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Šipan (pronounced [ʃǐpan]), also known as Sipano (Italian: Giuppana) is the largest of the Elaphiti Islands. It is 17 km (11 mi) northwest of Dubrovnik, Croatia; separated from the mainland coast by the Koločepski Channel; area 16.22 km2 (6.3 sq mi); The island is 9.1 km (5.7 mi) in length, and up to 2.6 km (1.6 mi) in width. It is the largest island in this group and its highest point is 243 m (797 ft) above sea level. Two limestone crests, the higher (Velji Vrh, 243 m) in the northeast and the lower in the southeast surround a dolomite depression, on which olives, figs, vine, carob-trees, almond-trees, oranges and citrus fruit are cultivated. The island's population is 419 (2011). There are two ports on the island, Suđurađ (San Giorgio) in the east, and Šipanska Luka (Porto Gippana) in the west. The island is also famed for its numerous palm tree species that grow on the island. It is the likely location of the naval Battle of Tauris during Caesar's Civil War.It was first mentioned by this name in documents of 1371.In 1426 it became part of the Republic of Ragusa. In XVI and XVII century the island was mentioned as a site of thriving folk traditional belief in living dead which led islanders to mutilate corpses.During the French Revolutionary Wars, the British Royal Navy referred to it as Zupano. On 17 June 1813 a landing party of marines and seamen from HMS Saracen captured the French garrison. Gallery See also Elaphiti Islands References Bibliography Glamuzina, Martin; Glamuzina, Nikola (1999). "Suvremena geografska problematika otoka Lopuda i Koločepa" [Recent Geographical Problematics of the Lopud and Koločep Islands] (PDF). Geoadria (in Croatian). 4 (1): 89–100. doi:10.15291/geoadria.152. Retrieved 25 December 2019. External links Media related to Šipan at Wikimedia Commons

elevation above sea level

Šipan (pronounced [ʃǐpan]), also known as Sipano (Italian: Giuppana) is the largest of the Elaphiti Islands. It is 17 km (11 mi) northwest of Dubrovnik, Croatia; separated from the mainland coast by the Koločepski Channel; area 16.22 km2 (6.3 sq mi); The island is 9.1 km (5.7 mi) in length, and up to 2.6 km (1.6 mi) in width. It is the largest island in this group and its highest point is 243 m (797 ft) above sea level. Two limestone crests, the higher (Velji Vrh, 243 m) in the northeast and the lower in the southeast surround a dolomite depression, on which olives, figs, vine, carob-trees, almond-trees, oranges and citrus fruit are cultivated. The island's population is 419 (2011). There are two ports on the island, Suđurađ (San Giorgio) in the east, and Šipanska Luka (Porto Gippana) in the west. The island is also famed for its numerous palm tree species that grow on the island. It is the likely location of the naval Battle of Tauris during Caesar's Civil War.It was first mentioned by this name in documents of 1371.In 1426 it became part of the Republic of Ragusa. In XVI and XVII century the island was mentioned as a site of thriving folk traditional belief in living dead which led islanders to mutilate corpses.During the French Revolutionary Wars, the British Royal Navy referred to it as Zupano. On 17 June 1813 a landing party of marines and seamen from HMS Saracen captured the French garrison. Gallery See also Elaphiti Islands References Bibliography Glamuzina, Martin; Glamuzina, Nikola (1999). "Suvremena geografska problematika otoka Lopuda i Koločepa" [Recent Geographical Problematics of the Lopud and Koločep Islands] (PDF). Geoadria (in Croatian). 4 (1): 89–100. doi:10.15291/geoadria.152. Retrieved 25 December 2019. External links Media related to Šipan at Wikimedia Commons

area

Šipan (pronounced [ʃǐpan]), also known as Sipano (Italian: Giuppana) is the largest of the Elaphiti Islands. It is 17 km (11 mi) northwest of Dubrovnik, Croatia; separated from the mainland coast by the Koločepski Channel; area 16.22 km2 (6.3 sq mi); The island is 9.1 km (5.7 mi) in length, and up to 2.6 km (1.6 mi) in width. It is the largest island in this group and its highest point is 243 m (797 ft) above sea level. Two limestone crests, the higher (Velji Vrh, 243 m) in the northeast and the lower in the southeast surround a dolomite depression, on which olives, figs, vine, carob-trees, almond-trees, oranges and citrus fruit are cultivated. The island's population is 419 (2011). There are two ports on the island, Suđurađ (San Giorgio) in the east, and Šipanska Luka (Porto Gippana) in the west. The island is also famed for its numerous palm tree species that grow on the island. It is the likely location of the naval Battle of Tauris during Caesar's Civil War.It was first mentioned by this name in documents of 1371.In 1426 it became part of the Republic of Ragusa. In XVI and XVII century the island was mentioned as a site of thriving folk traditional belief in living dead which led islanders to mutilate corpses.During the French Revolutionary Wars, the British Royal Navy referred to it as Zupano. On 17 June 1813 a landing party of marines and seamen from HMS Saracen captured the French garrison. Gallery See also Elaphiti Islands References Bibliography Glamuzina, Martin; Glamuzina, Nikola (1999). "Suvremena geografska problematika otoka Lopuda i Koločepa" [Recent Geographical Problematics of the Lopud and Koločep Islands] (PDF). Geoadria (in Croatian). 4 (1): 89–100. doi:10.15291/geoadria.152. Retrieved 25 December 2019. External links Media related to Šipan at Wikimedia Commons

Quora topic ID

Herbert Milton Stempel (December 19, 1926 – April 7, 2020) was an American television game show contestant and subsequent whistleblower on the fraudulent nature of the industry, in what became known as the 1950s quiz show scandals. His rigged six-week appearance as a winning contestant on the 1950s show Twenty-One ended in an equally rigged defeat by Columbia University teacher and literary scion Charles Van Doren. Early life A self-described "avid reader" as a child, who was "interested in everything", Stempel attended P.S. 89 in Queens. He was skipped ahead several classes in school, so much so that his mother worried he was being pushed too far. When he was seven, his father died, and Stempel, his mother, and his older sister Harriet moved to what he describes as a "poorer part of the Bronx". It was in the midst of the Depression, and the struggling family was on public assistance for years. Twenty-One was not Stempel's first quiz show. At a very young age Stempel realized he had what he refers to as a "retentive memory", in that he could read a page about a subject and then, months later, summarize that page. He represented his elementary school, P.S. 6, on a radio quiz show, Americana History, where he remained undefeated for several weeks. He was part of the "Kid Wizards", a three-man team who represented The Bronx High School of Science in competitions against New York high schools, remaining undefeated throughout the year. He claims his IQ has been measured at 170.Stempel graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in January 1944. He briefly attended classes at City College of New York (CCNY) before enlisting in the United States Army. He served in the 311th Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division and was on the front lines in Europe for a month before the war ended. Stempel remained in the Army for the next seven years, attending counterintelligence school in Baltimore, Maryland and serving as "an agent" until 1952, when he began work in the United States Post Office as a clerk. He married his wife, Toby, in 1954 and returned to CCNY on the G.I. Bill. Twenty-One In 1956, after tuning in to a new program, Twenty-One, he was intrigued by the questions and wrote to Dan Enright, the show's producer, asking to be a contestant. The qualifying trivia test took a grueling three-and-a-half hours; Stempel got 251 out of 363 questions right, which he claimed was the highest score ever achieved.At a time when the top five highest-rated programs on television were quiz shows, Twenty-One was a mainstay for Barry & Enright Productions and NBC, which aired the show: It was the most impactful show we've ever had. The show went on the air in 1956 and we felt that it had such great quality and content to it that we would not have to rig it. In fact, the first show of Twenty-One was not rigged and the first show of Twenty-One was a dismal failure. It was just plain dull. Neither contestant was able to answer the questions, and the score remained at zero. It lacked all drama, it lacked all suspense. And next morning, the sponsor called my partner, Jack Barry, and me and told us in no uncertain terms that he never wanted to see a repeat of what happened the previous night. And from that moment on, we decided to rig Twenty-One. Contestants on Twenty-One were given the questions and answers in advance and were coached as if they were actors, receiving instructions on which questions to answer correctly or incorrectly and how to behave during the game. The champion Several weeks later, Enright paid Stempel a visit while his wife was out at the theater and he was looking after their young son, and posed the fateful question: "How would you like to make $25,000?" Stempel immediately understood the implications; Enright was not going to pay him just for appearing on the show, when he could be easily defeated. Once I said "Who wouldn't?," I became part of the game show hoax. Stempel was not only provided with coaching on the answers and directions on how to deliver them, but on his physical appearance as well. Stempel was married to a woman whose family had money and the couple was not suffering financially, but Enright decided that the image of an underdog, a penniless GI working his way through school, would appeal to the American public. Enright personally selected his wardrobe: an oversized, baggy double-breasted suit that had belonged to Stempel's late father-in-law, a blue shirt with a frayed collar, "terrible looking" tie and an old "Timex watch that ticked like an alarm clock", the sound of which would be picked up by the studio microphone and thus help build suspense. The whole idea was to make me appear like an ex-G.I. working his way through college. The reason I had been asked to put on this old, ill-fitting suit and get this Marine-type haircut was to make me appear as what you would call today, a nerd, a square. ... I was never to call the Master of Ceremonies, Jack Barry, "Jack." I was always to call him "Mr. Barry" and be very, very humble and very sheepish. On the first program I was on, I was on for approximately four minutes and I won approximately $9,000. I had never had that much money in my life and I was absolutely flabbergasted. Enright later explained the reasons behind this: You want the viewer to react emotionally to a contestant. Whether he reacts favorably or negatively is really not that important. The important thing is that he reacts. He should watch a contestant, hoping that the contestant will win or he should watch the contestant, hoping the contestant will lose. And Herb, I felt, was the type of personality who instilled the latter. Viewers would watch him and pray for his opponent to win. ... When he applied to the show and he took the test, he scored a very, very high score. He was the type of contestant who could very well antagonize viewers. The defeated Stempel ostensibly won $69,500, which was presented to him as an unnotarized "settlement" agreement. As weeks went by, people began to recognize me more and more. I got more and more fan mail. My classmates at college were very proud of me. My professors were proud of me. I just couldn't hold this inside of me, though, because I was overjoyed about being a celebrity, winning and so forth. I was overwhelmed. ... Then, Dan Enright said to me, "You know, Herb, you're not going to get all the money that you've won so far or are going to win." I said, "What? What do you mean?" He says, "No," he says, "We have to look out for ourselves, so I have a paper here which you're going to have to sign." I realized that if I didn't sign, I might not find myself on the program too much longer, so I decided to sign. Even though Stempel agreed to take less money, that actually made no difference: his ratings were dropping and the producers decided he had to go. A new contestant was selected to challenge him and knock him off. He was an English instructor at Columbia University, Charles Van Doren. Van Doren was persuaded to go along with the fraud by an appeal that his appearance would help glamorize information and intellectualism. His impact was immediate and his name quickly became synonymous with quiz shows. For week after week, the two men battled it out, tying with scores of 21–21, as tens of millions of Americans tuned in to see if their new hero would beat Stempel. I told Herb Stempel that he was going to be losing that night to Charles Van Doren. He asked me whether he could not forgo the losing and whether he could not play against Van Doren clean [suggesting it could be touted as a duel between Columbia University and CCNY] and I said "no" and I reminded him he had given me his word that when I would ask him to lose, he would lose. Enright promised Stempel a subsequent television job if he would finish the performance they had started, but the final act, as choreographed by Enright, was particularly humiliating to Stempel. The question was, "What motion picture won the Academy Award for 1955?" I knew that the answer was Marty, but Dan Enright specifically wanted me to miss that question. This hurt me very deeply because this was one of my favorite pictures of all times and I could never forget this. A few seconds before that as I was trying to come up with the answer, I could have changed my mind. I could have said, "The answer is Marty, instead of On the Waterfront. I would have won. There would have been no Charles Van Doren, no famous celebrity. Charles Van Doren would have gone back to teaching college and my whole life would have been changed. ... On the day I was due to lose to Van Doren, I sat home, watching television in the morning. Every few minutes, an announcement would break in on WNBC, saying, "Is Herb Stempel going to win over $100,000 tonight?" And I said, "No, he's not going to win $100,000. He's going to take a dive." Years later Dan Enright stated in the WGBH documentary American Experience: The Quiz Show Scandal interview: This man was taken from obscurity—he came from rather impoverished circumstances—taken from obscurity and then exposed to the light of celebrity, became for some six weeks a celebrity and then just as quickly was cast back into obscurity. And we, at the time deluded ourselves into believing that what we were doing was not that wrong and I bear a tremendous guilt to Herb Stempel and I was sorry. I should have been far more mindful and far more sensitive. [Do I believe it?] No. I believe he feels bad that I exposed his show. That's my real belief. On December 5, 1956, Van Doren defeated Stempel before 15 million viewers. Van Doren went on to become the single most popular contestant in the quiz show's early history, while Stempel became the forgotten man. (In the closing minutes of his last Twenty-One appearance, asked what he would do with his winnings, a subdued Stempel said that after provisions were made for his family, he would donate a modest sum to the City College Fund “to repay the people of the city of New York for the free education they have given me”.) After his loss, Stempel overheard one backstage technician say to another: "At least, we finally have a clean-cut intellectual on this program, not a freak with a sponge memory." Enright's promise to find Stempel a panel show slot after his college graduation went unfulfilled. When Stempel, who by then had gone through his winnings, later demanded Enright follow through on his original promise, Enright demanded he first sign a statement affirming he had never been coached on Twenty-One. Again, no show materialized. Exposure When Enright subsequently told him the promise could not be kept because he had sold his shows to NBC itself, Stempel called Jack O'Brian, a columnist who covered television for the New York City Journal-American. Although O'Brian found the story hung together, the paper's syndicate, fearing a libel suit, refused to print the allegation without further corroboration. Stempel later testified to Congress that in February 1957 he had spoken with a reporter from the New York Post, but that paper had the same reservations as the Journal-American. There were no corroborating witnesses or hard evidence to back up Stempel's accusations, and Enright dismissed them as being rooted in jealousy over Van Doren's success. It took Ed Hilgemeier, a contestant-in-waiting who found a notebook full of answers belonging to Marie Winn, another contestant on the new quiz show Dotto, airing on CBS, to convince authorities and the Journal-American that Stempel should be taken seriously. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joseph Stone, who directed two grand jury probes into the case, states that Enright described Stempel to him as "a disturbed person and a blackmailer" and denied ever giving Stempel advance questions and answers. Three days after Twenty-One contestant Richard Jackman, a writer from Oneonta, New York, told Stone that he, too, had been coached in advance of his appearance on October 3, Twenty-One was canceled. The investigation of the quiz show scandal then began in earnest. Jackman only realized the game was fixed the night he appeared, when the questions he was asked were identical to the ones Enright had reviewed with him in a "practice session" that afternoon.Enright quickly countered, denying any wrongdoing or fraud had taken place, suing the Journal-American, and mounting a campaign to discredit Stempel. At a sensational press conference, he attempted to demonstrate that Stempel was mentally unstable by playing a recording of a conversation with him that Enright had secretly taped. To further discredit him, Enright also produced the statement that Stempel had signed earlier, declaring that Twenty-One was an honest program, that Barry and Enright were beyond reproach, and that no rigging had taken place. I was a damn fool to have signed such a thing, to have agreed to such a thing, but they again held out the prospects of jobs and money and this and that to me and I succumbed to that. Jack O'Brian felt there was an "undercurrent" of coercion going on. Not only did some of the producers lie to the grand jury, they also had urged contestants to perjure themselves. In lower Manhattan, the grand jury was convened for nine months and heard testimony from more than 150 contestants. It is estimated that more than 100 lied under oath. Stempel continued telling the truth to anyone who would listen, but it was his unsubstantiated word against everyone else's; there was still no hard corroborating evidence. His testimony to the DA and the grand jury implicated Van Doren in the fraud, but there was massive resistance in accepting this accusation. Suddenly, to everyone's astonishment, the grand jury testimony was sealed from the public by Judge Mitchell Schweitzer, for reasons that to this day are still not clear. This was almost an unprecedented move in New York State; in the no fewer than 497 grand jury presentments that had been filed in New York county since 1869, not one had ever been sealed. Afraid that the public might never learn what the grand jury had uncovered, Frank Hogan, the New York County District Attorney (and a former classmate of Judge Schweitzer), filed a protest in the court of general sessions, spelling out why it was in the public interest to make the findings known. Suspicious of a cover-up, Congress called an immediate investigation. Once just a trivial form of entertainment, quiz shows were now the subject of investigation at the highest level of government.Stempel told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight what he told Stone. Particularly jarring was Stempel's revelation that he was strong-armed into incorrectly identifying what was, in fact, one of his favorite films: This was supposed to be the twist of the Twenty-One program. In other words, the omniscient genius was supposed to know all the hard answers, but miss on the easy ones, because the public would figure one of two things. Either in his very, very erudite studies he had either glossed over this and missed it, or it was intended as a sop to the public at large to make them say, 'See, I knew the answer to this and the great genius, so and so, didn't.' That is about the effect of it. The kinescope that has survived of that episode shows that the round in which Stempel was ordered to provide the wrong answer actually ended in a tie. Stempel and Van Doren went on to yet another game during the same show. This time, Stempel failed to recall the name of William Allen White's popular editorials, What's the Matter with Kansas? "It just wouldn't help to guess," Stempel said softly in the booth, "I just don't know." The miss kept Stempel at zero, and Van Doren answered the questions in the category "Kings" successfully. Stempel drew the evening's biggest laugh when he was asked the fate of four of Henry VIII's wives and answered, "They all died." Stempel answered the question correctly, but when offered their standard opportunity to stop the game, Van Doren stopped it and became the new Twenty-One champion.As the investigation progressed, Charles Van Doren, now a host on The Today Show, was under pressure from NBC to testify. To avoid the committee's subpoena, he went into hiding. It was another former Twenty-One contestant, an artist named James Snodgrass, who finally provided indisputable supporting proof that the show had been rigged. Snodgrass had documented every answer he was coached on in a series of registered letters he mailed to himself before the show was taped.One month after the hearings began, Van Doren emerged from hiding and confessed before the committee that he had been complicit in the fraud. Life after the scandal Following the scandal, Stempel finished college on the G.I. Bill. He went to work for the New York City Transportation Department for the next two decades, performing examinations before trial, which meant he represented the Department in depositions by opposing counsel, testifying to various records in the city's possession.It was not until he was approached, some thirty years later, by the producers of the documentary The Quiz Show Scandals for PBS's American Experience, that he finally agreed to be interviewed on the subject. Julian Krainin, who co-produced the film, also co-produced the 1994 feature film Quiz Show, in which Stempel was portrayed by John Turturro. Stempel actually made an uncredited film debut in that movie, portraying a different contestant being interviewed by the congressional investigator Dick Goodwin, played by Rob Morrow. When Quiz Show was released, in spite of being "a little miffed by the portrayal", which he thought was "an over-the-top sort of portrayal of me", Stempel embraced the renewed public interest in him, giving interviews on radio and television (notably appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, taped in the same NBC studio Twenty-One once occupied), as well as lecturing at some colleges about the quiz scandals. Every time Quiz Show is shown on television, invariably the phone rings and some character at the other end says, "What picture won the Academy Award in 1955?" In 2008, Charles Van Doren broke his long silence, and in an article in The New Yorker described the overtures Robert Redford's production company made to him to cooperate with the filming of Quiz Show. He claimed that Barry & Enright Productions staffer Albert Freedman was actually responsible for scripting the entire Stempel–Van Doren competition, and rejected the image of Stempel as a penurious CCNY student: In fact, he was a Marines [Stempel was actually in the U.S. Army] veteran married to a woman of some means who once appeared on the set wearing a Persian-lamb coat and was quickly spirited away so that she wouldn't blow his cover. Van Doren wrote that until he viewed WGBH's American Experience documentary The Quiz Show Scandals he was ignorant of the fact that the show had once been honest—at least for one episode—and that: "Herb Stempel was the first to agree to the fix".This latter remark is debatable. Dan Enright has stated that due to the sponsor's displeasure he began to rig the show immediately after the premiere episode debuted on September 12, 1956. Whether the contestants in the five weeks before Stempel's choreographed October 17 appearance unwittingly received the answers in "practice sessions" the way Richard Jackman described, or were openly coached the same way Stempel was, is unclear. According to Jackman, an earlier contestant than Stempel, Enright was extremely nervous before his appearance on the show and stated, to Jackman's bewilderment: "You are in a position to destroy my career." After Jackman, a struggling author, told Enright he could not continue on a rigged show, Enright tried various types of persuasion and offers of money to persuade him to change his mind. Jackman finally accepted a check for $15,000, and for continuity's sake promised to appear again so he could publicly choose to take his "winnings" and depart at the beginning of the show. Kent Anderson portrays Enright as someone who would make certain his next contestant would cooperate. Enright is described as deliberately targeting Stempel's emotions, as he did with other contestants, leaving no angle overlooked when trying to gain their full participation. I had been a poor boy all my life, and I was sort of overjoyed, and I took it for granted that this was the way things were run on these programs ... I was stunned, I didn't know what to say ... I told him I would do it. Stempel died April 7, 2020, almost exactly one year after the death of his rival Charles Van Doren, and at the same age. His death was not publicly announced until nearly two months later. References External links Herb Stempel's testimony to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight, 1959 Investigation of television quiz shows. Hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Eighty-sixth Congress, first session, PN I992.8.U5IJ, October 6–12, 1959 ǀ [2] Herbert Stempel at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television Twenty-One: Full Stemple and Van Doren Episode

place of birth

Herbert Milton Stempel (December 19, 1926 – April 7, 2020) was an American television game show contestant and subsequent whistleblower on the fraudulent nature of the industry, in what became known as the 1950s quiz show scandals. His rigged six-week appearance as a winning contestant on the 1950s show Twenty-One ended in an equally rigged defeat by Columbia University teacher and literary scion Charles Van Doren. Early life A self-described "avid reader" as a child, who was "interested in everything", Stempel attended P.S. 89 in Queens. He was skipped ahead several classes in school, so much so that his mother worried he was being pushed too far. When he was seven, his father died, and Stempel, his mother, and his older sister Harriet moved to what he describes as a "poorer part of the Bronx". It was in the midst of the Depression, and the struggling family was on public assistance for years. Twenty-One was not Stempel's first quiz show. At a very young age Stempel realized he had what he refers to as a "retentive memory", in that he could read a page about a subject and then, months later, summarize that page. He represented his elementary school, P.S. 6, on a radio quiz show, Americana History, where he remained undefeated for several weeks. He was part of the "Kid Wizards", a three-man team who represented The Bronx High School of Science in competitions against New York high schools, remaining undefeated throughout the year. He claims his IQ has been measured at 170.Stempel graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in January 1944. He briefly attended classes at City College of New York (CCNY) before enlisting in the United States Army. He served in the 311th Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division and was on the front lines in Europe for a month before the war ended. Stempel remained in the Army for the next seven years, attending counterintelligence school in Baltimore, Maryland and serving as "an agent" until 1952, when he began work in the United States Post Office as a clerk. He married his wife, Toby, in 1954 and returned to CCNY on the G.I. Bill. Twenty-One In 1956, after tuning in to a new program, Twenty-One, he was intrigued by the questions and wrote to Dan Enright, the show's producer, asking to be a contestant. The qualifying trivia test took a grueling three-and-a-half hours; Stempel got 251 out of 363 questions right, which he claimed was the highest score ever achieved.At a time when the top five highest-rated programs on television were quiz shows, Twenty-One was a mainstay for Barry & Enright Productions and NBC, which aired the show: It was the most impactful show we've ever had. The show went on the air in 1956 and we felt that it had such great quality and content to it that we would not have to rig it. In fact, the first show of Twenty-One was not rigged and the first show of Twenty-One was a dismal failure. It was just plain dull. Neither contestant was able to answer the questions, and the score remained at zero. It lacked all drama, it lacked all suspense. And next morning, the sponsor called my partner, Jack Barry, and me and told us in no uncertain terms that he never wanted to see a repeat of what happened the previous night. And from that moment on, we decided to rig Twenty-One. Contestants on Twenty-One were given the questions and answers in advance and were coached as if they were actors, receiving instructions on which questions to answer correctly or incorrectly and how to behave during the game. The champion Several weeks later, Enright paid Stempel a visit while his wife was out at the theater and he was looking after their young son, and posed the fateful question: "How would you like to make $25,000?" Stempel immediately understood the implications; Enright was not going to pay him just for appearing on the show, when he could be easily defeated. Once I said "Who wouldn't?," I became part of the game show hoax. Stempel was not only provided with coaching on the answers and directions on how to deliver them, but on his physical appearance as well. Stempel was married to a woman whose family had money and the couple was not suffering financially, but Enright decided that the image of an underdog, a penniless GI working his way through school, would appeal to the American public. Enright personally selected his wardrobe: an oversized, baggy double-breasted suit that had belonged to Stempel's late father-in-law, a blue shirt with a frayed collar, "terrible looking" tie and an old "Timex watch that ticked like an alarm clock", the sound of which would be picked up by the studio microphone and thus help build suspense. The whole idea was to make me appear like an ex-G.I. working his way through college. The reason I had been asked to put on this old, ill-fitting suit and get this Marine-type haircut was to make me appear as what you would call today, a nerd, a square. ... I was never to call the Master of Ceremonies, Jack Barry, "Jack." I was always to call him "Mr. Barry" and be very, very humble and very sheepish. On the first program I was on, I was on for approximately four minutes and I won approximately $9,000. I had never had that much money in my life and I was absolutely flabbergasted. Enright later explained the reasons behind this: You want the viewer to react emotionally to a contestant. Whether he reacts favorably or negatively is really not that important. The important thing is that he reacts. He should watch a contestant, hoping that the contestant will win or he should watch the contestant, hoping the contestant will lose. And Herb, I felt, was the type of personality who instilled the latter. Viewers would watch him and pray for his opponent to win. ... When he applied to the show and he took the test, he scored a very, very high score. He was the type of contestant who could very well antagonize viewers. The defeated Stempel ostensibly won $69,500, which was presented to him as an unnotarized "settlement" agreement. As weeks went by, people began to recognize me more and more. I got more and more fan mail. My classmates at college were very proud of me. My professors were proud of me. I just couldn't hold this inside of me, though, because I was overjoyed about being a celebrity, winning and so forth. I was overwhelmed. ... Then, Dan Enright said to me, "You know, Herb, you're not going to get all the money that you've won so far or are going to win." I said, "What? What do you mean?" He says, "No," he says, "We have to look out for ourselves, so I have a paper here which you're going to have to sign." I realized that if I didn't sign, I might not find myself on the program too much longer, so I decided to sign. Even though Stempel agreed to take less money, that actually made no difference: his ratings were dropping and the producers decided he had to go. A new contestant was selected to challenge him and knock him off. He was an English instructor at Columbia University, Charles Van Doren. Van Doren was persuaded to go along with the fraud by an appeal that his appearance would help glamorize information and intellectualism. His impact was immediate and his name quickly became synonymous with quiz shows. For week after week, the two men battled it out, tying with scores of 21–21, as tens of millions of Americans tuned in to see if their new hero would beat Stempel. I told Herb Stempel that he was going to be losing that night to Charles Van Doren. He asked me whether he could not forgo the losing and whether he could not play against Van Doren clean [suggesting it could be touted as a duel between Columbia University and CCNY] and I said "no" and I reminded him he had given me his word that when I would ask him to lose, he would lose. Enright promised Stempel a subsequent television job if he would finish the performance they had started, but the final act, as choreographed by Enright, was particularly humiliating to Stempel. The question was, "What motion picture won the Academy Award for 1955?" I knew that the answer was Marty, but Dan Enright specifically wanted me to miss that question. This hurt me very deeply because this was one of my favorite pictures of all times and I could never forget this. A few seconds before that as I was trying to come up with the answer, I could have changed my mind. I could have said, "The answer is Marty, instead of On the Waterfront. I would have won. There would have been no Charles Van Doren, no famous celebrity. Charles Van Doren would have gone back to teaching college and my whole life would have been changed. ... On the day I was due to lose to Van Doren, I sat home, watching television in the morning. Every few minutes, an announcement would break in on WNBC, saying, "Is Herb Stempel going to win over $100,000 tonight?" And I said, "No, he's not going to win $100,000. He's going to take a dive." Years later Dan Enright stated in the WGBH documentary American Experience: The Quiz Show Scandal interview: This man was taken from obscurity—he came from rather impoverished circumstances—taken from obscurity and then exposed to the light of celebrity, became for some six weeks a celebrity and then just as quickly was cast back into obscurity. And we, at the time deluded ourselves into believing that what we were doing was not that wrong and I bear a tremendous guilt to Herb Stempel and I was sorry. I should have been far more mindful and far more sensitive. [Do I believe it?] No. I believe he feels bad that I exposed his show. That's my real belief. On December 5, 1956, Van Doren defeated Stempel before 15 million viewers. Van Doren went on to become the single most popular contestant in the quiz show's early history, while Stempel became the forgotten man. (In the closing minutes of his last Twenty-One appearance, asked what he would do with his winnings, a subdued Stempel said that after provisions were made for his family, he would donate a modest sum to the City College Fund “to repay the people of the city of New York for the free education they have given me”.) After his loss, Stempel overheard one backstage technician say to another: "At least, we finally have a clean-cut intellectual on this program, not a freak with a sponge memory." Enright's promise to find Stempel a panel show slot after his college graduation went unfulfilled. When Stempel, who by then had gone through his winnings, later demanded Enright follow through on his original promise, Enright demanded he first sign a statement affirming he had never been coached on Twenty-One. Again, no show materialized. Exposure When Enright subsequently told him the promise could not be kept because he had sold his shows to NBC itself, Stempel called Jack O'Brian, a columnist who covered television for the New York City Journal-American. Although O'Brian found the story hung together, the paper's syndicate, fearing a libel suit, refused to print the allegation without further corroboration. Stempel later testified to Congress that in February 1957 he had spoken with a reporter from the New York Post, but that paper had the same reservations as the Journal-American. There were no corroborating witnesses or hard evidence to back up Stempel's accusations, and Enright dismissed them as being rooted in jealousy over Van Doren's success. It took Ed Hilgemeier, a contestant-in-waiting who found a notebook full of answers belonging to Marie Winn, another contestant on the new quiz show Dotto, airing on CBS, to convince authorities and the Journal-American that Stempel should be taken seriously. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joseph Stone, who directed two grand jury probes into the case, states that Enright described Stempel to him as "a disturbed person and a blackmailer" and denied ever giving Stempel advance questions and answers. Three days after Twenty-One contestant Richard Jackman, a writer from Oneonta, New York, told Stone that he, too, had been coached in advance of his appearance on October 3, Twenty-One was canceled. The investigation of the quiz show scandal then began in earnest. Jackman only realized the game was fixed the night he appeared, when the questions he was asked were identical to the ones Enright had reviewed with him in a "practice session" that afternoon.Enright quickly countered, denying any wrongdoing or fraud had taken place, suing the Journal-American, and mounting a campaign to discredit Stempel. At a sensational press conference, he attempted to demonstrate that Stempel was mentally unstable by playing a recording of a conversation with him that Enright had secretly taped. To further discredit him, Enright also produced the statement that Stempel had signed earlier, declaring that Twenty-One was an honest program, that Barry and Enright were beyond reproach, and that no rigging had taken place. I was a damn fool to have signed such a thing, to have agreed to such a thing, but they again held out the prospects of jobs and money and this and that to me and I succumbed to that. Jack O'Brian felt there was an "undercurrent" of coercion going on. Not only did some of the producers lie to the grand jury, they also had urged contestants to perjure themselves. In lower Manhattan, the grand jury was convened for nine months and heard testimony from more than 150 contestants. It is estimated that more than 100 lied under oath. Stempel continued telling the truth to anyone who would listen, but it was his unsubstantiated word against everyone else's; there was still no hard corroborating evidence. His testimony to the DA and the grand jury implicated Van Doren in the fraud, but there was massive resistance in accepting this accusation. Suddenly, to everyone's astonishment, the grand jury testimony was sealed from the public by Judge Mitchell Schweitzer, for reasons that to this day are still not clear. This was almost an unprecedented move in New York State; in the no fewer than 497 grand jury presentments that had been filed in New York county since 1869, not one had ever been sealed. Afraid that the public might never learn what the grand jury had uncovered, Frank Hogan, the New York County District Attorney (and a former classmate of Judge Schweitzer), filed a protest in the court of general sessions, spelling out why it was in the public interest to make the findings known. Suspicious of a cover-up, Congress called an immediate investigation. Once just a trivial form of entertainment, quiz shows were now the subject of investigation at the highest level of government.Stempel told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight what he told Stone. Particularly jarring was Stempel's revelation that he was strong-armed into incorrectly identifying what was, in fact, one of his favorite films: This was supposed to be the twist of the Twenty-One program. In other words, the omniscient genius was supposed to know all the hard answers, but miss on the easy ones, because the public would figure one of two things. Either in his very, very erudite studies he had either glossed over this and missed it, or it was intended as a sop to the public at large to make them say, 'See, I knew the answer to this and the great genius, so and so, didn't.' That is about the effect of it. The kinescope that has survived of that episode shows that the round in which Stempel was ordered to provide the wrong answer actually ended in a tie. Stempel and Van Doren went on to yet another game during the same show. This time, Stempel failed to recall the name of William Allen White's popular editorials, What's the Matter with Kansas? "It just wouldn't help to guess," Stempel said softly in the booth, "I just don't know." The miss kept Stempel at zero, and Van Doren answered the questions in the category "Kings" successfully. Stempel drew the evening's biggest laugh when he was asked the fate of four of Henry VIII's wives and answered, "They all died." Stempel answered the question correctly, but when offered their standard opportunity to stop the game, Van Doren stopped it and became the new Twenty-One champion.As the investigation progressed, Charles Van Doren, now a host on The Today Show, was under pressure from NBC to testify. To avoid the committee's subpoena, he went into hiding. It was another former Twenty-One contestant, an artist named James Snodgrass, who finally provided indisputable supporting proof that the show had been rigged. Snodgrass had documented every answer he was coached on in a series of registered letters he mailed to himself before the show was taped.One month after the hearings began, Van Doren emerged from hiding and confessed before the committee that he had been complicit in the fraud. Life after the scandal Following the scandal, Stempel finished college on the G.I. Bill. He went to work for the New York City Transportation Department for the next two decades, performing examinations before trial, which meant he represented the Department in depositions by opposing counsel, testifying to various records in the city's possession.It was not until he was approached, some thirty years later, by the producers of the documentary The Quiz Show Scandals for PBS's American Experience, that he finally agreed to be interviewed on the subject. Julian Krainin, who co-produced the film, also co-produced the 1994 feature film Quiz Show, in which Stempel was portrayed by John Turturro. Stempel actually made an uncredited film debut in that movie, portraying a different contestant being interviewed by the congressional investigator Dick Goodwin, played by Rob Morrow. When Quiz Show was released, in spite of being "a little miffed by the portrayal", which he thought was "an over-the-top sort of portrayal of me", Stempel embraced the renewed public interest in him, giving interviews on radio and television (notably appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, taped in the same NBC studio Twenty-One once occupied), as well as lecturing at some colleges about the quiz scandals. Every time Quiz Show is shown on television, invariably the phone rings and some character at the other end says, "What picture won the Academy Award in 1955?" In 2008, Charles Van Doren broke his long silence, and in an article in The New Yorker described the overtures Robert Redford's production company made to him to cooperate with the filming of Quiz Show. He claimed that Barry & Enright Productions staffer Albert Freedman was actually responsible for scripting the entire Stempel–Van Doren competition, and rejected the image of Stempel as a penurious CCNY student: In fact, he was a Marines [Stempel was actually in the U.S. Army] veteran married to a woman of some means who once appeared on the set wearing a Persian-lamb coat and was quickly spirited away so that she wouldn't blow his cover. Van Doren wrote that until he viewed WGBH's American Experience documentary The Quiz Show Scandals he was ignorant of the fact that the show had once been honest—at least for one episode—and that: "Herb Stempel was the first to agree to the fix".This latter remark is debatable. Dan Enright has stated that due to the sponsor's displeasure he began to rig the show immediately after the premiere episode debuted on September 12, 1956. Whether the contestants in the five weeks before Stempel's choreographed October 17 appearance unwittingly received the answers in "practice sessions" the way Richard Jackman described, or were openly coached the same way Stempel was, is unclear. According to Jackman, an earlier contestant than Stempel, Enright was extremely nervous before his appearance on the show and stated, to Jackman's bewilderment: "You are in a position to destroy my career." After Jackman, a struggling author, told Enright he could not continue on a rigged show, Enright tried various types of persuasion and offers of money to persuade him to change his mind. Jackman finally accepted a check for $15,000, and for continuity's sake promised to appear again so he could publicly choose to take his "winnings" and depart at the beginning of the show. Kent Anderson portrays Enright as someone who would make certain his next contestant would cooperate. Enright is described as deliberately targeting Stempel's emotions, as he did with other contestants, leaving no angle overlooked when trying to gain their full participation. I had been a poor boy all my life, and I was sort of overjoyed, and I took it for granted that this was the way things were run on these programs ... I was stunned, I didn't know what to say ... I told him I would do it. Stempel died April 7, 2020, almost exactly one year after the death of his rival Charles Van Doren, and at the same age. His death was not publicly announced until nearly two months later. References External links Herb Stempel's testimony to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight, 1959 Investigation of television quiz shows. Hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Eighty-sixth Congress, first session, PN I992.8.U5IJ, October 6–12, 1959 ǀ [2] Herbert Stempel at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television Twenty-One: Full Stemple and Van Doren Episode

