC (IG II² 1617) and, in the form Achillia, on a stele in Halicarnassus as the name of a female gladiator fighting an "Amazon". Achilles' name can be analyzed as a combination of , 'distress, pain, sorrow, grief'Scholia to the Iliad, 1.1. and , 'people, soldiers, nation', resulting in a proto-form *Akhí-lāu̯os, 'he who has the people distressed' or 'he whose people have distress'. The grief or distress of the people is a theme raised numerous times in the Iliad (and frequently by Achilles himself). Achilles' role as the hero of grief or distress forms an ironic juxtaposition with the conventional view of him as the hero of ('glory', usually in war). Furthermore, laós has been construed by Gregory Nagy, following Leonard Palmer, to mean 'a corps of soldiers', a muster. With this derivation, the name obtains a double meaning in the poem: when the hero is functioning rightly, his men bring distress to the enemy, but when wrongly, his men get the grief of war. The poem is in part about the misdirection of anger on the part of leadership. Some researchers deem the name a loan word, possibly from a Pre-Greek language. Achilles' descent from the Nereid Thetis and a similarity of his name with those of river deities such as Acheron and Achelous have led to speculations about his being an old water divinity .Cf. the supportive position of – A critical point of view is taken by Robert S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin of the name, based among other things on the coexistence of -λλ- and -λ- in epic language, which may account for a palatalized phoneme /ly/ in the original language.Robert S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009, pp. Other names Among the appellations under which Achilles is generally known are the following: Pyrisous, "saved from the fire", his first name, which seems to favour the tradition in which his mortal parts were burned by his mother Thetis Aeacides, from his grandfather Aeacus Aemonius, from Aemonia, a country which afterwards acquired the name of Thessaly Aspetos, "inimitable" or "vast", his name at Epirus Larissaeus, from Larissa (also called Cremaste), a town of Achaia Phthiotis in Thessaly Ligyron, his original name Nereius, from his mother Thetis, one of the Nereids Pelides, from his father, Peleus Phthius, from his birthplace, Phthia Podarkes, "swift-footed" (, from the verb ἀρκέω, 'to defend, ward off'); Ptolemy Hephaestion, alternatively, says that it was due to the wings of Arke being attached to his feet.Ptolemy Hephaestion, New History Book 6 (summary from Photius, Myriobiblon 190) (trans. Pearse) (Greek mythographer C1st to C2nd AD): "It is said . that he [Akhilleus (Achilles)] was called Podarkes (Podarces, Swift-Footed) by the Poet [i.e. Homer], because, it is said, Thetis gave the newborn child the wings of Arke (Arce) and Podarkes means that his feet had the wings of Arke. And Arke was the daughter of Thaumas and her sister was Iris; both had wings, but, during the struggle of the gods against the Titanes (Titans), Arke flew out of the camp of the gods and joined the Titanes. |
Abraham Lincoln | Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War, defending the nation as a constitutional union, defeating the Confederacy, playing a major role in the abolition of slavery, expanding the power of the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy. Lincoln was born into poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky, and was raised on the frontier, mainly in Indiana. He was self-educated and became a lawyer, Whig Party leader, Illinois state legislator, and U.S. representative from Illinois. In 1849, he returned to his successful law practice in Springfield, Illinois. In 1854, angered by the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which opened the territories to slavery, he re-entered politics. He soon became a leader of the new Republican Party. He reached a national audience in the 1858 Senate campaign debates against Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln ran for president in 1860, sweeping the North to gain victory. Pro-slavery elements in the South viewed his election as a threat to slavery, and Southern states began seceding from the nation. They formed the Confederate States of America, which began seizing federal military bases in the South. A little over one month after Lincoln assumed the presidency, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, a U.S. fort in South Carolina. Following the bombardment, Lincoln mobilized forces to suppress the rebellion and restore the union. Lincoln, a moderate Republican, had to navigate a contentious array of factions with friends and opponents from both the Democratic and Republican parties. His allies, the War Democrats and the Radical Republicans, demanded harsh treatment of the Southern Confederates. He managed the factions by exploiting their mutual enmity, carefully distributing political patronage, and by appealing to the American people. Anti-war Democrats (called "Copperheads") despised Lincoln, and some irreconcilable pro-Confederate elements went so far as to plot his assassination. His Gettysburg Address became one of the most famous speeches in American history. Lincoln closely supervised the strategy and tactics in the war effort, including the selection of generals, and implemented a naval blockade of the South's trade. He suspended habeas corpus in Maryland and elsewhere, and he averted war with Britain by defusing the Trent Affair. In 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared the slaves in the states "in rebellion" to be free. It also directed the Army and Navy to "recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons" and to receive them "into the armed service of the United States." Lincoln pressured border states to outlaw slavery, and he promoted the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery, except as punishment for a crime. Lincoln managed his own successful re-election campaign. He sought to heal the war-torn nation through reconciliation. On April 14, 1865, just five days after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox, he was attending a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Mary, when he was fatally shot by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln is remembered as a martyr and a national hero for his wartime leadership and for his efforts to preserve the Union and abolish slavery. He is often ranked in both popular and scholarly polls as the greatest president in American history. |
Aristotle | Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, and the arts. As the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy in the Lyceum in Athens, he began the wider Aristotelian tradition that followed, which set the groundwork for the development of modern science. Little is known about Aristotle's life. He was born in the city of Stagira in northern Greece during the Classical period. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, and he was brought up by a guardian. At around eighteen years old, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty seven . Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, tutored his son Alexander the Great beginning in 343 BC. He established a library in the Lyceum, which helped him to produce many of his hundreds of books on papyrus scrolls. Though Aristotle wrote many treatises and dialogues for publication, only around a third of his original output has survived, none of it intended for publication. Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies existing prior to him. His teachings and methods of inquiry have had a significant impact across the world, and remain a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion. Aristotle's views profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. The influence of his physical science extended from late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance, and was not replaced systematically until the Enlightenment and theories such as classical mechanics were developed. He influenced Judeo-Islamic philosophies during the Middle Ages, as well as Christian theology, especially the Neoplatonism of the Early Church and the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church. Aristotle was revered among medieval Muslim scholars as "The First Teacher", and among medieval Christians like Thomas Aquinas as simply "The Philosopher", while the poet Dante called him "the master of those who know". He has been referred to as the first scientist. His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, and were studied by medieval scholars such as Peter Abelard and Jean Buridan. His influence on logic continued well into the 19th century. In addition, his ethics, although always influential, has gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics. Life In general, the details of Aristotle's life are not well-established. The biographies written in ancient times are often speculative and historians only agree on a few salient points. Aristotle was born in 384 BC in Stagira, Chalcidice,; ; ; about 55 km (34 miles) east of modern-day Thessaloniki. ; He was the son of Nicomachus, the personal physician of King Amyntas of Macedon,; ; ; ; ; and Phaestis, a woman with origins from Chalcis, Euboea. ; ; ; Nicomachus was said to have belonged to the medical guild of Asclepiadae and was likely responsible for Aristotle's early interest in biology and medicine. ; ; ; Ancient tradition held that Aristotle's family descended from the legendary physician Asclepius and his son Machaon. ; Both of Aristotle's parents died when he was still at a young age and Proxenus of Atarneus became his guardian. ; ; Although little information about Aristotle's childhood has survived, he probably spent some time in the Macedonian capital, making his first connections with the Macedonian monarchy. |
An American in Paris | An American in Paris is a jazz-influenced symphonic poem (or tone poem) for orchestra by American composer George Gershwin first performed in 1928. It was inspired by the time that Gershwin had spent in Paris and evokes the sights and energy of the French capital during the . Gershwin scored the piece for the standard instruments of the symphony orchestra plus celesta, saxophones, and automobile horns. He brought back four Parisian taxi horns for the New York premiere of the composition, which took place on December 13, 1928, in Carnegie Hall, with Walter Damrosch conducting the New York Philharmonic.Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic: Makoto Ozone to Perform Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue in One-Night-Only Concert All-American Program Also to Include Bernstein's Candide Overture and Symphonic Dances from West Side Story Gershwin's An American in Paris: April 22, 2014 at nyphil.org Accessed June 20, 2017 It was Damrosch who had commissioned Gershwin to write his Concerto in F following the earlier success of Rhapsody in Blue (1924). "An American in Paris", by Betsy Schwarm, Encyclopædia Britannica He completed the orchestration on November 18, less than four weeks before the work's premiere. He collaborated on the original program notes with critic and composer Deems Taylor. On January 1, 2025, An American in Paris entered the public domain. Background Although the story is likely apocryphal, Gershwin is said to have been attracted by Maurice Ravel's unusual chords, and Gershwin went on his first trip to Paris in 1926 ready to study with Ravel. After his initial student audition with Ravel turned into a sharing of musical theories, Ravel said he could not teach him, saying, "Why be a second-rate Ravel when you can be a first-rate Gershwin?" Gershwin strongly encouraged Ravel to come to the United States for a tour. To this end, upon his return to New York, Gershwin joined the efforts of Ravel's friend Robert Schmitz, a pianist Ravel had met during the war, to urge Ravel to tour the U.S. Schmitz was the head of Pro Musica, promoting Franco-American musical relations, and was able to offer Ravel a $10,000 fee for the tour, an enticement Gershwin knew would be important to Ravel. Gershwin greeted Ravel in New York in March 1928 during a party held for Ravel's birthday by Éva Gauthier. Ravel's tour reignited Gershwin's desire to return to Paris, which he and his brother Ira did after meeting Ravel. Ravel's high praise of Gershwin in an introductory letter to Nadia Boulanger caused Gershwin to seriously consider taking much more time to study abroad in Paris. Yet after he played for her, she told him she could not teach him. Boulanger gave Gershwin basically the same advice she gave all her accomplished master students: "What could I give you that you haven't already got?" This did not set Gershwin back, as his real intent abroad was to complete a new work based on Paris and perhaps a second rhapsody for piano and orchestra to follow his Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin called it "a rhapsodic ballet"; it is written freely and in a much more modern idiom than his prior works. Gershwin explained in Musical America, "My purpose here is to portray the impressions of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city, listens to the various street noises, and absorbs the French atmosphere." The piece is structured into five sections, which culminate in a loose A–B–A format. Gershwin's first A episode introduces the two main "walking" themes in the "Allegretto grazioso" and develops a third theme in the "Subito con brio". The style of this A section is written in the typical French style of composers Claude Debussy and Les Six. This A section featured duple meter, singsong rhythms, and diatonic melodies with the sounds of oboe, English horn, and taxi horns. The B section's "Andante ma con ritmo deciso" introduces the American Blues and spasms of homesickness. The "Allegro" that follows continues to express homesickness in a faster twelve-bar blues. In the B section, Gershwin uses common time, syncopated rhythms, and bluesy melodies with the sounds of trumpet, saxophone, and snare drum. "Moderato con grazia" is the last A section that returns to the themes set in A. After recapitulating the "walking" themes, Gershwin overlays the slow blues theme from section B in the final "Grandioso". Response Gershwin did not particularly like Walter Damrosch's interpretation at the world premiere of An American in Paris. He stated that Damrosch's sluggish, dragging tempo caused him to walk out of the hall during a matinee performance of this work. The audience, according to Edward Cushing, responded with "a demonstration of enthusiasm impressively genuine in contrast to the conventional applause which new music, good and bad, ordinarily arouses." Critics believed that An American in Paris was better crafted than Gershwin's Concerto in F. Evening Post did not think it belonged in a program with classical composers César Franck, Richard Wagner, or Guillaume Lekeu on its premiere. Gershwin responded to the critics: Instrumentation An American in Paris was originally scored for 3 flutes (3rd doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets in B-flat, bass clarinet in B-flat, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B-flat, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, bass drum, triangle, wood block, ratchet, cymbals, low and high tom-toms, xylophone, glockenspiel, celesta, 4 taxi horns labeled as A, B, C, and D with circles around them, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone (all doubling soprano and alto saxophones), and strings. Although most modern audiences have heard the taxi horns using the notes A, B, C, and D, it had been Gershwin's intention to use the notes A4, B4, D5, and A3. It is likely that in labeling the taxi horns as A, B, C, and D with circles, he was referring to the four horns, and not the notes that they played. A major revision of the work by composer and arranger F. Campbell-Watson simplified the instrumentation by reducing the saxophones to only three instruments: alto, tenor and baritone; the soprano and alto saxophone doublings were eliminated to avoid changing instruments. This became the standard performing edition until 2000, when Gershwin specialist Jack Gibbons made his own restoration of the original orchestration of An American in Paris, working directly from Gershwin's original manuscript, including the restoration of Gershwin's soprano saxophone parts removed in Campbell-Watson's revision. Gibbons' restored orchestration of An American in Paris was performed at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on July 9, 2000, by the City of Oxford Orchestra conducted by Levon Parikian. William Daly arranged the score for piano solo; this was published by New World Music in 1929. Preservation status On September 22, 2013, it was announced that a musicological critical edition of the full orchestral score would be eventually released. The Gershwin family, working in conjunction with the Library of Congress and the University of Michigan, were working to make scores available to the public that represent Gershwin's true intent. It was unknown whether the critical score would include the four minutes of material Gershwin later deleted from the work (such as the restatement of the blues theme after the faster 12 bar blues section), or if the score would document changes in the orchestration during Gershwin's composition process. The score to An American in Paris was scheduled to be issued first in a series of scores to be released. The entire project was expected to take 30 to 40 years to complete, but An American in Paris was planned to be an early volume in the series. Two urtext editions of the work were published by the German publisher B-Note Music in 2015. The changes made by Campbell-Watson were withdrawn in both editions. In the extended urtext, 120 bars of music were re-integrated. Conductor Walter Damrosch had cut them shortly before the first performance. On September 9, 2017, The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra gave the world premiere of the long-awaited critical edition of the piece prepared by Mark Clague, director of the Gershwin initiative at the University of Michigan. This performance was of the original 1928 orchestration. Recordings An American in Paris has been frequently recorded. The first recording was made for the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1929 with Nathaniel Shilkret conducting the Victor Symphony Orchestra, drawn from members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Gershwin was on hand to "supervise" the recording; however, Shilkret was reported to be in charge and eventually asked the composer to leave the recording studio. Then, a little later, Shilkret discovered there was no one to play the brief celesta solo during the slow section, so he hastily asked Gershwin if he might play the solo; Gershwin said he could and so he briefly participated in the actual recording. This recording is believed to use the taxi horns in the way that Gershwin had intended using the notes A-flat, B-flat, a higher D, and a lower A. The radio broadcast of the September 8, 1937, Hollywood Bowl George Gershwin Memorial Concert, in which An American in Paris, also conducted by Shilkret, was second on the program, was recorded and was released in 1998 in a two-CD set. Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra recorded the work for RCA Victor, including one of the first stereo recordings of the music. In 1945, Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra recorded the piece for RCA Victor, one of the few commercial recordings Toscanini made of music by an American composer. The Seattle Symphony also recorded a version in 1990 of Gershwin's original score, before numerous edits were made resulting in the score as we hear it today. The blues section of An American in Paris has been recorded separately by a number of artists; Ralph Flanagan & His Orchestra released it as a single in 1951 which reached No. 15 on the Billboard chart. Harry James released a version of the blues section on his 1953 album One Night Stand, recorded live at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago (Columbia GL 522 and CL 522). Use in film In 1951, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released the musical film An American in Paris, featuring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron and directed by Vincente Minnelli. Winning the 1951 Best Picture Oscar and numerous other awards, the film featured many tunes of Gershwin and concluded with an extensive, elaborate dance sequence built around the symphonic poem An American in Paris (arranged for the film by Johnny Green), which at the time was the most expensive musical number ever filmed, costing $500,000 .The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study Notes and references Further reading External links Scores, marked by Leonard Bernstein, Andre Kostelanetz, Erich Leinsdorf; New York Philharmonic archives 1944 recording by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Artur Rodziński , New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, 1959. archive |