place of death

Herbert Milton Stempel (December 19, 1926 – April 7, 2020) was an American television game show contestant and subsequent whistleblower on the fraudulent nature of the industry, in what became known as the 1950s quiz show scandals. His rigged six-week appearance as a winning contestant on the 1950s show Twenty-One ended in an equally rigged defeat by Columbia University teacher and literary scion Charles Van Doren. Early life A self-described "avid reader" as a child, who was "interested in everything", Stempel attended P.S. 89 in Queens. He was skipped ahead several classes in school, so much so that his mother worried he was being pushed too far. When he was seven, his father died, and Stempel, his mother, and his older sister Harriet moved to what he describes as a "poorer part of the Bronx". It was in the midst of the Depression, and the struggling family was on public assistance for years. Twenty-One was not Stempel's first quiz show. At a very young age Stempel realized he had what he refers to as a "retentive memory", in that he could read a page about a subject and then, months later, summarize that page. He represented his elementary school, P.S. 6, on a radio quiz show, Americana History, where he remained undefeated for several weeks. He was part of the "Kid Wizards", a three-man team who represented The Bronx High School of Science in competitions against New York high schools, remaining undefeated throughout the year. He claims his IQ has been measured at 170.Stempel graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in January 1944. He briefly attended classes at City College of New York (CCNY) before enlisting in the United States Army. He served in the 311th Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division and was on the front lines in Europe for a month before the war ended. Stempel remained in the Army for the next seven years, attending counterintelligence school in Baltimore, Maryland and serving as "an agent" until 1952, when he began work in the United States Post Office as a clerk. He married his wife, Toby, in 1954 and returned to CCNY on the G.I. Bill. Twenty-One In 1956, after tuning in to a new program, Twenty-One, he was intrigued by the questions and wrote to Dan Enright, the show's producer, asking to be a contestant. The qualifying trivia test took a grueling three-and-a-half hours; Stempel got 251 out of 363 questions right, which he claimed was the highest score ever achieved.At a time when the top five highest-rated programs on television were quiz shows, Twenty-One was a mainstay for Barry & Enright Productions and NBC, which aired the show: It was the most impactful show we've ever had. The show went on the air in 1956 and we felt that it had such great quality and content to it that we would not have to rig it. In fact, the first show of Twenty-One was not rigged and the first show of Twenty-One was a dismal failure. It was just plain dull. Neither contestant was able to answer the questions, and the score remained at zero. It lacked all drama, it lacked all suspense. And next morning, the sponsor called my partner, Jack Barry, and me and told us in no uncertain terms that he never wanted to see a repeat of what happened the previous night. And from that moment on, we decided to rig Twenty-One. Contestants on Twenty-One were given the questions and answers in advance and were coached as if they were actors, receiving instructions on which questions to answer correctly or incorrectly and how to behave during the game. The champion Several weeks later, Enright paid Stempel a visit while his wife was out at the theater and he was looking after their young son, and posed the fateful question: "How would you like to make $25,000?" Stempel immediately understood the implications; Enright was not going to pay him just for appearing on the show, when he could be easily defeated. Once I said "Who wouldn't?," I became part of the game show hoax. Stempel was not only provided with coaching on the answers and directions on how to deliver them, but on his physical appearance as well. Stempel was married to a woman whose family had money and the couple was not suffering financially, but Enright decided that the image of an underdog, a penniless GI working his way through school, would appeal to the American public. Enright personally selected his wardrobe: an oversized, baggy double-breasted suit that had belonged to Stempel's late father-in-law, a blue shirt with a frayed collar, "terrible looking" tie and an old "Timex watch that ticked like an alarm clock", the sound of which would be picked up by the studio microphone and thus help build suspense. The whole idea was to make me appear like an ex-G.I. working his way through college. The reason I had been asked to put on this old, ill-fitting suit and get this Marine-type haircut was to make me appear as what you would call today, a nerd, a square. ... I was never to call the Master of Ceremonies, Jack Barry, "Jack." I was always to call him "Mr. Barry" and be very, very humble and very sheepish. On the first program I was on, I was on for approximately four minutes and I won approximately $9,000. I had never had that much money in my life and I was absolutely flabbergasted. Enright later explained the reasons behind this: You want the viewer to react emotionally to a contestant. Whether he reacts favorably or negatively is really not that important. The important thing is that he reacts. He should watch a contestant, hoping that the contestant will win or he should watch the contestant, hoping the contestant will lose. And Herb, I felt, was the type of personality who instilled the latter. Viewers would watch him and pray for his opponent to win. ... When he applied to the show and he took the test, he scored a very, very high score. He was the type of contestant who could very well antagonize viewers. The defeated Stempel ostensibly won $69,500, which was presented to him as an unnotarized "settlement" agreement. As weeks went by, people began to recognize me more and more. I got more and more fan mail. My classmates at college were very proud of me. My professors were proud of me. I just couldn't hold this inside of me, though, because I was overjoyed about being a celebrity, winning and so forth. I was overwhelmed. ... Then, Dan Enright said to me, "You know, Herb, you're not going to get all the money that you've won so far or are going to win." I said, "What? What do you mean?" He says, "No," he says, "We have to look out for ourselves, so I have a paper here which you're going to have to sign." I realized that if I didn't sign, I might not find myself on the program too much longer, so I decided to sign. Even though Stempel agreed to take less money, that actually made no difference: his ratings were dropping and the producers decided he had to go. A new contestant was selected to challenge him and knock him off. He was an English instructor at Columbia University, Charles Van Doren. Van Doren was persuaded to go along with the fraud by an appeal that his appearance would help glamorize information and intellectualism. His impact was immediate and his name quickly became synonymous with quiz shows. For week after week, the two men battled it out, tying with scores of 21–21, as tens of millions of Americans tuned in to see if their new hero would beat Stempel. I told Herb Stempel that he was going to be losing that night to Charles Van Doren. He asked me whether he could not forgo the losing and whether he could not play against Van Doren clean [suggesting it could be touted as a duel between Columbia University and CCNY] and I said "no" and I reminded him he had given me his word that when I would ask him to lose, he would lose. Enright promised Stempel a subsequent television job if he would finish the performance they had started, but the final act, as choreographed by Enright, was particularly humiliating to Stempel. The question was, "What motion picture won the Academy Award for 1955?" I knew that the answer was Marty, but Dan Enright specifically wanted me to miss that question. This hurt me very deeply because this was one of my favorite pictures of all times and I could never forget this. A few seconds before that as I was trying to come up with the answer, I could have changed my mind. I could have said, "The answer is Marty, instead of On the Waterfront. I would have won. There would have been no Charles Van Doren, no famous celebrity. Charles Van Doren would have gone back to teaching college and my whole life would have been changed. ... On the day I was due to lose to Van Doren, I sat home, watching television in the morning. Every few minutes, an announcement would break in on WNBC, saying, "Is Herb Stempel going to win over $100,000 tonight?" And I said, "No, he's not going to win $100,000. He's going to take a dive." Years later Dan Enright stated in the WGBH documentary American Experience: The Quiz Show Scandal interview: This man was taken from obscurity—he came from rather impoverished circumstances—taken from obscurity and then exposed to the light of celebrity, became for some six weeks a celebrity and then just as quickly was cast back into obscurity. And we, at the time deluded ourselves into believing that what we were doing was not that wrong and I bear a tremendous guilt to Herb Stempel and I was sorry. I should have been far more mindful and far more sensitive. [Do I believe it?] No. I believe he feels bad that I exposed his show. That's my real belief. On December 5, 1956, Van Doren defeated Stempel before 15 million viewers. Van Doren went on to become the single most popular contestant in the quiz show's early history, while Stempel became the forgotten man. (In the closing minutes of his last Twenty-One appearance, asked what he would do with his winnings, a subdued Stempel said that after provisions were made for his family, he would donate a modest sum to the City College Fund “to repay the people of the city of New York for the free education they have given me”.) After his loss, Stempel overheard one backstage technician say to another: "At least, we finally have a clean-cut intellectual on this program, not a freak with a sponge memory." Enright's promise to find Stempel a panel show slot after his college graduation went unfulfilled. When Stempel, who by then had gone through his winnings, later demanded Enright follow through on his original promise, Enright demanded he first sign a statement affirming he had never been coached on Twenty-One. Again, no show materialized. Exposure When Enright subsequently told him the promise could not be kept because he had sold his shows to NBC itself, Stempel called Jack O'Brian, a columnist who covered television for the New York City Journal-American. Although O'Brian found the story hung together, the paper's syndicate, fearing a libel suit, refused to print the allegation without further corroboration. Stempel later testified to Congress that in February 1957 he had spoken with a reporter from the New York Post, but that paper had the same reservations as the Journal-American. There were no corroborating witnesses or hard evidence to back up Stempel's accusations, and Enright dismissed them as being rooted in jealousy over Van Doren's success. It took Ed Hilgemeier, a contestant-in-waiting who found a notebook full of answers belonging to Marie Winn, another contestant on the new quiz show Dotto, airing on CBS, to convince authorities and the Journal-American that Stempel should be taken seriously. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joseph Stone, who directed two grand jury probes into the case, states that Enright described Stempel to him as "a disturbed person and a blackmailer" and denied ever giving Stempel advance questions and answers. Three days after Twenty-One contestant Richard Jackman, a writer from Oneonta, New York, told Stone that he, too, had been coached in advance of his appearance on October 3, Twenty-One was canceled. The investigation of the quiz show scandal then began in earnest. Jackman only realized the game was fixed the night he appeared, when the questions he was asked were identical to the ones Enright had reviewed with him in a "practice session" that afternoon.Enright quickly countered, denying any wrongdoing or fraud had taken place, suing the Journal-American, and mounting a campaign to discredit Stempel. At a sensational press conference, he attempted to demonstrate that Stempel was mentally unstable by playing a recording of a conversation with him that Enright had secretly taped. To further discredit him, Enright also produced the statement that Stempel had signed earlier, declaring that Twenty-One was an honest program, that Barry and Enright were beyond reproach, and that no rigging had taken place. I was a damn fool to have signed such a thing, to have agreed to such a thing, but they again held out the prospects of jobs and money and this and that to me and I succumbed to that. Jack O'Brian felt there was an "undercurrent" of coercion going on. Not only did some of the producers lie to the grand jury, they also had urged contestants to perjure themselves. In lower Manhattan, the grand jury was convened for nine months and heard testimony from more than 150 contestants. It is estimated that more than 100 lied under oath. Stempel continued telling the truth to anyone who would listen, but it was his unsubstantiated word against everyone else's; there was still no hard corroborating evidence. His testimony to the DA and the grand jury implicated Van Doren in the fraud, but there was massive resistance in accepting this accusation. Suddenly, to everyone's astonishment, the grand jury testimony was sealed from the public by Judge Mitchell Schweitzer, for reasons that to this day are still not clear. This was almost an unprecedented move in New York State; in the no fewer than 497 grand jury presentments that had been filed in New York county since 1869, not one had ever been sealed. Afraid that the public might never learn what the grand jury had uncovered, Frank Hogan, the New York County District Attorney (and a former classmate of Judge Schweitzer), filed a protest in the court of general sessions, spelling out why it was in the public interest to make the findings known. Suspicious of a cover-up, Congress called an immediate investigation. Once just a trivial form of entertainment, quiz shows were now the subject of investigation at the highest level of government.Stempel told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight what he told Stone. Particularly jarring was Stempel's revelation that he was strong-armed into incorrectly identifying what was, in fact, one of his favorite films: This was supposed to be the twist of the Twenty-One program. In other words, the omniscient genius was supposed to know all the hard answers, but miss on the easy ones, because the public would figure one of two things. Either in his very, very erudite studies he had either glossed over this and missed it, or it was intended as a sop to the public at large to make them say, 'See, I knew the answer to this and the great genius, so and so, didn't.' That is about the effect of it. The kinescope that has survived of that episode shows that the round in which Stempel was ordered to provide the wrong answer actually ended in a tie. Stempel and Van Doren went on to yet another game during the same show. This time, Stempel failed to recall the name of William Allen White's popular editorials, What's the Matter with Kansas? "It just wouldn't help to guess," Stempel said softly in the booth, "I just don't know." The miss kept Stempel at zero, and Van Doren answered the questions in the category "Kings" successfully. Stempel drew the evening's biggest laugh when he was asked the fate of four of Henry VIII's wives and answered, "They all died." Stempel answered the question correctly, but when offered their standard opportunity to stop the game, Van Doren stopped it and became the new Twenty-One champion.As the investigation progressed, Charles Van Doren, now a host on The Today Show, was under pressure from NBC to testify. To avoid the committee's subpoena, he went into hiding. It was another former Twenty-One contestant, an artist named James Snodgrass, who finally provided indisputable supporting proof that the show had been rigged. Snodgrass had documented every answer he was coached on in a series of registered letters he mailed to himself before the show was taped.One month after the hearings began, Van Doren emerged from hiding and confessed before the committee that he had been complicit in the fraud. Life after the scandal Following the scandal, Stempel finished college on the G.I. Bill. He went to work for the New York City Transportation Department for the next two decades, performing examinations before trial, which meant he represented the Department in depositions by opposing counsel, testifying to various records in the city's possession.It was not until he was approached, some thirty years later, by the producers of the documentary The Quiz Show Scandals for PBS's American Experience, that he finally agreed to be interviewed on the subject. Julian Krainin, who co-produced the film, also co-produced the 1994 feature film Quiz Show, in which Stempel was portrayed by John Turturro. Stempel actually made an uncredited film debut in that movie, portraying a different contestant being interviewed by the congressional investigator Dick Goodwin, played by Rob Morrow. When Quiz Show was released, in spite of being "a little miffed by the portrayal", which he thought was "an over-the-top sort of portrayal of me", Stempel embraced the renewed public interest in him, giving interviews on radio and television (notably appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, taped in the same NBC studio Twenty-One once occupied), as well as lecturing at some colleges about the quiz scandals. Every time Quiz Show is shown on television, invariably the phone rings and some character at the other end says, "What picture won the Academy Award in 1955?" In 2008, Charles Van Doren broke his long silence, and in an article in The New Yorker described the overtures Robert Redford's production company made to him to cooperate with the filming of Quiz Show. He claimed that Barry & Enright Productions staffer Albert Freedman was actually responsible for scripting the entire Stempel–Van Doren competition, and rejected the image of Stempel as a penurious CCNY student: In fact, he was a Marines [Stempel was actually in the U.S. Army] veteran married to a woman of some means who once appeared on the set wearing a Persian-lamb coat and was quickly spirited away so that she wouldn't blow his cover. Van Doren wrote that until he viewed WGBH's American Experience documentary The Quiz Show Scandals he was ignorant of the fact that the show had once been honest—at least for one episode—and that: "Herb Stempel was the first to agree to the fix".This latter remark is debatable. Dan Enright has stated that due to the sponsor's displeasure he began to rig the show immediately after the premiere episode debuted on September 12, 1956. Whether the contestants in the five weeks before Stempel's choreographed October 17 appearance unwittingly received the answers in "practice sessions" the way Richard Jackman described, or were openly coached the same way Stempel was, is unclear. According to Jackman, an earlier contestant than Stempel, Enright was extremely nervous before his appearance on the show and stated, to Jackman's bewilderment: "You are in a position to destroy my career." After Jackman, a struggling author, told Enright he could not continue on a rigged show, Enright tried various types of persuasion and offers of money to persuade him to change his mind. Jackman finally accepted a check for $15,000, and for continuity's sake promised to appear again so he could publicly choose to take his "winnings" and depart at the beginning of the show. Kent Anderson portrays Enright as someone who would make certain his next contestant would cooperate. Enright is described as deliberately targeting Stempel's emotions, as he did with other contestants, leaving no angle overlooked when trying to gain their full participation. I had been a poor boy all my life, and I was sort of overjoyed, and I took it for granted that this was the way things were run on these programs ... I was stunned, I didn't know what to say ... I told him I would do it. Stempel died April 7, 2020, almost exactly one year after the death of his rival Charles Van Doren, and at the same age. His death was not publicly announced until nearly two months later. References External links Herb Stempel's testimony to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight, 1959 Investigation of television quiz shows. Hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Eighty-sixth Congress, first session, PN I992.8.U5IJ, October 6–12, 1959 ǀ [2] Herbert Stempel at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television Twenty-One: Full Stemple and Van Doren Episode

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Herbert Milton Stempel (December 19, 1926 – April 7, 2020) was an American television game show contestant and subsequent whistleblower on the fraudulent nature of the industry, in what became known as the 1950s quiz show scandals. His rigged six-week appearance as a winning contestant on the 1950s show Twenty-One ended in an equally rigged defeat by Columbia University teacher and literary scion Charles Van Doren. Early life A self-described "avid reader" as a child, who was "interested in everything", Stempel attended P.S. 89 in Queens. He was skipped ahead several classes in school, so much so that his mother worried he was being pushed too far. When he was seven, his father died, and Stempel, his mother, and his older sister Harriet moved to what he describes as a "poorer part of the Bronx". It was in the midst of the Depression, and the struggling family was on public assistance for years. Twenty-One was not Stempel's first quiz show. At a very young age Stempel realized he had what he refers to as a "retentive memory", in that he could read a page about a subject and then, months later, summarize that page. He represented his elementary school, P.S. 6, on a radio quiz show, Americana History, where he remained undefeated for several weeks. He was part of the "Kid Wizards", a three-man team who represented The Bronx High School of Science in competitions against New York high schools, remaining undefeated throughout the year. He claims his IQ has been measured at 170.Stempel graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in January 1944. He briefly attended classes at City College of New York (CCNY) before enlisting in the United States Army. He served in the 311th Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division and was on the front lines in Europe for a month before the war ended. Stempel remained in the Army for the next seven years, attending counterintelligence school in Baltimore, Maryland and serving as "an agent" until 1952, when he began work in the United States Post Office as a clerk. He married his wife, Toby, in 1954 and returned to CCNY on the G.I. Bill. Twenty-One In 1956, after tuning in to a new program, Twenty-One, he was intrigued by the questions and wrote to Dan Enright, the show's producer, asking to be a contestant. The qualifying trivia test took a grueling three-and-a-half hours; Stempel got 251 out of 363 questions right, which he claimed was the highest score ever achieved.At a time when the top five highest-rated programs on television were quiz shows, Twenty-One was a mainstay for Barry & Enright Productions and NBC, which aired the show: It was the most impactful show we've ever had. The show went on the air in 1956 and we felt that it had such great quality and content to it that we would not have to rig it. In fact, the first show of Twenty-One was not rigged and the first show of Twenty-One was a dismal failure. It was just plain dull. Neither contestant was able to answer the questions, and the score remained at zero. It lacked all drama, it lacked all suspense. And next morning, the sponsor called my partner, Jack Barry, and me and told us in no uncertain terms that he never wanted to see a repeat of what happened the previous night. And from that moment on, we decided to rig Twenty-One. Contestants on Twenty-One were given the questions and answers in advance and were coached as if they were actors, receiving instructions on which questions to answer correctly or incorrectly and how to behave during the game. The champion Several weeks later, Enright paid Stempel a visit while his wife was out at the theater and he was looking after their young son, and posed the fateful question: "How would you like to make $25,000?" Stempel immediately understood the implications; Enright was not going to pay him just for appearing on the show, when he could be easily defeated. Once I said "Who wouldn't?," I became part of the game show hoax. Stempel was not only provided with coaching on the answers and directions on how to deliver them, but on his physical appearance as well. Stempel was married to a woman whose family had money and the couple was not suffering financially, but Enright decided that the image of an underdog, a penniless GI working his way through school, would appeal to the American public. Enright personally selected his wardrobe: an oversized, baggy double-breasted suit that had belonged to Stempel's late father-in-law, a blue shirt with a frayed collar, "terrible looking" tie and an old "Timex watch that ticked like an alarm clock", the sound of which would be picked up by the studio microphone and thus help build suspense. The whole idea was to make me appear like an ex-G.I. working his way through college. The reason I had been asked to put on this old, ill-fitting suit and get this Marine-type haircut was to make me appear as what you would call today, a nerd, a square. ... I was never to call the Master of Ceremonies, Jack Barry, "Jack." I was always to call him "Mr. Barry" and be very, very humble and very sheepish. On the first program I was on, I was on for approximately four minutes and I won approximately $9,000. I had never had that much money in my life and I was absolutely flabbergasted. Enright later explained the reasons behind this: You want the viewer to react emotionally to a contestant. Whether he reacts favorably or negatively is really not that important. The important thing is that he reacts. He should watch a contestant, hoping that the contestant will win or he should watch the contestant, hoping the contestant will lose. And Herb, I felt, was the type of personality who instilled the latter. Viewers would watch him and pray for his opponent to win. ... When he applied to the show and he took the test, he scored a very, very high score. He was the type of contestant who could very well antagonize viewers. The defeated Stempel ostensibly won $69,500, which was presented to him as an unnotarized "settlement" agreement. As weeks went by, people began to recognize me more and more. I got more and more fan mail. My classmates at college were very proud of me. My professors were proud of me. I just couldn't hold this inside of me, though, because I was overjoyed about being a celebrity, winning and so forth. I was overwhelmed. ... Then, Dan Enright said to me, "You know, Herb, you're not going to get all the money that you've won so far or are going to win." I said, "What? What do you mean?" He says, "No," he says, "We have to look out for ourselves, so I have a paper here which you're going to have to sign." I realized that if I didn't sign, I might not find myself on the program too much longer, so I decided to sign. Even though Stempel agreed to take less money, that actually made no difference: his ratings were dropping and the producers decided he had to go. A new contestant was selected to challenge him and knock him off. He was an English instructor at Columbia University, Charles Van Doren. Van Doren was persuaded to go along with the fraud by an appeal that his appearance would help glamorize information and intellectualism. His impact was immediate and his name quickly became synonymous with quiz shows. For week after week, the two men battled it out, tying with scores of 21–21, as tens of millions of Americans tuned in to see if their new hero would beat Stempel. I told Herb Stempel that he was going to be losing that night to Charles Van Doren. He asked me whether he could not forgo the losing and whether he could not play against Van Doren clean [suggesting it could be touted as a duel between Columbia University and CCNY] and I said "no" and I reminded him he had given me his word that when I would ask him to lose, he would lose. Enright promised Stempel a subsequent television job if he would finish the performance they had started, but the final act, as choreographed by Enright, was particularly humiliating to Stempel. The question was, "What motion picture won the Academy Award for 1955?" I knew that the answer was Marty, but Dan Enright specifically wanted me to miss that question. This hurt me very deeply because this was one of my favorite pictures of all times and I could never forget this. A few seconds before that as I was trying to come up with the answer, I could have changed my mind. I could have said, "The answer is Marty, instead of On the Waterfront. I would have won. There would have been no Charles Van Doren, no famous celebrity. Charles Van Doren would have gone back to teaching college and my whole life would have been changed. ... On the day I was due to lose to Van Doren, I sat home, watching television in the morning. Every few minutes, an announcement would break in on WNBC, saying, "Is Herb Stempel going to win over $100,000 tonight?" And I said, "No, he's not going to win $100,000. He's going to take a dive." Years later Dan Enright stated in the WGBH documentary American Experience: The Quiz Show Scandal interview: This man was taken from obscurity—he came from rather impoverished circumstances—taken from obscurity and then exposed to the light of celebrity, became for some six weeks a celebrity and then just as quickly was cast back into obscurity. And we, at the time deluded ourselves into believing that what we were doing was not that wrong and I bear a tremendous guilt to Herb Stempel and I was sorry. I should have been far more mindful and far more sensitive. [Do I believe it?] No. I believe he feels bad that I exposed his show. That's my real belief. On December 5, 1956, Van Doren defeated Stempel before 15 million viewers. Van Doren went on to become the single most popular contestant in the quiz show's early history, while Stempel became the forgotten man. (In the closing minutes of his last Twenty-One appearance, asked what he would do with his winnings, a subdued Stempel said that after provisions were made for his family, he would donate a modest sum to the City College Fund “to repay the people of the city of New York for the free education they have given me”.) After his loss, Stempel overheard one backstage technician say to another: "At least, we finally have a clean-cut intellectual on this program, not a freak with a sponge memory." Enright's promise to find Stempel a panel show slot after his college graduation went unfulfilled. When Stempel, who by then had gone through his winnings, later demanded Enright follow through on his original promise, Enright demanded he first sign a statement affirming he had never been coached on Twenty-One. Again, no show materialized. Exposure When Enright subsequently told him the promise could not be kept because he had sold his shows to NBC itself, Stempel called Jack O'Brian, a columnist who covered television for the New York City Journal-American. Although O'Brian found the story hung together, the paper's syndicate, fearing a libel suit, refused to print the allegation without further corroboration. Stempel later testified to Congress that in February 1957 he had spoken with a reporter from the New York Post, but that paper had the same reservations as the Journal-American. There were no corroborating witnesses or hard evidence to back up Stempel's accusations, and Enright dismissed them as being rooted in jealousy over Van Doren's success. It took Ed Hilgemeier, a contestant-in-waiting who found a notebook full of answers belonging to Marie Winn, another contestant on the new quiz show Dotto, airing on CBS, to convince authorities and the Journal-American that Stempel should be taken seriously. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joseph Stone, who directed two grand jury probes into the case, states that Enright described Stempel to him as "a disturbed person and a blackmailer" and denied ever giving Stempel advance questions and answers. Three days after Twenty-One contestant Richard Jackman, a writer from Oneonta, New York, told Stone that he, too, had been coached in advance of his appearance on October 3, Twenty-One was canceled. The investigation of the quiz show scandal then began in earnest. Jackman only realized the game was fixed the night he appeared, when the questions he was asked were identical to the ones Enright had reviewed with him in a "practice session" that afternoon.Enright quickly countered, denying any wrongdoing or fraud had taken place, suing the Journal-American, and mounting a campaign to discredit Stempel. At a sensational press conference, he attempted to demonstrate that Stempel was mentally unstable by playing a recording of a conversation with him that Enright had secretly taped. To further discredit him, Enright also produced the statement that Stempel had signed earlier, declaring that Twenty-One was an honest program, that Barry and Enright were beyond reproach, and that no rigging had taken place. I was a damn fool to have signed such a thing, to have agreed to such a thing, but they again held out the prospects of jobs and money and this and that to me and I succumbed to that. Jack O'Brian felt there was an "undercurrent" of coercion going on. Not only did some of the producers lie to the grand jury, they also had urged contestants to perjure themselves. In lower Manhattan, the grand jury was convened for nine months and heard testimony from more than 150 contestants. It is estimated that more than 100 lied under oath. Stempel continued telling the truth to anyone who would listen, but it was his unsubstantiated word against everyone else's; there was still no hard corroborating evidence. His testimony to the DA and the grand jury implicated Van Doren in the fraud, but there was massive resistance in accepting this accusation. Suddenly, to everyone's astonishment, the grand jury testimony was sealed from the public by Judge Mitchell Schweitzer, for reasons that to this day are still not clear. This was almost an unprecedented move in New York State; in the no fewer than 497 grand jury presentments that had been filed in New York county since 1869, not one had ever been sealed. Afraid that the public might never learn what the grand jury had uncovered, Frank Hogan, the New York County District Attorney (and a former classmate of Judge Schweitzer), filed a protest in the court of general sessions, spelling out why it was in the public interest to make the findings known. Suspicious of a cover-up, Congress called an immediate investigation. Once just a trivial form of entertainment, quiz shows were now the subject of investigation at the highest level of government.Stempel told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight what he told Stone. Particularly jarring was Stempel's revelation that he was strong-armed into incorrectly identifying what was, in fact, one of his favorite films: This was supposed to be the twist of the Twenty-One program. In other words, the omniscient genius was supposed to know all the hard answers, but miss on the easy ones, because the public would figure one of two things. Either in his very, very erudite studies he had either glossed over this and missed it, or it was intended as a sop to the public at large to make them say, 'See, I knew the answer to this and the great genius, so and so, didn't.' That is about the effect of it. The kinescope that has survived of that episode shows that the round in which Stempel was ordered to provide the wrong answer actually ended in a tie. Stempel and Van Doren went on to yet another game during the same show. This time, Stempel failed to recall the name of William Allen White's popular editorials, What's the Matter with Kansas? "It just wouldn't help to guess," Stempel said softly in the booth, "I just don't know." The miss kept Stempel at zero, and Van Doren answered the questions in the category "Kings" successfully. Stempel drew the evening's biggest laugh when he was asked the fate of four of Henry VIII's wives and answered, "They all died." Stempel answered the question correctly, but when offered their standard opportunity to stop the game, Van Doren stopped it and became the new Twenty-One champion.As the investigation progressed, Charles Van Doren, now a host on The Today Show, was under pressure from NBC to testify. To avoid the committee's subpoena, he went into hiding. It was another former Twenty-One contestant, an artist named James Snodgrass, who finally provided indisputable supporting proof that the show had been rigged. Snodgrass had documented every answer he was coached on in a series of registered letters he mailed to himself before the show was taped.One month after the hearings began, Van Doren emerged from hiding and confessed before the committee that he had been complicit in the fraud. Life after the scandal Following the scandal, Stempel finished college on the G.I. Bill. He went to work for the New York City Transportation Department for the next two decades, performing examinations before trial, which meant he represented the Department in depositions by opposing counsel, testifying to various records in the city's possession.It was not until he was approached, some thirty years later, by the producers of the documentary The Quiz Show Scandals for PBS's American Experience, that he finally agreed to be interviewed on the subject. Julian Krainin, who co-produced the film, also co-produced the 1994 feature film Quiz Show, in which Stempel was portrayed by John Turturro. Stempel actually made an uncredited film debut in that movie, portraying a different contestant being interviewed by the congressional investigator Dick Goodwin, played by Rob Morrow. When Quiz Show was released, in spite of being "a little miffed by the portrayal", which he thought was "an over-the-top sort of portrayal of me", Stempel embraced the renewed public interest in him, giving interviews on radio and television (notably appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, taped in the same NBC studio Twenty-One once occupied), as well as lecturing at some colleges about the quiz scandals. Every time Quiz Show is shown on television, invariably the phone rings and some character at the other end says, "What picture won the Academy Award in 1955?" In 2008, Charles Van Doren broke his long silence, and in an article in The New Yorker described the overtures Robert Redford's production company made to him to cooperate with the filming of Quiz Show. He claimed that Barry & Enright Productions staffer Albert Freedman was actually responsible for scripting the entire Stempel–Van Doren competition, and rejected the image of Stempel as a penurious CCNY student: In fact, he was a Marines [Stempel was actually in the U.S. Army] veteran married to a woman of some means who once appeared on the set wearing a Persian-lamb coat and was quickly spirited away so that she wouldn't blow his cover. Van Doren wrote that until he viewed WGBH's American Experience documentary The Quiz Show Scandals he was ignorant of the fact that the show had once been honest—at least for one episode—and that: "Herb Stempel was the first to agree to the fix".This latter remark is debatable. Dan Enright has stated that due to the sponsor's displeasure he began to rig the show immediately after the premiere episode debuted on September 12, 1956. Whether the contestants in the five weeks before Stempel's choreographed October 17 appearance unwittingly received the answers in "practice sessions" the way Richard Jackman described, or were openly coached the same way Stempel was, is unclear. According to Jackman, an earlier contestant than Stempel, Enright was extremely nervous before his appearance on the show and stated, to Jackman's bewilderment: "You are in a position to destroy my career." After Jackman, a struggling author, told Enright he could not continue on a rigged show, Enright tried various types of persuasion and offers of money to persuade him to change his mind. Jackman finally accepted a check for $15,000, and for continuity's sake promised to appear again so he could publicly choose to take his "winnings" and depart at the beginning of the show. Kent Anderson portrays Enright as someone who would make certain his next contestant would cooperate. Enright is described as deliberately targeting Stempel's emotions, as he did with other contestants, leaving no angle overlooked when trying to gain their full participation. I had been a poor boy all my life, and I was sort of overjoyed, and I took it for granted that this was the way things were run on these programs ... I was stunned, I didn't know what to say ... I told him I would do it. Stempel died April 7, 2020, almost exactly one year after the death of his rival Charles Van Doren, and at the same age. His death was not publicly announced until nearly two months later. References External links Herb Stempel's testimony to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight, 1959 Investigation of television quiz shows. Hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Eighty-sixth Congress, first session, PN I992.8.U5IJ, October 6–12, 1959 ǀ [2] Herbert Stempel at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television Twenty-One: Full Stemple and Van Doren Episode

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Herbert Milton Stempel (December 19, 1926 – April 7, 2020) was an American television game show contestant and subsequent whistleblower on the fraudulent nature of the industry, in what became known as the 1950s quiz show scandals. His rigged six-week appearance as a winning contestant on the 1950s show Twenty-One ended in an equally rigged defeat by Columbia University teacher and literary scion Charles Van Doren. Early life A self-described "avid reader" as a child, who was "interested in everything", Stempel attended P.S. 89 in Queens. He was skipped ahead several classes in school, so much so that his mother worried he was being pushed too far. When he was seven, his father died, and Stempel, his mother, and his older sister Harriet moved to what he describes as a "poorer part of the Bronx". It was in the midst of the Depression, and the struggling family was on public assistance for years. Twenty-One was not Stempel's first quiz show. At a very young age Stempel realized he had what he refers to as a "retentive memory", in that he could read a page about a subject and then, months later, summarize that page. He represented his elementary school, P.S. 6, on a radio quiz show, Americana History, where he remained undefeated for several weeks. He was part of the "Kid Wizards", a three-man team who represented The Bronx High School of Science in competitions against New York high schools, remaining undefeated throughout the year. He claims his IQ has been measured at 170.Stempel graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in January 1944. He briefly attended classes at City College of New York (CCNY) before enlisting in the United States Army. He served in the 311th Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division and was on the front lines in Europe for a month before the war ended. Stempel remained in the Army for the next seven years, attending counterintelligence school in Baltimore, Maryland and serving as "an agent" until 1952, when he began work in the United States Post Office as a clerk. He married his wife, Toby, in 1954 and returned to CCNY on the G.I. Bill. Twenty-One In 1956, after tuning in to a new program, Twenty-One, he was intrigued by the questions and wrote to Dan Enright, the show's producer, asking to be a contestant. The qualifying trivia test took a grueling three-and-a-half hours; Stempel got 251 out of 363 questions right, which he claimed was the highest score ever achieved.At a time when the top five highest-rated programs on television were quiz shows, Twenty-One was a mainstay for Barry & Enright Productions and NBC, which aired the show: It was the most impactful show we've ever had. The show went on the air in 1956 and we felt that it had such great quality and content to it that we would not have to rig it. In fact, the first show of Twenty-One was not rigged and the first show of Twenty-One was a dismal failure. It was just plain dull. Neither contestant was able to answer the questions, and the score remained at zero. It lacked all drama, it lacked all suspense. And next morning, the sponsor called my partner, Jack Barry, and me and told us in no uncertain terms that he never wanted to see a repeat of what happened the previous night. And from that moment on, we decided to rig Twenty-One. Contestants on Twenty-One were given the questions and answers in advance and were coached as if they were actors, receiving instructions on which questions to answer correctly or incorrectly and how to behave during the game. The champion Several weeks later, Enright paid Stempel a visit while his wife was out at the theater and he was looking after their young son, and posed the fateful question: "How would you like to make $25,000?" Stempel immediately understood the implications; Enright was not going to pay him just for appearing on the show, when he could be easily defeated. Once I said "Who wouldn't?," I became part of the game show hoax. Stempel was not only provided with coaching on the answers and directions on how to deliver them, but on his physical appearance as well. Stempel was married to a woman whose family had money and the couple was not suffering financially, but Enright decided that the image of an underdog, a penniless GI working his way through school, would appeal to the American public. Enright personally selected his wardrobe: an oversized, baggy double-breasted suit that had belonged to Stempel's late father-in-law, a blue shirt with a frayed collar, "terrible looking" tie and an old "Timex watch that ticked like an alarm clock", the sound of which would be picked up by the studio microphone and thus help build suspense. The whole idea was to make me appear like an ex-G.I. working his way through college. The reason I had been asked to put on this old, ill-fitting suit and get this Marine-type haircut was to make me appear as what you would call today, a nerd, a square. ... I was never to call the Master of Ceremonies, Jack Barry, "Jack." I was always to call him "Mr. Barry" and be very, very humble and very sheepish. On the first program I was on, I was on for approximately four minutes and I won approximately $9,000. I had never had that much money in my life and I was absolutely flabbergasted. Enright later explained the reasons behind this: You want the viewer to react emotionally to a contestant. Whether he reacts favorably or negatively is really not that important. The important thing is that he reacts. He should watch a contestant, hoping that the contestant will win or he should watch the contestant, hoping the contestant will lose. And Herb, I felt, was the type of personality who instilled the latter. Viewers would watch him and pray for his opponent to win. ... When he applied to the show and he took the test, he scored a very, very high score. He was the type of contestant who could very well antagonize viewers. The defeated Stempel ostensibly won $69,500, which was presented to him as an unnotarized "settlement" agreement. As weeks went by, people began to recognize me more and more. I got more and more fan mail. My classmates at college were very proud of me. My professors were proud of me. I just couldn't hold this inside of me, though, because I was overjoyed about being a celebrity, winning and so forth. I was overwhelmed. ... Then, Dan Enright said to me, "You know, Herb, you're not going to get all the money that you've won so far or are going to win." I said, "What? What do you mean?" He says, "No," he says, "We have to look out for ourselves, so I have a paper here which you're going to have to sign." I realized that if I didn't sign, I might not find myself on the program too much longer, so I decided to sign. Even though Stempel agreed to take less money, that actually made no difference: his ratings were dropping and the producers decided he had to go. A new contestant was selected to challenge him and knock him off. He was an English instructor at Columbia University, Charles Van Doren. Van Doren was persuaded to go along with the fraud by an appeal that his appearance would help glamorize information and intellectualism. His impact was immediate and his name quickly became synonymous with quiz shows. For week after week, the two men battled it out, tying with scores of 21–21, as tens of millions of Americans tuned in to see if their new hero would beat Stempel. I told Herb Stempel that he was going to be losing that night to Charles Van Doren. He asked me whether he could not forgo the losing and whether he could not play against Van Doren clean [suggesting it could be touted as a duel between Columbia University and CCNY] and I said "no" and I reminded him he had given me his word that when I would ask him to lose, he would lose. Enright promised Stempel a subsequent television job if he would finish the performance they had started, but the final act, as choreographed by Enright, was particularly humiliating to Stempel. The question was, "What motion picture won the Academy Award for 1955?" I knew that the answer was Marty, but Dan Enright specifically wanted me to miss that question. This hurt me very deeply because this was one of my favorite pictures of all times and I could never forget this. A few seconds before that as I was trying to come up with the answer, I could have changed my mind. I could have said, "The answer is Marty, instead of On the Waterfront. I would have won. There would have been no Charles Van Doren, no famous celebrity. Charles Van Doren would have gone back to teaching college and my whole life would have been changed. ... On the day I was due to lose to Van Doren, I sat home, watching television in the morning. Every few minutes, an announcement would break in on WNBC, saying, "Is Herb Stempel going to win over $100,000 tonight?" And I said, "No, he's not going to win $100,000. He's going to take a dive." Years later Dan Enright stated in the WGBH documentary American Experience: The Quiz Show Scandal interview: This man was taken from obscurity—he came from rather impoverished circumstances—taken from obscurity and then exposed to the light of celebrity, became for some six weeks a celebrity and then just as quickly was cast back into obscurity. And we, at the time deluded ourselves into believing that what we were doing was not that wrong and I bear a tremendous guilt to Herb Stempel and I was sorry. I should have been far more mindful and far more sensitive. [Do I believe it?] No. I believe he feels bad that I exposed his show. That's my real belief. On December 5, 1956, Van Doren defeated Stempel before 15 million viewers. Van Doren went on to become the single most popular contestant in the quiz show's early history, while Stempel became the forgotten man. (In the closing minutes of his last Twenty-One appearance, asked what he would do with his winnings, a subdued Stempel said that after provisions were made for his family, he would donate a modest sum to the City College Fund “to repay the people of the city of New York for the free education they have given me”.) After his loss, Stempel overheard one backstage technician say to another: "At least, we finally have a clean-cut intellectual on this program, not a freak with a sponge memory." Enright's promise to find Stempel a panel show slot after his college graduation went unfulfilled. When Stempel, who by then had gone through his winnings, later demanded Enright follow through on his original promise, Enright demanded he first sign a statement affirming he had never been coached on Twenty-One. Again, no show materialized. Exposure When Enright subsequently told him the promise could not be kept because he had sold his shows to NBC itself, Stempel called Jack O'Brian, a columnist who covered television for the New York City Journal-American. Although O'Brian found the story hung together, the paper's syndicate, fearing a libel suit, refused to print the allegation without further corroboration. Stempel later testified to Congress that in February 1957 he had spoken with a reporter from the New York Post, but that paper had the same reservations as the Journal-American. There were no corroborating witnesses or hard evidence to back up Stempel's accusations, and Enright dismissed them as being rooted in jealousy over Van Doren's success. It took Ed Hilgemeier, a contestant-in-waiting who found a notebook full of answers belonging to Marie Winn, another contestant on the new quiz show Dotto, airing on CBS, to convince authorities and the Journal-American that Stempel should be taken seriously. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joseph Stone, who directed two grand jury probes into the case, states that Enright described Stempel to him as "a disturbed person and a blackmailer" and denied ever giving Stempel advance questions and answers. Three days after Twenty-One contestant Richard Jackman, a writer from Oneonta, New York, told Stone that he, too, had been coached in advance of his appearance on October 3, Twenty-One was canceled. The investigation of the quiz show scandal then began in earnest. Jackman only realized the game was fixed the night he appeared, when the questions he was asked were identical to the ones Enright had reviewed with him in a "practice session" that afternoon.Enright quickly countered, denying any wrongdoing or fraud had taken place, suing the Journal-American, and mounting a campaign to discredit Stempel. At a sensational press conference, he attempted to demonstrate that Stempel was mentally unstable by playing a recording of a conversation with him that Enright had secretly taped. To further discredit him, Enright also produced the statement that Stempel had signed earlier, declaring that Twenty-One was an honest program, that Barry and Enright were beyond reproach, and that no rigging had taken place. I was a damn fool to have signed such a thing, to have agreed to such a thing, but they again held out the prospects of jobs and money and this and that to me and I succumbed to that. Jack O'Brian felt there was an "undercurrent" of coercion going on. Not only did some of the producers lie to the grand jury, they also had urged contestants to perjure themselves. In lower Manhattan, the grand jury was convened for nine months and heard testimony from more than 150 contestants. It is estimated that more than 100 lied under oath. Stempel continued telling the truth to anyone who would listen, but it was his unsubstantiated word against everyone else's; there was still no hard corroborating evidence. His testimony to the DA and the grand jury implicated Van Doren in the fraud, but there was massive resistance in accepting this accusation. Suddenly, to everyone's astonishment, the grand jury testimony was sealed from the public by Judge Mitchell Schweitzer, for reasons that to this day are still not clear. This was almost an unprecedented move in New York State; in the no fewer than 497 grand jury presentments that had been filed in New York county since 1869, not one had ever been sealed. Afraid that the public might never learn what the grand jury had uncovered, Frank Hogan, the New York County District Attorney (and a former classmate of Judge Schweitzer), filed a protest in the court of general sessions, spelling out why it was in the public interest to make the findings known. Suspicious of a cover-up, Congress called an immediate investigation. Once just a trivial form of entertainment, quiz shows were now the subject of investigation at the highest level of government.Stempel told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight what he told Stone. Particularly jarring was Stempel's revelation that he was strong-armed into incorrectly identifying what was, in fact, one of his favorite films: This was supposed to be the twist of the Twenty-One program. In other words, the omniscient genius was supposed to know all the hard answers, but miss on the easy ones, because the public would figure one of two things. Either in his very, very erudite studies he had either glossed over this and missed it, or it was intended as a sop to the public at large to make them say, 'See, I knew the answer to this and the great genius, so and so, didn't.' That is about the effect of it. The kinescope that has survived of that episode shows that the round in which Stempel was ordered to provide the wrong answer actually ended in a tie. Stempel and Van Doren went on to yet another game during the same show. This time, Stempel failed to recall the name of William Allen White's popular editorials, What's the Matter with Kansas? "It just wouldn't help to guess," Stempel said softly in the booth, "I just don't know." The miss kept Stempel at zero, and Van Doren answered the questions in the category "Kings" successfully. Stempel drew the evening's biggest laugh when he was asked the fate of four of Henry VIII's wives and answered, "They all died." Stempel answered the question correctly, but when offered their standard opportunity to stop the game, Van Doren stopped it and became the new Twenty-One champion.As the investigation progressed, Charles Van Doren, now a host on The Today Show, was under pressure from NBC to testify. To avoid the committee's subpoena, he went into hiding. It was another former Twenty-One contestant, an artist named James Snodgrass, who finally provided indisputable supporting proof that the show had been rigged. Snodgrass had documented every answer he was coached on in a series of registered letters he mailed to himself before the show was taped.One month after the hearings began, Van Doren emerged from hiding and confessed before the committee that he had been complicit in the fraud. Life after the scandal Following the scandal, Stempel finished college on the G.I. Bill. He went to work for the New York City Transportation Department for the next two decades, performing examinations before trial, which meant he represented the Department in depositions by opposing counsel, testifying to various records in the city's possession.It was not until he was approached, some thirty years later, by the producers of the documentary The Quiz Show Scandals for PBS's American Experience, that he finally agreed to be interviewed on the subject. Julian Krainin, who co-produced the film, also co-produced the 1994 feature film Quiz Show, in which Stempel was portrayed by John Turturro. Stempel actually made an uncredited film debut in that movie, portraying a different contestant being interviewed by the congressional investigator Dick Goodwin, played by Rob Morrow. When Quiz Show was released, in spite of being "a little miffed by the portrayal", which he thought was "an over-the-top sort of portrayal of me", Stempel embraced the renewed public interest in him, giving interviews on radio and television (notably appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, taped in the same NBC studio Twenty-One once occupied), as well as lecturing at some colleges about the quiz scandals. Every time Quiz Show is shown on television, invariably the phone rings and some character at the other end says, "What picture won the Academy Award in 1955?" In 2008, Charles Van Doren broke his long silence, and in an article in The New Yorker described the overtures Robert Redford's production company made to him to cooperate with the filming of Quiz Show. He claimed that Barry & Enright Productions staffer Albert Freedman was actually responsible for scripting the entire Stempel–Van Doren competition, and rejected the image of Stempel as a penurious CCNY student: In fact, he was a Marines [Stempel was actually in the U.S. Army] veteran married to a woman of some means who once appeared on the set wearing a Persian-lamb coat and was quickly spirited away so that she wouldn't blow his cover. Van Doren wrote that until he viewed WGBH's American Experience documentary The Quiz Show Scandals he was ignorant of the fact that the show had once been honest—at least for one episode—and that: "Herb Stempel was the first to agree to the fix".This latter remark is debatable. Dan Enright has stated that due to the sponsor's displeasure he began to rig the show immediately after the premiere episode debuted on September 12, 1956. Whether the contestants in the five weeks before Stempel's choreographed October 17 appearance unwittingly received the answers in "practice sessions" the way Richard Jackman described, or were openly coached the same way Stempel was, is unclear. According to Jackman, an earlier contestant than Stempel, Enright was extremely nervous before his appearance on the show and stated, to Jackman's bewilderment: "You are in a position to destroy my career." After Jackman, a struggling author, told Enright he could not continue on a rigged show, Enright tried various types of persuasion and offers of money to persuade him to change his mind. Jackman finally accepted a check for $15,000, and for continuity's sake promised to appear again so he could publicly choose to take his "winnings" and depart at the beginning of the show. Kent Anderson portrays Enright as someone who would make certain his next contestant would cooperate. Enright is described as deliberately targeting Stempel's emotions, as he did with other contestants, leaving no angle overlooked when trying to gain their full participation. I had been a poor boy all my life, and I was sort of overjoyed, and I took it for granted that this was the way things were run on these programs ... I was stunned, I didn't know what to say ... I told him I would do it. Stempel died April 7, 2020, almost exactly one year after the death of his rival Charles Van Doren, and at the same age. His death was not publicly announced until nearly two months later. References External links Herb Stempel's testimony to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight, 1959 Investigation of television quiz shows. Hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Eighty-sixth Congress, first session, PN I992.8.U5IJ, October 6–12, 1959 ǀ [2] Herbert Stempel at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television Twenty-One: Full Stemple and Van Doren Episode

given name

Herbert Milton Stempel (December 19, 1926 – April 7, 2020) was an American television game show contestant and subsequent whistleblower on the fraudulent nature of the industry, in what became known as the 1950s quiz show scandals. His rigged six-week appearance as a winning contestant on the 1950s show Twenty-One ended in an equally rigged defeat by Columbia University teacher and literary scion Charles Van Doren. Early life A self-described "avid reader" as a child, who was "interested in everything", Stempel attended P.S. 89 in Queens. He was skipped ahead several classes in school, so much so that his mother worried he was being pushed too far. When he was seven, his father died, and Stempel, his mother, and his older sister Harriet moved to what he describes as a "poorer part of the Bronx". It was in the midst of the Depression, and the struggling family was on public assistance for years. Twenty-One was not Stempel's first quiz show. At a very young age Stempel realized he had what he refers to as a "retentive memory", in that he could read a page about a subject and then, months later, summarize that page. He represented his elementary school, P.S. 6, on a radio quiz show, Americana History, where he remained undefeated for several weeks. He was part of the "Kid Wizards", a three-man team who represented The Bronx High School of Science in competitions against New York high schools, remaining undefeated throughout the year. He claims his IQ has been measured at 170.Stempel graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in January 1944. He briefly attended classes at City College of New York (CCNY) before enlisting in the United States Army. He served in the 311th Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division and was on the front lines in Europe for a month before the war ended. Stempel remained in the Army for the next seven years, attending counterintelligence school in Baltimore, Maryland and serving as "an agent" until 1952, when he began work in the United States Post Office as a clerk. He married his wife, Toby, in 1954 and returned to CCNY on the G.I. Bill. Twenty-One In 1956, after tuning in to a new program, Twenty-One, he was intrigued by the questions and wrote to Dan Enright, the show's producer, asking to be a contestant. The qualifying trivia test took a grueling three-and-a-half hours; Stempel got 251 out of 363 questions right, which he claimed was the highest score ever achieved.At a time when the top five highest-rated programs on television were quiz shows, Twenty-One was a mainstay for Barry & Enright Productions and NBC, which aired the show: It was the most impactful show we've ever had. The show went on the air in 1956 and we felt that it had such great quality and content to it that we would not have to rig it. In fact, the first show of Twenty-One was not rigged and the first show of Twenty-One was a dismal failure. It was just plain dull. Neither contestant was able to answer the questions, and the score remained at zero. It lacked all drama, it lacked all suspense. And next morning, the sponsor called my partner, Jack Barry, and me and told us in no uncertain terms that he never wanted to see a repeat of what happened the previous night. And from that moment on, we decided to rig Twenty-One. Contestants on Twenty-One were given the questions and answers in advance and were coached as if they were actors, receiving instructions on which questions to answer correctly or incorrectly and how to behave during the game. The champion Several weeks later, Enright paid Stempel a visit while his wife was out at the theater and he was looking after their young son, and posed the fateful question: "How would you like to make $25,000?" Stempel immediately understood the implications; Enright was not going to pay him just for appearing on the show, when he could be easily defeated. Once I said "Who wouldn't?," I became part of the game show hoax. Stempel was not only provided with coaching on the answers and directions on how to deliver them, but on his physical appearance as well. Stempel was married to a woman whose family had money and the couple was not suffering financially, but Enright decided that the image of an underdog, a penniless GI working his way through school, would appeal to the American public. Enright personally selected his wardrobe: an oversized, baggy double-breasted suit that had belonged to Stempel's late father-in-law, a blue shirt with a frayed collar, "terrible looking" tie and an old "Timex watch that ticked like an alarm clock", the sound of which would be picked up by the studio microphone and thus help build suspense. The whole idea was to make me appear like an ex-G.I. working his way through college. The reason I had been asked to put on this old, ill-fitting suit and get this Marine-type haircut was to make me appear as what you would call today, a nerd, a square. ... I was never to call the Master of Ceremonies, Jack Barry, "Jack." I was always to call him "Mr. Barry" and be very, very humble and very sheepish. On the first program I was on, I was on for approximately four minutes and I won approximately $9,000. I had never had that much money in my life and I was absolutely flabbergasted. Enright later explained the reasons behind this: You want the viewer to react emotionally to a contestant. Whether he reacts favorably or negatively is really not that important. The important thing is that he reacts. He should watch a contestant, hoping that the contestant will win or he should watch the contestant, hoping the contestant will lose. And Herb, I felt, was the type of personality who instilled the latter. Viewers would watch him and pray for his opponent to win. ... When he applied to the show and he took the test, he scored a very, very high score. He was the type of contestant who could very well antagonize viewers. The defeated Stempel ostensibly won $69,500, which was presented to him as an unnotarized "settlement" agreement. As weeks went by, people began to recognize me more and more. I got more and more fan mail. My classmates at college were very proud of me. My professors were proud of me. I just couldn't hold this inside of me, though, because I was overjoyed about being a celebrity, winning and so forth. I was overwhelmed. ... Then, Dan Enright said to me, "You know, Herb, you're not going to get all the money that you've won so far or are going to win." I said, "What? What do you mean?" He says, "No," he says, "We have to look out for ourselves, so I have a paper here which you're going to have to sign." I realized that if I didn't sign, I might not find myself on the program too much longer, so I decided to sign. Even though Stempel agreed to take less money, that actually made no difference: his ratings were dropping and the producers decided he had to go. A new contestant was selected to challenge him and knock him off. He was an English instructor at Columbia University, Charles Van Doren. Van Doren was persuaded to go along with the fraud by an appeal that his appearance would help glamorize information and intellectualism. His impact was immediate and his name quickly became synonymous with quiz shows. For week after week, the two men battled it out, tying with scores of 21–21, as tens of millions of Americans tuned in to see if their new hero would beat Stempel. I told Herb Stempel that he was going to be losing that night to Charles Van Doren. He asked me whether he could not forgo the losing and whether he could not play against Van Doren clean [suggesting it could be touted as a duel between Columbia University and CCNY] and I said "no" and I reminded him he had given me his word that when I would ask him to lose, he would lose. Enright promised Stempel a subsequent television job if he would finish the performance they had started, but the final act, as choreographed by Enright, was particularly humiliating to Stempel. The question was, "What motion picture won the Academy Award for 1955?" I knew that the answer was Marty, but Dan Enright specifically wanted me to miss that question. This hurt me very deeply because this was one of my favorite pictures of all times and I could never forget this. A few seconds before that as I was trying to come up with the answer, I could have changed my mind. I could have said, "The answer is Marty, instead of On the Waterfront. I would have won. There would have been no Charles Van Doren, no famous celebrity. Charles Van Doren would have gone back to teaching college and my whole life would have been changed. ... On the day I was due to lose to Van Doren, I sat home, watching television in the morning. Every few minutes, an announcement would break in on WNBC, saying, "Is Herb Stempel going to win over $100,000 tonight?" And I said, "No, he's not going to win $100,000. He's going to take a dive." Years later Dan Enright stated in the WGBH documentary American Experience: The Quiz Show Scandal interview: This man was taken from obscurity—he came from rather impoverished circumstances—taken from obscurity and then exposed to the light of celebrity, became for some six weeks a celebrity and then just as quickly was cast back into obscurity. And we, at the time deluded ourselves into believing that what we were doing was not that wrong and I bear a tremendous guilt to Herb Stempel and I was sorry. I should have been far more mindful and far more sensitive. [Do I believe it?] No. I believe he feels bad that I exposed his show. That's my real belief. On December 5, 1956, Van Doren defeated Stempel before 15 million viewers. Van Doren went on to become the single most popular contestant in the quiz show's early history, while Stempel became the forgotten man. (In the closing minutes of his last Twenty-One appearance, asked what he would do with his winnings, a subdued Stempel said that after provisions were made for his family, he would donate a modest sum to the City College Fund “to repay the people of the city of New York for the free education they have given me”.) After his loss, Stempel overheard one backstage technician say to another: "At least, we finally have a clean-cut intellectual on this program, not a freak with a sponge memory." Enright's promise to find Stempel a panel show slot after his college graduation went unfulfilled. When Stempel, who by then had gone through his winnings, later demanded Enright follow through on his original promise, Enright demanded he first sign a statement affirming he had never been coached on Twenty-One. Again, no show materialized. Exposure When Enright subsequently told him the promise could not be kept because he had sold his shows to NBC itself, Stempel called Jack O'Brian, a columnist who covered television for the New York City Journal-American. Although O'Brian found the story hung together, the paper's syndicate, fearing a libel suit, refused to print the allegation without further corroboration. Stempel later testified to Congress that in February 1957 he had spoken with a reporter from the New York Post, but that paper had the same reservations as the Journal-American. There were no corroborating witnesses or hard evidence to back up Stempel's accusations, and Enright dismissed them as being rooted in jealousy over Van Doren's success. It took Ed Hilgemeier, a contestant-in-waiting who found a notebook full of answers belonging to Marie Winn, another contestant on the new quiz show Dotto, airing on CBS, to convince authorities and the Journal-American that Stempel should be taken seriously. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joseph Stone, who directed two grand jury probes into the case, states that Enright described Stempel to him as "a disturbed person and a blackmailer" and denied ever giving Stempel advance questions and answers. Three days after Twenty-One contestant Richard Jackman, a writer from Oneonta, New York, told Stone that he, too, had been coached in advance of his appearance on October 3, Twenty-One was canceled. The investigation of the quiz show scandal then began in earnest. Jackman only realized the game was fixed the night he appeared, when the questions he was asked were identical to the ones Enright had reviewed with him in a "practice session" that afternoon.Enright quickly countered, denying any wrongdoing or fraud had taken place, suing the Journal-American, and mounting a campaign to discredit Stempel. At a sensational press conference, he attempted to demonstrate that Stempel was mentally unstable by playing a recording of a conversation with him that Enright had secretly taped. To further discredit him, Enright also produced the statement that Stempel had signed earlier, declaring that Twenty-One was an honest program, that Barry and Enright were beyond reproach, and that no rigging had taken place. I was a damn fool to have signed such a thing, to have agreed to such a thing, but they again held out the prospects of jobs and money and this and that to me and I succumbed to that. Jack O'Brian felt there was an "undercurrent" of coercion going on. Not only did some of the producers lie to the grand jury, they also had urged contestants to perjure themselves. In lower Manhattan, the grand jury was convened for nine months and heard testimony from more than 150 contestants. It is estimated that more than 100 lied under oath. Stempel continued telling the truth to anyone who would listen, but it was his unsubstantiated word against everyone else's; there was still no hard corroborating evidence. His testimony to the DA and the grand jury implicated Van Doren in the fraud, but there was massive resistance in accepting this accusation. Suddenly, to everyone's astonishment, the grand jury testimony was sealed from the public by Judge Mitchell Schweitzer, for reasons that to this day are still not clear. This was almost an unprecedented move in New York State; in the no fewer than 497 grand jury presentments that had been filed in New York county since 1869, not one had ever been sealed. Afraid that the public might never learn what the grand jury had uncovered, Frank Hogan, the New York County District Attorney (and a former classmate of Judge Schweitzer), filed a protest in the court of general sessions, spelling out why it was in the public interest to make the findings known. Suspicious of a cover-up, Congress called an immediate investigation. Once just a trivial form of entertainment, quiz shows were now the subject of investigation at the highest level of government.Stempel told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight what he told Stone. Particularly jarring was Stempel's revelation that he was strong-armed into incorrectly identifying what was, in fact, one of his favorite films: This was supposed to be the twist of the Twenty-One program. In other words, the omniscient genius was supposed to know all the hard answers, but miss on the easy ones, because the public would figure one of two things. Either in his very, very erudite studies he had either glossed over this and missed it, or it was intended as a sop to the public at large to make them say, 'See, I knew the answer to this and the great genius, so and so, didn't.' That is about the effect of it. The kinescope that has survived of that episode shows that the round in which Stempel was ordered to provide the wrong answer actually ended in a tie. Stempel and Van Doren went on to yet another game during the same show. This time, Stempel failed to recall the name of William Allen White's popular editorials, What's the Matter with Kansas? "It just wouldn't help to guess," Stempel said softly in the booth, "I just don't know." The miss kept Stempel at zero, and Van Doren answered the questions in the category "Kings" successfully. Stempel drew the evening's biggest laugh when he was asked the fate of four of Henry VIII's wives and answered, "They all died." Stempel answered the question correctly, but when offered their standard opportunity to stop the game, Van Doren stopped it and became the new Twenty-One champion.As the investigation progressed, Charles Van Doren, now a host on The Today Show, was under pressure from NBC to testify. To avoid the committee's subpoena, he went into hiding. It was another former Twenty-One contestant, an artist named James Snodgrass, who finally provided indisputable supporting proof that the show had been rigged. Snodgrass had documented every answer he was coached on in a series of registered letters he mailed to himself before the show was taped.One month after the hearings began, Van Doren emerged from hiding and confessed before the committee that he had been complicit in the fraud. Life after the scandal Following the scandal, Stempel finished college on the G.I. Bill. He went to work for the New York City Transportation Department for the next two decades, performing examinations before trial, which meant he represented the Department in depositions by opposing counsel, testifying to various records in the city's possession.It was not until he was approached, some thirty years later, by the producers of the documentary The Quiz Show Scandals for PBS's American Experience, that he finally agreed to be interviewed on the subject. Julian Krainin, who co-produced the film, also co-produced the 1994 feature film Quiz Show, in which Stempel was portrayed by John Turturro. Stempel actually made an uncredited film debut in that movie, portraying a different contestant being interviewed by the congressional investigator Dick Goodwin, played by Rob Morrow. When Quiz Show was released, in spite of being "a little miffed by the portrayal", which he thought was "an over-the-top sort of portrayal of me", Stempel embraced the renewed public interest in him, giving interviews on radio and television (notably appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, taped in the same NBC studio Twenty-One once occupied), as well as lecturing at some colleges about the quiz scandals. Every time Quiz Show is shown on television, invariably the phone rings and some character at the other end says, "What picture won the Academy Award in 1955?" In 2008, Charles Van Doren broke his long silence, and in an article in The New Yorker described the overtures Robert Redford's production company made to him to cooperate with the filming of Quiz Show. He claimed that Barry & Enright Productions staffer Albert Freedman was actually responsible for scripting the entire Stempel–Van Doren competition, and rejected the image of Stempel as a penurious CCNY student: In fact, he was a Marines [Stempel was actually in the U.S. Army] veteran married to a woman of some means who once appeared on the set wearing a Persian-lamb coat and was quickly spirited away so that she wouldn't blow his cover. Van Doren wrote that until he viewed WGBH's American Experience documentary The Quiz Show Scandals he was ignorant of the fact that the show had once been honest—at least for one episode—and that: "Herb Stempel was the first to agree to the fix".This latter remark is debatable. Dan Enright has stated that due to the sponsor's displeasure he began to rig the show immediately after the premiere episode debuted on September 12, 1956. Whether the contestants in the five weeks before Stempel's choreographed October 17 appearance unwittingly received the answers in "practice sessions" the way Richard Jackman described, or were openly coached the same way Stempel was, is unclear. According to Jackman, an earlier contestant than Stempel, Enright was extremely nervous before his appearance on the show and stated, to Jackman's bewilderment: "You are in a position to destroy my career." After Jackman, a struggling author, told Enright he could not continue on a rigged show, Enright tried various types of persuasion and offers of money to persuade him to change his mind. Jackman finally accepted a check for $15,000, and for continuity's sake promised to appear again so he could publicly choose to take his "winnings" and depart at the beginning of the show. Kent Anderson portrays Enright as someone who would make certain his next contestant would cooperate. Enright is described as deliberately targeting Stempel's emotions, as he did with other contestants, leaving no angle overlooked when trying to gain their full participation. I had been a poor boy all my life, and I was sort of overjoyed, and I took it for granted that this was the way things were run on these programs ... I was stunned, I didn't know what to say ... I told him I would do it. Stempel died April 7, 2020, almost exactly one year after the death of his rival Charles Van Doren, and at the same age. His death was not publicly announced until nearly two months later. References External links Herb Stempel's testimony to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight, 1959 Investigation of television quiz shows. Hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Eighty-sixth Congress, first session, PN I992.8.U5IJ, October 6–12, 1959 ǀ [2] Herbert Stempel at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television Twenty-One: Full Stemple and Van Doren Episode