Academy Award for Best Production Design | The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted from the Art Directors' branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) being renamed the Designers' branch. Since 1947, the award is shared with the set decorators. It is awarded to the best interior design in a film. The films below are listed with their production year (for example, the 2000 Academy Award for Best Art Direction is given to a film from 1999). In the lists below, the winner of the award for each year is shown first, followed by the other nominees in alphabetical order. Superlatives Category Name Superlative Notes Most Awards Cedric Gibbons 11 awards Awards resulted from 39 nominations. Most Nominations 39 nominations Nominations resulted in 11 awards. Most Nominations (without ever winning) Roland Anderson 15 nominations Nominations resulted in no awards. Winners and nominees 1920s Year Film Art director(s)1927/28 The Dove William Cameron Menzies Tempest 7th Heaven Harry Oliver Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans Rochus Gliese 1928/29 The 2nd Academy Awards is unique in being the only occasion where there were no official nominees. Subsequent research by AMPAS has resulted in a list of unofficial or de facto nominees, based on records of which films were evaluated by the judges. The Bridge of San Luis Rey Cedric Gibbons Alibi William Cameron Menzies The Awakening Dynamite Mitchell Leisen The Patriot Hans Dreier Street Angel Harry Oliver 1930s Year Film Art director(s)1929/30 King of Jazz Herman Rosse Bulldog Drummond William Cameron Menzies The Love Parade Hans Dreier Sally Jack Okey The Vagabond King Hans Dreier 1930/31 Cimarron Max Rée Just Imagine Stephen Goosson and Ralph Hammeras Morocco Hans Dreier Svengali Anton Grot Whoopee! Richard Day 1931/32 Transatlantic Gordon Wiles Arrowsmith Richard Day À Nous la Liberté Lazare Meerson 1932/33 Cavalcade William S. Darling A Farewell to Arms Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson When Ladies Meet Cedric Gibbons 1934 The Merry Widow Cedric Gibbons and Fredric Hope The Affairs of Cellini Richard Day The Gay Divorcee Van Nest Polglase and Carroll Clark 1935 The Dark Angel Richard Day The Lives of a Bengal Lancer Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson Top Hat Carroll Clark and Van Nest Polglase 1936 Dodsworth Richard Day Anthony Adverse Anton Grot The Great Ziegfeld Cedric Gibbons, Eddie Imazu and Edwin B. Willis Lloyd's of London William S. Darling The Magnificent Brute Albert S. D'Agostino and Jack Otterson Romeo and Juliet Cedric Gibbons, Fredric Hope and Edwin B. Willis Winterset Perry Ferguson 1937 Lost Horizon Stephen Goosson Conquest Cedric Gibbons and William A. Horning A Damsel in Distress Carroll Clark Dead End Richard Day Every Day's a Holiday Wiard Ihnen The Life of Emile Zola Anton Grot Manhattan Merry-Go-Round John Victor Mackay The Prisoner of Zenda Lyle R. Wheeler Souls at Sea Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938 Alexander Toluboff Wee Willie Winkie William S. Darling and David S. Hall You're a Sweetheart Jack Otterson 1938 The Adventures of Robin Hood Carl Jules Weyl The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Lyle R. Wheeler Alexander's Ragtime Band Bernard Herzbrun and Boris Leven Algiers Alexander Toluboff Carefree Van Nest Polglase The Goldwyn Follies Richard Day Holiday Stephen Goosson and Lionel Banks If I Were King Hans Dreier and John B. Goodman Mad About Music Jack Otterson Marie Antoinette Cedric Gibbons Merrily We Live Charles D. Hall 1939 Gone with the Wind Lyle R. Wheeler Beau Geste Hans Dreier and Robert Odell Captain Fury Charles D. Hall First Love Jack Otterson and Martin Obzina Love Affair Van Nest Polglase and Alfred Herman Man of Conquest John Victor Mackay Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Lionel Banks The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex Anton Grot The Rains Came William S. Darling and George Dudley Stagecoach Alexander Toluboff The Wizard of Oz Cedric Gibbons and William A. Horning Wuthering Heights James Basevi 1940s Year Film Art director(s) Interior decorator(s) 1940 Prior to 1941, only credited art directors and assistant art directors were eligible for nomination. Black-and-White Pride and Prejudice Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse — Arise, My Love Hans Dreier and Robert Usher — Arizona Lionel Banks and Robert Peterson The Boys from Syracuse Jack Otterson Dark Command John Victor Mackay Foreign Correspondent Alexander Golitzen Lillian Russell Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright My Favorite Wife Van Nest Polglase and Mark-Lee Kirk My Son, My Son! John DuCasse Schulze Our Town Lewis J. Rachmil Rebecca Lyle R. Wheeler The Sea Hawk Anton Grot The Westerner James Basevi Color The Thief of Bagdad Vincent Korda — Bitter Sweet Cedric Gibbons and John S. Detlie — Down Argentine Way Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright North West Mounted Police Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson 1941 Republic Pictures submitted Sis Hopkins and it was initially named as a nominee. However, the studio later withdrew the film from consideration and it is not considered an official nominee. Black-and-White How Green Was My Valley Richard Day and Nathan Juran Thomas Little Citizen Kane Perry Ferguson and Van Nest Polglase A. Roland Fields and Darrell Silvera The Flame of New Orleans Martin Obzina and Jack Otterson Russell A. Gausman Hold Back the Dawn Hans Dreier and Robert Usher Samuel M. Comer Ladies in Retirement Lionel Banks George Montgomery The Little Foxes Stephen Goosson Howard Bristol Sergeant York John Hughes Fred M. MacLean The Son of Monte Cristo John DuCasse Schulze Edward G. Boyle Sundown Alexander Golitzen Richard Irvine That Hamilton Woman Vincent Korda Julia Heron When Ladies Meet Cedric Gibbons and Randall Duell Edwin B. Willis Color Blossoms in the Dust Cedric Gibbons and Urie McCleary Edwin B. Willis Blood and Sand Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright Thomas Little Louisiana Purchase Raoul Pene Du Bois Stephen Seymour 1942 Black-and-White This Above All Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright Thomas Little George Washington Slept Here Max Parker and Mark-Lee Kirk Casey Roberts The Magnificent Ambersons Albert S. D'Agostino A. Roland Fields and Darrell Silvera The Pride of the Yankees Perry Ferguson Howard Bristol Random Harvest Cedric Gibbons and Randall Duell Edwin B. Willis and Jack Moore The Shanghai GestureBoris Leven Silver Queen Ralph Berger Emile Kuri The Spoilers John B. Goodman and Jack Otterson Russell A. Gausman and Edward Ray Robinson Take a Letter, Darling Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson Samuel M. Comer The Talk of the Town Lionel Banks and Rudolph Sternad Fay Babcock Color My Gal Sal Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright Thomas Little Arabian Nights Alexander Golitzen and Jack Otterson Russell A. Gausman and Ira S. Webb Captains of the Clouds Ted Smith Casey Roberts Jungle Book Vincent Korda Julia Heron Reap the Wild Wind Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson George Sawley 1943 Black-and-White The Song of Bernadette James Basevi and William S. Darling Thomas Little Five Graves to Cairo Hans Dreier and Ernst Fegté Bertram C. Granger Flight for Freedom Albert S. D'Agostino and Carroll Clark Darrell Silvera and Harley Miller Madame Curie Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse Edwin B. Willis and Hugh Hunt Mission to Moscow Carl Jules Weyl George James Hopkins The North Star Perry Ferguson Howard Bristol Color Phantom of the Opera Alexander Golitzen and John B. Goodman Russell A. Gausman and Ira S. Webb For Whom the Bell Tolls Hans Dreier and Haldane Douglas Bertram C. Granger The Gang's All Here James Basevi and Joseph C. Wright Thomas Little This Is the Army John Hughes George James Hopkins Thousands Cheer Cedric Gibbons and Daniel Cathcart Edwin B. Willis and Jacques Mersereau 1944 United Artists submitted Song of the Open Road and it was initially named as a nominee. However, the studio later withdrew the film from consideration and it is not considered an official nominee. Black-and-White Gaslight Cedric Gibbons and William Ferrari Paul Huldschinsky and Edwin B. Willis Address Unknown Lionel Banks and Walter Holscher Joseph Kish The Adventures of Mark Twain John Hughes Fred M. MacLean Casanova Brown Perry Ferguson Julia Heron Laura Lyle R. Wheeler and Leland Fuller Thomas Little No Time for Love Hans Dreier and Robert Usher Samuel M. Comer Since You Went Away Mark-Lee Kirk Victor A. Gangelin Step Lively Albert S. D'Agostino and Carroll Clark Darrell Silvera and Claude E. Carpenter Color Wilson Wiard Ihnen Thomas Little The Climax John B. Goodman and Alexander Golitzen Russell A. Gausman and Ira S. Webb Cover Girl Lionel Banks and Cary Odell Fay Babcock The Desert Song Charles Novi Jack McConaghy Kismet Cedric Gibbons and Daniel B. Cathcart Edwin B. Willis and Richard Pefferle Lady in the Dark Hans Dreier and Raoul Pene Du Bois Ray Moyer The Princess and the Pirate Ernst Fegté Howard Bristol 1945 Black-and-White Blood on the Sun Wiard Ihnen A. Roland Fields Experiment Perilous Albert S. D'Agostino and Jack Okey Darrell Silvera and Claude E. Carpenter The Keys of the Kingdom James Basevi and William S. Darling Thomas Little and Frank E. Hughes Love Letters Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson Samuel M. Comer and Ray Moyer The Picture of Dorian Gray Cedric Gibbons and Hans Peters Edwin B. Willis and John Bonar and Hugh Hunt Color Frenchman's Creek Hans Dreier and Ernst Fegté Samuel M. Comer Leave Her to Heaven Lyle R. Wheeler and Maurice Ransford Thomas Little National Velvet Cedric Gibbons and Urie McCleary Edwin B. Willis and Mildred Griffiths San Antonio Ted Smith Jack McConaghy A Thousand and One Nights Stephen Goosson and Rudolph Sternad Frank Tuttle 1946 Black-and-White Anna and the King of Siam William S. Darling and Lyle R. Wheeler Thomas Little and Frank E. Hughes Kitty Hans Dreier and Walter H. Tyler Samuel M. Comer and Ray Moyer The Razor's Edge Richard Day and Nathan H. Juran Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox Color The Yearling Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse Edwin B. Willis Caesar and Cleopatra John Bryan — Henry V Paul Sheriff and Carmen Dillon 1947 Black-and-White Great Expectations Wilfred Shingleton John Bryan The Foxes of Harrow Lyle R. Wheeler and Maurice Ransford Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox Color Black Narcissus Alfred Junge — Life with Father Robert M. Haas George James Hopkins 1948 Black-and-White Hamlet Roger K. Furse Carmen Dillon Johnny Belinda Robert M. Haas William O. Wallace Color The Red Shoes Hein Heckroth Arthur Lawson Joan of Arc Richard Day Edwin Casey Roberts and Joseph Kish 1949 Black-and-White The Heiress Harry Horner and John Meehan Emile Kuri Come to the Stable Lyle R. Wheeler and Joseph C. Wright Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox Madame Bovary Cedric Gibbons and Jack Martin Smith Edwin B. Willis and Richard A. Pefferle Color Little Women Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse Edwin B. Willis and Jack D. Moore Adventures of Don Juan Edward Carrere Lyle Reifsnider Saraband Jim Morahan and William Kellner Michael Relph 1950s Year Film Art director(s) Set decorator(s) 1950 Black-and-White Sunset Boulevard Hans Dreier and John Meehan Samuel M. Comer and Ray Moyer All About Eve George W. Davis and Lyle R. Wheeler Thomas Little and Walter M. Scott The Red Danube Cedric Gibbons and Hans Peters Edwin B. Willis and Hugh Hunt Color Samson and Delilah Hans Dreier and Walter H. Tyler Samuel M. Comer and Ray Moyer Annie Get Your Gun Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse Edwin B. Willis and Richard A. Pefferle Destination Moon Ernst Fegté George Sawley 1951 Black-and-White A Streetcar Named Desire Richard Day George James Hopkins Fourteen Hours Leland Fuller and Lyle R. Wheeler Thomas Little and Fred J. Rode The House on Telegraph Hill John DeCuir and Lyle R. Wheeler Paul S. Fox and Thomas Little La Ronde D'Eaubonne — Too Young to Kiss Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse Edwin B. Willis and Jack D. Moore Color An American in Paris E. Preston Ames and Cedric Gibbons Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason David and Bathsheba George Davis and Lyle R. Wheeler Paul S. Fox and Thomas Little On the Riviera Leland Fuller, Lyle R. Wheeler and Joseph C. Wright (musical settings) Thomas Little and Walter M. Scott Quo Vadis Edward Carfagno, Cedric Gibbons and William A. Horning Hugh Hunt The Tales of Hoffmann Hein Heckroth — 1952 Black-and-White The Bad and the Beautiful Edward Carfagno and Cedric Gibbons F. Keogh Gleason and Edwin B. Willis Carrie Roland Anderson and Hal Pereira Emile Kuri My Cousin Rachel John DeCuir and Lyle R. Wheeler Walter M. Scott Rashomon So Matsuyama H. Motsumoto Viva Zapata! Leland Fuller and Lyle R. Wheeler Claude E. Carpenter and Thomas Little Color Moulin Rouge Paul Sheriff Marcel Vertès Hans Christian Andersen Clavé and Richard Day Howard Bristol The Merry Widow Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse Arthur Krams and Edwin B. Willis The Quiet Man Frank Hotaling John McCarthy Jr. and Charles S. Thompson The Snows of Kilimanjaro John DeCuir and Lyle R. Wheeler Paul S. Fox and Thomas Little 1953 Black-and-White Julius Caesar Edward Carfagno and Cedric Gibbons Hugh Hunt and Edwin B. Willis Martin Luther Paul Markwitz and Fritz Maurischat — The President's Lady Leland Fuller and Lyle R. Wheeler Paul S. Fox Roman Holiday Hal Pereira and Walter H. Tyler — Titanic Maurice Ransford and Lyle R. Wheeler Stuart Reiss Color The Robe George Davis and Lyle R. Wheeler Paul S. Fox and Walter M. Scott Knights of the Round Table Alfred Junge and Hans Peters John Jarvis Lili Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse Arthur Krams and Edwin B. Willis The Story of Three Loves E. Preston Ames, Edward Carfagno, Cedric Gibbons and Gabriel Scognamillo F. Keogh Gleason, Arthur Krams, Jack D. Moore and Edwin B. Willis Young Bess Cedric Gibbons and Urie McCleary Jack D. Moore and Edwin B. Willis 1954 Black-and-White On the Waterfront Richard Day — The Country Girl Roland Anderson and Hal Pereira Samuel M. Comer and Grace Gregory Executive Suite Cedric Gibbons and Edward Carfagno Edwin B. Willis and Emile Kuri Le Plaisir Max Ophüls — Sabrina Hal Pereira and Walter H. Tyler Samuel M. Comer and Ray Moyer Color 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea John Meehan Emile Kuri Brigadoon Cedric Gibbons and E. Preston Ames Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason Desiree Lyle R. Wheeler and Leland Fuller Walter M. Scott and Paul S. Fox Red Garters Hal Pereira and Roland Anderson Samuel M. Comer and Ray Moyer A Star Is Born Malcolm Bert and Gene Allen Irene Sharaff and George James Hopkins 1955 Black-and-White The Rose Tattoo Hal Pereira and Tambi Larsen Samuel M. Comer and Arthur Krams Blackboard Jungle Cedric Gibbons and Randall Duell Edwin B. Willis and Henry Grace I'll Cry Tomorrow Cedric Gibbons and Malcolm Brown Edwin B. Willis and Hugh Hunt The Man with the Golden Arm Joseph C. Wright Darrell Silvera Marty Edward S. Haworth and Walter M. Simonds Robert Priestley Color Picnic William Flannery and Jo Mielziner Robert Priestley Daddy Long Legs Lyle R. Wheeler and John DeCuir Walter M. Scott and Paul S. Fox Guys and Dolls Oliver Smith and Joseph C. Wright Howard Bristol Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing Lyle R. Wheeler and George Davis Walter M. Scott and Jack Stubbs To Catch a Thief Hal Pereira and Joseph McMillan Johnson Samuel M. Comer and Arthur Krams 1956 Black-and-White Somebody Up There Likes Me Cedric Gibbons and Malcolm Brown Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason Seven Samurai So Matsuyama — The Proud and Profane Hal Pereira and A. Earl Hedrick Samuel M. Comer and Frank R. McKelvy The Solid Gold Cadillac Ross Bellah William Kiernan and Louis Diage Teenage Rebel Lyle R. Wheeler and Jack Martin Smith Walter M. Scott and Stuart A. Reiss Color The King and I Lyle R. Wheeler and John DeCuir Walter M. Scott and Paul S. Fox Around the World in 80 Days James W. Sullivan and Ken Adam Ross J. Dowd Giant Boris Leven Ralph S. Hurst Lust for Life Cedric Gibbons and Hans Peters and E. Preston Ames Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason The Ten Commandments Walter H. Tyler and Albert Nozaki Samuel M. Comer and Ray Moyer 1957 In 1957 and 1958, black-and-white and color films competed in a combined Best Art Direction category. Jack Martin Smith and Ted Haworth Walter M. Scott and Stuart A. Reiss 1965 Black-and-White Ship of Fools Robert Clatworthy Joseph Kish King Rat Robert Emmet Smith Frank Tuttle A Patch of Blue George Davis and Urie McCleary Henry Grace and Charles S. Thompson The Slender Thread Hal Pereira and Jack Poplin Robert R. Benton and Joseph Kish The Spy Who Came In from the Cold Hal Pereira and Tambi Larsen Ted Marshall and Josie MacAvin Color Doctor Zhivago John Box and Terence Marsh Dario Simoni The Agony and the Ecstasy John DeCuir and Jack Martin Smith Dario Simoni The Greatest Story Ever Told Richard Day, William Creber and David S. Hall Ray Moyer and Fred M. MacLean and Norman Rockett Inside Daisy Clover Robert Clatworthy George James Hopkins The Sound of Music Boris Leven Walter M. Scott and Ruby Levitt 1966 Black-and-White Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Richard Sylbert George James Hopkins The Fortune Cookie Robert Luthardt Edward G. Boyle The Gospel According to St. Matthew Luigi Scaccianoce — Is Paris Burning? Willy Holt Marc Frédérix and Pierre Guffroy Mister Buddwing George Davis and Paul Groesse Henry Grace and Hugh Hunt Color Fantastic Voyage Jack Martin Smith and Dale Hennesy Walter M. Scott and Stuart A. Reiss Gambit Alexander Golitzen and George C. Webb John McCarthy Jr. and John P. Austin Juliet of the Spirits Piero Gherardi — The Oscar Hal Pereira and Arthur Lonergan Robert R. Benton and James W. Payne The Sand Pebbles Boris Leven Walter M. Scott, John Sturtevant and William Kiernan 1967 Camelot John Truscott and Edward Carrere John W. Brown Doctor Dolittle Mario Chiari, Jack Martin Smith and Ed Graves Walter M. Scott and Stuart A. Reiss Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Robert Clatworthy Frank Tuttle The Taming of the Shrew Renzo Mongiardino, John DeCuir, Elven Webb and Giuseppe Mariani Dario Simoni and Luigi Gervasi Thoroughly Modern Millie Alexander Golitzen and George C. Webb Howard Bristol 1968 Oliver! John Box and Terence Marsh Vernon Dixon and Ken Muggleston The Shoes of the Fisherman George Davis and Edward Carfagno — Star! Boris Leven Walter M. Scott and Howard Bristol 2001: A Space Odyssey Anthony Masters, Harry Lange and Ernest Archer — War and Peace Mikhail Bogdanov and Gennady Myasnikov Georgi Koshelev and Vladimir Uvarov 1969 Hello, Dolly! John DeCuir, Jack Martin Smith and Herman A. Blumenthal Walter M. Scott, George James Hopkins and Raphaël Bretton Anne of the Thousand Days Maurice Carter and Lionel Couch Patrick McLoughlin Gaily, Gaily Robert F. Boyle and George B. Chan Edward G. Boyle and Carl Biddiscombe Sweet Charity Alexander Golitzen and George C. Webb Jack D. Moore They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Harry Horner Frank R. McKelvy 1970s Year Film Art director(s) Set decorator(s) 1970 Patton Urie McCleary and Gil Parrondo Antonio Mateos and Pierre-Louis Thévenet Airport Alexander Golitzen and E. Preston Ames Jack D. Moore and Mickey S. Michaels The Molly Maguires Tambi Larsen Darrell Silvera Scrooge Terence Marsh and Robert Cartwright Pamela Cornell Tora! Jack Martin Smith, Yoshirō Muraki, Richard Day and Taizô Kawashima Walter M. Scott, Norman Rockett and Carl Biddiscombe 1971 Nicholas and Alexandra John Box, Ernest Archer, Jack Maxsted and Gil Parrondo Vernon Dixon The Andromeda Strain Boris Leven and William H. Tuntke Ruby Levitt Bedknobs and Broomsticks John B. Mansbridge and Peter Ellenshaw Emile Kuri and Hal Gausman Fiddler on the Roof Robert F. Boyle and Michael Stringer Peter Lamont Mary, Queen of Scots Terence Marsh and Robert Cartwright Peter Howitt 1972 Cabaret Rolf Zehetbauer and Hans Jürgen Kiebach Herbert Strabel Lady Sings the Blues Carl Anderson Reg Allen The Poseidon Adventure William Creber Raphaël Bretton Travels with My Aunt John Box, Gil Parrondo and Robert W. Laing — Young Winston Donald M. Ashton and Geoffrey Drake John Graysmark, William Hutchinson and Peter James 1973 The Sting Henry Bumstead James W. Payne Brother Sun, Sister Moon Lorenzo Mongiardino and Gianni Quaranta Carmelo Patrono The Exorcist Bill Malley Jerry Wunderlich Tom Sawyer Philip M. Jefferies Robert De Vestel The Way We Were Stephen B. Grimes William Kiernan 1974 The Godfather Part II Dean Tavoularis and Angelo P. Graham George R. Nelson Chinatown Richard Sylbert and W. Stewart Campbell Ruby Levitt Earthquake Alexander Golitzen and E. Preston Ames Frank R. McKelvy The Island at the Top of the World Peter Ellenshaw, John B. Mansbridge, Walter Tyler and Al Roelofs Hal Gausman The Towering Inferno William Creber and Ward Preston Raphaël Bretton 1975 Barry Lyndon Ken Adam and Roy Walker Vernon Dixon The Hindenburg Edward Carfagno Frank R. McKelvy The Man Who Would Be King Alexandre Trauner and Tony Inglis Peter James Shampoo Richard Sylbert and W. Stewart Campbell George Gaines The Sunshine Boys Albert Brenner Marvin March 1976 All the President's Men George Jenkins George Gaines The Incredible Sarah Elliot Scott Norman Reynolds The Last Tycoon Gene Callahan and Jack T. Collis Jerry Wunderlich Logan's Run Dale Hennesy Robert De Vestel The Shootist Robert F. Boyle Arthur Jeph Parker 1977 Star Wars John Barry, Norman Reynolds and Leslie Dilley Roger Christian Airport '77 George C. Webb Mickey S. Michaels Close Encounters of the Third Kind Joe Alves and Dan Lomino Phil Abramson The Spy Who Loved Me Ken Adam and Peter Lamont Hugh Scaife The Turning Point Albert Brenner Marvin March 1978 Heaven Can Wait Paul Sylbert and Edwin O'Donovan George Gaines The Brink's Job Dean Tavoularis and Angelo P. Graham George R. Nelson and Bruce Kay California Suite Albert Brenner Marvin March