significant event

Don Rickles Speaks! is a comedy album released in 1969 by Don Rickles. It begins with an introduction by G. Bernard Owens who tells the audience that the recording they are about to hear reveals the serious side of Rickles and his "thoughts of people, life, philosophy." Immediately after the introduction, we hear laughter, which completely contradicts what was heard previously. In the album, Rickles is interviewed by a panel of "eminent experts" who ask him about celebrities such as Dean Martin, Johnny Carson, Kirk Douglas, Robert Goulet, and Frank Sinatra, as well as such music acts as The Electric Prunes and Snooky Lanson. Track listing == References ==

instance of

Don Rickles Speaks! is a comedy album released in 1969 by Don Rickles. It begins with an introduction by G. Bernard Owens who tells the audience that the recording they are about to hear reveals the serious side of Rickles and his "thoughts of people, life, philosophy." Immediately after the introduction, we hear laughter, which completely contradicts what was heard previously. In the album, Rickles is interviewed by a panel of "eminent experts" who ask him about celebrities such as Dean Martin, Johnny Carson, Kirk Douglas, Robert Goulet, and Frank Sinatra, as well as such music acts as The Electric Prunes and Snooky Lanson. Track listing == References ==

genre

Don Rickles Speaks! is a comedy album released in 1969 by Don Rickles. It begins with an introduction by G. Bernard Owens who tells the audience that the recording they are about to hear reveals the serious side of Rickles and his "thoughts of people, life, philosophy." Immediately after the introduction, we hear laughter, which completely contradicts what was heard previously. In the album, Rickles is interviewed by a panel of "eminent experts" who ask him about celebrities such as Dean Martin, Johnny Carson, Kirk Douglas, Robert Goulet, and Frank Sinatra, as well as such music acts as The Electric Prunes and Snooky Lanson. Track listing == References ==

performer

Robert L. Nichols (February 9, 1922 – July 4, 2001) was a lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps who served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower. He was commissioned in 1944 after enlisting in 1939 and retired in 1978. == References ==

military rank

Robert L. Nichols (February 9, 1922 – July 4, 2001) was a lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps who served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower. He was commissioned in 1944 after enlisting in 1939 and retired in 1978. == References ==

family name

Robert L. Nichols (February 9, 1922 – July 4, 2001) was a lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps who served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower. He was commissioned in 1944 after enlisting in 1939 and retired in 1978. == References ==

given name

Baba Khvarazm-e Mojir (Persian: باباخوارزم مجير, also Romanized as Bābā Khvārazm-e Mojīr) is a village in Jayedar Rural District, in the Central District of Pol-e Dokhtar County, Lorestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 94, in 21 families. == References ==

country

Baba Khvarazm-e Mojir (Persian: باباخوارزم مجير, also Romanized as Bābā Khvārazm-e Mojīr) is a village in Jayedar Rural District, in the Central District of Pol-e Dokhtar County, Lorestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 94, in 21 families. == References ==

instance of

Baba Khvarazm-e Mojir (Persian: باباخوارزم مجير, also Romanized as Bābā Khvārazm-e Mojīr) is a village in Jayedar Rural District, in the Central District of Pol-e Dokhtar County, Lorestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 94, in 21 families. == References ==

located in the administrative territorial entity

Treachery Rides the Range is a 1936 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald, written by William Jacobs, and starring Dick Foran, Paula Stone, Craig Reynolds, Monte Blue, Carlyle Moore Jr. and Henry Otho. It was released by Warner Bros. on May 2, 1936. Plot Cast Dick Foran as Capt. Red Taylor Paula Stone as Ruth Drummond Craig Reynolds as Wade Carter Monte Blue as Col. Drummond Carlyle Moore Jr. as Little Big Wolf Henry Otho as Burley Barton Jim Thorpe as Chief Red Smoke Monte Montague as Henchman Nebraska Don Barclay as Corporal Bunce Frank Bruno as Little Fox Milton Kibbee as Man at Relay Station Tom Wilson as Denver Bud Osborne as Henchman Pawnee Nick Copeland as Neal Reception T.M.P. of The New York Times said, "Set against a picturesque background of rolling hills, Treachery Rides the Range moves smoothly from beginning to end and is nicely acted by Mr. Foran and Paula Stone, who provide the romantic interest; by Monte Blue as the colonel and Jim Thorpe as the Indian chief." References External links Treachery Rides the Range at IMDb

instance of

Treachery Rides the Range is a 1936 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald, written by William Jacobs, and starring Dick Foran, Paula Stone, Craig Reynolds, Monte Blue, Carlyle Moore Jr. and Henry Otho. It was released by Warner Bros. on May 2, 1936. Plot Cast Dick Foran as Capt. Red Taylor Paula Stone as Ruth Drummond Craig Reynolds as Wade Carter Monte Blue as Col. Drummond Carlyle Moore Jr. as Little Big Wolf Henry Otho as Burley Barton Jim Thorpe as Chief Red Smoke Monte Montague as Henchman Nebraska Don Barclay as Corporal Bunce Frank Bruno as Little Fox Milton Kibbee as Man at Relay Station Tom Wilson as Denver Bud Osborne as Henchman Pawnee Nick Copeland as Neal Reception T.M.P. of The New York Times said, "Set against a picturesque background of rolling hills, Treachery Rides the Range moves smoothly from beginning to end and is nicely acted by Mr. Foran and Paula Stone, who provide the romantic interest; by Monte Blue as the colonel and Jim Thorpe as the Indian chief." References External links Treachery Rides the Range at IMDb

director

Treachery Rides the Range is a 1936 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald, written by William Jacobs, and starring Dick Foran, Paula Stone, Craig Reynolds, Monte Blue, Carlyle Moore Jr. and Henry Otho. It was released by Warner Bros. on May 2, 1936. Plot Cast Dick Foran as Capt. Red Taylor Paula Stone as Ruth Drummond Craig Reynolds as Wade Carter Monte Blue as Col. Drummond Carlyle Moore Jr. as Little Big Wolf Henry Otho as Burley Barton Jim Thorpe as Chief Red Smoke Monte Montague as Henchman Nebraska Don Barclay as Corporal Bunce Frank Bruno as Little Fox Milton Kibbee as Man at Relay Station Tom Wilson as Denver Bud Osborne as Henchman Pawnee Nick Copeland as Neal Reception T.M.P. of The New York Times said, "Set against a picturesque background of rolling hills, Treachery Rides the Range moves smoothly from beginning to end and is nicely acted by Mr. Foran and Paula Stone, who provide the romantic interest; by Monte Blue as the colonel and Jim Thorpe as the Indian chief." References External links Treachery Rides the Range at IMDb

screenwriter

Treachery Rides the Range is a 1936 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald, written by William Jacobs, and starring Dick Foran, Paula Stone, Craig Reynolds, Monte Blue, Carlyle Moore Jr. and Henry Otho. It was released by Warner Bros. on May 2, 1936. Plot Cast Dick Foran as Capt. Red Taylor Paula Stone as Ruth Drummond Craig Reynolds as Wade Carter Monte Blue as Col. Drummond Carlyle Moore Jr. as Little Big Wolf Henry Otho as Burley Barton Jim Thorpe as Chief Red Smoke Monte Montague as Henchman Nebraska Don Barclay as Corporal Bunce Frank Bruno as Little Fox Milton Kibbee as Man at Relay Station Tom Wilson as Denver Bud Osborne as Henchman Pawnee Nick Copeland as Neal Reception T.M.P. of The New York Times said, "Set against a picturesque background of rolling hills, Treachery Rides the Range moves smoothly from beginning to end and is nicely acted by Mr. Foran and Paula Stone, who provide the romantic interest; by Monte Blue as the colonel and Jim Thorpe as the Indian chief." References External links Treachery Rides the Range at IMDb

genre

Treachery Rides the Range is a 1936 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald, written by William Jacobs, and starring Dick Foran, Paula Stone, Craig Reynolds, Monte Blue, Carlyle Moore Jr. and Henry Otho. It was released by Warner Bros. on May 2, 1936. Plot Cast Dick Foran as Capt. Red Taylor Paula Stone as Ruth Drummond Craig Reynolds as Wade Carter Monte Blue as Col. Drummond Carlyle Moore Jr. as Little Big Wolf Henry Otho as Burley Barton Jim Thorpe as Chief Red Smoke Monte Montague as Henchman Nebraska Don Barclay as Corporal Bunce Frank Bruno as Little Fox Milton Kibbee as Man at Relay Station Tom Wilson as Denver Bud Osborne as Henchman Pawnee Nick Copeland as Neal Reception T.M.P. of The New York Times said, "Set against a picturesque background of rolling hills, Treachery Rides the Range moves smoothly from beginning to end and is nicely acted by Mr. Foran and Paula Stone, who provide the romantic interest; by Monte Blue as the colonel and Jim Thorpe as the Indian chief." References External links Treachery Rides the Range at IMDb

cast member

Treachery Rides the Range is a 1936 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald, written by William Jacobs, and starring Dick Foran, Paula Stone, Craig Reynolds, Monte Blue, Carlyle Moore Jr. and Henry Otho. It was released by Warner Bros. on May 2, 1936. Plot Cast Dick Foran as Capt. Red Taylor Paula Stone as Ruth Drummond Craig Reynolds as Wade Carter Monte Blue as Col. Drummond Carlyle Moore Jr. as Little Big Wolf Henry Otho as Burley Barton Jim Thorpe as Chief Red Smoke Monte Montague as Henchman Nebraska Don Barclay as Corporal Bunce Frank Bruno as Little Fox Milton Kibbee as Man at Relay Station Tom Wilson as Denver Bud Osborne as Henchman Pawnee Nick Copeland as Neal Reception T.M.P. of The New York Times said, "Set against a picturesque background of rolling hills, Treachery Rides the Range moves smoothly from beginning to end and is nicely acted by Mr. Foran and Paula Stone, who provide the romantic interest; by Monte Blue as the colonel and Jim Thorpe as the Indian chief." References External links Treachery Rides the Range at IMDb

title

Serverware Group plc was a software company formed in November 1983 following a management buyout of Information Systems Group plc. Early history The company was formed by Peter Seldon (father of journalist Myma Seldon) and Selim Kohen to develop systems management software. Initially the software focus was on Unix and Pick software, but in the mid-1990s the company moved into Windows NT software development. While the core business was software development, the company also resold products developed by other manufacturers (such as Diskeeper, FAXmaker, Octopus, Quota Manager and Remotely Possible) to help with the funding of their own software. SeNTry The first NT product to be developed by the company was SeNTry. This allowed administrators to monitor the Event Logs of multiple Windows NT computers from a central location. The list of product features grew as development continued until, in June 1998 the intellectual property rights were bought by Mission Critical Software, Inc., who renamed the product Enterprise Event Manager. They later merged with NetIQ,. No code from SeNTry was part of the Mission Critical-developed product Operations Manager which was later licensed to Microsoft. Enterprise Configuration Manager Following the successful sale of SeNTry, Serverware began development of a new management tool. Originally named eNTts (or enhanced NT tool set) the product allowed administrators to manage and control Windows NT services, DLLs and user passwords on remote Windows NT computers. Later versions increased the feature count by adding registry monitoring, Emergency Repair Disk creation and more. In 1999 the rights to the product (by this time named Enterprise Configuration Manager or ECM) was sold to a company named Configuresoft, Inc., which was founded for this purpose. Serverware took a stake in the new start-up as part of the deal. Serverware after Selim Kohen In 2000 Technical Director Selim Kohen died, aged 50. As he had been the driving force behind the development of new products the company scaled back their development work, and continued operating primarily as a reseller, and the UK distributor for ECM and Aftama IETP technology. In 2008 Serverware group formed a subsidiary of the main company that specialised in the needs of Government in the UK and Europe they appointed a new CEO to run this operation and develop the core offerings of Serverware Group going forward.The company was dissolved on 27 April 2017. References External links Company website

instance of

Serverware Group plc was a software company formed in November 1983 following a management buyout of Information Systems Group plc. Early history The company was formed by Peter Seldon (father of journalist Myma Seldon) and Selim Kohen to develop systems management software. Initially the software focus was on Unix and Pick software, but in the mid-1990s the company moved into Windows NT software development. While the core business was software development, the company also resold products developed by other manufacturers (such as Diskeeper, FAXmaker, Octopus, Quota Manager and Remotely Possible) to help with the funding of their own software. SeNTry The first NT product to be developed by the company was SeNTry. This allowed administrators to monitor the Event Logs of multiple Windows NT computers from a central location. The list of product features grew as development continued until, in June 1998 the intellectual property rights were bought by Mission Critical Software, Inc., who renamed the product Enterprise Event Manager. They later merged with NetIQ,. No code from SeNTry was part of the Mission Critical-developed product Operations Manager which was later licensed to Microsoft. Enterprise Configuration Manager Following the successful sale of SeNTry, Serverware began development of a new management tool. Originally named eNTts (or enhanced NT tool set) the product allowed administrators to manage and control Windows NT services, DLLs and user passwords on remote Windows NT computers. Later versions increased the feature count by adding registry monitoring, Emergency Repair Disk creation and more. In 1999 the rights to the product (by this time named Enterprise Configuration Manager or ECM) was sold to a company named Configuresoft, Inc., which was founded for this purpose. Serverware took a stake in the new start-up as part of the deal. Serverware after Selim Kohen In 2000 Technical Director Selim Kohen died, aged 50. As he had been the driving force behind the development of new products the company scaled back their development work, and continued operating primarily as a reseller, and the UK distributor for ECM and Aftama IETP technology. In 2008 Serverware group formed a subsidiary of the main company that specialised in the needs of Government in the UK and Europe they appointed a new CEO to run this operation and develop the core offerings of Serverware Group going forward.The company was dissolved on 27 April 2017. References External links Company website

industry

Adrien Tixier (31 January 1893 in Folles (Haute-Vienne) – 18 February 1946 in Paris) was a French politician and diplomat who was the Free French ambassador to the United States. Career He was the son of Pierre-Edouard Tixier, a blacksmith, and Marie-Françoise Derosier. Destined for a career in education, he studied at the école normale (teachers' college) at Châteauroux and became a teacher of technical subjects. In August 1914, he was enlisted as a reserve officer and served in the First World War. Shortly after being called up, he was wounded in the Ardennes and underwent the amputation of his left arm. He returned to his teaching career in August 1915 and became a senior teacher at the École supérieure professionnelle in the town of Albi. Active in the Socialist Party, he met Albert Thomas and held from 1920 various offices within the International Labour Office in Geneva, including that of CEO in 1936. On 20 June 1940, with Professor Edgard Milhaud, and Jean-Amédée Weber, he sent a telegram to Marshal Pétain in protest of the request for an armistice and asked for the continuation of the war alongside the British. Using with false papers, he sailed for the United States, via Spain and Portugal, as representative of the International Labour Office. He joined General de Gaulle, who charged him in November 1941 of representing the Free France in Washington, where he was appreciated by the Franklin Roosevelt administration. He served in the French Committee of National Liberation of Algeria the position of Commissioner of Labor and Social Welfare from 7 June 1943 to 9 November 1943 and Social Affairs from 9 November 1943 to 9 September 1944. He became the first Minister of Social Affairs. He was appointed interior minister in September 1944 in the Provisional Government of France, led by General de Gaulle, and held the post until January 1946. His task was to restore the republican legality in the disorganised France. He was a co-signer of the Ordinance of 4 October 1945, which established Social Security. He founded the Department of the Interior, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS). He supported de Gaulle, along with Robert Lacoste, the Minister of Production, during his visit to Oradour-sur-Glane on 5 March 1945. He was then elected in September 1945, to the General Council from Bessines-sur-Gartempe, and in October 1945, he became a socialist member of the Haute-Vienne in the First National Constituent Assembly. He chaired the General Council of Haute-Vienne. He was buried in Folles. References External links Colloque Adrien Tixier 3–4 mars 2009

place of birth

Adrien Tixier (31 January 1893 in Folles (Haute-Vienne) – 18 February 1946 in Paris) was a French politician and diplomat who was the Free French ambassador to the United States. Career He was the son of Pierre-Edouard Tixier, a blacksmith, and Marie-Françoise Derosier. Destined for a career in education, he studied at the école normale (teachers' college) at Châteauroux and became a teacher of technical subjects. In August 1914, he was enlisted as a reserve officer and served in the First World War. Shortly after being called up, he was wounded in the Ardennes and underwent the amputation of his left arm. He returned to his teaching career in August 1915 and became a senior teacher at the École supérieure professionnelle in the town of Albi. Active in the Socialist Party, he met Albert Thomas and held from 1920 various offices within the International Labour Office in Geneva, including that of CEO in 1936. On 20 June 1940, with Professor Edgard Milhaud, and Jean-Amédée Weber, he sent a telegram to Marshal Pétain in protest of the request for an armistice and asked for the continuation of the war alongside the British. Using with false papers, he sailed for the United States, via Spain and Portugal, as representative of the International Labour Office. He joined General de Gaulle, who charged him in November 1941 of representing the Free France in Washington, where he was appreciated by the Franklin Roosevelt administration. He served in the French Committee of National Liberation of Algeria the position of Commissioner of Labor and Social Welfare from 7 June 1943 to 9 November 1943 and Social Affairs from 9 November 1943 to 9 September 1944. He became the first Minister of Social Affairs. He was appointed interior minister in September 1944 in the Provisional Government of France, led by General de Gaulle, and held the post until January 1946. His task was to restore the republican legality in the disorganised France. He was a co-signer of the Ordinance of 4 October 1945, which established Social Security. He founded the Department of the Interior, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS). He supported de Gaulle, along with Robert Lacoste, the Minister of Production, during his visit to Oradour-sur-Glane on 5 March 1945. He was then elected in September 1945, to the General Council from Bessines-sur-Gartempe, and in October 1945, he became a socialist member of the Haute-Vienne in the First National Constituent Assembly. He chaired the General Council of Haute-Vienne. He was buried in Folles. References External links Colloque Adrien Tixier 3–4 mars 2009

sex or gender

Adrien Tixier (31 January 1893 in Folles (Haute-Vienne) – 18 February 1946 in Paris) was a French politician and diplomat who was the Free French ambassador to the United States. Career He was the son of Pierre-Edouard Tixier, a blacksmith, and Marie-Françoise Derosier. Destined for a career in education, he studied at the école normale (teachers' college) at Châteauroux and became a teacher of technical subjects. In August 1914, he was enlisted as a reserve officer and served in the First World War. Shortly after being called up, he was wounded in the Ardennes and underwent the amputation of his left arm. He returned to his teaching career in August 1915 and became a senior teacher at the École supérieure professionnelle in the town of Albi. Active in the Socialist Party, he met Albert Thomas and held from 1920 various offices within the International Labour Office in Geneva, including that of CEO in 1936. On 20 June 1940, with Professor Edgard Milhaud, and Jean-Amédée Weber, he sent a telegram to Marshal Pétain in protest of the request for an armistice and asked for the continuation of the war alongside the British. Using with false papers, he sailed for the United States, via Spain and Portugal, as representative of the International Labour Office. He joined General de Gaulle, who charged him in November 1941 of representing the Free France in Washington, where he was appreciated by the Franklin Roosevelt administration. He served in the French Committee of National Liberation of Algeria the position of Commissioner of Labor and Social Welfare from 7 June 1943 to 9 November 1943 and Social Affairs from 9 November 1943 to 9 September 1944. He became the first Minister of Social Affairs. He was appointed interior minister in September 1944 in the Provisional Government of France, led by General de Gaulle, and held the post until January 1946. His task was to restore the republican legality in the disorganised France. He was a co-signer of the Ordinance of 4 October 1945, which established Social Security. He founded the Department of the Interior, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS). He supported de Gaulle, along with Robert Lacoste, the Minister of Production, during his visit to Oradour-sur-Glane on 5 March 1945. He was then elected in September 1945, to the General Council from Bessines-sur-Gartempe, and in October 1945, he became a socialist member of the Haute-Vienne in the First National Constituent Assembly. He chaired the General Council of Haute-Vienne. He was buried in Folles. References External links Colloque Adrien Tixier 3–4 mars 2009

country of citizenship

Adrien Tixier (31 January 1893 in Folles (Haute-Vienne) – 18 February 1946 in Paris) was a French politician and diplomat who was the Free French ambassador to the United States. Career He was the son of Pierre-Edouard Tixier, a blacksmith, and Marie-Françoise Derosier. Destined for a career in education, he studied at the école normale (teachers' college) at Châteauroux and became a teacher of technical subjects. In August 1914, he was enlisted as a reserve officer and served in the First World War. Shortly after being called up, he was wounded in the Ardennes and underwent the amputation of his left arm. He returned to his teaching career in August 1915 and became a senior teacher at the École supérieure professionnelle in the town of Albi. Active in the Socialist Party, he met Albert Thomas and held from 1920 various offices within the International Labour Office in Geneva, including that of CEO in 1936. On 20 June 1940, with Professor Edgard Milhaud, and Jean-Amédée Weber, he sent a telegram to Marshal Pétain in protest of the request for an armistice and asked for the continuation of the war alongside the British. Using with false papers, he sailed for the United States, via Spain and Portugal, as representative of the International Labour Office. He joined General de Gaulle, who charged him in November 1941 of representing the Free France in Washington, where he was appreciated by the Franklin Roosevelt administration. He served in the French Committee of National Liberation of Algeria the position of Commissioner of Labor and Social Welfare from 7 June 1943 to 9 November 1943 and Social Affairs from 9 November 1943 to 9 September 1944. He became the first Minister of Social Affairs. He was appointed interior minister in September 1944 in the Provisional Government of France, led by General de Gaulle, and held the post until January 1946. His task was to restore the republican legality in the disorganised France. He was a co-signer of the Ordinance of 4 October 1945, which established Social Security. He founded the Department of the Interior, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS). He supported de Gaulle, along with Robert Lacoste, the Minister of Production, during his visit to Oradour-sur-Glane on 5 March 1945. He was then elected in September 1945, to the General Council from Bessines-sur-Gartempe, and in October 1945, he became a socialist member of the Haute-Vienne in the First National Constituent Assembly. He chaired the General Council of Haute-Vienne. He was buried in Folles. References External links Colloque Adrien Tixier 3–4 mars 2009

native language

Adrien Tixier (31 January 1893 in Folles (Haute-Vienne) – 18 February 1946 in Paris) was a French politician and diplomat who was the Free French ambassador to the United States. Career He was the son of Pierre-Edouard Tixier, a blacksmith, and Marie-Françoise Derosier. Destined for a career in education, he studied at the école normale (teachers' college) at Châteauroux and became a teacher of technical subjects. In August 1914, he was enlisted as a reserve officer and served in the First World War. Shortly after being called up, he was wounded in the Ardennes and underwent the amputation of his left arm. He returned to his teaching career in August 1915 and became a senior teacher at the École supérieure professionnelle in the town of Albi. Active in the Socialist Party, he met Albert Thomas and held from 1920 various offices within the International Labour Office in Geneva, including that of CEO in 1936. On 20 June 1940, with Professor Edgard Milhaud, and Jean-Amédée Weber, he sent a telegram to Marshal Pétain in protest of the request for an armistice and asked for the continuation of the war alongside the British. Using with false papers, he sailed for the United States, via Spain and Portugal, as representative of the International Labour Office. He joined General de Gaulle, who charged him in November 1941 of representing the Free France in Washington, where he was appreciated by the Franklin Roosevelt administration. He served in the French Committee of National Liberation of Algeria the position of Commissioner of Labor and Social Welfare from 7 June 1943 to 9 November 1943 and Social Affairs from 9 November 1943 to 9 September 1944. He became the first Minister of Social Affairs. He was appointed interior minister in September 1944 in the Provisional Government of France, led by General de Gaulle, and held the post until January 1946. His task was to restore the republican legality in the disorganised France. He was a co-signer of the Ordinance of 4 October 1945, which established Social Security. He founded the Department of the Interior, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS). He supported de Gaulle, along with Robert Lacoste, the Minister of Production, during his visit to Oradour-sur-Glane on 5 March 1945. He was then elected in September 1945, to the General Council from Bessines-sur-Gartempe, and in October 1945, he became a socialist member of the Haute-Vienne in the First National Constituent Assembly. He chaired the General Council of Haute-Vienne. He was buried in Folles. References External links Colloque Adrien Tixier 3–4 mars 2009

occupation

Adrien Tixier (31 January 1893 in Folles (Haute-Vienne) – 18 February 1946 in Paris) was a French politician and diplomat who was the Free French ambassador to the United States. Career He was the son of Pierre-Edouard Tixier, a blacksmith, and Marie-Françoise Derosier. Destined for a career in education, he studied at the école normale (teachers' college) at Châteauroux and became a teacher of technical subjects. In August 1914, he was enlisted as a reserve officer and served in the First World War. Shortly after being called up, he was wounded in the Ardennes and underwent the amputation of his left arm. He returned to his teaching career in August 1915 and became a senior teacher at the École supérieure professionnelle in the town of Albi. Active in the Socialist Party, he met Albert Thomas and held from 1920 various offices within the International Labour Office in Geneva, including that of CEO in 1936. On 20 June 1940, with Professor Edgard Milhaud, and Jean-Amédée Weber, he sent a telegram to Marshal Pétain in protest of the request for an armistice and asked for the continuation of the war alongside the British. Using with false papers, he sailed for the United States, via Spain and Portugal, as representative of the International Labour Office. He joined General de Gaulle, who charged him in November 1941 of representing the Free France in Washington, where he was appreciated by the Franklin Roosevelt administration. He served in the French Committee of National Liberation of Algeria the position of Commissioner of Labor and Social Welfare from 7 June 1943 to 9 November 1943 and Social Affairs from 9 November 1943 to 9 September 1944. He became the first Minister of Social Affairs. He was appointed interior minister in September 1944 in the Provisional Government of France, led by General de Gaulle, and held the post until January 1946. His task was to restore the republican legality in the disorganised France. He was a co-signer of the Ordinance of 4 October 1945, which established Social Security. He founded the Department of the Interior, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS). He supported de Gaulle, along with Robert Lacoste, the Minister of Production, during his visit to Oradour-sur-Glane on 5 March 1945. He was then elected in September 1945, to the General Council from Bessines-sur-Gartempe, and in October 1945, he became a socialist member of the Haute-Vienne in the First National Constituent Assembly. He chaired the General Council of Haute-Vienne. He was buried in Folles. References External links Colloque Adrien Tixier 3–4 mars 2009

Commons category

Adrien Tixier (31 January 1893 in Folles (Haute-Vienne) – 18 February 1946 in Paris) was a French politician and diplomat who was the Free French ambassador to the United States. Career He was the son of Pierre-Edouard Tixier, a blacksmith, and Marie-Françoise Derosier. Destined for a career in education, he studied at the école normale (teachers' college) at Châteauroux and became a teacher of technical subjects. In August 1914, he was enlisted as a reserve officer and served in the First World War. Shortly after being called up, he was wounded in the Ardennes and underwent the amputation of his left arm. He returned to his teaching career in August 1915 and became a senior teacher at the École supérieure professionnelle in the town of Albi. Active in the Socialist Party, he met Albert Thomas and held from 1920 various offices within the International Labour Office in Geneva, including that of CEO in 1936. On 20 June 1940, with Professor Edgard Milhaud, and Jean-Amédée Weber, he sent a telegram to Marshal Pétain in protest of the request for an armistice and asked for the continuation of the war alongside the British. Using with false papers, he sailed for the United States, via Spain and Portugal, as representative of the International Labour Office. He joined General de Gaulle, who charged him in November 1941 of representing the Free France in Washington, where he was appreciated by the Franklin Roosevelt administration. He served in the French Committee of National Liberation of Algeria the position of Commissioner of Labor and Social Welfare from 7 June 1943 to 9 November 1943 and Social Affairs from 9 November 1943 to 9 September 1944. He became the first Minister of Social Affairs. He was appointed interior minister in September 1944 in the Provisional Government of France, led by General de Gaulle, and held the post until January 1946. His task was to restore the republican legality in the disorganised France. He was a co-signer of the Ordinance of 4 October 1945, which established Social Security. He founded the Department of the Interior, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS). He supported de Gaulle, along with Robert Lacoste, the Minister of Production, during his visit to Oradour-sur-Glane on 5 March 1945. He was then elected in September 1945, to the General Council from Bessines-sur-Gartempe, and in October 1945, he became a socialist member of the Haute-Vienne in the First National Constituent Assembly. He chaired the General Council of Haute-Vienne. He was buried in Folles. References External links Colloque Adrien Tixier 3–4 mars 2009

family name

Adrien Tixier (31 January 1893 in Folles (Haute-Vienne) – 18 February 1946 in Paris) was a French politician and diplomat who was the Free French ambassador to the United States. Career He was the son of Pierre-Edouard Tixier, a blacksmith, and Marie-Françoise Derosier. Destined for a career in education, he studied at the école normale (teachers' college) at Châteauroux and became a teacher of technical subjects. In August 1914, he was enlisted as a reserve officer and served in the First World War. Shortly after being called up, he was wounded in the Ardennes and underwent the amputation of his left arm. He returned to his teaching career in August 1915 and became a senior teacher at the École supérieure professionnelle in the town of Albi. Active in the Socialist Party, he met Albert Thomas and held from 1920 various offices within the International Labour Office in Geneva, including that of CEO in 1936. On 20 June 1940, with Professor Edgard Milhaud, and Jean-Amédée Weber, he sent a telegram to Marshal Pétain in protest of the request for an armistice and asked for the continuation of the war alongside the British. Using with false papers, he sailed for the United States, via Spain and Portugal, as representative of the International Labour Office. He joined General de Gaulle, who charged him in November 1941 of representing the Free France in Washington, where he was appreciated by the Franklin Roosevelt administration. He served in the French Committee of National Liberation of Algeria the position of Commissioner of Labor and Social Welfare from 7 June 1943 to 9 November 1943 and Social Affairs from 9 November 1943 to 9 September 1944. He became the first Minister of Social Affairs. He was appointed interior minister in September 1944 in the Provisional Government of France, led by General de Gaulle, and held the post until January 1946. His task was to restore the republican legality in the disorganised France. He was a co-signer of the Ordinance of 4 October 1945, which established Social Security. He founded the Department of the Interior, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS). He supported de Gaulle, along with Robert Lacoste, the Minister of Production, during his visit to Oradour-sur-Glane on 5 March 1945. He was then elected in September 1945, to the General Council from Bessines-sur-Gartempe, and in October 1945, he became a socialist member of the Haute-Vienne in the First National Constituent Assembly. He chaired the General Council of Haute-Vienne. He was buried in Folles. References External links Colloque Adrien Tixier 3–4 mars 2009

given name

Adrien Tixier (31 January 1893 in Folles (Haute-Vienne) – 18 February 1946 in Paris) was a French politician and diplomat who was the Free French ambassador to the United States. Career He was the son of Pierre-Edouard Tixier, a blacksmith, and Marie-Françoise Derosier. Destined for a career in education, he studied at the école normale (teachers' college) at Châteauroux and became a teacher of technical subjects. In August 1914, he was enlisted as a reserve officer and served in the First World War. Shortly after being called up, he was wounded in the Ardennes and underwent the amputation of his left arm. He returned to his teaching career in August 1915 and became a senior teacher at the École supérieure professionnelle in the town of Albi. Active in the Socialist Party, he met Albert Thomas and held from 1920 various offices within the International Labour Office in Geneva, including that of CEO in 1936. On 20 June 1940, with Professor Edgard Milhaud, and Jean-Amédée Weber, he sent a telegram to Marshal Pétain in protest of the request for an armistice and asked for the continuation of the war alongside the British. Using with false papers, he sailed for the United States, via Spain and Portugal, as representative of the International Labour Office. He joined General de Gaulle, who charged him in November 1941 of representing the Free France in Washington, where he was appreciated by the Franklin Roosevelt administration. He served in the French Committee of National Liberation of Algeria the position of Commissioner of Labor and Social Welfare from 7 June 1943 to 9 November 1943 and Social Affairs from 9 November 1943 to 9 September 1944. He became the first Minister of Social Affairs. He was appointed interior minister in September 1944 in the Provisional Government of France, led by General de Gaulle, and held the post until January 1946. His task was to restore the republican legality in the disorganised France. He was a co-signer of the Ordinance of 4 October 1945, which established Social Security. He founded the Department of the Interior, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS). He supported de Gaulle, along with Robert Lacoste, the Minister of Production, during his visit to Oradour-sur-Glane on 5 March 1945. He was then elected in September 1945, to the General Council from Bessines-sur-Gartempe, and in October 1945, he became a socialist member of the Haute-Vienne in the First National Constituent Assembly. He chaired the General Council of Haute-Vienne. He was buried in Folles. References External links Colloque Adrien Tixier 3–4 mars 2009

work location

Adrien Tixier (31 January 1893 in Folles (Haute-Vienne) – 18 February 1946 in Paris) was a French politician and diplomat who was the Free French ambassador to the United States. Career He was the son of Pierre-Edouard Tixier, a blacksmith, and Marie-Françoise Derosier. Destined for a career in education, he studied at the école normale (teachers' college) at Châteauroux and became a teacher of technical subjects. In August 1914, he was enlisted as a reserve officer and served in the First World War. Shortly after being called up, he was wounded in the Ardennes and underwent the amputation of his left arm. He returned to his teaching career in August 1915 and became a senior teacher at the École supérieure professionnelle in the town of Albi. Active in the Socialist Party, he met Albert Thomas and held from 1920 various offices within the International Labour Office in Geneva, including that of CEO in 1936. On 20 June 1940, with Professor Edgard Milhaud, and Jean-Amédée Weber, he sent a telegram to Marshal Pétain in protest of the request for an armistice and asked for the continuation of the war alongside the British. Using with false papers, he sailed for the United States, via Spain and Portugal, as representative of the International Labour Office. He joined General de Gaulle, who charged him in November 1941 of representing the Free France in Washington, where he was appreciated by the Franklin Roosevelt administration. He served in the French Committee of National Liberation of Algeria the position of Commissioner of Labor and Social Welfare from 7 June 1943 to 9 November 1943 and Social Affairs from 9 November 1943 to 9 September 1944. He became the first Minister of Social Affairs. He was appointed interior minister in September 1944 in the Provisional Government of France, led by General de Gaulle, and held the post until January 1946. His task was to restore the republican legality in the disorganised France. He was a co-signer of the Ordinance of 4 October 1945, which established Social Security. He founded the Department of the Interior, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS). He supported de Gaulle, along with Robert Lacoste, the Minister of Production, during his visit to Oradour-sur-Glane on 5 March 1945. He was then elected in September 1945, to the General Council from Bessines-sur-Gartempe, and in October 1945, he became a socialist member of the Haute-Vienne in the First National Constituent Assembly. He chaired the General Council of Haute-Vienne. He was buried in Folles. References External links Colloque Adrien Tixier 3–4 mars 2009

languages spoken, written or signed

Adrien Tixier (31 January 1893 in Folles (Haute-Vienne) – 18 February 1946 in Paris) was a French politician and diplomat who was the Free French ambassador to the United States. Career He was the son of Pierre-Edouard Tixier, a blacksmith, and Marie-Françoise Derosier. Destined for a career in education, he studied at the école normale (teachers' college) at Châteauroux and became a teacher of technical subjects. In August 1914, he was enlisted as a reserve officer and served in the First World War. Shortly after being called up, he was wounded in the Ardennes and underwent the amputation of his left arm. He returned to his teaching career in August 1915 and became a senior teacher at the École supérieure professionnelle in the town of Albi. Active in the Socialist Party, he met Albert Thomas and held from 1920 various offices within the International Labour Office in Geneva, including that of CEO in 1936. On 20 June 1940, with Professor Edgard Milhaud, and Jean-Amédée Weber, he sent a telegram to Marshal Pétain in protest of the request for an armistice and asked for the continuation of the war alongside the British. Using with false papers, he sailed for the United States, via Spain and Portugal, as representative of the International Labour Office. He joined General de Gaulle, who charged him in November 1941 of representing the Free France in Washington, where he was appreciated by the Franklin Roosevelt administration. He served in the French Committee of National Liberation of Algeria the position of Commissioner of Labor and Social Welfare from 7 June 1943 to 9 November 1943 and Social Affairs from 9 November 1943 to 9 September 1944. He became the first Minister of Social Affairs. He was appointed interior minister in September 1944 in the Provisional Government of France, led by General de Gaulle, and held the post until January 1946. His task was to restore the republican legality in the disorganised France. He was a co-signer of the Ordinance of 4 October 1945, which established Social Security. He founded the Department of the Interior, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS). He supported de Gaulle, along with Robert Lacoste, the Minister of Production, during his visit to Oradour-sur-Glane on 5 March 1945. He was then elected in September 1945, to the General Council from Bessines-sur-Gartempe, and in October 1945, he became a socialist member of the Haute-Vienne in the First National Constituent Assembly. He chaired the General Council of Haute-Vienne. He was buried in Folles. References External links Colloque Adrien Tixier 3–4 mars 2009

name in native language

Marzdaran Stadium of Tabriz (Persian: ورزشگاه مرزداران تبریز) is a stadium in Tabriz, Iran. It was previously used primarily for football matches and served as the home stadium of Shahrdari Tabriz. Currently it is used as a football academy and training grounds for Machine Sazi. The stadium holds 5,000 people and was built in 2014 by Municipality of Tabriz. See also Sahand Stadium Takhti Stadium (Tabriz) == References ==

country

Marzdaran Stadium of Tabriz (Persian: ورزشگاه مرزداران تبریز) is a stadium in Tabriz, Iran. It was previously used primarily for football matches and served as the home stadium of Shahrdari Tabriz. Currently it is used as a football academy and training grounds for Machine Sazi. The stadium holds 5,000 people and was built in 2014 by Municipality of Tabriz. See also Sahand Stadium Takhti Stadium (Tabriz) == References ==

instance of

Marzdaran Stadium of Tabriz (Persian: ورزشگاه مرزداران تبریز) is a stadium in Tabriz, Iran. It was previously used primarily for football matches and served as the home stadium of Shahrdari Tabriz. Currently it is used as a football academy and training grounds for Machine Sazi. The stadium holds 5,000 people and was built in 2014 by Municipality of Tabriz. See also Sahand Stadium Takhti Stadium (Tabriz) == References ==

owned by

Marzdaran Stadium of Tabriz (Persian: ورزشگاه مرزداران تبریز) is a stadium in Tabriz, Iran. It was previously used primarily for football matches and served as the home stadium of Shahrdari Tabriz. Currently it is used as a football academy and training grounds for Machine Sazi. The stadium holds 5,000 people and was built in 2014 by Municipality of Tabriz. See also Sahand Stadium Takhti Stadium (Tabriz) == References ==

located in the administrative territorial entity

Marzdaran Stadium of Tabriz (Persian: ورزشگاه مرزداران تبریز) is a stadium in Tabriz, Iran. It was previously used primarily for football matches and served as the home stadium of Shahrdari Tabriz. Currently it is used as a football academy and training grounds for Machine Sazi. The stadium holds 5,000 people and was built in 2014 by Municipality of Tabriz. See also Sahand Stadium Takhti Stadium (Tabriz) == References ==

Commons category

Kang Soo-jin may refer to: Kang Sue-jin (born 1967), South Korean ballerina Kang Soo-jin (voice actor), South Korean voice actor Kang Soo-jin (voice actress), South Korean voice actress

country of citizenship

Kang Soo-jin may refer to: Kang Sue-jin (born 1967), South Korean ballerina Kang Soo-jin (voice actor), South Korean voice actor Kang Soo-jin (voice actress), South Korean voice actress

native language

Kang Soo-jin may refer to: Kang Sue-jin (born 1967), South Korean ballerina Kang Soo-jin (voice actor), South Korean voice actor Kang Soo-jin (voice actress), South Korean voice actress

occupation

Kang Soo-jin may refer to: Kang Sue-jin (born 1967), South Korean ballerina Kang Soo-jin (voice actor), South Korean voice actor Kang Soo-jin (voice actress), South Korean voice actress

family name

Kang Soo-jin may refer to: Kang Sue-jin (born 1967), South Korean ballerina Kang Soo-jin (voice actor), South Korean voice actor Kang Soo-jin (voice actress), South Korean voice actress

languages spoken, written or signed

Order of the Montenegrin Grand Star (Montenegrin: Orden Crnogorske velike zvijezde) is the second highest state order of Montenegro. The order is awarded by the President of Montenegro. It is awarded for special merits in developing and strengthening cooperation and friendly relations between the Republic of Montenegro and other countries and international organizations and for contributing to the international reputation and influence of Montenegro. Notable recipients 2018 – Joe Biden 2018 – Mike Turner 2018 – John McCain 2016 – Miroslav Lajčák 2015 – Queen Rania of Jordan 2015 – Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 2015 – Zoran Đinđić (posthumously) 2013 – Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan 2010 – Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud See also Orders, decorations, and medals of Montenegro == References ==

instance of

Tony Peck (born September 5, 1983 in Louisiana, Missouri) is the drummer for Peoria, Illinois based band, The Forecast. He was raised in Pleasant Hill, Illinois and is a 2002 graduate of Pleasant Hill High School where he was active in the school's music programs and was a 2002 recipient of the Arion Award. After graduating from high school he began touring and recording with several bands, including The Junior Varsity, for two years before being asked to join The Forecast in July 2004. Tony uses C&C drums and Sabian cymbals. == References ==

occupation

Tony Peck (born September 5, 1983 in Louisiana, Missouri) is the drummer for Peoria, Illinois based band, The Forecast. He was raised in Pleasant Hill, Illinois and is a 2002 graduate of Pleasant Hill High School where he was active in the school's music programs and was a 2002 recipient of the Arion Award. After graduating from high school he began touring and recording with several bands, including The Junior Varsity, for two years before being asked to join The Forecast in July 2004. Tony uses C&C drums and Sabian cymbals. == References ==

family name

Tony Peck (born September 5, 1983 in Louisiana, Missouri) is the drummer for Peoria, Illinois based band, The Forecast. He was raised in Pleasant Hill, Illinois and is a 2002 graduate of Pleasant Hill High School where he was active in the school's music programs and was a 2002 recipient of the Arion Award. After graduating from high school he began touring and recording with several bands, including The Junior Varsity, for two years before being asked to join The Forecast in July 2004. Tony uses C&C drums and Sabian cymbals. == References ==

given name

Oulad Msabbel is a small town and rural commune in El Kelâat Es-Sraghna Province of the Marrakesh-Safi region of Morocco. At the time of the 2004 census, the commune had a total population of 5527 people living in 852 households. == References ==

country

Oulad Msabbel is a small town and rural commune in El Kelâat Es-Sraghna Province of the Marrakesh-Safi region of Morocco. At the time of the 2004 census, the commune had a total population of 5527 people living in 852 households. == References ==

official name

Gainsborough Airport (TC LID: CKY6) was located adjacent to Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, Canada. See also List of airports in Saskatchewan List of defunct airports in Canada == References ==

country

Gainsborough Airport (TC LID: CKY6) was located adjacent to Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, Canada. See also List of airports in Saskatchewan List of defunct airports in Canada == References ==

instance of

Gainsborough Airport (TC LID: CKY6) was located adjacent to Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, Canada. See also List of airports in Saskatchewan List of defunct airports in Canada == References ==

located in the administrative territorial entity

Bahraich Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 80 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. Bahraich is reserved for the SC category. Assembly segments After delimitation, this constituency comprises the following five assembly segments: Before delimitation of parliamentary constituencies in 2008, Bahraich Lok Sabha constituency comprised the following five assembly segments: Nanpara Charda Bhinga Bahraich Ikauna Members of Parliament Election results Lok Sabha election 2019 Lok Sabha election 2014 Lok Sabha election 2009 Lok Sabha election 1980 Mulana Saiyad Muzaffar Hussain (INC-I) : 112,358 votes Om Prakash Tyagi (BJS) : 62,468 Lok Sabha election 1971 Badlu Ram (INC) : 94,666 votes Om Prakash Tyagi (BJS) : 69,171 See also Bahraich district List of Constituencies of the Lok Sabha External links Bahraich lok sabha constituency election 2019 result Election Results of Bahraich Lok Sabha from 1971 == References ==

country

Bahraich Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 80 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. Bahraich is reserved for the SC category. Assembly segments After delimitation, this constituency comprises the following five assembly segments: Before delimitation of parliamentary constituencies in 2008, Bahraich Lok Sabha constituency comprised the following five assembly segments: Nanpara Charda Bhinga Bahraich Ikauna Members of Parliament Election results Lok Sabha election 2019 Lok Sabha election 2014 Lok Sabha election 2009 Lok Sabha election 1980 Mulana Saiyad Muzaffar Hussain (INC-I) : 112,358 votes Om Prakash Tyagi (BJS) : 62,468 Lok Sabha election 1971 Badlu Ram (INC) : 94,666 votes Om Prakash Tyagi (BJS) : 69,171 See also Bahraich district List of Constituencies of the Lok Sabha External links Bahraich lok sabha constituency election 2019 result Election Results of Bahraich Lok Sabha from 1971 == References ==

instance of

Bahraich Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 80 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. Bahraich is reserved for the SC category. Assembly segments After delimitation, this constituency comprises the following five assembly segments: Before delimitation of parliamentary constituencies in 2008, Bahraich Lok Sabha constituency comprised the following five assembly segments: Nanpara Charda Bhinga Bahraich Ikauna Members of Parliament Election results Lok Sabha election 2019 Lok Sabha election 2014 Lok Sabha election 2009 Lok Sabha election 1980 Mulana Saiyad Muzaffar Hussain (INC-I) : 112,358 votes Om Prakash Tyagi (BJS) : 62,468 Lok Sabha election 1971 Badlu Ram (INC) : 94,666 votes Om Prakash Tyagi (BJS) : 69,171 See also Bahraich district List of Constituencies of the Lok Sabha External links Bahraich lok sabha constituency election 2019 result Election Results of Bahraich Lok Sabha from 1971 == References ==

located in the administrative territorial entity

BCM Olimpic Baia Mare was a professional basketball team from Baia Mare, Romania. The team played in the Liga Națională. History BCM Olimpic Baia Mare was founded in 2006 and in its short history the club played mainly in Liga I, Romanian second basketball league. In 2016 they finished on 2nd place and promoted to Liga Națională for the first time in their history. Honours Liga I Runners-up (1): 2016–2017 2016–2017 roster References External links Team profile on eurobasket Official facebook page Team profile on totalbaschet profile on BaschetRomania

country

BCM Olimpic Baia Mare was a professional basketball team from Baia Mare, Romania. The team played in the Liga Națională. History BCM Olimpic Baia Mare was founded in 2006 and in its short history the club played mainly in Liga I, Romanian second basketball league. In 2016 they finished on 2nd place and promoted to Liga Națională for the first time in their history. Honours Liga I Runners-up (1): 2016–2017 2016–2017 roster References External links Team profile on eurobasket Official facebook page Team profile on totalbaschet profile on BaschetRomania

instance of

BCM Olimpic Baia Mare was a professional basketball team from Baia Mare, Romania. The team played in the Liga Națională. History BCM Olimpic Baia Mare was founded in 2006 and in its short history the club played mainly in Liga I, Romanian second basketball league. In 2016 they finished on 2nd place and promoted to Liga Națională for the first time in their history. Honours Liga I Runners-up (1): 2016–2017 2016–2017 roster References External links Team profile on eurobasket Official facebook page Team profile on totalbaschet profile on BaschetRomania

headquarters location

BCM Olimpic Baia Mare was a professional basketball team from Baia Mare, Romania. The team played in the Liga Națională. History BCM Olimpic Baia Mare was founded in 2006 and in its short history the club played mainly in Liga I, Romanian second basketball league. In 2016 they finished on 2nd place and promoted to Liga Națională for the first time in their history. Honours Liga I Runners-up (1): 2016–2017 2016–2017 roster References External links Team profile on eurobasket Official facebook page Team profile on totalbaschet profile on BaschetRomania

sport

Meg Randall (born Genevieve Roberts; August 1, 1926 – July 20, 2018) was an American film actress. She was active in motion pictures, radio, and television between 1946 and 1961, changing her name from Gene Roberts to Meg Randall in mid-1948.Randall was known for her portrayal of Babs Riley in the 1949 film version of the popular radio comedy The Life of Riley, as well as her recurring role as Kim Parker Kettle in the Ma & Pa Kettle comedy series from 1949 to 1951. Randall's first recognizable role was in the supporting cast for the 1949 film noir classic Criss Cross. In 1952, she returned to the film noir genre in the suspense story Without Warning. Randall died in July 2018 at the age of 91. Early life Randall was born August 1, 1926, in Clinton, Custer and Washita County, Oklahoma. She was known informally as Gene, which was derived from her birth name, Genevieve. Randall's father, Charles Patrick Roberts (1892-1980), originated from Texas and by 1900, his family moved into Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, to farm while Charles was young. The family moved to Seminole, Seminole County, Oklahoma by 1930 where he worked as a garage mechanic then to Shawnee, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, where he worked as a construction laborer. The family lived in Shawnee until the start of World War II.Randall's mother, Winnie McMillin (1899-1952), was born in Tennessee and grew up in an Oklahoma farming community as well. By the age of 20, Winnie was a school teacher in Harris Township, OK.Randall was the third of five children. Her two older siblings were Juanita and Juarez and her younger siblings were Lahoma and Bobby Lea. Although her family is of primarily Welsh descent, her father favored names of alternate ethnicity selecting a few for his children rather than Welsh names, breaking away from family tradition. During World War II, both of Gene's parents were employed as attendants at the Veterans' Administration Hospital in Muskogee, OK. Gene's older brother, Juarez Roberts, was a World War II paratrooper and a graduate from the University of Oklahoma after the war. He found his niche in Hollywood by writing for several television shows during the 1950s until the early 1960s. Career choice Most of Randall's schooling was in the Shawnee public schools. The family moved to Muskogee in 1941 and in 1943 at the age of seventeen, Randall graduated from Muskogee High School. She enrolled in the University of Oklahoma School of Drama where she studied for one year.After one year of college, Randall moved to Los Angeles with the goal of becoming a movie actress. Once in Los Angeles, Randall moved in with a college friend of her mother's. Randall acquired a talent agent who arranged interviews for her with both Mary Pickford, co-founder of United Artists, and Paramount.Although Randall only had some school stage experience, including the lead in the play Claudia at the University of Oklahomas, Pickford offered Randall $125 a week, a considerable amount, to sign with United Artists. However, Paramount Studios came back with a better offer, which Randall was ready to accept. But another encounter would steer her away from the generous Paramount offer. Gene's mother's friend was also an acquaintance of the alluring silent film star, Rubye De Remer, which gave Gene the opportunity to meet Rubye and make a marked impression on her as well. On Gene's behalf, Rubye in turn piqued the interest of director Clarence Brown. It was early 1945 when MGM and Clarence Brown first embarked on a nationwide casting search for some fresh talent for The Yearling And now months later, Clarence believed that perhaps the role of Orry Baxter might be suited for Gene. So Rubye contacted Gene the day after the Paramount offer was made and persuaded her to meet with Clarence at MGM that day. Despite the fact that MGM newcomer, Jacqueline White, was actually selected and had filmed some scenes that summer, Clarence was still not convinced that she was the right choice. As a result, Gene was called back three times to test for the role and eagerly awaited to hear from the studio each time. This experience earned her a $250 a week, long-term MGM contract which she signed as herself, Gene Roberts. Ultimately, Gene's youthfulness was the deciding factor that prevented MGM from assigning her this lead role. When production resumed in mid-September 1945, Clarence had chosen 28-year-old Jane Wyman, who was on loan from Warner Brothers, to portray a more mature-looking character with co-star Gregory Peck. The Yearling was released in May 1947 and went on to win multiple Academy Awards and nominations, including a Best Actress nomination for Jane Wyman.Gene remained under contract with MGM for nearly two years and found that there were very few roles for young women her age at that time. It wasn't until late October 1946 and over a year since Gene first signed on, that she was cast in a small supporting role. This role placed Gene into the last of Ann Sothern's film series, the final episode entitled Undercover Maisie which was released in May 1947. Next, she was cast in the low-budget Comet Productions film Stork Bites Man where she co-starred with Jackie Cooper, who had resumed his acting career after returning from the war. With production completed in early February 1947 and MGM showing no serious interest in her by that spring, Gene asked for and was granted release from her contract. She then signed once more as herself, Gene Roberts, with 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation but was overlooked by the studio there as well. After a year had passed, Gene opted out of the 20th Century contract and was on the move again. Name change In mid-June 1948, Universal-International brought Gene aboard with what would become a three-year contract. Once again, she had no idea if she would be offered any work there either. Surprisingly, just two days later, she was cast as Helen and filming on the set of Criss Cross with Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo and Dan Duryea. This became a significant event that inevitably changed her career potential and her name. Prior to signing with Universal-International, Gene had married a studio musician named Robert Thorpe. It was the opinion of U-I producers that neither her birth name, Gene Roberts, nor her married name Gene Thorpe (also known as Jean Thorpe), was considered a good fit for her Hollywood identity. As a new U-I player, Gene was obliged to immediately select a screen name. Since this occurred during the production of Criss Cross, she was dubbed "Miss X" early on by the studio. The name Meg McClure was first chosen and announced in a press release along with her new image in a Hollywood fashioned pose set against a giant "X". However, this name was short-lived. Another young newcomer had already changed her name to M'Liss McClure and attracted gossip column interest with her protests about the competing last name. Overall, it was reported that the publicity over the name change drew six thousand letters into the studio offering name suggestions. Before filming ended on the movie, a new name was chosen and Gene would forever be publicly recognized by her screen name, Meg Randall. Filmography References External links Meg Randall at IMDb

place of birth

Meg Randall (born Genevieve Roberts; August 1, 1926 – July 20, 2018) was an American film actress. She was active in motion pictures, radio, and television between 1946 and 1961, changing her name from Gene Roberts to Meg Randall in mid-1948.Randall was known for her portrayal of Babs Riley in the 1949 film version of the popular radio comedy The Life of Riley, as well as her recurring role as Kim Parker Kettle in the Ma & Pa Kettle comedy series from 1949 to 1951. Randall's first recognizable role was in the supporting cast for the 1949 film noir classic Criss Cross. In 1952, she returned to the film noir genre in the suspense story Without Warning. Randall died in July 2018 at the age of 91. Early life Randall was born August 1, 1926, in Clinton, Custer and Washita County, Oklahoma. She was known informally as Gene, which was derived from her birth name, Genevieve. Randall's father, Charles Patrick Roberts (1892-1980), originated from Texas and by 1900, his family moved into Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, to farm while Charles was young. The family moved to Seminole, Seminole County, Oklahoma by 1930 where he worked as a garage mechanic then to Shawnee, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, where he worked as a construction laborer. The family lived in Shawnee until the start of World War II.Randall's mother, Winnie McMillin (1899-1952), was born in Tennessee and grew up in an Oklahoma farming community as well. By the age of 20, Winnie was a school teacher in Harris Township, OK.Randall was the third of five children. Her two older siblings were Juanita and Juarez and her younger siblings were Lahoma and Bobby Lea. Although her family is of primarily Welsh descent, her father favored names of alternate ethnicity selecting a few for his children rather than Welsh names, breaking away from family tradition. During World War II, both of Gene's parents were employed as attendants at the Veterans' Administration Hospital in Muskogee, OK. Gene's older brother, Juarez Roberts, was a World War II paratrooper and a graduate from the University of Oklahoma after the war. He found his niche in Hollywood by writing for several television shows during the 1950s until the early 1960s. Career choice Most of Randall's schooling was in the Shawnee public schools. The family moved to Muskogee in 1941 and in 1943 at the age of seventeen, Randall graduated from Muskogee High School. She enrolled in the University of Oklahoma School of Drama where she studied for one year.After one year of college, Randall moved to Los Angeles with the goal of becoming a movie actress. Once in Los Angeles, Randall moved in with a college friend of her mother's. Randall acquired a talent agent who arranged interviews for her with both Mary Pickford, co-founder of United Artists, and Paramount.Although Randall only had some school stage experience, including the lead in the play Claudia at the University of Oklahomas, Pickford offered Randall $125 a week, a considerable amount, to sign with United Artists. However, Paramount Studios came back with a better offer, which Randall was ready to accept. But another encounter would steer her away from the generous Paramount offer. Gene's mother's friend was also an acquaintance of the alluring silent film star, Rubye De Remer, which gave Gene the opportunity to meet Rubye and make a marked impression on her as well. On Gene's behalf, Rubye in turn piqued the interest of director Clarence Brown. It was early 1945 when MGM and Clarence Brown first embarked on a nationwide casting search for some fresh talent for The Yearling And now months later, Clarence believed that perhaps the role of Orry Baxter might be suited for Gene. So Rubye contacted Gene the day after the Paramount offer was made and persuaded her to meet with Clarence at MGM that day. Despite the fact that MGM newcomer, Jacqueline White, was actually selected and had filmed some scenes that summer, Clarence was still not convinced that she was the right choice. As a result, Gene was called back three times to test for the role and eagerly awaited to hear from the studio each time. This experience earned her a $250 a week, long-term MGM contract which she signed as herself, Gene Roberts. Ultimately, Gene's youthfulness was the deciding factor that prevented MGM from assigning her this lead role. When production resumed in mid-September 1945, Clarence had chosen 28-year-old Jane Wyman, who was on loan from Warner Brothers, to portray a more mature-looking character with co-star Gregory Peck. The Yearling was released in May 1947 and went on to win multiple Academy Awards and nominations, including a Best Actress nomination for Jane Wyman.Gene remained under contract with MGM for nearly two years and found that there were very few roles for young women her age at that time. It wasn't until late October 1946 and over a year since Gene first signed on, that she was cast in a small supporting role. This role placed Gene into the last of Ann Sothern's film series, the final episode entitled Undercover Maisie which was released in May 1947. Next, she was cast in the low-budget Comet Productions film Stork Bites Man where she co-starred with Jackie Cooper, who had resumed his acting career after returning from the war. With production completed in early February 1947 and MGM showing no serious interest in her by that spring, Gene asked for and was granted release from her contract. She then signed once more as herself, Gene Roberts, with 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation but was overlooked by the studio there as well. After a year had passed, Gene opted out of the 20th Century contract and was on the move again. Name change In mid-June 1948, Universal-International brought Gene aboard with what would become a three-year contract. Once again, she had no idea if she would be offered any work there either. Surprisingly, just two days later, she was cast as Helen and filming on the set of Criss Cross with Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo and Dan Duryea. This became a significant event that inevitably changed her career potential and her name. Prior to signing with Universal-International, Gene had married a studio musician named Robert Thorpe. It was the opinion of U-I producers that neither her birth name, Gene Roberts, nor her married name Gene Thorpe (also known as Jean Thorpe), was considered a good fit for her Hollywood identity. As a new U-I player, Gene was obliged to immediately select a screen name. Since this occurred during the production of Criss Cross, she was dubbed "Miss X" early on by the studio. The name Meg McClure was first chosen and announced in a press release along with her new image in a Hollywood fashioned pose set against a giant "X". However, this name was short-lived. Another young newcomer had already changed her name to M'Liss McClure and attracted gossip column interest with her protests about the competing last name. Overall, it was reported that the publicity over the name change drew six thousand letters into the studio offering name suggestions. Before filming ended on the movie, a new name was chosen and Gene would forever be publicly recognized by her screen name, Meg Randall. Filmography References External links Meg Randall at IMDb

educated at

Meg Randall (born Genevieve Roberts; August 1, 1926 – July 20, 2018) was an American film actress. She was active in motion pictures, radio, and television between 1946 and 1961, changing her name from Gene Roberts to Meg Randall in mid-1948.Randall was known for her portrayal of Babs Riley in the 1949 film version of the popular radio comedy The Life of Riley, as well as her recurring role as Kim Parker Kettle in the Ma & Pa Kettle comedy series from 1949 to 1951. Randall's first recognizable role was in the supporting cast for the 1949 film noir classic Criss Cross. In 1952, she returned to the film noir genre in the suspense story Without Warning. Randall died in July 2018 at the age of 91. Early life Randall was born August 1, 1926, in Clinton, Custer and Washita County, Oklahoma. She was known informally as Gene, which was derived from her birth name, Genevieve. Randall's father, Charles Patrick Roberts (1892-1980), originated from Texas and by 1900, his family moved into Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, to farm while Charles was young. The family moved to Seminole, Seminole County, Oklahoma by 1930 where he worked as a garage mechanic then to Shawnee, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, where he worked as a construction laborer. The family lived in Shawnee until the start of World War II.Randall's mother, Winnie McMillin (1899-1952), was born in Tennessee and grew up in an Oklahoma farming community as well. By the age of 20, Winnie was a school teacher in Harris Township, OK.Randall was the third of five children. Her two older siblings were Juanita and Juarez and her younger siblings were Lahoma and Bobby Lea. Although her family is of primarily Welsh descent, her father favored names of alternate ethnicity selecting a few for his children rather than Welsh names, breaking away from family tradition. During World War II, both of Gene's parents were employed as attendants at the Veterans' Administration Hospital in Muskogee, OK. Gene's older brother, Juarez Roberts, was a World War II paratrooper and a graduate from the University of Oklahoma after the war. He found his niche in Hollywood by writing for several television shows during the 1950s until the early 1960s. Career choice Most of Randall's schooling was in the Shawnee public schools. The family moved to Muskogee in 1941 and in 1943 at the age of seventeen, Randall graduated from Muskogee High School. She enrolled in the University of Oklahoma School of Drama where she studied for one year.After one year of college, Randall moved to Los Angeles with the goal of becoming a movie actress. Once in Los Angeles, Randall moved in with a college friend of her mother's. Randall acquired a talent agent who arranged interviews for her with both Mary Pickford, co-founder of United Artists, and Paramount.Although Randall only had some school stage experience, including the lead in the play Claudia at the University of Oklahomas, Pickford offered Randall $125 a week, a considerable amount, to sign with United Artists. However, Paramount Studios came back with a better offer, which Randall was ready to accept. But another encounter would steer her away from the generous Paramount offer. Gene's mother's friend was also an acquaintance of the alluring silent film star, Rubye De Remer, which gave Gene the opportunity to meet Rubye and make a marked impression on her as well. On Gene's behalf, Rubye in turn piqued the interest of director Clarence Brown. It was early 1945 when MGM and Clarence Brown first embarked on a nationwide casting search for some fresh talent for The Yearling And now months later, Clarence believed that perhaps the role of Orry Baxter might be suited for Gene. So Rubye contacted Gene the day after the Paramount offer was made and persuaded her to meet with Clarence at MGM that day. Despite the fact that MGM newcomer, Jacqueline White, was actually selected and had filmed some scenes that summer, Clarence was still not convinced that she was the right choice. As a result, Gene was called back three times to test for the role and eagerly awaited to hear from the studio each time. This experience earned her a $250 a week, long-term MGM contract which she signed as herself, Gene Roberts. Ultimately, Gene's youthfulness was the deciding factor that prevented MGM from assigning her this lead role. When production resumed in mid-September 1945, Clarence had chosen 28-year-old Jane Wyman, who was on loan from Warner Brothers, to portray a more mature-looking character with co-star Gregory Peck. The Yearling was released in May 1947 and went on to win multiple Academy Awards and nominations, including a Best Actress nomination for Jane Wyman.Gene remained under contract with MGM for nearly two years and found that there were very few roles for young women her age at that time. It wasn't until late October 1946 and over a year since Gene first signed on, that she was cast in a small supporting role. This role placed Gene into the last of Ann Sothern's film series, the final episode entitled Undercover Maisie which was released in May 1947. Next, she was cast in the low-budget Comet Productions film Stork Bites Man where she co-starred with Jackie Cooper, who had resumed his acting career after returning from the war. With production completed in early February 1947 and MGM showing no serious interest in her by that spring, Gene asked for and was granted release from her contract. She then signed once more as herself, Gene Roberts, with 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation but was overlooked by the studio there as well. After a year had passed, Gene opted out of the 20th Century contract and was on the move again. Name change In mid-June 1948, Universal-International brought Gene aboard with what would become a three-year contract. Once again, she had no idea if she would be offered any work there either. Surprisingly, just two days later, she was cast as Helen and filming on the set of Criss Cross with Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo and Dan Duryea. This became a significant event that inevitably changed her career potential and her name. Prior to signing with Universal-International, Gene had married a studio musician named Robert Thorpe. It was the opinion of U-I producers that neither her birth name, Gene Roberts, nor her married name Gene Thorpe (also known as Jean Thorpe), was considered a good fit for her Hollywood identity. As a new U-I player, Gene was obliged to immediately select a screen name. Since this occurred during the production of Criss Cross, she was dubbed "Miss X" early on by the studio. The name Meg McClure was first chosen and announced in a press release along with her new image in a Hollywood fashioned pose set against a giant "X". However, this name was short-lived. Another young newcomer had already changed her name to M'Liss McClure and attracted gossip column interest with her protests about the competing last name. Overall, it was reported that the publicity over the name change drew six thousand letters into the studio offering name suggestions. Before filming ended on the movie, a new name was chosen and Gene would forever be publicly recognized by her screen name, Meg Randall. Filmography References External links Meg Randall at IMDb