Interiors Mel Bourne Daniel Robert The Wiz Tony Walton and Philip Rosenberg Edward Stewart and Robert Drumheller 1979 All That Jazz Philip Rosenberg and Tony Walton Edward Stewart and Gary J. Brink Alien Michael Seymour, Leslie Dilley and Roger Christian Ian Whittaker Apocalypse Now Dean Tavoularis and Angelo P. Graham George R. Nelson The China Syndrome George Jenkins Arthur Jeph Parker Star Trek: The Motion Picture Harold Michelson, Joe Jennings, Leon Harris and John Vallone Linda DeScenna 1980s Year Film Art director(s) Set decorator(s) 1980 Tess Pierre Guffroy and Jack Stephens — Coal Miner's Daughter John W. Corso John M. Dwyer The Elephant Man Stuart Craig and Robert Cartwright Hugh Scaife Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, Harry Lange and Alan Tomkins Michael D. Ford Kagemusha Yoshirō Muraki — 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark Norman Reynolds and Leslie Dilley Michael D. Ford The French Lieutenant's Woman Assheton Gorton Ann Mollo Heaven's Gate Tambi Larsen James L. Berkey Ragtime John Graysmark, Patrizia von Brandenstein and Tony Reading George DeTitta Sr., George DeTitta Jr. and Peter Howitt Reds Richard Sylbert Michael Seirton 1982 Gandhi Stuart Craig and Robert W. Laing Michael Seirton Annie Dale Hennesy Marvin March Blade Runner Lawrence G. Paull and David L. Snyder Linda DeScenna La Traviata Franco Zeffirelli and Gianni Quaranta — Victor/Victoria Rodger Maus, Tim Hutchinson and William Craig Smith Harry Cordwell 1983 Fanny and Alexander Anna Asp — Return of the Jedi Norman Reynolds, Fred Hole and James L. Schoppe Michael D. Ford The Right Stuff Geoffrey Kirkland, Richard Lawrence, W. Stewart Campbell and Peter R. Romero Jim Poynter and George R. Nelson Terms of Endearment Polly Platt and Harold Michelson Tom Pedigo and Anthony Mondell Yentl Roy Walker and Leslie Tomkins Tessa Davies 1984 Amadeus Patrizia von Brandenstein and Karel Černý — 2010 Albert Brenner Rick Simpson The Cotton Club Richard Sylbert George Gaines The Natural Mel Bourne and Angelo P. Graham Bruce Weintraub A Passage to India John Box Hugh Scaife 1985 Out of Africa Stephen B. Grimes Josie MacAvin Brazil Norman Garwood Maggie Gray The Color Purple J. Michael Riva and Bo Welch Linda DeScenna Ran Yoshirō Muraki and Shinobu Muraki — Witness Stan Jolley John H. Anderson 1986 A Room with a View Gianni Quaranta and Brian Ackland-Snow Brian Savegar and Elio Altramura Aliens Peter Lamont Crispian Sallis The Color of Money Boris Leven Karen O'Hara Hannah and Her Sisters Stuart Wurtzel Carol Joffe The Mission Stuart Craig Jack Stephens 1987 The Last Emperor Ferdinando Scarfiotti Bruno Cesari and Osvaldo Desideri Empire of the Sun Norman Reynolds Harry Cordwell Hope and Glory Anthony Pratt Joanne Woollard Radio Days Santo Loquasto Carol Joffe, Leslie Bloom and George DeTitta Jr. The Untouchables Patrizia von Brandenstein and William A. Elliott Hal Gausman 1988 Dangerous Liaisons Stuart Craig Gérard James Beaches Albert Brenner Garrett Lewis Rain Man Ida Random Linda DeScenna Tucker: The Man and His Dream Dean Tavoularis Armin Ganz Who Framed Roger Rabbit Elliot Scott Peter Howitt 1989 Batman Anton Furst Peter Young The Abyss Leslie Dilley Anne Kuljian The Adventures of Baron Munchausen Dante Ferretti Francesca Lo Schiavo Driving Miss Daisy Bruno Rubeo Crispian Sallis Glory Norman Garwood Garrett Lewis 1990s Year Film Art director(s) Set decorator(s)1990(63rd) Dick Tracy Richard Sylbert Rick Simpson Cyrano de Bergerac Ezio Frigerio Jacques Rouxel Dances with Wolves Jeffrey Beecroft Lisa Dean The Godfather Part III Dean Tavoularis Gary Fettis Hamlet Dante Ferretti Francesca Lo Schiavo 1991(64th) Bugsy Dennis Gassner Nancy Haigh Barton Fink Dennis Gassner Nancy Haigh The Fisher King Mel Bourne Cindy Carr Hook Norman Garwood Garrett Lewis The Prince of Tides Paul Sylbert Caryl Heller 1992(65th) Howards End Luciana Arrighi Ian Whittaker Bram Stoker's Dracula Thomas E. Sanders Garrett Lewis Chaplin Stuart Craig Chris A. Butler Toys Ferdinando Scarfiotti Linda DeScenna Unforgiven Henry Bumstead Janice Blackie-Goodine 1993(66th) Schindler's List Allan Starski Ewa Braun Addams Family Values Ken Adam Marvin March The Age of Innocence Dante Ferretti Robert J. Franco Orlando Ben Van Os and Jan Roelfs — The Remains of the Day Luciana Arrighi Ian Whittaker 1994(67th) The Madness of King George Ken Adam Carolyn Scott Bullets over Broadway Santo Loquasto Susan Bode Forrest Gump Rick Carter Nancy Haigh Interview with the Vampire Dante Ferretti Francesca Lo Schiavo Legends of the Fall Lilly Kilvert Dorree Cooper 1995(68th) Restoration Eugenio Zanetti — Apollo 13 Michael Corenblith Merideth Boswell Babe Roger Ford Kerrie Brown A Little Princess Bo Welch Cheryl Carasik Richard III Tony Burrough — 1996(69th) The English Patient Stuart Craig Stephenie McMillan The Birdcage Bo Welch Cheryl Carasik Evita Brian Morris Philippe Turlure Hamlet Tim Harvey — Romeo + Juliet Catherine Martin Brigitte Broch 1997(70th) Titanic Peter Lamont Michael D. Ford Gattaca Jan Roelfs Nancy Nye Kundun Dante Ferretti Francesca Lo Schiavo L.A. Confidential Jeannine Oppewall Jay Hart Men in Black Bo Welch Cheryl Carasik 1998(71st) Shakespeare in Love Martin Childs Jill Quertier Elizabeth John Myhre Peter Howitt Pleasantville Jeannine Oppewall Jay Hart Saving Private Ryan Tom Sanders Lisa Dean Kavanaugh What Dreams May Come Eugenio Zanetti Cindy Carr 1999(72nd) Sleepy Hollow Rick Heinrichs Peter Young Anna and the King Luciana Arrighi Ian Whittaker The Cider House Rules David Gropman Beth Rubino The Talented Mr. Ripley Roy Walker Bruno Cesari Topsy-Turvy Eve Stewart John Bush 2000s Year Film Art director(s) Set decorator(s)2000(73rd) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Timmy Yip — Gladiator Arthur Max Crispian Sallis How the Grinch Stole Christmas Michael Corenblith Merideth Boswell Quills Martin Childs Jill Quertier Vatel Jean Rabasse Françoise Benoît-Fresco 2001(74th) Moulin Rouge! Catherine Martin Brigitte Broch Amélie Aline Bonetto Marie-Laure Valla Gosford Park Stephen Altman Anna Pinnock Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Stuart Craig Stephenie McMillan The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Grant Major Dan Hennah 2002(75th) Chicago John Myhre Gordon Sim Frida Felipe Fernández del Paso Hania Robledo Gangs of New York Dante Ferretti Francesca Lo Schiavo The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Grant Major Dan Hennah and Alan Lee Road to Perdition Dennis Gassner Nancy Haigh 2003(76th) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Grant Major Dan Hennah and Alan Lee Girl with a Pearl Earring Ben Van Os Cecile Heideman The Last Samurai Lilly Kilvert Gretchen Rau Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World William Sandell Robert Gould Seabiscuit Jeannine Oppewall Leslie Pope 2004(77th) The Aviator Dante Ferretti Francesca Lo Schiavo Finding Neverland Gemma Jackson Trisha Edwards Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Rick Heinrichs Cheryl Carasik The Phantom of the Opera Anthony Pratt Celia Bobak A Very Long Engagement Aline Bonetto — 2005(78th) Memoirs of a Geisha John Myhre Gretchen Rau Good Night, and Good Luck Jim Bissell Jan Pascale Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Stuart Craig Stephenie McMillan King Kong Grant Major Dan Hennah and Simon Bright Pride & Prejudice Sarah Greenwood Katie Spencer 2006(79th) Pan's Labyrinth Eugenio Caballero Pilar Revuelta Dreamgirls John Myhre Nancy Haigh The Good Shepherd Jeannine Claudia Oppewall Gretchen Rau and Leslie E. Rollins Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Rick Heinrichs Cheryl Carasik The Prestige Nathan Crowley Julie Ochipinti 2007(80th) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Dante Ferretti Francesca Lo Schiavo American Gangster Arthur Max Beth A. Rubino Atonement Sarah Greenwood Katie Spencer The Golden Compass Dennis Gassner Anna Pinnock There Will Be Blood Jack Fisk Jim Erickson 2008(81st) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Donald Graham Burt Victor J. Zolfo Changeling James J. Murakami Gary Fettis The Dark Knight Nathan Crowley Peter Lando The Duchess Michael Carlin Rebecca Alleway Revolutionary Road Kristi Zea Debra Schutt 2009(82nd) Avatar Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg Kim Sinclair The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro Caroline Smith Nine John Myhre Gordon Sim Sherlock Holmes Sarah Greenwood Katie Spencer The Young Victoria Patrice Vermette Maggie Gray 2010s Year Film Production designer(s) Set decorator(s)2010(83rd) Alice in Wonderland Robert Stromberg Karen O'Hara Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Stuart Craig Stephenie McMillan Inception Guy Hendrix Dyas Larry Dias and Doug Mowat The King's Speech Eve Stewart Judy Farr True Grit Jess Gonchor Nancy Haigh 2011(84th) Hugo Dante Ferretti Francesca Lo Schiavo The Artist Laurence Bennett Robert Gould Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Stuart Craig Stephenie McMillan Midnight in Paris Anne Seibel Hélène Dubreuil War Horse Rick Carter Lee Sandales 2012(85th) Lincoln Rick Carter Jim Erickson Anna Karenina Sarah Greenwood Katie Spencer The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Dan Hennah Ra Vincent and Simon Bright Les Misérables Eve Stewart Anna Lynch-Robinson Life of Pi David Gropman Anna Pinnock 2013(86th) The Great Gatsby Catherine Martin Beverley Dunn American Hustle Judy Becker Heather Loeffler Gravity Andy Nicholson Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard Her K. K. Barrett Gene Serdena 12 Years a Slave Adam Stockhausen Alice Baker 2014(87th) The Grand Budapest Hotel Adam Stockhausen Anna Pinnock The Imitation Game Maria Djurkovic Tatiana Macdonald Interstellar Nathan Crowley Gary Fettis Into the Woods Dennis Gassner Anna Pinnock Mr. Turner Suzie Davies Charlotte Watts 2015(88th) Mad Max: Fury Road Colin Gibson Lisa Thompson Bridge of Spies Adam Stockhausen Rena DeAngelo and Bernhard Henrich The Danish Girl Eve Stewart Michael Standish The Martian Arthur Max Celia Bobak The Revenant Jack Fisk Hamish Purdy 2016(89th) La La Land David Wasco Sandy Reynolds-Wasco Arrival Patrice Vermette Paul Hotte Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Stuart Craig Anna Pinnock Hail, Caesar! Jess Gonchor Nancy Haigh Passengers Guy Hendrix Dyas Gene Serdena 2017(90th) The Shape of Water Paul Denham Austerberry Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin Beauty and the Beast Sarah Greenwood Katie Spencer Blade Runner 2049 Dennis Gassner Alessandra Querzola Darkest Hour Sarah Greenwood Katie Spencer Dunkirk Nathan Crowley Gary Fettis 2018(91st) Black Panther Hannah Beachler Jay Hart The Favourite Fiona Crombie Alice Felton First Man Nathan Crowley Kathy Lucas Mary Poppins Returns John Myhre Gordon Sim Roma Eugenio Caballero Bárbara Enrı́quez 2019(92nd) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Barbara Ling Nancy Haigh The Irishman Bob Shaw Regina Graves Jojo Rabbit Ra Vincent Nora Sopková 1917 Dennis Gassner Lee Sandales Parasite Lee Ha-jun Cho Won-woo 2020s Year Film Production designer(s) Set decorator(s)2020(93rd) Mank Donald Graham Burt Jan Pascale The Father Peter Francis Cathy Featherstone Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Mark Ricker Karen O'Hara and Diana Stoughton News of the World David Crank Elizabeth Keenan Tenet Nathan Crowley Kathy Lucas 2021(94th) Dune Patrice Vermette Zsuzsanna Sipos Nightmare Alley Tamara Deverell Shane Vieau The Power of the Dog Grant Major Amber Richards The Tragedy of Macbeth Stefan Dechant Nancy Haigh West Side Story Adam Stockhausen Rena DeAngelo 2022(95th) All Quiet on the Western Front Christian M. Goldbeck Ernestine Hipper Avatar: The Way of Water Dylan Cole and Ben Procter Vanessa Cole Babylon Florencia Martin Anthony Carlino Elvis Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy Bev Dunn The Fabelmans Rick Carter Karen O'Hara 2023(96th) Poor Things James Price and Shona Heath Zsuzsa Mihalek Barbie Sarah Greenwood Katie Spencer Killers of the Flower Moon Jack Fisk Adam Willis Napoleon Arthur Max Elli Griff Oppenheimer Ruth De Jong Claire Kaufman 2024(97th) The Brutalist Judy Becker Patricia Cuccia Conclave Suzie Davies Cynthia Sleiter Dune: Part Two Patrice Vermette Shane Vieau Nosferatu Craig Lathrop Beatrice Brentnerová Wicked Nathan Crowley Lee Sandales Notes Shortlisted finalists Finalists for Best Production Design were selected by branch members, who voted for ten finalists which were screened to determine the five nominees. Year FinalistsRef 1967 Barefoot in the Park, Bonnie and Clyde, The Flim-Flam Man, The Happiest Millionaire, In Like Flint 1968 Funny Girl, The Killing of Sister George, Never a Dull Moment, The Odd Couple, Planet of the Apes 1969 The April Fools, Marooned, The Secret of Santa Vittoria, Topaz, What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? 1970 Cromwell, Darling Lili, Fellini Satyricon, The Great White Hope, M*A*S*H 1971 Carnal Knowledge, A Clockwork Orange, The French Connection, The Mephisto Waltz, Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? 1972 Butterflies Are Free, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Slaughterhouse-Five, Snowball Express, The War Between Men and Women 1973 40 Carats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Lost Horizon, Papillon, The World's Greatest Athlete 1974 The Dion Brothers, The Front Page, The Great Gatsby, Mame, Young Frankenstein 1975 At Long Last Love, Escape to Witch Mountain, Jaws, Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York, Tommy 1976 Freaky Friday, From Noon till Three, Harry and Walter Go to New York, King Kong, A Star Is Born 1977 Looking for Mr. Goodbar, New York, New York, 1900, Pete's Dragon, Sorcerer 1978 The Boys from Brazil, Foul Play, Gray Lady Down, Grease, House Calls 1979 The Black Hole, Manhattan, Moonraker, 10, Winter Kills Individuals with multiple wins 11 wins Cedric Gibbons 8 wins Edwin B. Willis 7 wins Richard Day 6 wins Thomas Little Walter M. Scott 5 wins Lyle R. Wheeler 4 wins John Box Samuel M. Comer F. Keogh Gleason George James Hopkins 3 wins Edward Carfagno Stuart Craig William S. Darling John DeCuir Vernon Dixon Hans Dreier Dante Ferretti Paul S. Fox Alexander Golitzen Paul Groesse John Meehan Ray Moyer Francesca Lo Schiavo Jack Martin Smith 2 wins Ken Adam E. Preston Ames Herman A. Blumenthal Henry Bumstead Donald Graham Burt Gene Callahan Rick Carter George Davis Leslie Dilley Michael D. Ford George Gaines Russell A. Gausman Nancy Haigh Harry Horner William A. Horning Hugh Hunt Wiard Ihnen Emile Kuri Terence Marsh Catherine Martin William Cameron Menzies Urie McCleary John Myhre Gil Parrondo Robert Priestley Stuart A. Reiss Norman Reynolds Dario Simoni Robert Stromberg Richard Sylbert Joseph C. Wright Peter Young See also BAFTA Award for Best Production Design Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Production Design List of Academy Award–nominated films References Best Production Design |
Academy Awards | The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in the film industry. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The Oscars are widely considered to be the most prestigious awards in the film industry.Attributed to multiple references: The major award categories, known as the Academy Awards of Merit, are presented during a live-televised Hollywood ceremony in February or March. It is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony. The 1st Academy Awards were held in 1929. The second ceremony, in 1930, was the first one broadcast by radio. The 1953 ceremony was the first one televised. It is the oldest of the four major annual American entertainment awards. Its counterparts—the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music—are modeled after the Academy Awards. The Oscar statuette depicts a knight, rendered in the Art Deco style. History The first Academy Awards presentation was held on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner function at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, with an audience of about 270 people. The post-awards party was held at the Mayfair Hotel. The cost of guest tickets for that night's ceremony was . Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists, directors, and other participants in the film-making industry of the time, for their works during the 1927–28 period. The ceremony ran for 15minutes. For this first ceremony, winners were announced to the media three months earlier. For the second ceremony in 1930, and the rest of the first decade, the results were given to newspapers for publication at 11:00pm on the night of the awards. In 1940, the Los Angeles Times announced the winners before the ceremony began. As a result, in 1941 the Academy started using a sealed envelope to reveal the names of the winners. The term "Oscar" is a registered trademark of the AMPAS. Milestones The first Best Actor awarded was Emil Jannings, for his performances in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh. As he had to return to Europe before the ceremony, the Academy agreed to give him the prize early, making him the first Academy Award recipient. For the first Awards, winners were recognized for multiple films during the qualifying period; Jannings received the award for two movies in which he starred, and Janet Gaynor won the first Best Actress award for performances in three films. Beginning with the second ceremony, performers received separate nominations for individual films; no performer has received multiple nominations in the same category since the 3rd Academy Awards. For the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period ran from August 1 to July 31. The 6th Academy Awards' eligibility ran from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933, and as of the 7th Academy Awards, subsequent eligibility periods have matched the calendar year (with the exception of the 93rd Academy Awards, which, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, extended the eligibility period to February 28, 2021). Best Foreign Language Film, now known as Best International Feature Film, was introduced at the 20th Academy Awards as a special award, and became a competitive category at the 29th Academy Awards.. The 74th Academy Awards, held in 2002, presented the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Since 1973, all Academy Awards ceremonies, except for 2021, have ended with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Traditionally, the previous year's winners for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor present the awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, while the previous year's winners for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress present the awards for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. In 2009, this model was replaced by each acting award being introduced by five previous winners, each of whom introduces one of the nominated performances, referred to as the "Fab 5" presenters format. The Fab 5 model returned in 2024 after a 15-year hiatus. On February 9, 2020, Parasite became the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards. The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best films of 2020 and early 2021, was held on April 25, 2021, after it was postponed from its original February 28, 2021, schedule due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema. As with the two previous ceremonies, there was no host. The ceremony was broadcast on ABC. It took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California for the 19th consecutive year, with satellite locations at Union Station also in Los Angeles. Because of the virus impact on films and TV industries, Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson announced that for the 2021 Oscar Ceremony, streaming movies with a previously planned theatrical release were eligible. The theatrical requirement was reinstated starting with the 95th Academy Awards. Oscar statuette Overview The Oscar statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, is given to winners of each year's awards. Made of gold-plated bronze on a black metal base, it is tall, weighs and depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes. The five spokes represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians. |
Actrius | Actresses (Catalan: Actrius) is a 1997 Catalan language Spanish drama film produced and directed by Ventura Pons and based on the award-winning stage play E.R. by Josep Maria Benet i Jornet. The film has no male actors, with all roles played by females. The film was produced in 1996. Synopsis In order to prepare herself to play a role commemorating the life of legendary actress Empar Ribera, young actress (Mercè Pons) interviews three established actresses who had been the Ribera's pupils: the international diva Glòria Marc (Núria Espert), the television star Assumpta Roca (Rosa Maria Sardà), and dubbing director Maria Caminal (Anna Lizaran). Cast Núria Espert as Glòria Marc Rosa Maria Sardà as Assumpta Roca Anna Lizaran as Maria Caminal Mercè Pons as Estudiant Recognition Screenings Actrius screened in 2001 at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in an American Cinematheque retrospective of the works of its director. The film had first screened at the same location in 1998. It was also shown at the 1997 Stockholm International Film Festival. Reception In Movie - Film - Review, Christopher Tookey wrote that though the actresses were "competent in roles that may have some reference to their own careers", the film "is visually unimaginative, never escapes its stage origins, and is almost totally lacking in revelation or surprising incident". Noting that there were "occasional, refreshing moments of intergenerational bitchiness", they did not "justify comparisons to All About Eve", and were "insufficiently different to deserve critical parallels with Rashomon". He also wrote that The Guardian called the film a "slow, stuffy chamber-piece", and that The Evening Standard stated the film's "best moments exhibit the bitchy tantrums seething beneath the threesome's composed veneers". MRQE wrote "This cinematic adaptation of a theatrical work is true to the original, but does not stray far from a theatrical rendering of the story." Awards and nominations 1997, won 'Best Catalan Film' at Butaca Awards for Ventura Pons 1997, won 'Best Catalan Film Actress' at Butaca Awards, shared by Núria Espert, Rosa Maria Sardà, Anna Lizaran, and Mercè Pons 1998, nominated for 'Best Screenplay' at Goya Awards, shared by Josep Maria Benet i Jornet and Ventura Pons References External links as archived 17 February 2009 (Spanish |