occupation

Meg Randall (born Genevieve Roberts; August 1, 1926 – July 20, 2018) was an American film actress. She was active in motion pictures, radio, and television between 1946 and 1961, changing her name from Gene Roberts to Meg Randall in mid-1948.Randall was known for her portrayal of Babs Riley in the 1949 film version of the popular radio comedy The Life of Riley, as well as her recurring role as Kim Parker Kettle in the Ma & Pa Kettle comedy series from 1949 to 1951. Randall's first recognizable role was in the supporting cast for the 1949 film noir classic Criss Cross. In 1952, she returned to the film noir genre in the suspense story Without Warning. Randall died in July 2018 at the age of 91. Early life Randall was born August 1, 1926, in Clinton, Custer and Washita County, Oklahoma. She was known informally as Gene, which was derived from her birth name, Genevieve. Randall's father, Charles Patrick Roberts (1892-1980), originated from Texas and by 1900, his family moved into Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, to farm while Charles was young. The family moved to Seminole, Seminole County, Oklahoma by 1930 where he worked as a garage mechanic then to Shawnee, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, where he worked as a construction laborer. The family lived in Shawnee until the start of World War II.Randall's mother, Winnie McMillin (1899-1952), was born in Tennessee and grew up in an Oklahoma farming community as well. By the age of 20, Winnie was a school teacher in Harris Township, OK.Randall was the third of five children. Her two older siblings were Juanita and Juarez and her younger siblings were Lahoma and Bobby Lea. Although her family is of primarily Welsh descent, her father favored names of alternate ethnicity selecting a few for his children rather than Welsh names, breaking away from family tradition. During World War II, both of Gene's parents were employed as attendants at the Veterans' Administration Hospital in Muskogee, OK. Gene's older brother, Juarez Roberts, was a World War II paratrooper and a graduate from the University of Oklahoma after the war. He found his niche in Hollywood by writing for several television shows during the 1950s until the early 1960s. Career choice Most of Randall's schooling was in the Shawnee public schools. The family moved to Muskogee in 1941 and in 1943 at the age of seventeen, Randall graduated from Muskogee High School. She enrolled in the University of Oklahoma School of Drama where she studied for one year.After one year of college, Randall moved to Los Angeles with the goal of becoming a movie actress. Once in Los Angeles, Randall moved in with a college friend of her mother's. Randall acquired a talent agent who arranged interviews for her with both Mary Pickford, co-founder of United Artists, and Paramount.Although Randall only had some school stage experience, including the lead in the play Claudia at the University of Oklahomas, Pickford offered Randall $125 a week, a considerable amount, to sign with United Artists. However, Paramount Studios came back with a better offer, which Randall was ready to accept. But another encounter would steer her away from the generous Paramount offer. Gene's mother's friend was also an acquaintance of the alluring silent film star, Rubye De Remer, which gave Gene the opportunity to meet Rubye and make a marked impression on her as well. On Gene's behalf, Rubye in turn piqued the interest of director Clarence Brown. It was early 1945 when MGM and Clarence Brown first embarked on a nationwide casting search for some fresh talent for The Yearling And now months later, Clarence believed that perhaps the role of Orry Baxter might be suited for Gene. So Rubye contacted Gene the day after the Paramount offer was made and persuaded her to meet with Clarence at MGM that day. Despite the fact that MGM newcomer, Jacqueline White, was actually selected and had filmed some scenes that summer, Clarence was still not convinced that she was the right choice. As a result, Gene was called back three times to test for the role and eagerly awaited to hear from the studio each time. This experience earned her a $250 a week, long-term MGM contract which she signed as herself, Gene Roberts. Ultimately, Gene's youthfulness was the deciding factor that prevented MGM from assigning her this lead role. When production resumed in mid-September 1945, Clarence had chosen 28-year-old Jane Wyman, who was on loan from Warner Brothers, to portray a more mature-looking character with co-star Gregory Peck. The Yearling was released in May 1947 and went on to win multiple Academy Awards and nominations, including a Best Actress nomination for Jane Wyman.Gene remained under contract with MGM for nearly two years and found that there were very few roles for young women her age at that time. It wasn't until late October 1946 and over a year since Gene first signed on, that she was cast in a small supporting role. This role placed Gene into the last of Ann Sothern's film series, the final episode entitled Undercover Maisie which was released in May 1947. Next, she was cast in the low-budget Comet Productions film Stork Bites Man where she co-starred with Jackie Cooper, who had resumed his acting career after returning from the war. With production completed in early February 1947 and MGM showing no serious interest in her by that spring, Gene asked for and was granted release from her contract. She then signed once more as herself, Gene Roberts, with 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation but was overlooked by the studio there as well. After a year had passed, Gene opted out of the 20th Century contract and was on the move again. Name change In mid-June 1948, Universal-International brought Gene aboard with what would become a three-year contract. Once again, she had no idea if she would be offered any work there either. Surprisingly, just two days later, she was cast as Helen and filming on the set of Criss Cross with Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo and Dan Duryea. This became a significant event that inevitably changed her career potential and her name. Prior to signing with Universal-International, Gene had married a studio musician named Robert Thorpe. It was the opinion of U-I producers that neither her birth name, Gene Roberts, nor her married name Gene Thorpe (also known as Jean Thorpe), was considered a good fit for her Hollywood identity. As a new U-I player, Gene was obliged to immediately select a screen name. Since this occurred during the production of Criss Cross, she was dubbed "Miss X" early on by the studio. The name Meg McClure was first chosen and announced in a press release along with her new image in a Hollywood fashioned pose set against a giant "X". However, this name was short-lived. Another young newcomer had already changed her name to M'Liss McClure and attracted gossip column interest with her protests about the competing last name. Overall, it was reported that the publicity over the name change drew six thousand letters into the studio offering name suggestions. Before filming ended on the movie, a new name was chosen and Gene would forever be publicly recognized by her screen name, Meg Randall. Filmography References External links Meg Randall at IMDb

family name

Meg Randall (born Genevieve Roberts; August 1, 1926 – July 20, 2018) was an American film actress. She was active in motion pictures, radio, and television between 1946 and 1961, changing her name from Gene Roberts to Meg Randall in mid-1948.Randall was known for her portrayal of Babs Riley in the 1949 film version of the popular radio comedy The Life of Riley, as well as her recurring role as Kim Parker Kettle in the Ma & Pa Kettle comedy series from 1949 to 1951. Randall's first recognizable role was in the supporting cast for the 1949 film noir classic Criss Cross. In 1952, she returned to the film noir genre in the suspense story Without Warning. Randall died in July 2018 at the age of 91. Early life Randall was born August 1, 1926, in Clinton, Custer and Washita County, Oklahoma. She was known informally as Gene, which was derived from her birth name, Genevieve. Randall's father, Charles Patrick Roberts (1892-1980), originated from Texas and by 1900, his family moved into Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, to farm while Charles was young. The family moved to Seminole, Seminole County, Oklahoma by 1930 where he worked as a garage mechanic then to Shawnee, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, where he worked as a construction laborer. The family lived in Shawnee until the start of World War II.Randall's mother, Winnie McMillin (1899-1952), was born in Tennessee and grew up in an Oklahoma farming community as well. By the age of 20, Winnie was a school teacher in Harris Township, OK.Randall was the third of five children. Her two older siblings were Juanita and Juarez and her younger siblings were Lahoma and Bobby Lea. Although her family is of primarily Welsh descent, her father favored names of alternate ethnicity selecting a few for his children rather than Welsh names, breaking away from family tradition. During World War II, both of Gene's parents were employed as attendants at the Veterans' Administration Hospital in Muskogee, OK. Gene's older brother, Juarez Roberts, was a World War II paratrooper and a graduate from the University of Oklahoma after the war. He found his niche in Hollywood by writing for several television shows during the 1950s until the early 1960s. Career choice Most of Randall's schooling was in the Shawnee public schools. The family moved to Muskogee in 1941 and in 1943 at the age of seventeen, Randall graduated from Muskogee High School. She enrolled in the University of Oklahoma School of Drama where she studied for one year.After one year of college, Randall moved to Los Angeles with the goal of becoming a movie actress. Once in Los Angeles, Randall moved in with a college friend of her mother's. Randall acquired a talent agent who arranged interviews for her with both Mary Pickford, co-founder of United Artists, and Paramount.Although Randall only had some school stage experience, including the lead in the play Claudia at the University of Oklahomas, Pickford offered Randall $125 a week, a considerable amount, to sign with United Artists. However, Paramount Studios came back with a better offer, which Randall was ready to accept. But another encounter would steer her away from the generous Paramount offer. Gene's mother's friend was also an acquaintance of the alluring silent film star, Rubye De Remer, which gave Gene the opportunity to meet Rubye and make a marked impression on her as well. On Gene's behalf, Rubye in turn piqued the interest of director Clarence Brown. It was early 1945 when MGM and Clarence Brown first embarked on a nationwide casting search for some fresh talent for The Yearling And now months later, Clarence believed that perhaps the role of Orry Baxter might be suited for Gene. So Rubye contacted Gene the day after the Paramount offer was made and persuaded her to meet with Clarence at MGM that day. Despite the fact that MGM newcomer, Jacqueline White, was actually selected and had filmed some scenes that summer, Clarence was still not convinced that she was the right choice. As a result, Gene was called back three times to test for the role and eagerly awaited to hear from the studio each time. This experience earned her a $250 a week, long-term MGM contract which she signed as herself, Gene Roberts. Ultimately, Gene's youthfulness was the deciding factor that prevented MGM from assigning her this lead role. When production resumed in mid-September 1945, Clarence had chosen 28-year-old Jane Wyman, who was on loan from Warner Brothers, to portray a more mature-looking character with co-star Gregory Peck. The Yearling was released in May 1947 and went on to win multiple Academy Awards and nominations, including a Best Actress nomination for Jane Wyman.Gene remained under contract with MGM for nearly two years and found that there were very few roles for young women her age at that time. It wasn't until late October 1946 and over a year since Gene first signed on, that she was cast in a small supporting role. This role placed Gene into the last of Ann Sothern's film series, the final episode entitled Undercover Maisie which was released in May 1947. Next, she was cast in the low-budget Comet Productions film Stork Bites Man where she co-starred with Jackie Cooper, who had resumed his acting career after returning from the war. With production completed in early February 1947 and MGM showing no serious interest in her by that spring, Gene asked for and was granted release from her contract. She then signed once more as herself, Gene Roberts, with 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation but was overlooked by the studio there as well. After a year had passed, Gene opted out of the 20th Century contract and was on the move again. Name change In mid-June 1948, Universal-International brought Gene aboard with what would become a three-year contract. Once again, she had no idea if she would be offered any work there either. Surprisingly, just two days later, she was cast as Helen and filming on the set of Criss Cross with Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo and Dan Duryea. This became a significant event that inevitably changed her career potential and her name. Prior to signing with Universal-International, Gene had married a studio musician named Robert Thorpe. It was the opinion of U-I producers that neither her birth name, Gene Roberts, nor her married name Gene Thorpe (also known as Jean Thorpe), was considered a good fit for her Hollywood identity. As a new U-I player, Gene was obliged to immediately select a screen name. Since this occurred during the production of Criss Cross, she was dubbed "Miss X" early on by the studio. The name Meg McClure was first chosen and announced in a press release along with her new image in a Hollywood fashioned pose set against a giant "X". However, this name was short-lived. Another young newcomer had already changed her name to M'Liss McClure and attracted gossip column interest with her protests about the competing last name. Overall, it was reported that the publicity over the name change drew six thousand letters into the studio offering name suggestions. Before filming ended on the movie, a new name was chosen and Gene would forever be publicly recognized by her screen name, Meg Randall. Filmography References External links Meg Randall at IMDb

given name

Neuendorf A is a village and a former municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The municipality consisted of Neuendorf itself and the village of Kurtshagen. Since 1 January 2012, it is part of the municipality Ducherow. == References ==

country

Neuendorf A is a village and a former municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The municipality consisted of Neuendorf itself and the village of Kurtshagen. Since 1 January 2012, it is part of the municipality Ducherow. == References ==

located in the administrative territorial entity

Neuendorf A is a village and a former municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The municipality consisted of Neuendorf itself and the village of Kurtshagen. Since 1 January 2012, it is part of the municipality Ducherow. == References ==

Commons category

Samaantharangal (Malayalam: സമാന്തരങ്ങള്‍, English: Parallelism) is a 1998 Malayalam drama film written and directed by Balachandra Menon. The film stars Menon himself along with Maathu, Renuka and Sukumari in supporting roles. The film depicts the clash between father and son and won several awards including two National Film Awards at 45th National Film Awards. Balachandra Menon portrayed the role of station master father and was acclaimed for his performance. The film is noted for Menon who managed nine departments for the film; producer, director, story, screenplay, dialogues, actor, editor, music and distribution with also winning the National Film Award for Best Actor. Plot Ismail is a Station master of Meenakshipuram, a small town located on the borders of Kerala. He is accompanied by his family consisting of an aged ailing mother, a wife, two daughters, three sons and a grandson. Ayshumma, Ismail's mother, is proud of Ismail for his honesty and integrity with which he binds everybody; whereas his second wife, Razia, expects him to accept bribes so that she can manage the household more efficiently. Ameena, an elder daughter from his first wife, is a married to Jamal who works on ship but has gone missing for long time. Ismail's elder son Najeeb is an ambitious youngster who wants to do business and earn money. In order to follow his dreams, Najeeb asks his father some money so that he can open a telephone booth but then Ismail rejects and advises him to concentrate on studies. Disappointed with Ismail's behaviour, Najeeb decides to leave the house for his own future. He gets introduced to a political leader who convinces Najeeb that politics would help him fulfill his dreams. A political activist now, Najeeb and his political party decides to do complete railway lockout (Bandh) in the country so that the party can become popular. To achieve this, they decide to remove railway tracks. Knowing Ismail, Najeeb secretly informs Razia about this and asks her to convince Ismail not to go on duty on that day. Razia unsuccessfully tries to convince Ismail but he rejects all her plea and goes for duty. At the station, he learns about Bandh and also learns that Najeeb is an active member of the plan. Knowing about railway tracks being sabotaged, Ismail tries to inform the loco pilot to avoid accident. Too late to warn the loco pilot, Ismail runs on the railway tracks himself to stop the train. He successfully stops the train and avoids accident but not before he has been run over. Cast Balachandra Menon as Ismail Akhil Gopakumar as Jamal's son Rajesh Rajan as Najeeb Sai Kumar as Political leader Sukumari as Aishu Maathu as Amina Madhu as Minister Renuka as Raziya Jose Pellissery as Financier Gopi as Musaliyar Madhupal as Jamal Viji Thampi as Matthew Poojappura Radhakrishnan as Vasu Kundara Johny as Roy Ravi Vallathol as Murali Usharani as Mary Arya as Mrs. Murali Soundtrack Awards The film won several awards for Balachandra Menon including National Film Award for Best Actor at 45th National Film Awards. Filmfare Awards South1998 - Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam - Balachandra MenonKerala State Film Award1997 - Kerala State Film Award (Special Jury Award) - Balachandra MenonAsianet Film Awards1998 - Asianet Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Sukumari.National Film Awards1997 - Best Actor - Balachandra MenonCitation: For his realistic and sensitive portrayal of a middle-class man who stands up for his high principles.1997 - Best Film on Family WelfareCitation: For an original script evolved from personal experience in a film that nurtures family and community life. The protagonist makes sacrifices in order to project the emotional and moral needs of his family members and through them projects a larger picture of the National Interests that bind us all. References External links Samaantharangal at IMDb

instance of

Samaantharangal (Malayalam: സമാന്തരങ്ങള്‍, English: Parallelism) is a 1998 Malayalam drama film written and directed by Balachandra Menon. The film stars Menon himself along with Maathu, Renuka and Sukumari in supporting roles. The film depicts the clash between father and son and won several awards including two National Film Awards at 45th National Film Awards. Balachandra Menon portrayed the role of station master father and was acclaimed for his performance. The film is noted for Menon who managed nine departments for the film; producer, director, story, screenplay, dialogues, actor, editor, music and distribution with also winning the National Film Award for Best Actor. Plot Ismail is a Station master of Meenakshipuram, a small town located on the borders of Kerala. He is accompanied by his family consisting of an aged ailing mother, a wife, two daughters, three sons and a grandson. Ayshumma, Ismail's mother, is proud of Ismail for his honesty and integrity with which he binds everybody; whereas his second wife, Razia, expects him to accept bribes so that she can manage the household more efficiently. Ameena, an elder daughter from his first wife, is a married to Jamal who works on ship but has gone missing for long time. Ismail's elder son Najeeb is an ambitious youngster who wants to do business and earn money. In order to follow his dreams, Najeeb asks his father some money so that he can open a telephone booth but then Ismail rejects and advises him to concentrate on studies. Disappointed with Ismail's behaviour, Najeeb decides to leave the house for his own future. He gets introduced to a political leader who convinces Najeeb that politics would help him fulfill his dreams. A political activist now, Najeeb and his political party decides to do complete railway lockout (Bandh) in the country so that the party can become popular. To achieve this, they decide to remove railway tracks. Knowing Ismail, Najeeb secretly informs Razia about this and asks her to convince Ismail not to go on duty on that day. Razia unsuccessfully tries to convince Ismail but he rejects all her plea and goes for duty. At the station, he learns about Bandh and also learns that Najeeb is an active member of the plan. Knowing about railway tracks being sabotaged, Ismail tries to inform the loco pilot to avoid accident. Too late to warn the loco pilot, Ismail runs on the railway tracks himself to stop the train. He successfully stops the train and avoids accident but not before he has been run over. Cast Balachandra Menon as Ismail Akhil Gopakumar as Jamal's son Rajesh Rajan as Najeeb Sai Kumar as Political leader Sukumari as Aishu Maathu as Amina Madhu as Minister Renuka as Raziya Jose Pellissery as Financier Gopi as Musaliyar Madhupal as Jamal Viji Thampi as Matthew Poojappura Radhakrishnan as Vasu Kundara Johny as Roy Ravi Vallathol as Murali Usharani as Mary Arya as Mrs. Murali Soundtrack Awards The film won several awards for Balachandra Menon including National Film Award for Best Actor at 45th National Film Awards. Filmfare Awards South1998 - Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam - Balachandra MenonKerala State Film Award1997 - Kerala State Film Award (Special Jury Award) - Balachandra MenonAsianet Film Awards1998 - Asianet Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Sukumari.National Film Awards1997 - Best Actor - Balachandra MenonCitation: For his realistic and sensitive portrayal of a middle-class man who stands up for his high principles.1997 - Best Film on Family WelfareCitation: For an original script evolved from personal experience in a film that nurtures family and community life. The protagonist makes sacrifices in order to project the emotional and moral needs of his family members and through them projects a larger picture of the National Interests that bind us all. References External links Samaantharangal at IMDb

director

Samaantharangal (Malayalam: സമാന്തരങ്ങള്‍, English: Parallelism) is a 1998 Malayalam drama film written and directed by Balachandra Menon. The film stars Menon himself along with Maathu, Renuka and Sukumari in supporting roles. The film depicts the clash between father and son and won several awards including two National Film Awards at 45th National Film Awards. Balachandra Menon portrayed the role of station master father and was acclaimed for his performance. The film is noted for Menon who managed nine departments for the film; producer, director, story, screenplay, dialogues, actor, editor, music and distribution with also winning the National Film Award for Best Actor. Plot Ismail is a Station master of Meenakshipuram, a small town located on the borders of Kerala. He is accompanied by his family consisting of an aged ailing mother, a wife, two daughters, three sons and a grandson. Ayshumma, Ismail's mother, is proud of Ismail for his honesty and integrity with which he binds everybody; whereas his second wife, Razia, expects him to accept bribes so that she can manage the household more efficiently. Ameena, an elder daughter from his first wife, is a married to Jamal who works on ship but has gone missing for long time. Ismail's elder son Najeeb is an ambitious youngster who wants to do business and earn money. In order to follow his dreams, Najeeb asks his father some money so that he can open a telephone booth but then Ismail rejects and advises him to concentrate on studies. Disappointed with Ismail's behaviour, Najeeb decides to leave the house for his own future. He gets introduced to a political leader who convinces Najeeb that politics would help him fulfill his dreams. A political activist now, Najeeb and his political party decides to do complete railway lockout (Bandh) in the country so that the party can become popular. To achieve this, they decide to remove railway tracks. Knowing Ismail, Najeeb secretly informs Razia about this and asks her to convince Ismail not to go on duty on that day. Razia unsuccessfully tries to convince Ismail but he rejects all her plea and goes for duty. At the station, he learns about Bandh and also learns that Najeeb is an active member of the plan. Knowing about railway tracks being sabotaged, Ismail tries to inform the loco pilot to avoid accident. Too late to warn the loco pilot, Ismail runs on the railway tracks himself to stop the train. He successfully stops the train and avoids accident but not before he has been run over. Cast Balachandra Menon as Ismail Akhil Gopakumar as Jamal's son Rajesh Rajan as Najeeb Sai Kumar as Political leader Sukumari as Aishu Maathu as Amina Madhu as Minister Renuka as Raziya Jose Pellissery as Financier Gopi as Musaliyar Madhupal as Jamal Viji Thampi as Matthew Poojappura Radhakrishnan as Vasu Kundara Johny as Roy Ravi Vallathol as Murali Usharani as Mary Arya as Mrs. Murali Soundtrack Awards The film won several awards for Balachandra Menon including National Film Award for Best Actor at 45th National Film Awards. Filmfare Awards South1998 - Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam - Balachandra MenonKerala State Film Award1997 - Kerala State Film Award (Special Jury Award) - Balachandra MenonAsianet Film Awards1998 - Asianet Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Sukumari.National Film Awards1997 - Best Actor - Balachandra MenonCitation: For his realistic and sensitive portrayal of a middle-class man who stands up for his high principles.1997 - Best Film on Family WelfareCitation: For an original script evolved from personal experience in a film that nurtures family and community life. The protagonist makes sacrifices in order to project the emotional and moral needs of his family members and through them projects a larger picture of the National Interests that bind us all. References External links Samaantharangal at IMDb

cast member

Samaantharangal (Malayalam: സമാന്തരങ്ങള്‍, English: Parallelism) is a 1998 Malayalam drama film written and directed by Balachandra Menon. The film stars Menon himself along with Maathu, Renuka and Sukumari in supporting roles. The film depicts the clash between father and son and won several awards including two National Film Awards at 45th National Film Awards. Balachandra Menon portrayed the role of station master father and was acclaimed for his performance. The film is noted for Menon who managed nine departments for the film; producer, director, story, screenplay, dialogues, actor, editor, music and distribution with also winning the National Film Award for Best Actor. Plot Ismail is a Station master of Meenakshipuram, a small town located on the borders of Kerala. He is accompanied by his family consisting of an aged ailing mother, a wife, two daughters, three sons and a grandson. Ayshumma, Ismail's mother, is proud of Ismail for his honesty and integrity with which he binds everybody; whereas his second wife, Razia, expects him to accept bribes so that she can manage the household more efficiently. Ameena, an elder daughter from his first wife, is a married to Jamal who works on ship but has gone missing for long time. Ismail's elder son Najeeb is an ambitious youngster who wants to do business and earn money. In order to follow his dreams, Najeeb asks his father some money so that he can open a telephone booth but then Ismail rejects and advises him to concentrate on studies. Disappointed with Ismail's behaviour, Najeeb decides to leave the house for his own future. He gets introduced to a political leader who convinces Najeeb that politics would help him fulfill his dreams. A political activist now, Najeeb and his political party decides to do complete railway lockout (Bandh) in the country so that the party can become popular. To achieve this, they decide to remove railway tracks. Knowing Ismail, Najeeb secretly informs Razia about this and asks her to convince Ismail not to go on duty on that day. Razia unsuccessfully tries to convince Ismail but he rejects all her plea and goes for duty. At the station, he learns about Bandh and also learns that Najeeb is an active member of the plan. Knowing about railway tracks being sabotaged, Ismail tries to inform the loco pilot to avoid accident. Too late to warn the loco pilot, Ismail runs on the railway tracks himself to stop the train. He successfully stops the train and avoids accident but not before he has been run over. Cast Balachandra Menon as Ismail Akhil Gopakumar as Jamal's son Rajesh Rajan as Najeeb Sai Kumar as Political leader Sukumari as Aishu Maathu as Amina Madhu as Minister Renuka as Raziya Jose Pellissery as Financier Gopi as Musaliyar Madhupal as Jamal Viji Thampi as Matthew Poojappura Radhakrishnan as Vasu Kundara Johny as Roy Ravi Vallathol as Murali Usharani as Mary Arya as Mrs. Murali Soundtrack Awards The film won several awards for Balachandra Menon including National Film Award for Best Actor at 45th National Film Awards. Filmfare Awards South1998 - Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam - Balachandra MenonKerala State Film Award1997 - Kerala State Film Award (Special Jury Award) - Balachandra MenonAsianet Film Awards1998 - Asianet Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Sukumari.National Film Awards1997 - Best Actor - Balachandra MenonCitation: For his realistic and sensitive portrayal of a middle-class man who stands up for his high principles.1997 - Best Film on Family WelfareCitation: For an original script evolved from personal experience in a film that nurtures family and community life. The protagonist makes sacrifices in order to project the emotional and moral needs of his family members and through them projects a larger picture of the National Interests that bind us all. References External links Samaantharangal at IMDb

original language of film or TV show

MidWeek is a weekly United States tabloid shopper and advertisement periodical published Wednesday in Honolulu, Hawaii and distributed throughout the Islands of Oahu and Kauai. It is owned by Black Press and is a sister publication of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. History The shopper started in 1984 to provide advertisers with an alternative way to reach more customers. Publisher Ken Berry helped secure deals with Safeway and Pay ‘n Save to advertise with the fledgling publication. Berry sought out cover stories and columnists that would increase readership. The first issue of MidWeek was published on July 18, 1984 and featured local newscaster Joe Moore on the cover. The first MidWeek editor was Cheryl Deep. 1984 to 1987, followed by Vera Benedek, 1987 to 1994, and Don Chapman who joined the newspaper in November 1994. Ken Berry left MidWeek in 2001 and associate publisher, Ron Nagasawa, who has been with the company since 1984, stepped up to the publisher position. On March 15, 2001, MidWeek was sold by its owner Sam Newhouse (RFD Publications) to David Black (Black Press), then became known as MidWeek Printing & Oahu Publications, Inc. then bought/merged with the local daily newspaper, Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Midweek's early popularity was owed in large part to its weekly mail-in sweepstakes with cash prizes in the hundreds of dollars and grocery shopping sprees being award to entrants. MidWeek added on a Friday/weekend edition in 2005 and celebrated its 25th year of publication in 2009. It is mailed to all homes on the Island of Oahu and has an approximate readership of 500,000. Columnists The first nationally syndicated columnists to join the MidWeek line-up were Andy Rooney, movie critic Roger Ebert, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Wall Street guru Louis Rukeyser, the father of American cooking James Beard. The first local columnists to join up were Larry Price, Bob Jones and Eddie Sherman. Current local MidWeek Columnists are Bob Jones, Larry Price, Dan Boylan, Steve Murray (Hot Air - Sports) Rick Hamada, Susan Page, Jerry Coffee, David S. Chang (The Art of Thinking Smart), Alison Young (Click Chick - technology), Pamela Young, Diana Helfand (recipes), Bob Hogue, Tom Moffatt and Ron Nagasawa. Features In addition to regular features and columns, Midweek has also run a set of regular features. Television listings have been featured since the magazine's first issue. The feature "Focus On Oahu" shows pictures people who live on Oahu enjoying their lives. Over the years, MidWeek included more features to showcase people in Hawaii. "Newsmaker" provides an up-close look at people who are making news. "Old Friends" features updates on people who have appeared on the magazine's cover in the past. "Good Neighbor" salutes people who devote part of their time volunteering to help other people in the community. Other popular features are the color photo spread "Honolulu Pa’ina", and "Hotshots". The magazine's official website was launched in August 1996. This Honolulu Hawaii weekly publication featured a person in the community of Hawaii on the cover. It also has entertaining and highly informative soft news features, as well as opinionated national and local columnists. References External links Official MidWeek website - features the cover story, a feature story, a synopsis of the columnists, a calendar of events and a TV listing. Official MidWeek Kauai website - features the cover story, a feature story, a synopsis of the columnists.

instance of

MidWeek is a weekly United States tabloid shopper and advertisement periodical published Wednesday in Honolulu, Hawaii and distributed throughout the Islands of Oahu and Kauai. It is owned by Black Press and is a sister publication of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. History The shopper started in 1984 to provide advertisers with an alternative way to reach more customers. Publisher Ken Berry helped secure deals with Safeway and Pay ‘n Save to advertise with the fledgling publication. Berry sought out cover stories and columnists that would increase readership. The first issue of MidWeek was published on July 18, 1984 and featured local newscaster Joe Moore on the cover. The first MidWeek editor was Cheryl Deep. 1984 to 1987, followed by Vera Benedek, 1987 to 1994, and Don Chapman who joined the newspaper in November 1994. Ken Berry left MidWeek in 2001 and associate publisher, Ron Nagasawa, who has been with the company since 1984, stepped up to the publisher position. On March 15, 2001, MidWeek was sold by its owner Sam Newhouse (RFD Publications) to David Black (Black Press), then became known as MidWeek Printing & Oahu Publications, Inc. then bought/merged with the local daily newspaper, Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Midweek's early popularity was owed in large part to its weekly mail-in sweepstakes with cash prizes in the hundreds of dollars and grocery shopping sprees being award to entrants. MidWeek added on a Friday/weekend edition in 2005 and celebrated its 25th year of publication in 2009. It is mailed to all homes on the Island of Oahu and has an approximate readership of 500,000. Columnists The first nationally syndicated columnists to join the MidWeek line-up were Andy Rooney, movie critic Roger Ebert, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Wall Street guru Louis Rukeyser, the father of American cooking James Beard. The first local columnists to join up were Larry Price, Bob Jones and Eddie Sherman. Current local MidWeek Columnists are Bob Jones, Larry Price, Dan Boylan, Steve Murray (Hot Air - Sports) Rick Hamada, Susan Page, Jerry Coffee, David S. Chang (The Art of Thinking Smart), Alison Young (Click Chick - technology), Pamela Young, Diana Helfand (recipes), Bob Hogue, Tom Moffatt and Ron Nagasawa. Features In addition to regular features and columns, Midweek has also run a set of regular features. Television listings have been featured since the magazine's first issue. The feature "Focus On Oahu" shows pictures people who live on Oahu enjoying their lives. Over the years, MidWeek included more features to showcase people in Hawaii. "Newsmaker" provides an up-close look at people who are making news. "Old Friends" features updates on people who have appeared on the magazine's cover in the past. "Good Neighbor" salutes people who devote part of their time volunteering to help other people in the community. Other popular features are the color photo spread "Honolulu Pa’ina", and "Hotshots". The magazine's official website was launched in August 1996. This Honolulu Hawaii weekly publication featured a person in the community of Hawaii on the cover. It also has entertaining and highly informative soft news features, as well as opinionated national and local columnists. References External links Official MidWeek website - features the cover story, a feature story, a synopsis of the columnists, a calendar of events and a TV listing. Official MidWeek Kauai website - features the cover story, a feature story, a synopsis of the columnists.

place of publication

MidWeek is a weekly United States tabloid shopper and advertisement periodical published Wednesday in Honolulu, Hawaii and distributed throughout the Islands of Oahu and Kauai. It is owned by Black Press and is a sister publication of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. History The shopper started in 1984 to provide advertisers with an alternative way to reach more customers. Publisher Ken Berry helped secure deals with Safeway and Pay ‘n Save to advertise with the fledgling publication. Berry sought out cover stories and columnists that would increase readership. The first issue of MidWeek was published on July 18, 1984 and featured local newscaster Joe Moore on the cover. The first MidWeek editor was Cheryl Deep. 1984 to 1987, followed by Vera Benedek, 1987 to 1994, and Don Chapman who joined the newspaper in November 1994. Ken Berry left MidWeek in 2001 and associate publisher, Ron Nagasawa, who has been with the company since 1984, stepped up to the publisher position. On March 15, 2001, MidWeek was sold by its owner Sam Newhouse (RFD Publications) to David Black (Black Press), then became known as MidWeek Printing & Oahu Publications, Inc. then bought/merged with the local daily newspaper, Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Midweek's early popularity was owed in large part to its weekly mail-in sweepstakes with cash prizes in the hundreds of dollars and grocery shopping sprees being award to entrants. MidWeek added on a Friday/weekend edition in 2005 and celebrated its 25th year of publication in 2009. It is mailed to all homes on the Island of Oahu and has an approximate readership of 500,000. Columnists The first nationally syndicated columnists to join the MidWeek line-up were Andy Rooney, movie critic Roger Ebert, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Wall Street guru Louis Rukeyser, the father of American cooking James Beard. The first local columnists to join up were Larry Price, Bob Jones and Eddie Sherman. Current local MidWeek Columnists are Bob Jones, Larry Price, Dan Boylan, Steve Murray (Hot Air - Sports) Rick Hamada, Susan Page, Jerry Coffee, David S. Chang (The Art of Thinking Smart), Alison Young (Click Chick - technology), Pamela Young, Diana Helfand (recipes), Bob Hogue, Tom Moffatt and Ron Nagasawa. Features In addition to regular features and columns, Midweek has also run a set of regular features. Television listings have been featured since the magazine's first issue. The feature "Focus On Oahu" shows pictures people who live on Oahu enjoying their lives. Over the years, MidWeek included more features to showcase people in Hawaii. "Newsmaker" provides an up-close look at people who are making news. "Old Friends" features updates on people who have appeared on the magazine's cover in the past. "Good Neighbor" salutes people who devote part of their time volunteering to help other people in the community. Other popular features are the color photo spread "Honolulu Pa’ina", and "Hotshots". The magazine's official website was launched in August 1996. This Honolulu Hawaii weekly publication featured a person in the community of Hawaii on the cover. It also has entertaining and highly informative soft news features, as well as opinionated national and local columnists. References External links Official MidWeek website - features the cover story, a feature story, a synopsis of the columnists, a calendar of events and a TV listing. Official MidWeek Kauai website - features the cover story, a feature story, a synopsis of the columnists.

title

The Management Directorate (MGMT) is a component within the United States Department of Homeland Security. DHS-MGMT serves as the central administrative support organization of the department as it fulfills its national security mission. The Management Directorate is led by the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management, who is appointed by the President of the United States with confirmation by the United States Senate. The position of Under Secretary for Management is currently vacant. Overview The Management Directorate is responsible for department-wide administrative support services and oversight for all support functions, including: IT, budget and financial management, procurement and acquisition, human capital, security, and administrative services. The Under Secretary also provides the overarching management structure for the Department to deliver customer services, while eliminating redundancies and reducing support costs in order to more effectively and efficiently run the Department in a unified manner Budget == References ==

parent organization

Zazuar (Spanish pronunciation: [θaˈθwaɾ]) is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 267 inhabitants. == References ==

country

Zazuar (Spanish pronunciation: [θaˈθwaɾ]) is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 267 inhabitants. == References ==

capital

Zazuar (Spanish pronunciation: [θaˈθwaɾ]) is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 267 inhabitants. == References ==

located in the administrative territorial entity

Zazuar (Spanish pronunciation: [θaˈθwaɾ]) is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 267 inhabitants. == References ==

capital of

Zazuar (Spanish pronunciation: [θaˈθwaɾ]) is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 267 inhabitants. == References ==

Commons category

Zazuar (Spanish pronunciation: [θaˈθwaɾ]) is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 267 inhabitants. == References ==

official name

Sevinç is a common feminine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Sevinç" means "Joy", "Happiness" or "Glee". People Given name Sevinç Çorlu (born 1990), Turkish footballer Sevinç Erbulak (born 1975), Turkish actress Surname Ayberk Sevinç (born 1988), Turkish volleyball player Burak Sevinç (born 1985), Turkish actor Dursun Sevinç (born 1972), Turkish weightlifter Metin Sevinç (born 1994), Turkish footballer Mümtaz Sevinç (born 1952), Turkish actor Places Sevinç, Manavgat, a village in Manavgat district of Antalya Province, Turkey

country

Sevinç is a common feminine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Sevinç" means "Joy", "Happiness" or "Glee". People Given name Sevinç Çorlu (born 1990), Turkish footballer Sevinç Erbulak (born 1975), Turkish actress Surname Ayberk Sevinç (born 1988), Turkish volleyball player Burak Sevinç (born 1985), Turkish actor Dursun Sevinç (born 1972), Turkish weightlifter Metin Sevinç (born 1994), Turkish footballer Mümtaz Sevinç (born 1952), Turkish actor Places Sevinç, Manavgat, a village in Manavgat district of Antalya Province, Turkey

located in the administrative territorial entity

Sevinç is a common feminine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Sevinç" means "Joy", "Happiness" or "Glee". People Given name Sevinç Çorlu (born 1990), Turkish footballer Sevinç Erbulak (born 1975), Turkish actress Surname Ayberk Sevinç (born 1988), Turkish volleyball player Burak Sevinç (born 1985), Turkish actor Dursun Sevinç (born 1972), Turkish weightlifter Metin Sevinç (born 1994), Turkish footballer Mümtaz Sevinç (born 1952), Turkish actor Places Sevinç, Manavgat, a village in Manavgat district of Antalya Province, Turkey

language of work or name

Sevinç is a common feminine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Sevinç" means "Joy", "Happiness" or "Glee". People Given name Sevinç Çorlu (born 1990), Turkish footballer Sevinç Erbulak (born 1975), Turkish actress Surname Ayberk Sevinç (born 1988), Turkish volleyball player Burak Sevinç (born 1985), Turkish actor Dursun Sevinç (born 1972), Turkish weightlifter Metin Sevinç (born 1994), Turkish footballer Mümtaz Sevinç (born 1952), Turkish actor Places Sevinç, Manavgat, a village in Manavgat district of Antalya Province, Turkey

native label

Sevinç is a common feminine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Sevinç" means "Joy", "Happiness" or "Glee". People Given name Sevinç Çorlu (born 1990), Turkish footballer Sevinç Erbulak (born 1975), Turkish actress Surname Ayberk Sevinç (born 1988), Turkish volleyball player Burak Sevinç (born 1985), Turkish actor Dursun Sevinç (born 1972), Turkish weightlifter Metin Sevinç (born 1994), Turkish footballer Mümtaz Sevinç (born 1952), Turkish actor Places Sevinç, Manavgat, a village in Manavgat district of Antalya Province, Turkey

different from

Sevinç is a common feminine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Sevinç" means "Joy", "Happiness" or "Glee". People Given name Sevinç Çorlu (born 1990), Turkish footballer Sevinç Erbulak (born 1975), Turkish actress Surname Ayberk Sevinç (born 1988), Turkish volleyball player Burak Sevinç (born 1985), Turkish actor Dursun Sevinç (born 1972), Turkish weightlifter Metin Sevinç (born 1994), Turkish footballer Mümtaz Sevinç (born 1952), Turkish actor Places Sevinç, Manavgat, a village in Manavgat district of Antalya Province, Turkey

instance of

Sevinç is a common feminine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Sevinç" means "Joy", "Happiness" or "Glee". People Given name Sevinç Çorlu (born 1990), Turkish footballer Sevinç Erbulak (born 1975), Turkish actress Surname Ayberk Sevinç (born 1988), Turkish volleyball player Burak Sevinç (born 1985), Turkish actor Dursun Sevinç (born 1972), Turkish weightlifter Metin Sevinç (born 1994), Turkish footballer Mümtaz Sevinç (born 1952), Turkish actor Places Sevinç, Manavgat, a village in Manavgat district of Antalya Province, Turkey

family name identical to this given name

Lucius Septimius Severus (Latin: [sɛˈweːrʊs]; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. After deposing and killing the incumbent emperor Didius Julianus, Severus fought his rival claimants, the Roman generals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. Niger was defeated in 194 at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia. Later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul. Following the consolidation of his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. He then enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. He proclaimed as augusti (co-emperors) his elder son Caracalla in 198 and his younger son Geta in 209, both born of his second wife Julia Domna. Severus travelled to Britain in 208, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 209 he invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210. He died in early 211 at Eboracum (today York, England), and was succeeded by his sons, who were advised by their mother and his powerful widow, Julia Domna, thus founding the Severan dynasty. It was the last dynasty of the Roman Empire before the Crisis of the Third Century. Early life Family and education Born on 11 April 145 at Leptis Magna (in present-day Libya) as the son of Publius Septimius Geta and Fulvia Pia, Septimius Severus came from a wealthy and distinguished family of equestrian rank. Severus had Italic and Libyan ancestry; the Roman ancestry came from his mother's side, while his Punic ancestry came from his father's side. Due to his family background on his father's side he is considered the first provincial emperor as he was the first emperor not only born in the provinces but also into a provincial family of non-Italian origin. Severus' father, an obscure provincial, held no major political status, but he had two cousins, Publius Septimius Aper and Gaius Septimius Severus, who served as consuls under the emperor Antoninus Pius r. 138–161. His mother's ancestors had moved from Italy to North Africa; they belonged to the gens Fulvia, an Italian patrician family that originated in Tusculum.Septimius Severus had two siblings: an elder brother, Publius Septimius Geta; and a younger sister, Septimia Octavilla. Severus' maternal cousin was the praetorian prefect and consul Gaius Fulvius Plautianus. Septimius Severus grew up in Leptis Magna. He spoke the local Punic language fluently, but he was also educated in Latin and Greek, which he spoke with a slight accent. Little else is known of the young Severus' education but, according to Cassius Dio, the boy had been eager for more education than he actually received. Presumably, Severus received lessons in oratory: at the age of 17, he gave his first public speech. Public service Severus sought a public career in Rome in around 162. At the recommendation of his relative Gaius Septimius Severus, the emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) granted him entry into the senatorial ranks. Membership in the senatorial order was a prerequisite to attain positions within the cursus honorum and to gain entry into the Roman Senate. Nevertheless, it appears that Severus' career during the 160s met with some difficulties.It is likely that he served as a vigintivir in Rome, overseeing road maintenance in or near the city, and he may have appeared in court as an advocate. At the time of Marcus Aurelius, he was the State Attorney (Advocatus fisci). However, he omitted the military tribunate from the cursus honorum and had to delay his quaestorship until he had reached the required minimum age of 25. To make matters worse, the Antonine Plague swept through the capital in 166.With his career at a halt, Severus decided to temporarily return to Leptis, where the climate was healthier. According to the Historia Augusta, a usually unreliable source, he was prosecuted for adultery during this time but the case was ultimately dismissed. At the end of 169, Severus was of the required age to become a quaestor and journeyed back to Rome. On 5 December, he took office and was officially enrolled in the Roman Senate. Between 170 and 180 his activities went largely unrecorded, in spite of the fact that he occupied an impressive number of posts in quick succession. The Antonine Plague had thinned the senatorial ranks and, with capable men now in short supply, Severus' career advanced more steadily than it otherwise might have.The sudden death of his father necessitated another return to Leptis Magna to settle family affairs. Before he was able to leave Africa, Mauri tribesmen invaded southern Spain. Control of the province was handed over to the emperor, while the Senate gained temporary control of Sardinia as compensation. Thus, Septimius Severus spent the remainder of his second term as quaestor on the island of Sardinia.In 173, Severus' kinsman Gaius Septimius Severus was appointed proconsul of the Province of Africa. The elder Severus chose his cousin as one of his two legati pro praetore, a senior military appointment. Following the end of this term, Septimius Severus returned to Rome, taking up office as tribune of the plebs, a senior legislative position, with the distinction of being the candidatus of the emperor. Marriages About 175, Septimius Severus, in his early thirties at the time, contracted his first marriage, to Paccia Marciana, a woman from Leptis Magna. He probably met her during his tenure as legate under his uncle. Marciana's name suggests Punic or Libyan origin, but nothing else is known of her. Septimius Severus does not mention her in his autobiography, though he commemorated her with statues when he became emperor. The unreliable Historia Augusta claims that Marciana and Severus had two daughters, but no other attestation of them has survived. It appears that the marriage produced no surviving children, despite lasting for more than ten years.Marciana died of natural causes around 186. Septimius Severus, now in his forties, childless and eager to remarry, began enquiring into the horoscopes of prospective brides. The Historia Augusta relates that he heard of a woman in Syria of whom it had been foretold that she would marry a king, and so Severus sought her as his wife. This woman was an Emesene Syrian named Julia Domna. Her father, Julius Bassianus, descended from the Arab Emesene dynasty and served as a high priest to the local cult of the sun god Elagabal. Domna's older sister, Julia Maesa, would become the grandmother of the future emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus.Bassianus accepted Severus' marriage proposal in early 187, and in the summer the couple married in Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon, France), of which Severus was the governor. The marriage proved happy, and Severus cherished Julia and her political opinions. Julia built "the most splendid reputation" by applying herself to letters and philosophy. They had two sons, Lucius Septimius Bassianus (later nicknamed Caracalla, born 4 April 188 in Lugdunum) and Publius Septimius Geta (born 7 March 189 in Rome). Rise to power In 191, on the advice of Quintus Aemilius Laetus, prefect of the Praetorian Guard, emperor Commodus appointed Severus as governor of Pannonia Superior. At around this time he is described by the classicist Kyle Harper as being "a middling senator of modest physical stature and unexceptional accomplishment". Commodus was assassinated the following year. Pertinax was acclaimed emperor, but he was then killed by the Praetorian Guard in early 193. In response to the murder of Pertinax, Severus' legion XIV Gemina acclaimed him emperor at Carnuntum on 9 April. Nearby legions, such as X Gemina at Vindobona, soon followed suit. Having assembled an army, Severus hurried to Italy.Pertinax's successor in Rome, Didius Julianus, had bought the emperorship in an auction. Julianus was condemned to death by the Senate and killed. Severus took possession of Rome without opposition. He executed Pertinax's murderers and dismissed the rest of the Praetorian Guard, filling its ranks with loyal troops from his own legions.The legions of Syria had proclaimed Pescennius Niger emperor. At the same time Severus felt it reasonable to offer Clodius Albinus, the powerful governor of Britannia, who had probably supported Didius against him, the rank of Caesar, which implied some claim to the succession. With his rear safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger's forces at the Battle of Issus (194). While campaigning against Byzantium, he ordered that the tomb of his fellow-Carthaginian Hannibal be covered with fine marble.He devoted the following year to suppressing Mesopotamia and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. Afterwards, Severus declared his son Caracalla as his successor, which caused Albinus to be hailed emperor by his troops and to invade Gaul. After a short stay in Rome, Severus moved north to meet him. On 19 February 197 at the Battle of Lugdunum, with an army of about 75,000 men, mostly composed of Pannonian, Moesian and Dacian legions and a large number of auxiliaries, Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the empire. Emperor War against Parthia In early 197 Severus left Rome and sailed to the east. He embarked at Brundisium and probably landed at the port of Aegeae in Cilicia, travelling on to Syria by land. He immediately gathered his army and crossed the Euphrates. Abgar IX, titular King of Osroene but essentially only the ruler of Edessa since the annexation of his kingdom as a Roman province, handed over his children as hostages and assisted Severus' expedition by providing archers. King Khosrov I of Armenia also sent hostages, money and gifts.Severus travelled on to Nisibis, which his general Julius Laetus had prevented from falling into Parthian hands. Afterwards Severus returned to Syria to plan a more ambitious campaign. The following year he led another, more successful campaign against the Parthian Empire, reportedly in retaliation for the support it had given to Pescennius Niger. His legions sacked the Parthian royal city of Ctesiphon and he annexed the northern half of Mesopotamia to the empire; Severus took the title Parthicus Maximus, following the example of Trajan. However, he was unable to capture the fortress of Hatra, even after two lengthy sieges—just like Trajan, who had tried nearly a century before. During his time in the east, though, Severus also expanded the Limes Arabicus, building new fortifications in the Arabian Desert from Basie to Dumatha. Relations with the Senate and People Severus' relations with the Senate were never good. He was unpopular with them from the outset, having seized power with the help of the military, and he returned the sentiment. Severus ordered the execution of a large number of Senators on charges of corruption or conspiracy against him and replaced them with his favourites. Although his actions turned Rome more into a military dictatorship, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out the rampant corruption of Commodus' reign. When he returned from his victory over the Parthians, he erected the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome.According to Cassius Dio, however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian prefect, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, who came to have almost total control of the imperial administration. At the same time, a bloody power crisis erupted between Plautianus and Julia Domna, Severus' influential and powerful wife, which had a relatively destructive effect on the centre of power. Plautianus' daughter, Fulvia Plautilla, was married to Severus' son, Caracalla. Plautianus' excessive power came to an end in 204, when he was denounced by the emperor's dying brother. In January 205 Julia Domna and Caracalla accused Plautianus of plotting to kill him and Severus. The powerful prefect was executed while he was trying to defend his case in front of the two emperors. One of the two following praefecti was the famous jurist Papinian. Executions of senators did not stop: Cassius Dio records that many of them were put to death, some after being formally tried. After the assassination of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus in the rest of his reign, he relied more on the advice of his clever and educated wife, Julia Domna, in the administration of the empire. Military reforms Upon his arrival at Rome in 193, Severus discharged the Praetorian Guard, which had murdered Pertinax and had then auctioned the Roman Empire to Didius Julianus. Its members were stripped of their ceremonial armour and forbidden to come within 160 kilometres (99 mi) miles of the city on pain of death. Severus replaced the old guard with 10 new cohorts recruited from veterans of his Danubian legions.Around 197 he increased the number of legions from 30 to 33, with the introduction of the three new legions: I, II and III Parthica. He garrisoned Legio II Parthica at Albanum, only 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Rome. He gave his soldiers a donative of a thousand sesterces (250 denarii) each, and raised the annual wage for a soldier in the legions from 300 to 400 denarii.Severus was the first Roman emperor to station some of the imperial army in Italy. He realized that Rome needed a military central reserve with the capability to be sent anywhere. Reputed persecution of Christians At the beginning of Severus' reign, Trajan's policy toward the Christians was still in force. That is, Christians were only to be punished if they refused to worship the emperor and the gods, but they were not to be sought out. Therefore, persecution was inconsistent, local and sporadic. Faced with internal dissidence and external threats, Severus felt the need to promote religious harmony by promoting syncretism. He, possibly, issued an edict that punished conversion to Judaism and Christianity.A number of persecutions of Christians occurred in the Roman Empire during his reign and are traditionally attributed to Severus by the early Christian community. This is based on the decree mentioned in the Historia Augusta, an unreliable mix of fact and fiction. Early church historian Eusebius described Severus as a persecutor. The Christian apologist Tertullian stated that Severus was well disposed towards Christians, employed a Christian as his personal physician and had personally intervened to save several high-born Christians known to him from the mob. Eusebius' description of Severus as a persecutor likely derives merely from the fact that numerous persecutions occurred during his reign, including those known in the Roman Martyrology as the martyrs of Madauros, Charalambos and Perpetua and Felicity in Roman-ruled Africa. These were probably the result of local persecutions rather than empire-wide actions or decrees by Severus. Military activity Africa (202) In late 202 Severus launched a campaign in the province of Africa. The legatus legionis or commander of Legio III Augusta, Quintus Anicius Faustus, had been fighting against the Garamantes along the Limes Tripolitanus for five years. He captured several settlements such as Cydamus, Gholaia, Garbia and their capital Garama—over 600 kilometres (370 mi) south of Leptis Magna. The province of Numidia was also enlarged: the empire annexed the settlements of Vescera, Castellum Dimmidi, Gemellae, Thabudeos and Thubunae. By 203 the entire southern frontier of Roman Africa had been dramatically expanded and re-fortified. Desert nomads could no longer safely raid the region's interior and escape back into the Sahara. Britain (208) In 208 Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia. Modern archaeological discoveries illuminate the scope and direction of his northern campaign. Severus probably arrived in Britain with an army of over 40,000, considering some of the camps constructed during his campaign could house this number.He strengthened Hadrian's Wall and reconquered the Southern Uplands up to the Antonine Wall, which was also enhanced. Severus built a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling his forces there. Supported and supplied by a strong naval force, Severus then thrust north with his army across the wall into Caledonian territory. Retracing the steps of Agricola of over a century before, Severus rebuilt and garrisoned many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, such as Carpow. Cassius Dio's account of the invasion reads: Severus, accordingly, desiring to subjugate the whole of it, invaded Caledonia. But as he advanced through the country he experienced countless hardships in cutting down the forests, levelling the heights, filling up the swamps, and bridging the rivers; but he fought no battle and beheld no enemy in battle array. The enemy purposely put sheep and cattle in front of the soldiers for them to seize, in order that they might be lured on still further until they were worn out; for in fact, the water caused great suffering to the Romans, and when they became scattered, they would be attacked. Then, unable to walk, they would be slain by their own men, in order to avoid capture, so that a full fifty thousand died. But Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter, respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory. By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties. The Caledonians sued for peace, which Severus granted on condition they relinquish control of the Central Lowlands. This is evidenced by extensive Severan-era fortifications in the Central Lowlands. The Caledonians, short on supplies and feeling that their position was desperate, revolted later that year with the Maeatae. Severus prepared for another protracted campaign within Caledonia. He was now intent on exterminating the Caledonians, telling his soldiers: "Let no-one escape sheer destruction, no-one our hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother, if it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction." Death (211) Severus' campaign was cut short when he fell ill. He withdrew to Eboracum (York) and died there in 211. Although his son Caracalla continued campaigning the following year, he soon settled for peace. The Romans never campaigned deep into Caledonia again. Shortly after this, the frontier was permanently withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.Severus is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others" before he died on 4 February 211. On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta, who were advised by his wife Julia Domna. Severus was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. Assessment and legacy By the close of his reign the Roman Empire reached an extent of over 5 million square kilometres, which scholars like David L. Kennedy, Lukas de blois, and Derrick Riley state expanded the empire to its greatest physical extent.Edward Gibbon famously levelled a harsh indictment of Septimius Severus as a principal agent in the empire's decline. "The contemporaries of Severus, in the enjoyment of the peace and glory of his reign, forgave the cruelties by which it had been introduced. Posterity, who experienced the fatal effects of his maxims and example, justly considered him as the principal author of the decline of the Roman empire." According to Gibbon, "his daring ambition was never diverted from its steady course by the allurements of pleasure, the apprehension of danger, or the feelings of humanity." His enlargement of the Limes Tripolitanus secured Africa, the agricultural base of the empire where he was born. His victory over the Parthian Empire was for a time decisive, securing Nisibis and Singara for the empire and establishing a status quo of Roman dominance in the region until 251. His policy of an expanded and better-rewarded army was criticised by his contemporaries Cassius Dio and Herodianus: in particular, they pointed out the increasing burden, in the form of taxes and services, the civilian population had to bear to maintain the new and better-paid army. The large and ongoing increase in military expenditure caused problems for all of his successors.To maintain his enlarged military, he debased the Roman currency. Upon his accession he decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 81.5% to 78.5%, although the silver weight actually increased, rising from 2.40 grams to 2.46 grams. Nevertheless, the following year he debased the denarius again because of rising military expenditures. The silver purity decreased from 78.5% to 64.5%—the silver weight dropping from 2.46 grams to 1.98 grams. In 196 he reduced the purity and silver weight of the denarius again, to 54% and 1.82 grams, respectively. Severus' currency debasement was the largest since the reign of Nero, compromising the long-term strength of the economy.Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the Septizodium in Rome. He enriched his native city of Leptis Magna, including commissioning a triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of 203. Severan dynasty family tree See also Bulla Felix Septimia gens Arcus Argentariorum dedicated by the money changers of Rome to the Severan family. References Citations Bibliography External links Life of Septimius Severus (Historia Augusta at LacusCurtius: Latin text and English translation) Books 74, 75, 76 and 77 of Dio Cassius, covering the rise to power and reign of Septimius Severus Septimius Severus on Ancient History Encyclopedia Book 3 of Herodian De Imperatoribus Romanis Online encyclopaedia of Roman emperors Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome Archived 25 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Septimius Severus in Scotland Arch of Septimius Severus in Lepcis Magna Archived 28 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Coins issued by Septimius Severus Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Septimius Severus" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE EMPEROR LUCIUS SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, in BTM Format

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Lucius Septimius Severus (Latin: [sɛˈweːrʊs]; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. After deposing and killing the incumbent emperor Didius Julianus, Severus fought his rival claimants, the Roman generals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. Niger was defeated in 194 at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia. Later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul. Following the consolidation of his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. He then enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. He proclaimed as augusti (co-emperors) his elder son Caracalla in 198 and his younger son Geta in 209, both born of his second wife Julia Domna. Severus travelled to Britain in 208, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 209 he invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210. He died in early 211 at Eboracum (today York, England), and was succeeded by his sons, who were advised by their mother and his powerful widow, Julia Domna, thus founding the Severan dynasty. It was the last dynasty of the Roman Empire before the Crisis of the Third Century. Early life Family and education Born on 11 April 145 at Leptis Magna (in present-day Libya) as the son of Publius Septimius Geta and Fulvia Pia, Septimius Severus came from a wealthy and distinguished family of equestrian rank. Severus had Italic and Libyan ancestry; the Roman ancestry came from his mother's side, while his Punic ancestry came from his father's side. Due to his family background on his father's side he is considered the first provincial emperor as he was the first emperor not only born in the provinces but also into a provincial family of non-Italian origin. Severus' father, an obscure provincial, held no major political status, but he had two cousins, Publius Septimius Aper and Gaius Septimius Severus, who served as consuls under the emperor Antoninus Pius r. 138–161. His mother's ancestors had moved from Italy to North Africa; they belonged to the gens Fulvia, an Italian patrician family that originated in Tusculum.Septimius Severus had two siblings: an elder brother, Publius Septimius Geta; and a younger sister, Septimia Octavilla. Severus' maternal cousin was the praetorian prefect and consul Gaius Fulvius Plautianus. Septimius Severus grew up in Leptis Magna. He spoke the local Punic language fluently, but he was also educated in Latin and Greek, which he spoke with a slight accent. Little else is known of the young Severus' education but, according to Cassius Dio, the boy had been eager for more education than he actually received. Presumably, Severus received lessons in oratory: at the age of 17, he gave his first public speech. Public service Severus sought a public career in Rome in around 162. At the recommendation of his relative Gaius Septimius Severus, the emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) granted him entry into the senatorial ranks. Membership in the senatorial order was a prerequisite to attain positions within the cursus honorum and to gain entry into the Roman Senate. Nevertheless, it appears that Severus' career during the 160s met with some difficulties.It is likely that he served as a vigintivir in Rome, overseeing road maintenance in or near the city, and he may have appeared in court as an advocate. At the time of Marcus Aurelius, he was the State Attorney (Advocatus fisci). However, he omitted the military tribunate from the cursus honorum and had to delay his quaestorship until he had reached the required minimum age of 25. To make matters worse, the Antonine Plague swept through the capital in 166.With his career at a halt, Severus decided to temporarily return to Leptis, where the climate was healthier. According to the Historia Augusta, a usually unreliable source, he was prosecuted for adultery during this time but the case was ultimately dismissed. At the end of 169, Severus was of the required age to become a quaestor and journeyed back to Rome. On 5 December, he took office and was officially enrolled in the Roman Senate. Between 170 and 180 his activities went largely unrecorded, in spite of the fact that he occupied an impressive number of posts in quick succession. The Antonine Plague had thinned the senatorial ranks and, with capable men now in short supply, Severus' career advanced more steadily than it otherwise might have.The sudden death of his father necessitated another return to Leptis Magna to settle family affairs. Before he was able to leave Africa, Mauri tribesmen invaded southern Spain. Control of the province was handed over to the emperor, while the Senate gained temporary control of Sardinia as compensation. Thus, Septimius Severus spent the remainder of his second term as quaestor on the island of Sardinia.In 173, Severus' kinsman Gaius Septimius Severus was appointed proconsul of the Province of Africa. The elder Severus chose his cousin as one of his two legati pro praetore, a senior military appointment. Following the end of this term, Septimius Severus returned to Rome, taking up office as tribune of the plebs, a senior legislative position, with the distinction of being the candidatus of the emperor. Marriages About 175, Septimius Severus, in his early thirties at the time, contracted his first marriage, to Paccia Marciana, a woman from Leptis Magna. He probably met her during his tenure as legate under his uncle. Marciana's name suggests Punic or Libyan origin, but nothing else is known of her. Septimius Severus does not mention her in his autobiography, though he commemorated her with statues when he became emperor. The unreliable Historia Augusta claims that Marciana and Severus had two daughters, but no other attestation of them has survived. It appears that the marriage produced no surviving children, despite lasting for more than ten years.Marciana died of natural causes around 186. Septimius Severus, now in his forties, childless and eager to remarry, began enquiring into the horoscopes of prospective brides. The Historia Augusta relates that he heard of a woman in Syria of whom it had been foretold that she would marry a king, and so Severus sought her as his wife. This woman was an Emesene Syrian named Julia Domna. Her father, Julius Bassianus, descended from the Arab Emesene dynasty and served as a high priest to the local cult of the sun god Elagabal. Domna's older sister, Julia Maesa, would become the grandmother of the future emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus.Bassianus accepted Severus' marriage proposal in early 187, and in the summer the couple married in Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon, France), of which Severus was the governor. The marriage proved happy, and Severus cherished Julia and her political opinions. Julia built "the most splendid reputation" by applying herself to letters and philosophy. They had two sons, Lucius Septimius Bassianus (later nicknamed Caracalla, born 4 April 188 in Lugdunum) and Publius Septimius Geta (born 7 March 189 in Rome). Rise to power In 191, on the advice of Quintus Aemilius Laetus, prefect of the Praetorian Guard, emperor Commodus appointed Severus as governor of Pannonia Superior. At around this time he is described by the classicist Kyle Harper as being "a middling senator of modest physical stature and unexceptional accomplishment". Commodus was assassinated the following year. Pertinax was acclaimed emperor, but he was then killed by the Praetorian Guard in early 193. In response to the murder of Pertinax, Severus' legion XIV Gemina acclaimed him emperor at Carnuntum on 9 April. Nearby legions, such as X Gemina at Vindobona, soon followed suit. Having assembled an army, Severus hurried to Italy.Pertinax's successor in Rome, Didius Julianus, had bought the emperorship in an auction. Julianus was condemned to death by the Senate and killed. Severus took possession of Rome without opposition. He executed Pertinax's murderers and dismissed the rest of the Praetorian Guard, filling its ranks with loyal troops from his own legions.The legions of Syria had proclaimed Pescennius Niger emperor. At the same time Severus felt it reasonable to offer Clodius Albinus, the powerful governor of Britannia, who had probably supported Didius against him, the rank of Caesar, which implied some claim to the succession. With his rear safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger's forces at the Battle of Issus (194). While campaigning against Byzantium, he ordered that the tomb of his fellow-Carthaginian Hannibal be covered with fine marble.He devoted the following year to suppressing Mesopotamia and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. Afterwards, Severus declared his son Caracalla as his successor, which caused Albinus to be hailed emperor by his troops and to invade Gaul. After a short stay in Rome, Severus moved north to meet him. On 19 February 197 at the Battle of Lugdunum, with an army of about 75,000 men, mostly composed of Pannonian, Moesian and Dacian legions and a large number of auxiliaries, Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the empire. Emperor War against Parthia In early 197 Severus left Rome and sailed to the east. He embarked at Brundisium and probably landed at the port of Aegeae in Cilicia, travelling on to Syria by land. He immediately gathered his army and crossed the Euphrates. Abgar IX, titular King of Osroene but essentially only the ruler of Edessa since the annexation of his kingdom as a Roman province, handed over his children as hostages and assisted Severus' expedition by providing archers. King Khosrov I of Armenia also sent hostages, money and gifts.Severus travelled on to Nisibis, which his general Julius Laetus had prevented from falling into Parthian hands. Afterwards Severus returned to Syria to plan a more ambitious campaign. The following year he led another, more successful campaign against the Parthian Empire, reportedly in retaliation for the support it had given to Pescennius Niger. His legions sacked the Parthian royal city of Ctesiphon and he annexed the northern half of Mesopotamia to the empire; Severus took the title Parthicus Maximus, following the example of Trajan. However, he was unable to capture the fortress of Hatra, even after two lengthy sieges—just like Trajan, who had tried nearly a century before. During his time in the east, though, Severus also expanded the Limes Arabicus, building new fortifications in the Arabian Desert from Basie to Dumatha. Relations with the Senate and People Severus' relations with the Senate were never good. He was unpopular with them from the outset, having seized power with the help of the military, and he returned the sentiment. Severus ordered the execution of a large number of Senators on charges of corruption or conspiracy against him and replaced them with his favourites. Although his actions turned Rome more into a military dictatorship, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out the rampant corruption of Commodus' reign. When he returned from his victory over the Parthians, he erected the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome.According to Cassius Dio, however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian prefect, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, who came to have almost total control of the imperial administration. At the same time, a bloody power crisis erupted between Plautianus and Julia Domna, Severus' influential and powerful wife, which had a relatively destructive effect on the centre of power. Plautianus' daughter, Fulvia Plautilla, was married to Severus' son, Caracalla. Plautianus' excessive power came to an end in 204, when he was denounced by the emperor's dying brother. In January 205 Julia Domna and Caracalla accused Plautianus of plotting to kill him and Severus. The powerful prefect was executed while he was trying to defend his case in front of the two emperors. One of the two following praefecti was the famous jurist Papinian. Executions of senators did not stop: Cassius Dio records that many of them were put to death, some after being formally tried. After the assassination of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus in the rest of his reign, he relied more on the advice of his clever and educated wife, Julia Domna, in the administration of the empire. Military reforms Upon his arrival at Rome in 193, Severus discharged the Praetorian Guard, which had murdered Pertinax and had then auctioned the Roman Empire to Didius Julianus. Its members were stripped of their ceremonial armour and forbidden to come within 160 kilometres (99 mi) miles of the city on pain of death. Severus replaced the old guard with 10 new cohorts recruited from veterans of his Danubian legions.Around 197 he increased the number of legions from 30 to 33, with the introduction of the three new legions: I, II and III Parthica. He garrisoned Legio II Parthica at Albanum, only 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Rome. He gave his soldiers a donative of a thousand sesterces (250 denarii) each, and raised the annual wage for a soldier in the legions from 300 to 400 denarii.Severus was the first Roman emperor to station some of the imperial army in Italy. He realized that Rome needed a military central reserve with the capability to be sent anywhere. Reputed persecution of Christians At the beginning of Severus' reign, Trajan's policy toward the Christians was still in force. That is, Christians were only to be punished if they refused to worship the emperor and the gods, but they were not to be sought out. Therefore, persecution was inconsistent, local and sporadic. Faced with internal dissidence and external threats, Severus felt the need to promote religious harmony by promoting syncretism. He, possibly, issued an edict that punished conversion to Judaism and Christianity.A number of persecutions of Christians occurred in the Roman Empire during his reign and are traditionally attributed to Severus by the early Christian community. This is based on the decree mentioned in the Historia Augusta, an unreliable mix of fact and fiction. Early church historian Eusebius described Severus as a persecutor. The Christian apologist Tertullian stated that Severus was well disposed towards Christians, employed a Christian as his personal physician and had personally intervened to save several high-born Christians known to him from the mob. Eusebius' description of Severus as a persecutor likely derives merely from the fact that numerous persecutions occurred during his reign, including those known in the Roman Martyrology as the martyrs of Madauros, Charalambos and Perpetua and Felicity in Roman-ruled Africa. These were probably the result of local persecutions rather than empire-wide actions or decrees by Severus. Military activity Africa (202) In late 202 Severus launched a campaign in the province of Africa. The legatus legionis or commander of Legio III Augusta, Quintus Anicius Faustus, had been fighting against the Garamantes along the Limes Tripolitanus for five years. He captured several settlements such as Cydamus, Gholaia, Garbia and their capital Garama—over 600 kilometres (370 mi) south of Leptis Magna. The province of Numidia was also enlarged: the empire annexed the settlements of Vescera, Castellum Dimmidi, Gemellae, Thabudeos and Thubunae. By 203 the entire southern frontier of Roman Africa had been dramatically expanded and re-fortified. Desert nomads could no longer safely raid the region's interior and escape back into the Sahara. Britain (208) In 208 Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia. Modern archaeological discoveries illuminate the scope and direction of his northern campaign. Severus probably arrived in Britain with an army of over 40,000, considering some of the camps constructed during his campaign could house this number.He strengthened Hadrian's Wall and reconquered the Southern Uplands up to the Antonine Wall, which was also enhanced. Severus built a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling his forces there. Supported and supplied by a strong naval force, Severus then thrust north with his army across the wall into Caledonian territory. Retracing the steps of Agricola of over a century before, Severus rebuilt and garrisoned many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, such as Carpow. Cassius Dio's account of the invasion reads: Severus, accordingly, desiring to subjugate the whole of it, invaded Caledonia. But as he advanced through the country he experienced countless hardships in cutting down the forests, levelling the heights, filling up the swamps, and bridging the rivers; but he fought no battle and beheld no enemy in battle array. The enemy purposely put sheep and cattle in front of the soldiers for them to seize, in order that they might be lured on still further until they were worn out; for in fact, the water caused great suffering to the Romans, and when they became scattered, they would be attacked. Then, unable to walk, they would be slain by their own men, in order to avoid capture, so that a full fifty thousand died. But Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter, respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory. By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties. The Caledonians sued for peace, which Severus granted on condition they relinquish control of the Central Lowlands. This is evidenced by extensive Severan-era fortifications in the Central Lowlands. The Caledonians, short on supplies and feeling that their position was desperate, revolted later that year with the Maeatae. Severus prepared for another protracted campaign within Caledonia. He was now intent on exterminating the Caledonians, telling his soldiers: "Let no-one escape sheer destruction, no-one our hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother, if it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction." Death (211) Severus' campaign was cut short when he fell ill. He withdrew to Eboracum (York) and died there in 211. Although his son Caracalla continued campaigning the following year, he soon settled for peace. The Romans never campaigned deep into Caledonia again. Shortly after this, the frontier was permanently withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.Severus is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others" before he died on 4 February 211. On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta, who were advised by his wife Julia Domna. Severus was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. Assessment and legacy By the close of his reign the Roman Empire reached an extent of over 5 million square kilometres, which scholars like David L. Kennedy, Lukas de blois, and Derrick Riley state expanded the empire to its greatest physical extent.Edward Gibbon famously levelled a harsh indictment of Septimius Severus as a principal agent in the empire's decline. "The contemporaries of Severus, in the enjoyment of the peace and glory of his reign, forgave the cruelties by which it had been introduced. Posterity, who experienced the fatal effects of his maxims and example, justly considered him as the principal author of the decline of the Roman empire." According to Gibbon, "his daring ambition was never diverted from its steady course by the allurements of pleasure, the apprehension of danger, or the feelings of humanity." His enlargement of the Limes Tripolitanus secured Africa, the agricultural base of the empire where he was born. His victory over the Parthian Empire was for a time decisive, securing Nisibis and Singara for the empire and establishing a status quo of Roman dominance in the region until 251. His policy of an expanded and better-rewarded army was criticised by his contemporaries Cassius Dio and Herodianus: in particular, they pointed out the increasing burden, in the form of taxes and services, the civilian population had to bear to maintain the new and better-paid army. The large and ongoing increase in military expenditure caused problems for all of his successors.To maintain his enlarged military, he debased the Roman currency. Upon his accession he decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 81.5% to 78.5%, although the silver weight actually increased, rising from 2.40 grams to 2.46 grams. Nevertheless, the following year he debased the denarius again because of rising military expenditures. The silver purity decreased from 78.5% to 64.5%—the silver weight dropping from 2.46 grams to 1.98 grams. In 196 he reduced the purity and silver weight of the denarius again, to 54% and 1.82 grams, respectively. Severus' currency debasement was the largest since the reign of Nero, compromising the long-term strength of the economy.Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the Septizodium in Rome. He enriched his native city of Leptis Magna, including commissioning a triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of 203. Severan dynasty family tree See also Bulla Felix Septimia gens Arcus Argentariorum dedicated by the money changers of Rome to the Severan family. References Citations Bibliography External links Life of Septimius Severus (Historia Augusta at LacusCurtius: Latin text and English translation) Books 74, 75, 76 and 77 of Dio Cassius, covering the rise to power and reign of Septimius Severus Septimius Severus on Ancient History Encyclopedia Book 3 of Herodian De Imperatoribus Romanis Online encyclopaedia of Roman emperors Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome Archived 25 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Septimius Severus in Scotland Arch of Septimius Severus in Lepcis Magna Archived 28 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Coins issued by Septimius Severus Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Septimius Severus" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE EMPEROR LUCIUS SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, in BTM Format