Animalia (book) | Animalia is an illustrated children's book by Graeme Base. It was originally published in 1986, followed by a tenth anniversary edition in 1996, and a 25th anniversary edition in 2012. Over four million copies have been sold worldwide. A special numbered and signed anniversary edition was also published in 1996, with an embossed gold jacket. Synopsis Animalia is an alliterative alphabet book and contains twenty-six illustrations, one for each letter of the alphabet. Each features an animal from the animal kingdom (A is for alligator and armadillo, B is for butterfly, C is for cat, etc.) along with a short poem utilizing the letter of the page for many of the words. The illustrations contain many other objects beginning with that letter that the reader can try to identify (however, there are not necessarily "a thousand things, or maybe more", as the author states). As an additional challenge, the author has hidden a picture of himself as a child in every picture. Related products Julia MacRae Books published an Animalia colouring book in 2008. H. N. Abrams also published a wall calendar colouring book version for children the same year. H. N. Abrams published The Animalia Wall Frieze, a fold-out over 26 feet in length, in which the author created new riddles for each letter. The Great American Puzzle Factory created a 300-piece jigsaw puzzle based on the book's cover. Adaptations A television series was also created, based on the book, which airs in Canada. The Australian Children's Television Foundation released a teaching resource DVD-ROM in 2011 to accompany the TV series with teaching aids for classroom use. In 2010, The Base Factory and AppBooks released Animalia as an application for iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch. Awards Animalia won the Young Australian's Best Book Award in 1987 for Best Picture Story Book. The Children's Book Council of Australia designated Animalia a 1987 Picture Book of the Year: Honour Book. Kid's Own Australian Literature Awards named Animalia the 1988 Picture Book Winner. References External links Graeme Base's official website A Learning Time activity guide for Animalia created by The Little Big Book Club |
International Atomic Time | International Atomic Time (abbreviated TAI, from its French name Temps atomique 1975) is a high-precision atomic coordinate time standard based on the notional passage of proper time on Earth's geoid. TAI is a weighted average of the time kept by over 450 atomic clocks in over 80 national laboratories worldwide. It is a continuous scale of time, without leap seconds, and it is the principal realisation of Terrestrial Time (with a fixed offset of epoch). It is the basis for Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is used for civil timekeeping all over the Earth's surface and which has leap seconds. UTC deviates from TAI by a number of whole seconds. , immediately after the most recent leap second was put into effect, UTC has been exactly 37 seconds behind TAI. The 37 seconds result from the initial difference of 10 seconds at the start of 1972, plus 27 leap seconds in UTC since 1972. In 2022, the General Conference on Weights and Measures decided to abandon the leap second by or before 2035, at which point the difference between TAI and UTC will remain fixed. TAI may be reported using traditional means of specifying days, carried over from non-uniform time standards based on the rotation of the Earth. Specifically, both Julian days and the Gregorian calendar are used. TAI in this form was synchronised with Universal Time at the beginning of 1958, and the two have drifted apart ever since, due primarily to the slowing rotation of the Earth. Operation TAI is a weighted average of the time kept by over 450 atomic clocks in over 80 national laboratories worldwide. The majority of the clocks involved are caesium clocks; the International System of Units (SI) definition of the second is based on caesium. The clocks are compared using GPS signals and two-way satellite time and frequency transfer. Due to the signal averaging TAI is an order of magnitude more stable than its best constituent clock. The participating institutions each broadcast, in real time, a frequency signal with timecodes, which is their estimate of TAI. Time codes are usually published in the form of UTC, which differs from TAI by a well-known integer number of seconds. These time scales are denoted in the form UTC(NPL) in the UTC form, where NPL here identifies the National Physical Laboratory, UK. The TAI form may be denoted TAI(NPL). The latter is not to be confused with TA(NPL), which denotes an independent atomic time scale, not synchronised to TAI or to anything else. The clocks at different institutions are regularly compared against each other. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM, France), combines these measurements to retrospectively calculate the weighted average that forms the most stable time scale possible. This combined time scale is published monthly in "Circular T", and is the canonical TAI. This time scale is expressed in the form of tables of differences UTC − UTC(k) (equal to TAI − TAI(k)) for each participating institution k. The same circular also gives tables of TAI − TA(k), for the various unsynchronised atomic time scales. Errors in publication may be corrected by issuing a revision of the faulty Circular T or by errata in a subsequent Circular T. Aside from this, once published in Circular T, the TAI scale is not revised. In hindsight, it is possible to discover errors in TAI and to make better estimates of the true proper time scale. Since the published circulars are definitive, better estimates do not create another version of TAI; it is instead considered to be creating a better realisation of Terrestrial Time (TT). History Early atomic time scales consisted of quartz clocks with frequencies calibrated by a single atomic clock; the atomic clocks were not operated continuously. Atomic timekeeping services started experimentally in 1955, using the first caesium atomic clock at the National Physical Laboratory, UK (NPL). It was used as a basis for calibrating the quartz clocks at the Royal Greenwich Observatory and to establish a time scale, called Greenwich Atomic (GA). The United States Naval Observatory began the A.1 scale on 13 September 1956, using an Atomichron commercial atomic clock, followed by the NBS-A scale at the National Bureau of Standards, Boulder, Colorado on 9 October 1957. The International Time Bureau (BIH) began a time scale, Tm or AM, in July 1955, using both local caesium clocks and comparisons to distant clocks using the phase of VLF radio signals. The BIH scale, A.1, and NBS-A were defined by an epoch at the beginning of 1958 The procedures used by the BIH evolved, and the name for the time scale changed: A3 in 1964 and TA(BIH) in 1969. The SI second was defined in terms of the caesium atom in 1967. From 1971 to 1975 the General Conference on Weights and Measures and the International Committee for Weights and Measures made a series of decisions that designated the BIPM time scale International Atomic Time (TAI). In the 1970s, it became clear that the clocks participating in TAI were ticking at different rates due to gravitational time dilation, and the combined TAI scale, therefore, corresponded to an average of the altitudes of the various clocks. Starting from the Julian Date 2443144.5 (1 January 1977 00:00:00 TAI), corrections were applied to the output of all participating clocks, so that TAI would correspond to proper time at the geoid (mean sea level). Because the clocks were, on average, well above sea level, this meant that TAI slowed by about one part in a trillion. The former uncorrected time scale continues to be published under the name EAL (Échelle Atomique Libre, meaning Free Atomic Scale). The instant that the gravitational correction started to be applied serves as the epoch for Barycentric Coordinate Time (TCB), Geocentric Coordinate Time (TCG), and Terrestrial Time (TT), which represent three fundamental time scales in the solar system. All three of these time scales were defined to read JD 2443144.5003725 (1 January 1977 00:00:32.184) exactly at that instant. TAI was henceforth a realisation of TT, with the equation TT(TAI) = TAI + 32.184 s. The continued existence of TAI was questioned in a 2007 letter from the BIPM to the ITU-R which stated, "In the case of a redefinition of UTC without leap seconds, the CCTF would consider discussing the possibility of suppressing TAI, as it would remain parallel to the continuous UTC." Relation to UTC Contrary to TAI, UTC is a discontinuous time scale. It is occasionally adjusted by leap seconds. Between these adjustments, it is composed of segments that are mapped to atomic time by a constant offset. From its beginning in 1961 through December 1971, the adjustments were made regularly in fractional leap seconds so that UTC approximated UT2. Afterwards, these adjustments were made only in whole seconds to approximate UT1. This was a compromise arrangement in order to enable a publicly broadcast time scale. The less frequent whole-second adjustments meant that the time scale would be more stable and easier to synchronize internationally. The fact that it continues to approximate UT1 means that tasks such as navigation which require a source of Universal Time continue to be well served by the public broadcast of UTC. See also Clock synchronization Time and frequency transfer Notes References Footnotes Bibliography External links BIPM technical services: Time Metrology Time and Frequency Section - National Physical Laboratory, UK IERS website NIST Web Clock FAQs History of time scales NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Atomic Clock Japan Standard Time Project, NICT, Japan Standard of time definition: UTC, GPS, LORAN and TAI |
Ayn Rand | Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand , was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which she named Objectivism. Born and educated in Russia, she moved to the United States in 1926. After two early novels that were initially unsuccessful and two Broadway plays, Rand achieved fame with her 1943 novel The Fountainhead. In 1957, she published her best-selling work, the novel Atlas Shrugged. Afterward, until her death in 1982, she turned to non-fiction to promote her philosophy, publishing her own periodicals and releasing several collections of essays. Rand advocated reason and rejected faith and religion. She supported rational and ethical egoism as opposed to altruism and hedonism. In politics, she condemned the initiation of force as immoral and supported laissez-faire capitalism, which she defined as the system based on recognizing individual rights, including private property rights. Although she opposed libertarianism, which she viewed as anarchism, Rand is often associated with the modern libertarian movement in the United States. In art, she promoted romantic realism. She was sharply critical of most philosophers and philosophical traditions known to her, with a few exceptions. Rand's books have sold over 37 million copies. Her fiction received mixed reviews from literary critics, with reviews becoming more negative for her later work. Although academic interest in her ideas has grown since her death, academic philosophers have generally ignored or rejected Rand's philosophy, arguing that she has a polemical approach and that her work lacks methodological rigor. Her writings have politically influenced some right-libertarians and conservatives. The Objectivist movement circulates her ideas, both to the public and in academic settings. Life Early life Rand was born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum on February2, 1905, into a Jewish bourgeois family living in Saint Petersburg, which was then the capital of the Russian Empire. She was the eldest of three daughters of Zinovy Zakharovich Rosenbaum, a pharmacist, and Anna Borisovna . She was 12 when the October Revolution and the rule of the Bolsheviks under Vladimir Lenin disrupted her family's lives. Her father's pharmacy was nationalized, and the family fled to Yevpatoria in Crimea, which was initially under the control of the White Army during the Russian Civil War. After graduating high school there in June 1921, she returned with her family to Petrograd (as Saint Petersburg was then named), where they faced desperate conditions, occasionally nearly starving. |
Alain Connes | Alain Connes (; born 1 April 1947) is a French mathematician, known for his contributions to the study of operator algebras and noncommutative geometry. He is a professor at the , , Ohio State University and Vanderbilt University. He was awarded the Fields Medal in 1982. Career Alain Connes attended high school at in Marseille, and was then a student of the classes préparatoires in . Between 1966 and 1970 he studied at École normale supérieure in Paris, and in 1973 he obtained a PhD from Pierre and Marie Curie University, under the supervision of Jacques Dixmier. From 1970 to 1974 he was research fellow at the French National Centre for Scientific Research and during 1975 he held a visiting position at Queen's University at Kingston in Canada. In 1976 he returned to France and worked as professor at Pierre and Marie Curie University until 1980 and at CNRS between 1981 and 1984. Moreover, since 1979 he holds the Léon Motchane Chair at IHES. From 1984 until his retirement in 2017 he held the chair of Analysis and Geometry at Collège de France. In parallel, he was awarded a distinguished professorship at Vanderbilt University between 2003 and 2012, and at Ohio State University between 2012 and 2021. In 2000 he was an invited professor at the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers.Alain Connes, « Géométrie non-commutative », Université de tous les savoirs, 4, 175–190, Editions Odile Jacob, 2001. Research Connes' main research interests revolved around operator algebras. Besides noncommutative geometry, he has applied his works in various areas of mathematics and theoretical physics, including number theory, differential geometry and particle physics.Alexander Hellemans, "The Geometer of Particle Physics" Scientific American, 24 July 2006 Since the 1990s, he has been a proponent of the spectral Standard Model, which gives quantum behaviour to positions in spacetime, sidestepping some of the problems with quantum gravity. In his early work on von Neumann algebras in the 1970s, he succeeded in obtaining the almost complete classification of injective factors. He also formulated the Connes embedding problem. Following this, he made contributions in operator K-theory and index theory, which culminated in the Baum–Connes conjecture. He also introduced cyclic cohomology in the early 1980s as a first step in the study of noncommutative differential geometry. He was a member of Nicolas Bourbaki. Over many years, he collaborated extensively with Henri Moscovici. Awards and honours Connes was awarded the Peccot-Vimont Prize in 1976, the Ampère Prize in 1980, the Fields Medal in 1982, the Clay Research Award in 2000 and the Crafoord Prize in 2001. The French National Centre for Scientific Research granted him the silver medal in 1977 and the gold medal in 2004. He was an invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1974 at Vancouver and in 1986 at Berkeley, and a plenary speaker at the ICM in 1978 at Helsinki. |
Allan Dwan | Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan was the younger son of commercial traveler of woolen clothing Joseph Michael Dwan (1857–1917) and his wife Mary Jane Dwan (née Hunt). The family moved to the United States when he was seven years old on December 4, 1892, by ferry from Windsor to Detroit, according to his naturalization petition of August 1939. His elder brother, Leo Garnet Dwan (1883–1964), became a physician. Allan Dwan studied engineering at the University of Notre Dame and then worked for a lighting company in Chicago. He had a strong interest in the fledgling motion picture industry, and when Essanay Studios offered him the opportunity to become a scriptwriter, he took the job. At that time, some of the East Coast movie makers began to spend winters in California where the climate allowed them to continue productions requiring warm weather. Soon, a number of movie companies worked there year-round, and in 1911, Dwan began working part-time in Hollywood. While still in New York, in 1917 he was the founding president of the East Coast chapter of the Motion Picture Directors Association. Career Dwan started his directing career by accident in 1911, when he was sent by his employers to California, in order to locate a company that had vanished. Dwan managed to track the company down, and learned that they were waiting for a film director (who was an alcoholic) to return from a binge and allow them to resume their work. Dwan wired back to his employers in Chicago, informing them of the situation, and suggested that they disband the company. They wired back, instructing Dwan to direct the stalled film. When Dwan informed the company of the situation, and that their jobs were on the line, they responded: "You're the best damn director we ever saw". Dwan operated Flying A Studios in La Mesa, California, from August 1911 to July 1912. Flying A was one of the first motion pictures studios in California history. On August 12, 2011, a plaque was unveiled on the Wolff building at Third Avenue and La Mesa Boulevard commemorating Dwan and the Flying A Studios origins in La Mesa, California. After making a series of westerns and comedies, Dwan directed fellow Canadian-American Mary Pickford in several very successful movies as well as her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, notably in the acclaimed 1922 Robin Hood. Around that time, he also directed Carole Lombard in A Perfect Crime, her film debut. Dwan directed Gloria Swanson in eight feature films, and one short film made in the short-lived sound-on-film process Phonofilm. This short, also featuring Thomas Meighan and Henri de la Falaise, was produced as a joke, for the April 26, 1925 "Lambs' Gambol" for The Lambs, with the film showing Swanson crashing the all-male club. Following the introduction of the talkies, Dwan directed child-star Shirley Temple in Heidi (1937) and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938). Dwan helped launch the career of two other successful Hollywood directors, Victor Fleming, who went on to direct The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind, and Marshall Neilan, who became an actor, director, writer and producer. Over a long career spanning almost 50 years, Dwan directed 125 motion pictures, some of which were highly acclaimed, such as the 1949 box office hit, Sands of Iwo Jima. He directed his last movie in 1961. Being one of the last surviving pioneers of the cinema, he was interviewed at length for the 1980 documentary series Hollywood. He died in Los Angeles at the age of 96, and is interred in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, California. Dwan has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6263 Hollywood Boulevard. Daniel Eagan of Film Journal International described Dwan as one of the early pioneers of cinema, stating that his style "is so basic as to seem invisible, but he treats his characters with uncommon sympathy and compassion." Partial filmography as director The Restless Spirit (1913) Back to Life (1913) Bloodhounds of the North (1913) The Lie (1914) The Honor of the Mounted (1914) The Unwelcome Mrs. Hatch (1914) Remember Mary Magdalen (1914) Discord and Harmony (1914) The Embezzler (1914) The Lamb, the Woman, the Wolf (1914) The End of the Feud (1914) The Test (1914) (*writer) The Tragedy of Whispering Creek (1914) The Unlawful Trade (1914) The Forbidden Room (1914) The Hopes of Blind Alley (1914) Richelieu (1914) Wildflower (1914) A Small Town Girl (1915) David Harum (1915) A Girl of Yesterday (1915) The Pretty Sister of Jose (1915) Jordan Is a Hard Road (1915) The Habit of Happiness (1916) The Good Bad Man (1916) An Innocent Magdalene (1916) The Half-Breed (1916) Manhattan Madness (1916) Accusing Evidence (1916) Panthea (1917) A Modern Musketeer (1917) Bound in Morocco (1918) Headin' South (1918) Mr. Fix-It (1918) He Comes Up Smiling (1918) Cheating Cheaters (1919) The Dark Star (1919) Getting Mary Married (1919) Soldiers of Fortune (1919) In The Heart of a Fool (1920) also producer The Forbidden Thing (1920) also producer A Splendid Hazard (1920) A Perfect Crime (1921) The Sin of Martha Queed (1921) A Broken Doll (1921) Robin Hood (1922) Zaza (1923) Big Brother (1923) Manhandled (1924) Argentine Love (1924) The Coast of Folly (1925) Night Life of New York (1925) Stage Struck (1925) Padlocked (1926) Sea Horses (1926) Summer Bachelors (1926) Tin Gods (1926) French Dressing (1927) The Joy Girl (1927) East Side, West Side (1927) The Big Noise (1928) Frozen Justice (1929) The Iron Mask (1929) Tide of Empire (1929) The Far Call (1929) What a Widow! |
Algeria | Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia; to the east by Libya; to the southeast by Niger; to the southwest by Mali, Mauritania, and Western Sahara; to the west by Morocco; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The capital and largest city is Algiers, located in the far north on the Mediterranean coast. Inhabited since prehistory, Algeria has been at the crossroads of numerous cultures and civilisations, including the Phoenicians, Numidians, Romans, Vandals, and Byzantine Greeks. Its modern identity is rooted in centuries of Arab Muslim migration waves since the seventh century and the subsequent Arabisation of the indigenous populations. Following a succession of Islamic Arab and Berber dynasties between the eighth and 15th centuries, the Regency of Algiers was established in 1516 as a largely independent tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. After nearly three centuries as a major power in the Mediterranean, the country was invaded by France in 1830 and formally annexed in 1848, though it was not fully conquered and pacified until 1903. French rule brought mass European settlement that displaced the local population, which was reduced by up to one-third due to warfare, disease, and starvation. The Sétif and Guelma massacre in 1945 catalysed local resistance that culminated in the outbreak of the Algerian War in 1954. Algeria gained its independence in 1962. The country descended into a bloody civil war from 1992 to 2002. Spanning , Algeria is the world's tenth-largest nation by area, and the largest nation in Africa. It has a semi-arid climate, with the Sahara desert dominating most of the territory except for its fertile and mountainous north, where most of the population is concentrated. With a population of 44 million, Algeria is the tenth-most populous country in Africa, and the 33rd-most populous country in the world. Algeria's official languages are Arabic and Tamazight; French is used in media, education, and certain administrative matters, but it has no official status. The vast majority of the population speak the Algerian dialect of Arabic. Most Algerians are Arabs, with Berbers forming a sizeable minority. Sunni Islam is the official religion and practised by 99 percent of the population. Algeria is a semi-presidential republic composed of 58 provinces (wilayas) and 1,541 communes. It is a regional power in North Africa and a middle power in global affairs. The country has the second-highest Human Development Index in continental Africa and one of the largest economies in Africa, due mostly to its large petroleum and natural gas reserves, which are the sixteenth and ninth-largest in the world, respectively. Sonatrach, the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa and a major supplier of natural gas to Europe. The Algerian military is one of the largest in Africa, with the highest defence budget on the continent and among the highest in the world (ranks 22nd globally). Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, the OIC, OPEC, the United Nations, and the Arab Maghreb Union, of which it is a founding member. Name alt=Page of typeset book |
List of Atlas Shrugged characters | This is a list of characters in Ayn Rand's 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged. Major characters The following are major characters from the novel. Protagonists Dagny Taggart Dagny Taggart is the protagonist of the novel. She is vice president in charge of operations for Taggart Transcontinental, under her brother, James Taggart. Given James' incompetence, Dagny is responsible for all the workings of the railroad. Francisco d'Anconia Francisco d'Anconia is one of the central characters in Atlas Shrugged, an owner by inheritance of the world's largest copper mining operation. He is a childhood friend, and the first love, of Dagny Taggart. A child prodigy of exceptional talents, Francisco was dubbed the "climax" of the d'Anconia line, an already prestigious Argentine family of skilled industrialists. He was a classmate of John Galt and Ragnar Danneskjöld and student of both Hugh Akston and Robert Stadler. He began working while still in school to show that he could have been successful without the aid of his family's wealth. Later, Francisco bankrupts the d'Anconia business to put it out of others' reach. His full name is given as "Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastián d'Anconia".Milgram, Shoshana. "The Spirit of Francisco d'Anconia: The Development of His Characterization". John Galt John Galt is the primary male hero of Atlas Shrugged. He initially appears as an unnamed menial worker for Taggart Transcontinental, who often dines with Eddie Willers in the employees' cafeteria, and leads Eddie to reveal important information about Dagny Taggart and Taggart Transcontinental. Only Eddie's side of their conversations is given in the novel. Later in the novel, the reader discovers this worker's true identity. Before working for Taggart Transcontinental, Galt worked as an engineer for the Twentieth Century Motor Company, where he secretly invented a generator of usable electric energy from ambient static electricity, but abandoned his prototype, and his employment, when dissatisfied by an easily corrupted novel system of payment. This prototype was found by Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden. Galt himself remains concealed throughout much of the novel, working a job and living by himself, where he unites the most skillful inventors and business leaders under his leadership. He delivers a lengthy broadcast speech that presents the author's philosophy of Objectivism.Ghate, Onkhar. "The Role of Galt's Speech in Atlas Shrugged". Henry "Hank" Rearden Henry (known as "Hank") Rearden is one of the central characters in Atlas Shrugged. He owns the most important steel company in the United States, and invents Rearden Metal, an alloy stronger, lighter, cheaper and tougher than steel. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife Lillian, his brother Philip, and his elderly mother. Rearden represents a type of self-made man and eventually divorces Lillian, abandons his steel mills following a bloody assault by government-planted workers, and joins John Galt's strike. Eddie Willers Edwin "Eddie" Willers is the Special Assistant to the vice-president in Charge of Operations at Taggart Transcontinental. His father and grandfather worked for the Taggarts, and himself likewise. He is completely loyal to Dagny and to Taggart Transcontinental. Willers does not possess the creative ability of Galt's associates, but matches them in moral courage and is capable of appreciating and making use of their creations. After Dagny shifts her attention and loyalty to saving the captive Galt, Willers maintains the railroad until its collapse.Campbell. Robert L. "When the Train Left the Station, with Two Lights on Behind: The Eddie Willers Story". Ragnar Danneskjöld One of Galt's first followers, and world-famous as a pirate, who seizes relief ships sent from the United States to the People's States of Europe. He works to ensure that once those espousing Galt's philosophy are restored to their rightful place in society, they have enough capital to rebuild the world. Kept in the background for much of the book, Danneskjöld makes a personal appearance to encourage Rearden to persevere in his increasingly difficult situation, and gives him a bar of gold as compensation for the income taxes he has paid over the last several years. Danneskjöld is married to the actress Kay Ludlow; their relationship is kept hidden from the outside world, which only knows of Ludlow as a retired film star. Considered a misfit by Galt's other adherents, he views his actions as a means to speed the world along in understanding Galt's perspective. According to Barbara Branden, who was closely associated with Rand at the time the book was written, there were sections written describing Danneskjöld's adventures at sea, cut from the final published text. In a 1974 comment at a lecture, Rand said that Danneskjöld's name was a tribute to Victor Hugo's novel Hans of Iceland, wherein the hero becomes the first of the Counts of Danneskjöld. In the published book, Danneskjöld is always seen through the eyes of others (Dagny Taggart or Hank Rearden), except for a brief paragraph in the very last chapter. Antagonists James Taggart The President of Taggart Transcontinental and the book's most important antagonist. Taggart is an expert influence peddler but incapable of making operational decisions on his own. He relies on his sister, Dagny Taggart, to actually run the railroad, but nonetheless opposes her in almost every endeavor because of his various anti-capitalist moral and political beliefs. In a sense, he is the antithesis of Dagny. This contradiction leads to the recurring absurdity of his life: the desire to overcome those on whom his life depends, and the horror that he will succeed at this. In the final chapters of the novel, he suffers a complete mental breakdown upon realizing that he can no longer deceive himself in this respect. Lillian Rearden The unsupportive wife of Hank Rearden, who dislikes his habits and (secretly at first) seeks to ruin Rearden to prove her own value. Lillian achieves this, when she passes information to James Taggart about her husband's affair with his sister. Lillian thereafter uses James Taggart for sexual satisfaction, until Hank abandons her. Dr. Floyd Ferris Ferris is a biologist who works as "co-ordinator" at the State Science Institute. He uses his position there to deride reason and productive achievement, and publishes a book entitled Why Do You Think You Think? He clashes on several occasions with Hank Rearden, and twice attempts to blackmail Rearden into giving up Rearden Metal. He is also one of the group of looters who tries to get Rearden to agree to the Steel Unification Plan. Ferris hosts the demonstration of the Project X weapon, and is the creator of the Ferris Persuader, a torture machine. When John Galt is captured by the looters, Ferris uses the device on Galt, but it breaks down before extracting the information Ferris wants from Galt. Ferris represents the group which uses brute force on the heroes to achieve the ends of the looters. Dr. Robert Stadler A former professor at Patrick Henry University, and along with colleague Hugh Akston, mentor to Francisco d'Anconia, John Galt and Ragnar Danneskjöld. He has since become a sell-out, one who had great promise but squandered it for social approval, to the detriment of the free. He works at the State Science Institute where all his inventions are perverted for use by the military, including a sound-based weapon known as Project X (Xylophone). He is killed when Cuffy Meigs (see below) drunkenly overloads the circuits of Project X, causing it to destroy itself and every structure and living thing in a 100-mile radius. The character was, in part, modeled on J. Robert Oppenheimer, whom Rand had interviewed for an earlier project, and his part in the creation of nuclear weapons. To his former student Galt, Stadler represents the epitome of human evil, as the "man who knew better" but chose not to act for the good. Wesley Mouch The incompetent and treacherous lobbyist whom Hank Rearden reluctantly employs in Washington, who rises to prominence and authority throughout the novel through trading favours and disloyalty. In return for betraying Hank by helping broker the Equalization of Opportunity Bill (which, by restricting the number of businesses each person may own to one, forces Hank to divest most of his companies), he is given a senior position at the Bureau of Economic Planning and National Resources. Later in the novel he becomes its Top Co-ordinator, a position that eventually becomes Economic Dictator of the country. Mouch's mantra, whenever a problem arises from his prior policy, is to say, "I can't help it. I need wider powers." Secondary characters The following secondary characters also appear in the novel. Hugh Akston is identified as "One of the last great advocates of reason." He was a renowned philosopher and the head of the Department of Philosophy at Patrick Henry University, where he taught Francisco d'Anconia, John Galt, and Ragnar Danneskjöld. He was, along with Robert Stadler, a father to these three. Akston's name is so hallowed that a young lady, on hearing that Francisco had studied under him, is shocked. She thought he must have been one of those great names from an earlier century. He now works as a cook in a roadside diner, and proves extremely skillful at the job. When Dagny tracks him down, and before she discovers his true identity, he rejects her enthusiastic offer to manage the dining car services for Taggart Transcontinental. He is based on Aristotle.Schoolland, Ken & Havashi, Stuart K. "Hugh Akston, the Role of Teaching, and the Lessons of Atlas Shrugged". Jeff Allen is a tramp who stows away on a Taggart train during one of Dagny's cross-country trips. Instead of throwing him out, she allows him to ride as her guest. It is from Allen that she learns the full story behind the collapse of the Twentieth Century Motor Company (Rand's extensive metaphor for the inherent flaws of communism), as well as a hint of John Galt's true background. Calvin Atwood is owner of Atwood Light and Power Company and joins Galt's strike. Mayor Bascom is the mayor of Rome, Wisconsin, who reveals part of the history of the Twentieth Century Motor Company. Dr. Blodgett is the scientist who pulls the lever to demonstrate Project X. Orren Boyle is the head of Associated Steel, antithesis of Hank Rearden and a friend of James Taggart. He is an investor in the San Sebastián Mines. He disappears from the story after having a nervous breakdown following the failed 'unification' of the steel industry. Laura Bradford is an actress and Kip Chalmers' mistress. She is one of the passengers on his train, and dies in the Taggart Tunnel disaster. Bill Brent is the chief dispatcher for the Colorado Division of Taggart Transcontinental, who tries to prevent the Taggart Tunnel disaster. Cherryl Brooks is a dime store shopgirl who marries James Taggart after a chance encounter in her store the night the John Galt Line was falsely deemed his greatest success. She marries him thinking he is the heroic person behind Taggart Transcontinental. Cherryl is at first harsh towards Dagny, having believed Jim Taggart's descriptions of his sister, until she questions employees of the railroad. Upon learning that her scorn had been misdirected, Cherryl puts off apologizing to Dagny out of shame, but eventually admits to Dagny that when she married Jim, she thought he had the heroic qualities that she had looked up to - she thought she was marrying someone like Dagny. Shortly after making this admission, she commits suicide by jumping over a stone parapet and into the river, unable to live with her evil husband and seeing no way to escape him. "The Destruction from the Nihilism Train: The Cheryl Brooks Story". In Emma Chalmers, Kip Chalmers' mother, gains some influence after his death. Known as "Kip's Ma," she starts a soybean-growing project in Louisiana and commandeers thousands of railroad freight cars to move the harvest. As a result, the year's wheat crop from Minnesota never reaches the rest of the country, but instead rots in storage; also, the soybean crop is lost, having been reaped too early. Kip Chalmers is a Washington man who has decided to run for election as Legislator from California. On the way to a campaign rally, the Taggart Transcontinental train that is carrying him encounters a split rail, resulting in the destruction of its diesel engine. His demands lead to a coal-burning steam engine being attached to his train in its stead and used to pull it through an eight-mile tunnel. The result is the suffocation of all passengers and the destruction of the tunnel, caused when a train hauling military ordnance crashes into Chalmers' train and explodes. Tom Colby is the head of the Rearden Steel Workers Union. Dan Conway is the middle-aged president of the Phoenix-Durango railroad. Running a railroad is just about the only thing he knows. When the Anti-dog-eat-dog Rule is used to drive his business out of Colorado, he loses the will to fight, and resigns himself to a quiet life of books and fishing. He is not one of those who joined John Galt's strike, his resignation being a personal choice of his own. Ken Danagger owns Danagger Coal in Pennsylvania. He helps Hank Rearden illegally make Rearden Metal, then later decides to quit and join Galt's strike moments before Dagny arrives to try to persuade him otherwise. Quentin Daniels is an enterprising engineer hired by Dagny Taggart to reconstruct John Galt's motor. Partway through this process, Quentin withdraws his effort for the same reasons John Galt himself had. Dagny's pursuit of Quentin leads her to Galt's Gulch. Galt recognizes in him a younger version of himself, having emulated both Galt's achievements in physics and Galt's social reasoning. Balph Eubank is called "the literary leader of the age", despite the fact that no book he has written has sold more than 3,000 copies. He complains that it is disgraceful that artists are treated as peddlers, and that there should be a law limiting the sales of books to 10,000 copies. He is a misogynist who thinks it disgusting that Dagny Taggart is a railroad vice-president. The Fishwife is one of the strikers, who earns her living by providing the fish for Hammond's grocery market; she is described as having "dark, disheveled hair and large eyes", and is a writer. Galt says she "wouldn't be published outside. She believes that when one deals with words, one deals with the mind." This character represents Rand herself; it is her cameo appearance in her own novel. Richard Halley is Dagny Taggart's favorite composer, who mysteriously disappeared after the evening of his greatest triumph. Halley spent years as a struggling and unappreciated composer. At age 24, his opera Phaethon was performed for the first time, to an audience who booed and heckled it. After 19 years, Phaethon was performed again, but this time it was received to the greatest ovation the opera house had ever heard. The following day, Halley retired, sold the rights to his music, and disappeared. It is later revealed that he has joined the strike and settled in Galt's Gulch. Lawrence Hammond runs Hammond Cars in Colorado, one of the few companies in existence that still produces top-quality vehicles. He eventually quits and joins the strike. Mrs. William Hastings is the widow of the chief engineer at the Twentieth Century Motor Company. Her husband quit shortly after Galt did and joined the strike some years later. Her lead allows Dagny to find Hugh Akston. Dr. Thomas Hendricks is a famous brain surgeon who developed a new method of preventing strokes. He joined Galt's strike when the American medical system was put under government control. Tinky Holloway is one of the "looters" and is frequently referred to and quoted by other characters in the story, but he has only one major appearance: during the Washington meeting with Hank Rearden. Lee Hunsacker is in charge of a company called Amalgamated Service that takes over the Twentieth Century Motor Company. A failed businessman, he laments constantly that no-one ever gave him a chance. Gwen Ives is Hank Rearden's secretary, described as being in her late twenties and remaining calm and professional despite the chaos that threatens his business. When Rearden abandons his mills and joins Galt's strike, she and many other employees do the same. Gilbert Keith-Worthing is a British novelist of erstwhile fame, now neglected but still considered a "walking classic," and a proponent of the idea that freedom is an illusion. Kip Chalmers brings him along on the train to California, "for no reason that either of them could discover"; he dies in the Taggart Tunnel disaster. Owen Kellogg is Assistant to the Manager of the Taggart Terminal in New York. He catches Dagny Taggart's eye as one of the few competent men on staff. After seeing the sorry state of the Ohio Division, she decides to make him its new Superintendent. However, as soon as she returns to New York, Kellogg informs her that he is quitting his job. Owen Kellogg eventually reaches, and settles in, Galt's Gulch. Fred Kinnan is a labor leader and member of the looter cabal. Unlike the others, however, Kinnan is straightforward and honest about his purpose. Kinnan is the only one to openly state the true motivations of himself and his fellow conspirators. At the end of Galt's three-hour speech, he expresses admiration for the man, as he says what he means. Despite this, Kinnan admits that he is one of the people Galt is out to destroy. Paul Larkin is an unsuccessful, middle-aged businessman, a friend of the Rearden family. He meets with the other Looters to work out a plan to bring Rearden down. James Taggart knows he is friends with Hank Rearden and challenges his loyalty, and Larkin assures Taggart that he will go along with them. Eugene Lawson heads the Community Bank of Madison, then gets a job with the government when his bank goes bankrupt due to new government policies. One of the looter's cabal, he is a collectivist who abhors production and money-making. Mort Liddy is a hack composer who writes trite scores for movies and modern symphonies to which no one listens. He believes melody is a primitive vulgarity. He is one of Lillian Rearden's friends and a member of the cultural elite. Clifton Locey is a friend of Jim Taggart who takes the position of vice-president of operation when Dagny Taggart quits. Pat Logan is the engineer on the first run of the John Galt Line. He later strikes. Kay Ludlow is a beautiful actress who quit Holywood because of the roles she was given and married secretly the pirate Ragnar Danneskjöld. Roger Marsh is a producer of electrical equipment who joins the strike. Dagny finds him growing cabbage in Galt's Gulch. Dick McNamara is a contractor who finished the San Sebastian Line. Dagny Taggart plans to hire him to lay the new Rearden Metal track for the Rio Norte Line, but before she does so, he mysteriously disappears. She later discovers that he has joined the strike and settled in Galt's Gulch. Cuffy Meigs is the Director of Unification for the railroad business. He carries a pistol and a lucky rabbit's foot, dresses in a military uniform, and is described as "impervious to thought". Meigs seizes control of Project X and accidentally destroys it, demolishing the country's last railroad bridge across the Mississippi River and killing himself, his men, and Dr. Stadler. Dave Mitchum is a state-hired superintendent of the Colorado Division of Taggart Transcontinental. He is partially responsible for the Taggart Tunnel disaster. Chick Morrison holds the position of "Morale Conditioner" in the government. He quits when society begins to collapse and flees to a stronghold in Tennessee. His fellow looters consider it unlikely that he will survive. Horace Bussby Mowen is the president of the Amalgamated Switch and Signal Company, Inc. of Connecticut. He is a businessman who sees nothing wrong with the moral code that is destroying society and would never dream of saying he is in business for any reason other than the good of society. Dagny Taggart hires Mowen to produce switches made of Rearden Metal. He is reluctant to build anything with this unproven technology, and has to be cajoled into accepting the contract. When pressured by public opinion, he discontinues production of the switches, forcing Dagny to find an alternative source. Midas Mulligan is a wealthy banker who mysteriously disappeared in protest after he was given a court order to lend money to an incompetent applicant. When the order came down, he liquidated his entire business, paid off his depositors, and joined Galt's strike. He is the legal owner of the land where Galt's Gulch is located. Mulligan's birth name was Michael, but he had it legally changed after a news article called him "Midas" in a derogatory fashion, which Mulligan took as a compliment. Judge Narragansett is an American jurist who ruled in favor of Midas Mulligan during the case brought against him by the incompetent loan applicant. When Narragansett's ruling was reversed on appeal, he retired and joined the strike. At the end of the novel, he is seen editing the United States Constitution, crossing out portions that contradict each other and adding an amendment to prohibit Congress from passing laws that restrain freedom of trade. Ben Nealy is a railroad contractor whom Dagny Taggart hires to replace the track on the Rio Norte Line with Rearden Metal. Nealy is incompetent, but Dagny can find no one better in all the country. Nealy believes that anything can get done with enough muscle power. He sees no role for intelligence in human achievement. He relies on Dagny and Ellis Wyatt to run things, and resents them for doing it, because it appears to him like they are just bossing people around. Ted Nielsen is the head of Nielsen Motors. He eventually goes on strike, along with most of the other industrialist "producer" types, by closing his motor factory. Dagny later finds him when she visits Galt's Gulch for the first time. Betty Pope is a wealthy socialite who is having a meaningless sexual affair with James Taggart. She is deliberately crude in a way that casts ridicule on her high social position. Dr. Potter holds some undefined position with the State Science Institute. He is sent to try to obtain the rights to Rearden Metal. Dr. Simon Pritchett is the prestigious head of the Department of Philosophy at Patrick Henry University and is considered the leading philosopher of the age. He believes that man is nothing but a collection of chemicals, reason is a superstition, it is futile to seek meaning in life, and the duty of a philosopher is to show that nothing can be understood. Rearden's mother, whose name is not mentioned, lives with Rearden at his home in Philadelphia. She is involved in charity work, and berates Rearden whenever she can. She dotes on her weak son Philip Rearden. Philip Rearden is the younger brother of Hank Rearden. He lives in his brother's home in Philadelphia and is completely dependent on him. He is resentful of his brother's charity. Dwight Sanders owns Sanders Aircraft, a producer of high-quality airplanes, and joins the strike. Bertram Scudder is an editorial writer for the magazine The Future. He typically bashes business and businessmen, but he never says anything specific in his articles, relying on innuendo, sneers, and denunciation. He wrote a hatchet job on Hank Rearden called The Octopus. He is also vocal in support of the Equalization of Opportunity Bill. Scudder claims that the most important thing in life is "brother love" but seems to have nothing but hatred for those around him. He loses his job after Dagny Taggart reveals her affair with Hank Rearden over air on his radio show. Claude Slagenhop is president of political organization Friends of Global Progress and one of Lillian Rearden's friends. He believes that ideas are just air, that this is no time for talk, but for action. Global Progress is a sponsor of the Equalization of Opportunity Bill. Gerald and Ivy Starnes are the two surviving children of Jed Starnes, the founder of the Twentieth Century Motor Company. Together with their since-deceased brother Eric, they instituted a communistic payment-and-benefits program that drove the company into bankruptcy. Gerald, a dying alcoholic, and Ivy, a pseudo-Buddhist ascetic, continue to insist that the plan was perfect and that the failure of their father's company was entirely due to the workers. Eric was a weak, attention-seeking man with a pathological desire to be loved. He committed suicide after the woman he loved married another man. Gerald claims that he always acted for the good of the employees, but he was vain and incompetent and often threw lavish parties using company funds. Ivy, on the other hand, is described as a sadist who relishes seeing others in poverty, but who has no desire for wealth of her own. Andrew Stockton runs the Stockton Foundry in Stockton, Colorado. When he joins the strike, he opens a foundry in Galt's Gulch. Mr. Thompson is the "Head of the State" for the United States. He is not particularly intelligent and has a very undistinguished look. He knows politics, however, and is a master of public relations and back-room deals. Rand's notes indicate that she modeled him on President Harry S. Truman, and that she deliberately decided not to call him "President of the United States" as this title has "honorable connotations" which the character does not deserve. Lester Tuck is the campaign manager for Kip Chalmers and one of his guests on the train trip to California. He dies in the Taggart Tunnel disaster. Clem Weatherby is a government representative on the board of directors of Taggart Transcontinental. Dagny considers him the least bad of the government representatives, since he does have some real knowledge on the running of trains. She notices, however, that he is the least appreciated by his own bosses. The Wet Nurse (Tony) is a young bureaucrat sent by the government to watch over Rearden's mills. Though he starts out as a cynical follower of the looters' code, his experience at the mills transforms him, and he comes to respect and admire the producers. He is shot attempting to inform Hank Rearden about a government plot, but does succeed in warning Rearden just before he dies.Krupinski, Jotnana. "In the Beginning was the Thought: The Story of the Wet Nurse". In Ellis Wyatt is the head of Wyatt Oil. He has almost single-handedly revived the economy of Colorado by discovering a new process for extracting more oil from what were thought to be exhausted oil wells. When first introduced, he is aggressive towards Dagny, whom he does not yet know and whom he blames for what are, in fact, her brother's policies which directly threaten his business. When the government passes laws and decrees which make it impossible for him to continue, he sets all his oil wells on fire and disappears from public view, leaving a note: "I am leaving it as I found it. Take over. It's yours." One particular burning well that resists all efforts to extinguish it becomes known as "Wyatt's Torch". Later Dagny meets him in Galt's Gulch. Notes References Works cited External links Website with comprehensive list of individuals mentioned in Atlas Shrugged |
Anthropology | Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavior, while cultural anthropology studies cultural meaning, including norms and values. The term sociocultural anthropology is commonly used today. Linguistic anthropology studies how language influences social life. Biological or physical anthropology studies the biological development of humans. Archaeology, often termed as "anthropology of the past," studies human activity through investigation of physical evidence. It is considered a branch of anthropology in North America and Asia, while in Europe, archaeology is viewed as a discipline in its own right or grouped under other related disciplines, such as history and palaeontology. Etymology The abstract noun anthropology is first attested in reference to history. Its present use first appeared in Renaissance Germany in the works of Magnus Hundt and Otto Casmann. Their Neo-Latin derived from the combining forms of the Greek words ánthrōpos (, "human") and lógos (, "study").Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "anthropology, n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1885. Its adjectival form appeared in the works of Aristotle. It began to be used in English, possibly via French , by the early 18th century. |
Agricultural science | Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Professionals of the agricultural science are called agricultural scientists or agriculturists. History In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Mayer conducted experiments on the use of gypsum (hydrated calcium sulfate) as a fertilizer.John Armstrong, Jesse Buel. A Treatise on Agriculture, The Present Condition of the Art Abroad and at Home, and the Theory and Practice of Husbandry. To which is Added, a Dissertation on the Kitchen and Garden. In 1843, John Bennet Lawes and Joseph Henry Gilbert began a set of long-term field experiments at Rothamsted Research in England, some of which are still running as of 2018. In the United States, a scientific revolution in agriculture began with the Hatch Act of 1887, which used the term "agricultural science". The Hatch Act was driven by farmers' interest in knowing the constituents of early artificial fertilizer. The Smith–Hughes Act of 1917 shifted agricultural education back to its vocational roots, but the scientific foundation had been built.Hillison J. The Origins of Agriscience: Or Where Did All That Scientific Agriculture Come From? Journal of Agricultural Education. For the next 44 years after 1906, federal expenditures on agricultural research in the United States outpaced private expenditures.Huffman WE, Evenson RE. Science for Agriculture. Blackwell Publishing. |
Alien | Predator (film), fifth film in the franchise from 2004 by Paul W. S. Anderson Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, sixth film in the franchise from 2007 by the Brothers Strause Prometheus (2012 film), seventh film in the franchise from 2012 by Ridley Scott Alien: Covenant, eighth film in the franchise from 2017 by Ridley Scott Alien: Romulus, ninth film in the franchise from 2024 by Fede Álvarez Alien 2: On Earth, a 1980 unofficial sequel of the 1979 Alien film Alien Visitor (also titled Epsilon) (1995 film) AustralianItalian science fiction film by Rolf de Heer The Alien (2016 film), a 2016 Mexican film The Alien (unproduced film), an incomplete 1960s IndianAmerican film Alienoid, a 2022 South Korean film Literature Alien novels, an extension of the Alien franchise Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual, a 1995 book by Lee Brimmicombe-Wood, a guide to the fictional United States Colonial Marines Aliens (Tappan Wright novel), a 1902 novel by Mary Tappan Wright Aliens! (anthology) a 1980 anthology of science fiction edited by Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann The Alien (novel), the eighth book in the Animorphs series by Katherine Applegate The Aliens (play), a 2010 play by Annie Baker Music Performers Alien (band), a 1980s Swedish rock group The Aliens (Australian band), a 1970s new wave group The Aliens (Scottish band), a 2005–2008 rock group The Aliens, the backing band for the American musician Jared Louche on his 1999 solo debut album Covergirl Albums Alien (soundtrack), 1979 Alien (Beam album), 2022 Alien (Northlane album), 2019 Alien (Strapping Young Lad album), 2005 Alien, a 1989 EP by Tankard Aliens (soundtrack), 1987 Songs "Alien" (Britney Spears song), 2013 "Alien" (Jonas Blue and Sabrina Carpenter song), 2018 "Alien", a song by Atlanta Rhythm from the album Quinella, 1981 "Alien", a song by Bush from the album Sixteen Stone, 1994 "Alien", a song by Dead Letter Circus from the EP Dead Letter Circus, 2007 "Alien", a song by The Devil Wears Prada from the EP Space, 2014 "Alien", a song by Erasure from the album Loveboat, 2000 "Alien", a song by Japan from the album Quiet Life, 1979 "Alien", a song by Lamb from the album Fear of Fours, 1999 "Alien", a song by Nerina Pallot from the album Dear Frustrated Superstar, 2001 "Alien", a song by P-Model from the album Landsale, 1980 "Alien", a song by Pennywise from the album Straight Ahead, 1999 "Alien", a song by Stray Kids from the album SKZ-Replay, 2022 "Alien", a song by Structures from the album Life Through a Window, 2014 "Alien", a song by the National from the album First Two Pages of Frankenstein, 2023 "Alien", a song by Third Day from the album Conspiracy No. 5, 1997 "Alien", a song by Thriving Ivory from the album Thriving Ivory, 2003 "Alien", a song by Tokio Hotel from the album Humanoid, 2009 "Alien", a 2018 song by Beach House "Alien", a 2020 song by Lee Su-hyun "Alien", a 2020 song by Dennis Lloyd "Aliens" (song), a 2017 song by Coldplay "Aliens", a 1984 song by Warlord "The Alien", a song by Dream Theater from the album A View from the Top of the World, 2021 Video games Based on the 1979 and 1986 films Alien (1982 video game), a 1982 maze game based on the 1979 film Alien (1984 video game), based on the 1979 film Aliens: The Computer Game (US Version), a 1986 game by Activision based on the 1986 film of the same name Aliens: The Computer Game (UK Version), a 1986 game by Electric Dreams based on the 1986 film Aliens (1990 video game), a game by Konami, based on the 1986 film Alien: Isolation, a 2014 video game based on the Alien science fiction horror film series Other video games Aliens (1982 video game), a text-only clone of Space Invaders written for the CP/M operating system on the Kaypro computer Other media Alien (Armenian TV series), a 2017 melodrama series Alien: Isolation – The Digital Series, web series in the Alien franchise from 2019 by Fabien Dubois Alien: Earth, an upcoming science fiction horror television series in the franchise by Noah Hawley Alien (sculpture), a 2012 work by David Breuer-Weil, in Mottisfont, Hampshire, England Aliens (Dark Horse Comics line) The Aliens (TV series), 2016 British sci-fi television series "Aliens" (Roseanne), a 1992 television episode Other uses Alien (shipping company), a Russian company Alien Sun (born 1974), Singaporean actress Alien, a perfume by Thierry Mugler Alian District (Alien), in Taiwan See also Alians, an Islamic order Alien Project (disambiguation) Alien 4 (disambiguation) Alien vs. Predator (disambiguation) Astrobiology, the study of hypothetical alien life ATLiens, a 1996 album by OutKast Predator (disambiguation) UFO (disambiguation) Unidentified flying object (disambiguation) Outsider (disambiguation |
ASCII | ASCII , an acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. ASCII has just 128 code points, of which only 95 are , which severely limit its scope. The set of available punctuation had significant impact on the syntax of computer languages and text markup. ASCII hugely influenced the design of character sets used by modern computers, including Unicode which has over a million code points, but the first 128 of these are the same as ASCII. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) prefers the name US-ASCII for this character encoding. ASCII is one of the IEEE milestones. Overview ASCII was developed in part from telegraph code. Its first commercial use was in the Teletype Model 33 and the Teletype Model 35 as a seven-bit teleprinter code promoted by Bell data services. Work on the ASCII standard began in May 1961, with the first meeting of the American Standards Association's (ASA) (now the American National Standards Institute or ANSI) X3.2 subcommittee. The first edition of the standard was published in 1963, underwent a major revision during 1967, and experienced its most recent update during 1986. Compared to earlier telegraph codes, the proposed Bell code and ASCII were both ordered for more convenient sorting (i.e., alphabetization) of lists and added features for devices other than teleprinters. The use of ASCII format for Network Interchange was described in 1969. Almost identical wording to USAS X3.4-1968 except for the intro.) That document was formally elevated to an Internet Standard in 2015. Originally based on the (modern) English alphabet, ASCII encodes 128 specified characters into seven-bit integers as shown by the ASCII chart in this article. Ninety-five of the encoded characters are printable: these include the digits 0 to 9, lowercase letters a to z, uppercase letters A to Z, and punctuation symbols. In addition, the original ASCII specification included 33 non-printing control codes which originated with s; most of these are now obsolete, although a few are still commonly used, such as the carriage return, line feed, and tab codes. For example, lowercase i would be represented in the ASCII encoding by binary 1101001 = hexadecimal 69 (i is the ninth letter) = decimal 105. Despite being an American standard, ASCII does not have a code point for the cent (¢). It also does not support English terms with diacritical marks such as résumé and jalapeño, or proper nouns with diacritical marks such as Beyoncé (although on certain devices characters could be combined with punctuation such as Tilde (~) and Backtick (`) to approximate such characters.) |
Austin | Austin refers to: Common meanings Austin, Texas, United States, a city Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters Austin Motor Company, a British car manufacturer Arts and entertainment Austin (album), by Post Malone, 2023 "Austin" (Blake Shelton song), 2001 "Austin" (Dasha song), 2023 Austin (TV series), a 2024 Australian comedy series Businesses and organisations Businesses American Austin Car Company, short-lived American automobile maker Austin Automobile Company, short-lived American automobile company Austin Motor Company, British car manufacturer Austin magazine, produced for the Austin Motor Company by in-house Nuffield Press Austin Airways, a former Canadian passenger airline and freight carrier Austin cookies and crackers, a Keebler Company brand Education Austin College, in Sherman, Texas, U.S. Austin High School (disambiguation), several schools University of Austin, in Austin, Texas, U.S. University of Texas at Austin, in Austin, Texas, U.S. Military USS Austin, the name of three ships Austin-class amphibious transport dock, a former US Navy ship class Austin Armoured Car, a British First World War armoured car People Austin (given name), including a list of people with the name Austin (surname), including a list of people with the name Augustine of Hippo (354–430), also known as St. Austin, Christian theologian and saint Places Canada Austin, Manitoba, an unincorporated community Austin, Ontario, a neighbourhood Austin, Quebec, a municipality Austin Island, Nunavut United States Austin, Arkansas, a city Austin, Colorado, an unincorporated community Austin, Chicago, Illinois, a community area Austin, Indiana, a city Austin, Kentucky Austin, Minnesota, a city Austin, Missouri, an unincorporated community Austin, Nevada, an unincorporated town and census-designated place Austin, Ohio, an unincorporated community Austin, Oregon, an unincorporated community considered a ghost town Austin, Pennsylvania, a borough Austin, Texas, the capital city of Texas Austin County, Texas Austin Lake, Michigan Lake Austin, a reservoir in Austin, Texas Austin Township (disambiguation) Elsewhere Austin, Western Australia, Australia, a ghost town Mount Austin (Antarctica), Palmer Land Austin Peak, part of the Mirabito Range in Victoria Land, Antarctica Mount Austin, Hong Kong, a hill also known as Victoria Peak Sports Austin FC, an American soccer club Austin FC II, reserve team for Austin FC Austin Spurs, an American basketball team Austin Bruins, an American ice hockey team Other uses Austin (building), a building designed by artist Ellsworth Kelly in Austin, Texas Austin, an adjective in England for Augustinian friars See also Austin station (disambiguation) Austins (disambiguation) Austen (disambiguation) Austin Airport (disambiguation) Austin Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Austin Road, Hong Kong |
Animation | Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, specifically within the entertainment industry. Stop motion animation, in particular claymation, has continued to exist alongside these other forms. Animation is contrasted with live-action film, although the two do not exist in isolation. Many moviemakers have produced films that are a hybrid of the two. General overview Computer animation can be very detailed 3D animation, while 2D computer animation (which may have the look of traditional animation) can be used for stylistic reasons, low bandwidth, or faster real-time renderings. An animated cartoon or simply cartoon is an animated film, usually short, featuring an exaggerated visual style. The style takes inspiration from comic strips, gag cartoons, and other non-animated or still cartoons. It often features anthropomorphic animals, superheroes, or the adventures of human protagonists. Especially with animals that form a natural predator/prey relationship (e.g. cats and mice, coyotes and birds), the action often centers on violent pratfalls such as falls, collisions, and explosions that would be lethal in real life. In the 1980s, "cartoon" was shortened to toon, referring to characters in animated productions. This term was popularized in 1988 by the combined live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, followed in 1990 by the animated TV series Tiny Toon Adventures. The illusion of animation—as in motion pictures in general—has traditionally been attributed to the persistence of vision and later to the phi phenomenon and beta movement, but the exact neurological causes are still uncertain. Television and video are popular electronic animation media that originally were analog and now operate digitally. The mechanical manipulation of three-dimensional puppets and objects to emulate living beings has a very long history in automata. Electronic automata were popularized by Disney as animatronics. Etymology The word animation comes to the Latin word animātiō, meaning 'bestowing of life'. |
Andre Agassi | Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and a runner-up in seven other majors. Agassi is the second of five men in the Open Era to achieve the Career Grand Slam. He is also the first man to complete both the Career Golden Slam and the Career Super Slam, achieving this feat in 1999. Agassi was the first man to win all four singles majors on three different surfaces (hard, clay and grass), and remains the most recent American man to win the French Open (in 1999) and the Australian Open (in 2003). He also won 17 Masters titles and was part of the winning Davis Cup teams in 1990, 1992 and 1995. Agassi reached the world No. 1 ranking for the first time in 1995, but was troubled by personal issues during the mid-to-late 1990s and sank to No. 141 in 1997, prompting many to believe that his career was over. Agassi returned to No. 1 in 1999 and enjoyed the most successful run of his career over the next four years. During his 20-plus year tour career, Agassi was known as "The Punisher".Jhabvala, Nick. "Tale of the Tape". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 21, 2012.Mehrotra, Abhishek. "Agassi: Last of the great Americans" ESPN Star. Retrieved July 21, 2012. "Nickometer: Popular nicknames in the world of sport". MSN Sport. Retrieved July 21, 2012.Calvert, Sean. "Australian Open Betting: The best finals ever" . Retrieved July 21, 2012. After suffering from sciatica caused by two bulging discs in his back, a spondylolisthesis (vertebral displacement) and a bone spur that interfered with the nerve, Agassi retired from professional tennis after the 2006 US Open. He is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which has raised over $60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada. In 2001, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a K–12 public charter school for at-risk children. He has been married to fellow tennis player Steffi Graf since 2001. Agassi was named Laver Cup captain of Team World in 2024, beginning with the 2025 annual competition, succeeding John McEnroe. Early life Andre Agassi was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Emmanuel "Mike" Agassi (Aghassian), a former Olympic boxer from Iran, and American Elizabeth "Betty" Agassi (née Dudley). His father is of Armenian and Assyrian heritage and was a casino worker and former amateur boxer. His parents married in 1959 after dating for two months, then moved from Chicago to Las Vegas. He has three older siblings: Rita (who was married to former number one tennis player Pancho Gonzales), Philip and Tami. Andre was given the middle name Kirk after Kirk Kerkorian, an Armenian-American businessman. Emmanuel Agassi, then a waiter at Tropicana Las Vegas, had met his employer Kerkorian in 1963 and they became friends. At the age of 12, Agassi and his good friend and doubles partner, Roddy Parks, won the 1982 National Indoor Boys 14s Doubles Championship in Chicago. Agassi describes memorable experiences and juvenile pranks with Roddy in his book Open. When he was 13, Agassi was sent to Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy in Florida. He was meant to stay for only three months, because that was all his father could afford. After thirty minutes of watching Agassi play, Bollettieri, deeply impressed by his talent, called Mike and said: "Take your check back. He's here for free." Agassi then dropped out of school in the ninth grade to pursue a full-time tennis career. Professional career 1986–1993: Breakthrough and the first major title Agassi turned professional at the age of 16 and competed in his first tournament at La Quinta, California. He won his first match against John Austin, but then lost his second match to Mats Wilander. By the end of 1986, Agassi was ranked No. He won his first top-level singles title in 1987 at the Sul American Open in Itaparica and ended the year ranked No. He won six additional tournaments in 1988 (Memphis, U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, Forest Hills WCT, Stuttgart Outdoor, Volvo International and Livingston Open), and, by December of that year, he had surpassed US$1 million in career prize money after playing in just 43 tournaments—the fastest anyone in history had reached that level. During 1988, he also set the open-era record for most consecutive victories by a male teenager (a record that stood for 17 years until Rafael Nadal broke it in 2005). His year-end ranking was No. 3, behind second-ranked Ivan Lendl and top-ranked Mats Wilander. Both the Association of Tennis Professionals and Tennis magazine named Agassi the Most Improved Player of the Year for 1988. In addition to not playing the Australian Open (which later became his best Grand Slam event) for the first eight years of his career, Agassi chose not to play at Wimbledon from 1988 through 1990 (although he first played there in 1987, only to lose in the first round to Henri Leconte) and publicly stated that he did not wish to play there because of the event's traditionalism, particularly its "predominantly white" dress code to which players at the event are required to conform. Strong performances on the tour meant that Agassi was quickly tipped as a future Grand Slam champion. While still a teenager, he reached the semi-finals of both the French Open and the US Open in 1988 and made the US Open semi-finals in 1989. He began the 1990s with a series of near-misses. He reached his first Grand Slam final in 1990 at the French Open, where he was favored before losing in four sets to Andrés Gómez, which he later attributed in his book to worrying about his wig falling off during the match. He reached his second Grand Slam final of the year at the US Open, defeating defending champion Boris Becker in the semi-finals. His opponent in the final was Pete Sampras; a year earlier, Agassi had crushed Sampras, after which time he told his coach that he felt bad for Sampras because he was never going to make it as a pro. Agassi lost the US Open final to Sampras in three sets. The Agassi-Sampras rivalry became the biggest one in tennis over the rest of the decade. Agassi ended 1990 on a high note as he helped the United States win its first Davis Cup in 8 years on home soil against Australia (3–2) and won his only Tennis Masters Cup, beating reigning Wimbledon champion Stefan Edberg in the final. In 1991, Agassi reached his second consecutive French Open final, where he faced fellow Bollettieri Academy alumnus Jim Courier. Courier emerged the victor in a five-set final. The Las Vegan was a set and 3–1 up when came the rain. The rain delay proved to be a confidence builder for Courier. Agassi decided to play at Wimbledon in 1991, leading to weeks of speculation in the media about the clothes he would wear. He eventually emerged for the first round in a completely white outfit. He reached the quarterfinals on that occasion, losing in five sets to David Wheaton. Agassi's Grand Slam tournament breakthrough came at Wimbledon, not at the French Open or the US Open, where he had previously enjoyed success. In 1992, he defeated Goran Ivanišević in a five-set final. Along the way, Agassi overcame two former Wimbledon champions: Boris Becker and John McEnroe. No other baseliner would triumph at Wimbledon until Lleyton Hewitt ten years later. Agassi was named the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year in 1992. Agassi once again played on the United States' Davis Cup winning team in 1992. It was their second Davis cup title in three years. Agassi famously played the game wearing Oakley brand sunglasses, and a of him from the day appeared on the cover of Tennis magazine. In his memoir, he wrote that he was covering up bloodshot eyes from a hangover and claimed that the founder of Oakley, Jim Jannard, had sent him a Dodge Viper to thank him for the inadvertent publicity. In 1993, Agassi won the only doubles title of his career, at the Cincinnati Masters, partnered with Petr Korda. He missed much of the early part of that year due to injuries. Although he made the quarterfinals in his Wimbledon title defense, he lost to eventual champion and No. 1 Pete Sampras in five sets. Agassi lost in the first round at the US Open to Thomas Enqvist and required wrist surgery late in the year. 1994–1997: Rise to the top, Olympic Gold and the fall With new coach Brad Gilbert on board, Agassi began to employ more of a tactical, consistent approach, which fueled his resurgence. He started slowly in 1994, losing in the first week at the French Open and Wimbledon, although he did receive a much-needed confidence boost after defeating Mark Petchey at the Miami Open in March. Nevertheless, he emerged during the hard-court season, winning the Canadian Open. His comeback culminated at the 1994 US Open with a five-set fourth-round victory against Michael Chang. He then became the first man to capture the US Open as an unseeded player, beating Michael Stich in the final. Along the way, he beat 5 seeded players. He competed in the 1995 Australian Open (his first appearance at the event) and won, beating defending champion Sampras in a four-set final. Agassi and Sampras met in five tournament finals in 1995, all on hardcourt, with Agassi winning three. Agassi won three Masters Series events in 1995 (Cincinnati, Key Biscayne, and the Canadian Open) and seven titles total. He compiled a career-best 26-match winning streak during the summer hard-court circuit, with the last victory being in an intense late-night four-set semi-final of the US Open against Boris Becker. The streak ended the next day when Agassi lost the final to Sampras. Agassi admitted this loss, which gave Sampras a 9–8 lead in their head-to-head meetings, took two years for him to get over mentally. Agassi reached the world No. 1 ranking for the first time in April 1995. He held that ranking until November, for a total of 30 weeks. Agassi skipped most of the fall indoor season which allowed Sampras to surpass him and finish ranked No. 1 at the year-end ranking. In terms of win–loss record, 1995 was Agassi's best year. He won 73 and lost 9 matches, and was also once again a key player on the United States' Davis Cup winning team—the third and final Davis Cup title of his career. 1996 was a less successful year for Agassi, as he failed to reach any Grand Slam final. He suffered two early-round losses to Chris Woodruff and Doug Flach at the French Open and Wimbledon, respectively, and lost to Chang in straight sets in the Australian and US Open semi-finals. At the time, Agassi blamed the Australian Open loss on the windy conditions, but later said in his biography that he had lost the match on purpose, as he did not want to play Boris Becker, whom he would have faced in that final. The high point for Agassi was winning the men's singles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, beating Sergi Bruguera of Spain in the final. Agassi also successfully defended his singles titles in Cincinnati and Key Biscayne. 1997 was the low point of Agassi's career. His wrist injury resurfaced, and he played only 24 matches during the year. He later confessed that he used crystal methamphetamine during that time, allegedly on the urging of a friend. He failed an ATP drug test, but wrote a letter claiming the same friend had spiked a drink. The ATP dropped the failed drug test as a warning. In his autobiography, Agassi admitted that the letter was a lie. He quit the drug soon after. At this time Agassi was also in a failing marriage with actress, model, and socialite Brooke Shields and had lost interest in the game.Andre Agassi interview. The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He won no top-level titles, and his ranking sank to No. 141 on November 10, 1997, prompting many to believe that his run as one of the sport's premier competitors was over and he would never again win any significant tournaments. |
Austroasiatic languages | The Austroasiatic languages are a large language family spoken throughout Mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. These languages are natively spoken by the majority of the population in Vietnam and Cambodia, and by minority populations scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China. Approximately 117 million people speak an Austroasiatic language, of which more than two-thirds are Vietnamese speakers. Of the Austroasiatic languages, only Vietnamese, Khmer, and Mon have lengthy, established presences in the historical record. Only two are presently considered to be the national languages of sovereign states: Vietnamese in Vietnam, and Khmer in Cambodia. The Mon language is a recognized indigenous language in Myanmar and Thailand, while the Wa language is a "recognized national language" in the de facto autonomous Wa State within Myanmar. Santali is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. The remainder of the family's languages are spoken by minority groups and have no official status. Ethnologue identifies 168 Austroasiatic languages. These form thirteen established families (plus perhaps Shompen, which is poorly attested, as a fourteenth), which have traditionally been grouped into two, as Mon–Khmer,Bradley (2012) notes, MK in the wider sense including the Munda languages of eastern South Asia is also known as Austroasiatic. and Munda. However, one recent classification posits three groups (Munda, Mon-Khmer, and Khasi–Khmuic),Diffloth 2005 while another has abandoned Mon–Khmer as a taxon altogether, making it synonymous with the larger family.Sidwell 2009 Scholars generally date the ancestral language to with a homeland in southern China or the Mekong River valley. Sidwell (2022) proposes that the locus of Proto-Austroasiatic was in the Red River Delta area around . Genetic and linguistic research in 2015 about ancient people in East Asia suggest an origin and homeland of Austroasiatic in today southern China or even further north. Etymology The name Austroasiatic was coined by Wilhelm Schmidt based on , the Latin word for "South" (but idiosyncratically used by Schmidt to refer to the southeast), and "Asia". Despite the literal meaning of its name, only three Austroasiatic branches are actually spoken in South Asia: Khasic, Munda, and Nicobarese. Typology Regarding word structure, Austroasiatic languages are well known for having an iambic "sesquisyllabic" pattern, with basic nouns and verbs consisting of an initial, unstressed, reduced minor syllable followed by a stressed, full syllable. This reduction of presyllables has led to a variety of phonological shapes of the same original Proto-Austroasiatic prefixes, such as the causative prefix, ranging from CVC syllables to consonant clusters to single consonants among the modern languages. As for word formation, most Austroasiatic languages have a variety of derivational prefixes, many have infixes, but suffixes are almost completely non-existent in most branches except Munda, and a few specialized exceptions in other Austroasiatic branches.Alves 2014, 2015 The Austroasiatic languages are further characterized as having unusually large vowel inventories and employing some sort of register contrast, either between modal (normal) voice and breathy (lax) voice or between modal voice and creaky voice.Diffloth, Gérard (1989). "Proto-Austroasiatic creaky voice." Languages in the Pearic branch and some in the Vietic branch can have a three- or even four-way voicing contrast. However, some Austroasiatic languages have lost the register contrast by evolving more diphthongs or in a few cases, such as Vietnamese, tonogenesis. Vietnamese has been so heavily influenced by Chinese that its original Austroasiatic phonological quality is obscured and now resembles that of South Chinese languages, whereas Khmer, which had more influence from Sanskrit, has retained a more typically Austroasiatic structure. Proto-language Much work has been done on the reconstruction of Proto-Mon–Khmer in Harry L. Shorto's Mon–Khmer Comparative Dictionary. Little work has been done on the Munda languages, which are not well documented. With their demotion from a primary branch, Proto-Mon–Khmer becomes synonymous with Proto-Austroasiatic. Paul Sidwell (2005) reconstructs the consonant inventory of Proto-Mon–Khmer as follows: LabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottalPlosivevoiceless voiced implosive Nasal Liquid Fricative This is identical to earlier reconstructions except for . is better preserved in the Katuic languages, which Sidwell has specialized in. Internal classification Linguists traditionally recognize two primary divisions of Austroasiatic: the Mon–Khmer languages of Southeast Asia, Northeast India and the Nicobar Islands, and the Munda languages of East and Central India and parts of Bangladesh and Nepal. However, no evidence for this classification has ever been published. Each of the families that is written in boldface type below is accepted as a valid clade. By contrast, the relationships between these families within Austroasiatic are debated. In addition to the traditional classification, two recent proposals are given, neither of which accepts traditional "Mon–Khmer" as a valid unit. However, little of the data used for competing classifications has ever been published, and therefore cannot be evaluated by peer review. In addition, there are suggestions that additional branches of Austroasiatic might be preserved in substrata of Acehnese in Sumatra (Diffloth), the Chamic languages of Vietnam, and the Land Dayak languages of Borneo (Adelaar 1995).Roger Blench, 2009. Are there four additional unrecognised branches of Austroasiatic? Presentation at ICAAL-4, Bangkok, 29–30 October. Summarized in Sidwell and Blench (2011). Diffloth (1974) Diffloth's widely cited original classification, now abandoned by Diffloth himself, is used in Encyclopædia Britannica and—except for the breakup of Southern Mon–Khmer—in Ethnologue. Austro‑Asiatic Munda North Munda Korku Kherwarian South Munda Kharia–Juang Koraput Munda Mon–Khmer Eastern Mon–Khmer Khmer (Cambodian) Pearic Bahnaric Katuic Vietic (Vietnamese, Muong) Northern Mon–Khmer Khasi (Meghalaya, India) Palaungic Khmuic Southern Mon–Khmer Mon Aslian (Malaya) Nicobarese (Nicobar Islands) Peiros (2004) Peiros is a lexicostatistic classification, based on percentages of shared vocabulary. This means that languages can appear to be more distantly related than they actually are due to language contact. Indeed, when Sidwell (2009) replicated Peiros's study with languages known well enough to account for loans, he did not find the internal (branching) structure below. |
Afroasiatic languages | The Afroasiatic languages (also known as Afro-Asiatic, Afrasian, Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic) are a language family (or "phylum") of about 400 languages spoken predominantly in West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahara and Sahel. Over 500 million people are native speakers of an Afroasiatic language, constituting the fourth-largest language family after Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, and Niger–Congo. Most linguists divide the family into six branches: Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, Egyptian, Omotic, and Semitic. The vast majority of Afroasiatic languages are considered indigenous to the African continent, including all those not belonging to the Semitic branch. Arabic, if counted as a single language, is by far the most widely spoken within the family, with around 300 million native speakers concentrated primarily in the Middle East and North Africa. Other major Afroasiatic languages include the Cushitic Oromo language with 45 million native speakers, the Chadic Hausa language with over 34 million, the Semitic Amharic language with 25 million, and the Cushitic Somali language with 15 million. Other Afroasiatic languages with millions of native speakers include the Semitic Tigrinya language and Modern Hebrew, the Cushitic Sidama language, and the Omotic Wolaitta language, though most languages within the family are much smaller in size. There are many well-attested Afroasiatic languages from antiquity that have since died or gone extinct, including Egyptian and the Semitic languages Akkadian, Biblical Hebrew, Phoenician, Amorite, and Ugaritic. There is no consensus among historical linguists as to precisely where or when the common ancestor of all Afroasiatic languages, known as Proto-Afroasiatic, was originally spoken. However, most agree that the Afroasiatic homeland was located somewhere in northeastern Africa, with specific proposals including the Horn of Africa, Egypt, and the eastern Sahara. A significant minority of scholars argues for an origin in the Levant. The reconstructed timelines of when Proto-Afroasiatic was spoken vary extensively, with dates ranging from 18,000 BC to 8,000 BC. Even the latest plausible dating makes Afroasiatic the oldest language family accepted by contemporary linguists. Comparative study of Afroasiatic is hindered by the massive disparities in textual attestation between its branches: while the Semitic and Egyptian branches are attested in writing as early as the fourth millennium BC, Berber, Cushitic, and Omotic languages were often not recorded until the 19th or 20th centuries. While systematic sound laws have not yet been established to explain the relationships between the various branches of Afroasiatic, the languages share a number of common features. One of the most important for establishing membership in the branch is a common set of pronouns. Other widely shared features include a prefix m- which creates nouns from verbs, evidence for alternations between the vowel "a" and a high vowel in the forms of the verb, similar methods of marking gender and plurality, and some details of phonology such as the presence of pharyngeal fricatives. Other features found in multiple branches include a specialized verb conjugation using suffixes (Egyptian, Semitic, Berber), a specialized verb conjugation using prefixes (Semitic, Berber, Cushitic), verbal prefixes deriving middle (t-), causative (s-), and passive (m-) verb forms (Semitic, Berber, Egyptian, Cushitic), and a suffix used to derive adjectives (Egyptian, Semitic). Name In current scholarship, the most common names for the family are Afroasiatic (or Afro-Asiatic), Hamito-Semitic, and Semito-Hamitic. Other proposed names that have yet to find widespread acceptance include Erythraic/Erythraean, Lisramic, Noahitic, and Lamekhite. Friedrich Müller introduced the name Hamito-Semitic to describe the family in his (1876). The variant Semito-Hamitic is mostly used in older Russian sources. The elements of the name were derived from the names of two sons of Noah as attested in the Book of Genesis's Table of Nations passage: "Semitic" from the first-born Shem, and "Hamitic" from the second-born Ham (Genesis 5:32). Within the Table of Nations, each of Noah's sons is presented as the common progenitor of various people groups deemed to be closely related: among others Shem was the father of the Jews, Assyrians, and Arameans, while Ham was the father of the Egyptians and Cushites. This genealogy does not reflect the actual origins of these peoples' languages: for example, the Canaanites are descendants of Ham according to the Table, even though Hebrew is now classified as a Canaanite language, while the Elamites are ascribed to Shem despite their language being totally unrelated to Hebrew. The term Semitic for the Semitic languages had already been coined in 1781 by August Ludwig von Schlözer, following an earlier suggestion by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in 1710. Hamitic was first used by Ernest Renan in 1855 to refer to languages that appeared similar to the Semitic languages, but were not themselves provably a part of the family. The belief in a connection between Africans and the Biblical Ham, which had existed at least as far back as Isidore of Seville in the 6th century AD, led scholars in the early 19th century to speak vaguely of "Hamian" or "Hamitish" languages. The term Hamito-Semitic has largely fallen out of favor among linguists writing in English, but is still frequently used in the scholarship of various other languages, such as German. Several issues with the label Hamito-Semitic have led many scholars to abandon the term and criticize its continued use. One common objection is that the Hamitic component inaccurately suggests that a monophyletic "Hamitic" branch exists alongside Semitic. In addition, Joseph Greenberg has argued that Hamitic possesses racial connotations, and that "Hamito-Semitic" overstates the centrality of the Semitic languages within the family. By contrast, Victor Porkhomovsky suggests that the label is simply an inherited convention, and doesn't imply a duality of Semitic and "Hamitic" any more than Indo-European implies a duality of Indic and "European". Because of its use by several important scholars and in the titles of significant works of scholarship, the total replacement of Hamito-Semitic is difficult. While Greenberg ultimately popularized the name "Afroasiatic" in 1960, it appears to have been coined originally by Maurice Delafosse, as French , in 1914. The name refers to the fact that it is the only major language family with large populations in both Africa and Asia. Due to concerns that "Afroasiatic" could imply the inclusion of all languages spoken across Africa and Asia, the name "Afrasian" was proposed by Igor Diakonoff in 1980. At present it predominantly sees use among Russian scholars. The names Lisramic—based on the Afroasiastic root *lis- ("tongue") and the Egyptian word rmṯ ("person")—and Erythraean—referring to the core area around which the languages are spoken, the Red Sea—have also been proposed. |
Andorra | Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Western Europe, bordered by France to the north and Spain to the south. Believed to have been created by Charlemagne, Andorra was ruled by the count of Urgell until 988, when it was transferred to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell. The present principality was formed by a charter in 1278. It is currently headed by two co-princes: the Bishop of Urgell in Catalonia, Spain, and the president of France. Its capital and largest city is Andorra la Vella. Andorra is the sixth-smallest state in Europe, with an area of and a population of approximately . The Andorran people are a Romance ethnic group closely related to Catalans. Andorra is the world's 16th-smallest country by land and 11th-smallest by population. Its capital, Andorra la Vella, is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of above sea level. The official language is Catalan, but Spanish, Portuguese, and French are also commonly spoken. Tourism in Andorra brings approximately 8 million visitors to the country annually. Andorra is not a member state of the European Union. It has been a member of the United Nations since 1993. Etymology The origin of the word Andorra is unknown, although several hypotheses have been proposed. The oldest is one put forward by the Greek historian Polybius (Histories III, 35, 1), who describes the Andosins, an Iberian Pre-Roman tribe, as historically located in the valleys of Andorra and facing the Carthaginian army in its passage through the Pyrenees during the Punic Wars. The word Andosini or Andosins may derive from the Basque , meaning "big" or "giant".Diccionari d'Història de Catalunya; ed. 62; Barcelona; 1998; ; p. 42; entrada "Andorra" The Andorran toponymy shows evidence of Basque language in the area. Another theory suggests that the word Andorra may derive from the old word Anorra that contains the Basque word ("water"). Another theory suggests that Andorra may derive from Arabic , indicating a vast land which is located among mountains or a thickly wooded place (with being the definite article). When the Moors conquered the Iberian Peninsula, the valleys of the High Pyrenees were covered by large tracts of forest. These regions were not administered by Muslims, because of the geographic difficulty of direct rule. Other theories suggest that the term derives from the Navarro-Aragonese "andurrial", which means "land covered with bushes" or "scrubland". The folk etymology holds that Charlemagne had named the region as a reference to the Biblical Canaanite valley of Endor or Andor (where the Midianites had been defeated), a name bestowed by his heir and son Louis the Pious after defeating the Moors in the "wild valleys of Hell". History Prehistory left |
Arithmetic mean | In mathematics and statistics, the arithmetic mean , arithmetic average, or just the mean or average (when the context is clear) is the sum of a collection of numbers divided by the count of numbers in the collection. The collection is often a set of results from an experiment, an observational study, or a survey. The term "arithmetic mean" is preferred in some mathematics and statistics contexts because it helps distinguish it from other types of means, such as geometric and harmonic. In addition to mathematics and statistics, the arithmetic mean is frequently used in economics, anthropology, history, and almost every academic field to some extent. For example, per capita income is the arithmetic average income of a nation's population. While the arithmetic mean is often used to report central tendencies, it is not a robust statistic: it is greatly influenced by outliers (values much larger or smaller than most others). For skewed distributions, such as the distribution of income for which a few people's incomes are substantially higher than most people's, the arithmetic mean may not coincide with one's notion of "middle". In that case, robust statistics, such as the median, may provide a better description of central tendency. Definition The arithmetic mean of a set of observed data is equal to the sum of the numerical values of each observation, divided by the total number of observations. Symbolically, for a data set consisting of the values , the arithmetic mean is defined by the formula: (For an explanation of the summation operator, see summation.) In simpler terms, the formula for the arithmetic mean is: For example, if the monthly salaries of employees are , then the arithmetic mean is: If the data set is a statistical population (i.e., consists of every possible observation and not just a subset of them), then the mean of that population is called the population mean and denoted by the Greek letter . If the data set is a statistical sample (a subset of the population), it is called the sample mean (which for a data set is denoted as ). The arithmetic mean can be similarly defined for vectors in multiple dimensions, not only scalar values; this is often referred to as a centroid. More generally, because the arithmetic mean is a convex combination (meaning its coefficients sum to ), it can be defined on a convex space, not only a vector space. History The statistician Churchill Eisenhart, senior researcher fellow at the U. S. National Bureau of Standards, traced the history of the arithmetic mean in detail. In the modern age it started to be used as a way of combining various observations that should be identical, but were not such as estimates of the direction of magnetic north. In 1635 the mathematician Henry Gellibrand described as “meane” the midpoint of a lowest and highest number, not quite the arithmetic mean. In 1668, a person known as “DB” was quoted in the Transactions of the Royal Society describing “taking the mean” of five values: Motivating properties The arithmetic mean has several properties that make it interesting, especially as a measure of central tendency. These include: If numbers have mean , then . Since is the distance from a given number to the mean, one way to interpret this property is by saying that the numbers to the left of the mean are balanced by the numbers to the right. The mean is the only number for which the residuals (deviations from the estimate) sum to zero. This can also be interpreted as saying that the mean is translationally invariant in the sense that for any real number , . If it is required to use a single number as a "typical" value for a set of known numbers , then the arithmetic mean of the numbers does this best since it minimizes the sum of squared deviations from the typical value: the sum of . The sample mean is also the best single predictor because it has the lowest root mean squared error. If the arithmetic mean of a population of numbers is desired, then the estimate of it that is unbiased is the arithmetic mean of a sample drawn from the population. The arithmetic mean is independent of scale of the units of measurement, in the sense that So, for example, calculating a mean of liters and then converting to gallons is the same as converting to gallons first and then calculating the mean. This is also called first order homogeneity. Additional properties The arithmetic mean of a sample is always between the largest and smallest values in that sample. The arithmetic mean of any amount of equal-sized number groups together is the arithmetic mean of the arithmetic means of each group. Contrast with median The arithmetic mean may be contrasted with the median. The median is defined such that no more than half the values are larger, and no more than half are smaller than it. If elements in the data increase arithmetically when placed in some order, then the median and arithmetic average are equal. For example, consider the data sample . The mean is , as is the median. However, when we consider a sample that cannot be arranged to increase arithmetically, such as , the median and arithmetic average can differ significantly. In this case, the arithmetic average is , while the median is . The average value can vary considerably from most values in the sample and can be larger or smaller than most. There are applications of this phenomenon in many fields. For example, since the 1980s, the median income in the United States has increased more slowly than the arithmetic average of income. Generalizations Weighted average A weighted average, or weighted mean, is an average in which some data points count more heavily than others in that they are given more weight in the calculation. For example, the arithmetic mean of and is , or equivalently . In contrast, a weighted mean in which the first number receives, for example, twice as much weight as the second (perhaps because it is assumed to appear twice as often in the general population from which these numbers were sampled) would be calculated as . Here the weights, which necessarily sum to one, are and , the former being twice the latter. The arithmetic mean (sometimes called the "unweighted average" or "equally weighted average") can be interpreted as a special case of a weighted average in which all weights are equal to the same number ( in the above example and in a situation with numbers being averaged). |
American Football Conference | The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference (NFC), each have 16 teams organized into four divisions. Both conferences were created as part of the 1970 merger between the National Football League, and the American Football League (AFL). All ten of the AFL teams, and three NFL teams, became members of the new AFC, with the remaining thirteen NFL teams forming the NFC. A series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger, thus making the current total of 16 teams in each conference. The current AFC champions are the Kansas City Chiefs, who defeated the Buffalo Bills in the 2024 season's AFC Championship Game for their fifth conference championship and went on to Super Bowl LIX against the Philadelphia Eagles. Teams Like the NFC, the conference has 16 teams organized into four divisions each with four teams: East, North, South and West. Division Team Location StadiumRef(s) East Buffalo Bills Orchard Park, New York Highmark Stadium Miami Dolphins Miami Gardens, Florida Hard Rock Stadium New England Patriots Foxborough, Massachusetts Gillette Stadium New York Jets East Rutherford, New Jersey MetLife Stadium North Baltimore Ravens Baltimore, Maryland M&T Bank Stadium Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati, Ohio Paycor Stadium Cleveland Browns Cleveland, Ohio Huntington Bank Field Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Acrisure Stadium South Houston Texans Houston, Texas NRG Stadium Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis, Indiana Lucas Oil Stadium Jacksonville Jaguars Jacksonville, Florida EverBank Stadium Tennessee Titans Nashville, Tennessee Nissan Stadium West Denver Broncos Denver, Colorado Empower Field at Mile High Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City, Missouri Arrowhead Stadium Las Vegas Raiders Paradise, Nevada Allegiant Stadium Los Angeles Chargers Inglewood, CaliforniaSoFi Stadium Season structure AFC East AFC North AFC South AFC West 1st Bills Ravens Texans Chiefs 2nd Dolphins Steelers Colts Chargers 3rd Jets Bengals Jaguars Broncos 4th Patriots Browns Titans Raiders NFC East NFC North NFC South NFC West 1st Eagles Lions Buccaneers Rams 2nd Commanders Vikings Falcons Seahawks 3rd Cowboys Packers Panthers Cardinals 4th Giants Bears Saints 49ers This chart of the 2024 season standings displays an application of the NFL scheduling formula. The Chiefs in 2024 (highlighted in green) finished in first place in the AFC West. Thus, in 2025, the Chiefs will play two games against each of its division rivals (highlighted in light blue), one game against each team in the AFC South and NFC East (highlighted in yellow), and one game each against the first-place finishers in the AFC East, AFC North (highlighted in orange) and NFC North (highlighted in pink). Currently, the fourteen opponents each team faces over the 17-game regular season schedule are set using a predetermined formula: Each AFC team plays the other teams in their respective division twice (home and away) during the regular season, in addition to eleven other games assigned to their schedule by the NFL: three games are assigned on the basis of a particular team's final divisional standing from the previous season, and the remaining eight games are split between the roster of two other NFL divisions. This assignment shifts each year and will follow a standard cycle. Using the 2023 regular season schedule as an example, each team in the AFC West plays against every team in the AFC East and NFC North. In this way, non-divisional competition will be mostly among common opponents – the exception being the three games assigned based on the team's prior-season divisional standing. At the end of each season, the four division winners and three wild cards (non-division winners with best regular season record) in the AFC qualify for the playoffs. The AFC playoffs culminate in the AFC Championship Game, with the winner receiving the Lamar Hunt Trophy. The AFC champion then plays the NFC champion in the Super Bowl. |
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Dataset Card for lparkourer10/enwiki-20250201
This dataset is an extracted version of the English Wikipedia dump as of February 1, 2025. It has been processed to facilitate information retrieval and analysis.
Dataset Description
This dataset contains extracted text from the English Wikipedia, aimed at providing structured and accessible information for natural language processing (NLP) tasks, research, and machine learning applications. It includes raw Wikipedia articles in a processed format suitable for various use cases.
Curated by: lparkourer10
Language(s) (NLP): English
License: CC
Repository: wikipedia-parser
Uses
Direct Use
Training language models
Information retrieval and question-answering systems
Research in NLP and linguistics
Data analysis and knowledge extraction
Out-of-Scope Use
Generating factual claims without verification
Use in high-stakes decision-making without human oversight
Applications requiring structured or tabular data extraction without additional processing
Dataset Structure
[
{
"title": "Article Title",
"text": "Extracted plain text content of the article."
},
{
"title": "Another Article",
"text": "More extracted content."
}
]
Dataset Creation
This dataset was created to provide an up-to-date, structured, and accessible version of the English Wikipedia text for researchers, developers, and machine learning practitioners.
Source Data
The dataset is derived from the official English Wikipedia dump, processed to extract and structure the textual content.
Personal and Sensitive Information
As the dataset is derived from Wikipedia, it may contain biographical information about individuals. Users should be mindful of potential privacy concerns when using the dataset.
Bias, Risks, and Limitations
Wikipedia content is community-curated and may contain biases, errors, or outdated information.
The dataset may not be representative of all perspectives, as Wikipedia articles are written based on available sources.
Recommendations
Users should verify critical information against authoritative sources, be aware of potential biases, and process the dataset as needed for their specific applications.
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