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Lucius Septimius Severus (Latin: [sɛˈweːrʊs]; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. After deposing and killing the incumbent emperor Didius Julianus, Severus fought his rival claimants, the Roman generals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. Niger was defeated in 194 at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia. Later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul. Following the consolidation of his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. He then enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. He proclaimed as augusti (co-emperors) his elder son Caracalla in 198 and his younger son Geta in 209, both born of his second wife Julia Domna. Severus travelled to Britain in 208, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 209 he invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210. He died in early 211 at Eboracum (today York, England), and was succeeded by his sons, who were advised by their mother and his powerful widow, Julia Domna, thus founding the Severan dynasty. It was the last dynasty of the Roman Empire before the Crisis of the Third Century. Early life Family and education Born on 11 April 145 at Leptis Magna (in present-day Libya) as the son of Publius Septimius Geta and Fulvia Pia, Septimius Severus came from a wealthy and distinguished family of equestrian rank. Severus had Italic and Libyan ancestry; the Roman ancestry came from his mother's side, while his Punic ancestry came from his father's side. Due to his family background on his father's side he is considered the first provincial emperor as he was the first emperor not only born in the provinces but also into a provincial family of non-Italian origin. Severus' father, an obscure provincial, held no major political status, but he had two cousins, Publius Septimius Aper and Gaius Septimius Severus, who served as consuls under the emperor Antoninus Pius r. 138–161. His mother's ancestors had moved from Italy to North Africa; they belonged to the gens Fulvia, an Italian patrician family that originated in Tusculum.Septimius Severus had two siblings: an elder brother, Publius Septimius Geta; and a younger sister, Septimia Octavilla. Severus' maternal cousin was the praetorian prefect and consul Gaius Fulvius Plautianus. Septimius Severus grew up in Leptis Magna. He spoke the local Punic language fluently, but he was also educated in Latin and Greek, which he spoke with a slight accent. Little else is known of the young Severus' education but, according to Cassius Dio, the boy had been eager for more education than he actually received. Presumably, Severus received lessons in oratory: at the age of 17, he gave his first public speech. Public service Severus sought a public career in Rome in around 162. At the recommendation of his relative Gaius Septimius Severus, the emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) granted him entry into the senatorial ranks. Membership in the senatorial order was a prerequisite to attain positions within the cursus honorum and to gain entry into the Roman Senate. Nevertheless, it appears that Severus' career during the 160s met with some difficulties.It is likely that he served as a vigintivir in Rome, overseeing road maintenance in or near the city, and he may have appeared in court as an advocate. At the time of Marcus Aurelius, he was the State Attorney (Advocatus fisci). However, he omitted the military tribunate from the cursus honorum and had to delay his quaestorship until he had reached the required minimum age of 25. To make matters worse, the Antonine Plague swept through the capital in 166.With his career at a halt, Severus decided to temporarily return to Leptis, where the climate was healthier. According to the Historia Augusta, a usually unreliable source, he was prosecuted for adultery during this time but the case was ultimately dismissed. At the end of 169, Severus was of the required age to become a quaestor and journeyed back to Rome. On 5 December, he took office and was officially enrolled in the Roman Senate. Between 170 and 180 his activities went largely unrecorded, in spite of the fact that he occupied an impressive number of posts in quick succession. The Antonine Plague had thinned the senatorial ranks and, with capable men now in short supply, Severus' career advanced more steadily than it otherwise might have.The sudden death of his father necessitated another return to Leptis Magna to settle family affairs. Before he was able to leave Africa, Mauri tribesmen invaded southern Spain. Control of the province was handed over to the emperor, while the Senate gained temporary control of Sardinia as compensation. Thus, Septimius Severus spent the remainder of his second term as quaestor on the island of Sardinia.In 173, Severus' kinsman Gaius Septimius Severus was appointed proconsul of the Province of Africa. The elder Severus chose his cousin as one of his two legati pro praetore, a senior military appointment. Following the end of this term, Septimius Severus returned to Rome, taking up office as tribune of the plebs, a senior legislative position, with the distinction of being the candidatus of the emperor. Marriages About 175, Septimius Severus, in his early thirties at the time, contracted his first marriage, to Paccia Marciana, a woman from Leptis Magna. He probably met her during his tenure as legate under his uncle. Marciana's name suggests Punic or Libyan origin, but nothing else is known of her. Septimius Severus does not mention her in his autobiography, though he commemorated her with statues when he became emperor. The unreliable Historia Augusta claims that Marciana and Severus had two daughters, but no other attestation of them has survived. It appears that the marriage produced no surviving children, despite lasting for more than ten years.Marciana died of natural causes around 186. Septimius Severus, now in his forties, childless and eager to remarry, began enquiring into the horoscopes of prospective brides. The Historia Augusta relates that he heard of a woman in Syria of whom it had been foretold that she would marry a king, and so Severus sought her as his wife. This woman was an Emesene Syrian named Julia Domna. Her father, Julius Bassianus, descended from the Arab Emesene dynasty and served as a high priest to the local cult of the sun god Elagabal. Domna's older sister, Julia Maesa, would become the grandmother of the future emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus.Bassianus accepted Severus' marriage proposal in early 187, and in the summer the couple married in Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon, France), of which Severus was the governor. The marriage proved happy, and Severus cherished Julia and her political opinions. Julia built "the most splendid reputation" by applying herself to letters and philosophy. They had two sons, Lucius Septimius Bassianus (later nicknamed Caracalla, born 4 April 188 in Lugdunum) and Publius Septimius Geta (born 7 March 189 in Rome). Rise to power In 191, on the advice of Quintus Aemilius Laetus, prefect of the Praetorian Guard, emperor Commodus appointed Severus as governor of Pannonia Superior. At around this time he is described by the classicist Kyle Harper as being "a middling senator of modest physical stature and unexceptional accomplishment". Commodus was assassinated the following year. Pertinax was acclaimed emperor, but he was then killed by the Praetorian Guard in early 193. In response to the murder of Pertinax, Severus' legion XIV Gemina acclaimed him emperor at Carnuntum on 9 April. Nearby legions, such as X Gemina at Vindobona, soon followed suit. Having assembled an army, Severus hurried to Italy.Pertinax's successor in Rome, Didius Julianus, had bought the emperorship in an auction. Julianus was condemned to death by the Senate and killed. Severus took possession of Rome without opposition. He executed Pertinax's murderers and dismissed the rest of the Praetorian Guard, filling its ranks with loyal troops from his own legions.The legions of Syria had proclaimed Pescennius Niger emperor. At the same time Severus felt it reasonable to offer Clodius Albinus, the powerful governor of Britannia, who had probably supported Didius against him, the rank of Caesar, which implied some claim to the succession. With his rear safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger's forces at the Battle of Issus (194). While campaigning against Byzantium, he ordered that the tomb of his fellow-Carthaginian Hannibal be covered with fine marble.He devoted the following year to suppressing Mesopotamia and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. Afterwards, Severus declared his son Caracalla as his successor, which caused Albinus to be hailed emperor by his troops and to invade Gaul. After a short stay in Rome, Severus moved north to meet him. On 19 February 197 at the Battle of Lugdunum, with an army of about 75,000 men, mostly composed of Pannonian, Moesian and Dacian legions and a large number of auxiliaries, Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the empire. Emperor War against Parthia In early 197 Severus left Rome and sailed to the east. He embarked at Brundisium and probably landed at the port of Aegeae in Cilicia, travelling on to Syria by land. He immediately gathered his army and crossed the Euphrates. Abgar IX, titular King of Osroene but essentially only the ruler of Edessa since the annexation of his kingdom as a Roman province, handed over his children as hostages and assisted Severus' expedition by providing archers. King Khosrov I of Armenia also sent hostages, money and gifts.Severus travelled on to Nisibis, which his general Julius Laetus had prevented from falling into Parthian hands. Afterwards Severus returned to Syria to plan a more ambitious campaign. The following year he led another, more successful campaign against the Parthian Empire, reportedly in retaliation for the support it had given to Pescennius Niger. His legions sacked the Parthian royal city of Ctesiphon and he annexed the northern half of Mesopotamia to the empire; Severus took the title Parthicus Maximus, following the example of Trajan. However, he was unable to capture the fortress of Hatra, even after two lengthy sieges—just like Trajan, who had tried nearly a century before. During his time in the east, though, Severus also expanded the Limes Arabicus, building new fortifications in the Arabian Desert from Basie to Dumatha. Relations with the Senate and People Severus' relations with the Senate were never good. He was unpopular with them from the outset, having seized power with the help of the military, and he returned the sentiment. Severus ordered the execution of a large number of Senators on charges of corruption or conspiracy against him and replaced them with his favourites. Although his actions turned Rome more into a military dictatorship, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out the rampant corruption of Commodus' reign. When he returned from his victory over the Parthians, he erected the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome.According to Cassius Dio, however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian prefect, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, who came to have almost total control of the imperial administration. At the same time, a bloody power crisis erupted between Plautianus and Julia Domna, Severus' influential and powerful wife, which had a relatively destructive effect on the centre of power. Plautianus' daughter, Fulvia Plautilla, was married to Severus' son, Caracalla. Plautianus' excessive power came to an end in 204, when he was denounced by the emperor's dying brother. In January 205 Julia Domna and Caracalla accused Plautianus of plotting to kill him and Severus. The powerful prefect was executed while he was trying to defend his case in front of the two emperors. One of the two following praefecti was the famous jurist Papinian. Executions of senators did not stop: Cassius Dio records that many of them were put to death, some after being formally tried. After the assassination of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus in the rest of his reign, he relied more on the advice of his clever and educated wife, Julia Domna, in the administration of the empire. Military reforms Upon his arrival at Rome in 193, Severus discharged the Praetorian Guard, which had murdered Pertinax and had then auctioned the Roman Empire to Didius Julianus. Its members were stripped of their ceremonial armour and forbidden to come within 160 kilometres (99 mi) miles of the city on pain of death. Severus replaced the old guard with 10 new cohorts recruited from veterans of his Danubian legions.Around 197 he increased the number of legions from 30 to 33, with the introduction of the three new legions: I, II and III Parthica. He garrisoned Legio II Parthica at Albanum, only 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Rome. He gave his soldiers a donative of a thousand sesterces (250 denarii) each, and raised the annual wage for a soldier in the legions from 300 to 400 denarii.Severus was the first Roman emperor to station some of the imperial army in Italy. He realized that Rome needed a military central reserve with the capability to be sent anywhere. Reputed persecution of Christians At the beginning of Severus' reign, Trajan's policy toward the Christians was still in force. That is, Christians were only to be punished if they refused to worship the emperor and the gods, but they were not to be sought out. Therefore, persecution was inconsistent, local and sporadic. Faced with internal dissidence and external threats, Severus felt the need to promote religious harmony by promoting syncretism. He, possibly, issued an edict that punished conversion to Judaism and Christianity.A number of persecutions of Christians occurred in the Roman Empire during his reign and are traditionally attributed to Severus by the early Christian community. This is based on the decree mentioned in the Historia Augusta, an unreliable mix of fact and fiction. Early church historian Eusebius described Severus as a persecutor. The Christian apologist Tertullian stated that Severus was well disposed towards Christians, employed a Christian as his personal physician and had personally intervened to save several high-born Christians known to him from the mob. Eusebius' description of Severus as a persecutor likely derives merely from the fact that numerous persecutions occurred during his reign, including those known in the Roman Martyrology as the martyrs of Madauros, Charalambos and Perpetua and Felicity in Roman-ruled Africa. These were probably the result of local persecutions rather than empire-wide actions or decrees by Severus. Military activity Africa (202) In late 202 Severus launched a campaign in the province of Africa. The legatus legionis or commander of Legio III Augusta, Quintus Anicius Faustus, had been fighting against the Garamantes along the Limes Tripolitanus for five years. He captured several settlements such as Cydamus, Gholaia, Garbia and their capital Garama—over 600 kilometres (370 mi) south of Leptis Magna. The province of Numidia was also enlarged: the empire annexed the settlements of Vescera, Castellum Dimmidi, Gemellae, Thabudeos and Thubunae. By 203 the entire southern frontier of Roman Africa had been dramatically expanded and re-fortified. Desert nomads could no longer safely raid the region's interior and escape back into the Sahara. Britain (208) In 208 Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia. Modern archaeological discoveries illuminate the scope and direction of his northern campaign. Severus probably arrived in Britain with an army of over 40,000, considering some of the camps constructed during his campaign could house this number.He strengthened Hadrian's Wall and reconquered the Southern Uplands up to the Antonine Wall, which was also enhanced. Severus built a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling his forces there. Supported and supplied by a strong naval force, Severus then thrust north with his army across the wall into Caledonian territory. Retracing the steps of Agricola of over a century before, Severus rebuilt and garrisoned many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, such as Carpow. Cassius Dio's account of the invasion reads: Severus, accordingly, desiring to subjugate the whole of it, invaded Caledonia. But as he advanced through the country he experienced countless hardships in cutting down the forests, levelling the heights, filling up the swamps, and bridging the rivers; but he fought no battle and beheld no enemy in battle array. The enemy purposely put sheep and cattle in front of the soldiers for them to seize, in order that they might be lured on still further until they were worn out; for in fact, the water caused great suffering to the Romans, and when they became scattered, they would be attacked. Then, unable to walk, they would be slain by their own men, in order to avoid capture, so that a full fifty thousand died. But Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter, respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory. By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties. The Caledonians sued for peace, which Severus granted on condition they relinquish control of the Central Lowlands. This is evidenced by extensive Severan-era fortifications in the Central Lowlands. The Caledonians, short on supplies and feeling that their position was desperate, revolted later that year with the Maeatae. Severus prepared for another protracted campaign within Caledonia. He was now intent on exterminating the Caledonians, telling his soldiers: "Let no-one escape sheer destruction, no-one our hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother, if it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction." Death (211) Severus' campaign was cut short when he fell ill. He withdrew to Eboracum (York) and died there in 211. Although his son Caracalla continued campaigning the following year, he soon settled for peace. The Romans never campaigned deep into Caledonia again. Shortly after this, the frontier was permanently withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.Severus is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others" before he died on 4 February 211. On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta, who were advised by his wife Julia Domna. Severus was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. Assessment and legacy By the close of his reign the Roman Empire reached an extent of over 5 million square kilometres, which scholars like David L. Kennedy, Lukas de blois, and Derrick Riley state expanded the empire to its greatest physical extent.Edward Gibbon famously levelled a harsh indictment of Septimius Severus as a principal agent in the empire's decline. "The contemporaries of Severus, in the enjoyment of the peace and glory of his reign, forgave the cruelties by which it had been introduced. Posterity, who experienced the fatal effects of his maxims and example, justly considered him as the principal author of the decline of the Roman empire." According to Gibbon, "his daring ambition was never diverted from its steady course by the allurements of pleasure, the apprehension of danger, or the feelings of humanity." His enlargement of the Limes Tripolitanus secured Africa, the agricultural base of the empire where he was born. His victory over the Parthian Empire was for a time decisive, securing Nisibis and Singara for the empire and establishing a status quo of Roman dominance in the region until 251. His policy of an expanded and better-rewarded army was criticised by his contemporaries Cassius Dio and Herodianus: in particular, they pointed out the increasing burden, in the form of taxes and services, the civilian population had to bear to maintain the new and better-paid army. The large and ongoing increase in military expenditure caused problems for all of his successors.To maintain his enlarged military, he debased the Roman currency. Upon his accession he decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 81.5% to 78.5%, although the silver weight actually increased, rising from 2.40 grams to 2.46 grams. Nevertheless, the following year he debased the denarius again because of rising military expenditures. The silver purity decreased from 78.5% to 64.5%—the silver weight dropping from 2.46 grams to 1.98 grams. In 196 he reduced the purity and silver weight of the denarius again, to 54% and 1.82 grams, respectively. Severus' currency debasement was the largest since the reign of Nero, compromising the long-term strength of the economy.Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the Septizodium in Rome. He enriched his native city of Leptis Magna, including commissioning a triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of 203. Severan dynasty family tree See also Bulla Felix Septimia gens Arcus Argentariorum dedicated by the money changers of Rome to the Severan family. References Citations Bibliography External links Life of Septimius Severus (Historia Augusta at LacusCurtius: Latin text and English translation) Books 74, 75, 76 and 77 of Dio Cassius, covering the rise to power and reign of Septimius Severus Septimius Severus on Ancient History Encyclopedia Book 3 of Herodian De Imperatoribus Romanis Online encyclopaedia of Roman emperors Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome Archived 25 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Septimius Severus in Scotland Arch of Septimius Severus in Lepcis Magna Archived 28 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Coins issued by Septimius Severus Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Septimius Severus" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE EMPEROR LUCIUS SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, in BTM Format

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Lucius Septimius Severus (Latin: [sɛˈweːrʊs]; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. After deposing and killing the incumbent emperor Didius Julianus, Severus fought his rival claimants, the Roman generals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. Niger was defeated in 194 at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia. Later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul. Following the consolidation of his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. He then enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. He proclaimed as augusti (co-emperors) his elder son Caracalla in 198 and his younger son Geta in 209, both born of his second wife Julia Domna. Severus travelled to Britain in 208, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 209 he invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210. He died in early 211 at Eboracum (today York, England), and was succeeded by his sons, who were advised by their mother and his powerful widow, Julia Domna, thus founding the Severan dynasty. It was the last dynasty of the Roman Empire before the Crisis of the Third Century. Early life Family and education Born on 11 April 145 at Leptis Magna (in present-day Libya) as the son of Publius Septimius Geta and Fulvia Pia, Septimius Severus came from a wealthy and distinguished family of equestrian rank. Severus had Italic and Libyan ancestry; the Roman ancestry came from his mother's side, while his Punic ancestry came from his father's side. Due to his family background on his father's side he is considered the first provincial emperor as he was the first emperor not only born in the provinces but also into a provincial family of non-Italian origin. Severus' father, an obscure provincial, held no major political status, but he had two cousins, Publius Septimius Aper and Gaius Septimius Severus, who served as consuls under the emperor Antoninus Pius r. 138–161. His mother's ancestors had moved from Italy to North Africa; they belonged to the gens Fulvia, an Italian patrician family that originated in Tusculum.Septimius Severus had two siblings: an elder brother, Publius Septimius Geta; and a younger sister, Septimia Octavilla. Severus' maternal cousin was the praetorian prefect and consul Gaius Fulvius Plautianus. Septimius Severus grew up in Leptis Magna. He spoke the local Punic language fluently, but he was also educated in Latin and Greek, which he spoke with a slight accent. Little else is known of the young Severus' education but, according to Cassius Dio, the boy had been eager for more education than he actually received. Presumably, Severus received lessons in oratory: at the age of 17, he gave his first public speech. Public service Severus sought a public career in Rome in around 162. At the recommendation of his relative Gaius Septimius Severus, the emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) granted him entry into the senatorial ranks. Membership in the senatorial order was a prerequisite to attain positions within the cursus honorum and to gain entry into the Roman Senate. Nevertheless, it appears that Severus' career during the 160s met with some difficulties.It is likely that he served as a vigintivir in Rome, overseeing road maintenance in or near the city, and he may have appeared in court as an advocate. At the time of Marcus Aurelius, he was the State Attorney (Advocatus fisci). However, he omitted the military tribunate from the cursus honorum and had to delay his quaestorship until he had reached the required minimum age of 25. To make matters worse, the Antonine Plague swept through the capital in 166.With his career at a halt, Severus decided to temporarily return to Leptis, where the climate was healthier. According to the Historia Augusta, a usually unreliable source, he was prosecuted for adultery during this time but the case was ultimately dismissed. At the end of 169, Severus was of the required age to become a quaestor and journeyed back to Rome. On 5 December, he took office and was officially enrolled in the Roman Senate. Between 170 and 180 his activities went largely unrecorded, in spite of the fact that he occupied an impressive number of posts in quick succession. The Antonine Plague had thinned the senatorial ranks and, with capable men now in short supply, Severus' career advanced more steadily than it otherwise might have.The sudden death of his father necessitated another return to Leptis Magna to settle family affairs. Before he was able to leave Africa, Mauri tribesmen invaded southern Spain. Control of the province was handed over to the emperor, while the Senate gained temporary control of Sardinia as compensation. Thus, Septimius Severus spent the remainder of his second term as quaestor on the island of Sardinia.In 173, Severus' kinsman Gaius Septimius Severus was appointed proconsul of the Province of Africa. The elder Severus chose his cousin as one of his two legati pro praetore, a senior military appointment. Following the end of this term, Septimius Severus returned to Rome, taking up office as tribune of the plebs, a senior legislative position, with the distinction of being the candidatus of the emperor. Marriages About 175, Septimius Severus, in his early thirties at the time, contracted his first marriage, to Paccia Marciana, a woman from Leptis Magna. He probably met her during his tenure as legate under his uncle. Marciana's name suggests Punic or Libyan origin, but nothing else is known of her. Septimius Severus does not mention her in his autobiography, though he commemorated her with statues when he became emperor. The unreliable Historia Augusta claims that Marciana and Severus had two daughters, but no other attestation of them has survived. It appears that the marriage produced no surviving children, despite lasting for more than ten years.Marciana died of natural causes around 186. Septimius Severus, now in his forties, childless and eager to remarry, began enquiring into the horoscopes of prospective brides. The Historia Augusta relates that he heard of a woman in Syria of whom it had been foretold that she would marry a king, and so Severus sought her as his wife. This woman was an Emesene Syrian named Julia Domna. Her father, Julius Bassianus, descended from the Arab Emesene dynasty and served as a high priest to the local cult of the sun god Elagabal. Domna's older sister, Julia Maesa, would become the grandmother of the future emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus.Bassianus accepted Severus' marriage proposal in early 187, and in the summer the couple married in Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon, France), of which Severus was the governor. The marriage proved happy, and Severus cherished Julia and her political opinions. Julia built "the most splendid reputation" by applying herself to letters and philosophy. They had two sons, Lucius Septimius Bassianus (later nicknamed Caracalla, born 4 April 188 in Lugdunum) and Publius Septimius Geta (born 7 March 189 in Rome). Rise to power In 191, on the advice of Quintus Aemilius Laetus, prefect of the Praetorian Guard, emperor Commodus appointed Severus as governor of Pannonia Superior. At around this time he is described by the classicist Kyle Harper as being "a middling senator of modest physical stature and unexceptional accomplishment". Commodus was assassinated the following year. Pertinax was acclaimed emperor, but he was then killed by the Praetorian Guard in early 193. In response to the murder of Pertinax, Severus' legion XIV Gemina acclaimed him emperor at Carnuntum on 9 April. Nearby legions, such as X Gemina at Vindobona, soon followed suit. Having assembled an army, Severus hurried to Italy.Pertinax's successor in Rome, Didius Julianus, had bought the emperorship in an auction. Julianus was condemned to death by the Senate and killed. Severus took possession of Rome without opposition. He executed Pertinax's murderers and dismissed the rest of the Praetorian Guard, filling its ranks with loyal troops from his own legions.The legions of Syria had proclaimed Pescennius Niger emperor. At the same time Severus felt it reasonable to offer Clodius Albinus, the powerful governor of Britannia, who had probably supported Didius against him, the rank of Caesar, which implied some claim to the succession. With his rear safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger's forces at the Battle of Issus (194). While campaigning against Byzantium, he ordered that the tomb of his fellow-Carthaginian Hannibal be covered with fine marble.He devoted the following year to suppressing Mesopotamia and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. Afterwards, Severus declared his son Caracalla as his successor, which caused Albinus to be hailed emperor by his troops and to invade Gaul. After a short stay in Rome, Severus moved north to meet him. On 19 February 197 at the Battle of Lugdunum, with an army of about 75,000 men, mostly composed of Pannonian, Moesian and Dacian legions and a large number of auxiliaries, Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the empire. Emperor War against Parthia In early 197 Severus left Rome and sailed to the east. He embarked at Brundisium and probably landed at the port of Aegeae in Cilicia, travelling on to Syria by land. He immediately gathered his army and crossed the Euphrates. Abgar IX, titular King of Osroene but essentially only the ruler of Edessa since the annexation of his kingdom as a Roman province, handed over his children as hostages and assisted Severus' expedition by providing archers. King Khosrov I of Armenia also sent hostages, money and gifts.Severus travelled on to Nisibis, which his general Julius Laetus had prevented from falling into Parthian hands. Afterwards Severus returned to Syria to plan a more ambitious campaign. The following year he led another, more successful campaign against the Parthian Empire, reportedly in retaliation for the support it had given to Pescennius Niger. His legions sacked the Parthian royal city of Ctesiphon and he annexed the northern half of Mesopotamia to the empire; Severus took the title Parthicus Maximus, following the example of Trajan. However, he was unable to capture the fortress of Hatra, even after two lengthy sieges—just like Trajan, who had tried nearly a century before. During his time in the east, though, Severus also expanded the Limes Arabicus, building new fortifications in the Arabian Desert from Basie to Dumatha. Relations with the Senate and People Severus' relations with the Senate were never good. He was unpopular with them from the outset, having seized power with the help of the military, and he returned the sentiment. Severus ordered the execution of a large number of Senators on charges of corruption or conspiracy against him and replaced them with his favourites. Although his actions turned Rome more into a military dictatorship, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out the rampant corruption of Commodus' reign. When he returned from his victory over the Parthians, he erected the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome.According to Cassius Dio, however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian prefect, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, who came to have almost total control of the imperial administration. At the same time, a bloody power crisis erupted between Plautianus and Julia Domna, Severus' influential and powerful wife, which had a relatively destructive effect on the centre of power. Plautianus' daughter, Fulvia Plautilla, was married to Severus' son, Caracalla. Plautianus' excessive power came to an end in 204, when he was denounced by the emperor's dying brother. In January 205 Julia Domna and Caracalla accused Plautianus of plotting to kill him and Severus. The powerful prefect was executed while he was trying to defend his case in front of the two emperors. One of the two following praefecti was the famous jurist Papinian. Executions of senators did not stop: Cassius Dio records that many of them were put to death, some after being formally tried. After the assassination of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus in the rest of his reign, he relied more on the advice of his clever and educated wife, Julia Domna, in the administration of the empire. Military reforms Upon his arrival at Rome in 193, Severus discharged the Praetorian Guard, which had murdered Pertinax and had then auctioned the Roman Empire to Didius Julianus. Its members were stripped of their ceremonial armour and forbidden to come within 160 kilometres (99 mi) miles of the city on pain of death. Severus replaced the old guard with 10 new cohorts recruited from veterans of his Danubian legions.Around 197 he increased the number of legions from 30 to 33, with the introduction of the three new legions: I, II and III Parthica. He garrisoned Legio II Parthica at Albanum, only 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Rome. He gave his soldiers a donative of a thousand sesterces (250 denarii) each, and raised the annual wage for a soldier in the legions from 300 to 400 denarii.Severus was the first Roman emperor to station some of the imperial army in Italy. He realized that Rome needed a military central reserve with the capability to be sent anywhere. Reputed persecution of Christians At the beginning of Severus' reign, Trajan's policy toward the Christians was still in force. That is, Christians were only to be punished if they refused to worship the emperor and the gods, but they were not to be sought out. Therefore, persecution was inconsistent, local and sporadic. Faced with internal dissidence and external threats, Severus felt the need to promote religious harmony by promoting syncretism. He, possibly, issued an edict that punished conversion to Judaism and Christianity.A number of persecutions of Christians occurred in the Roman Empire during his reign and are traditionally attributed to Severus by the early Christian community. This is based on the decree mentioned in the Historia Augusta, an unreliable mix of fact and fiction. Early church historian Eusebius described Severus as a persecutor. The Christian apologist Tertullian stated that Severus was well disposed towards Christians, employed a Christian as his personal physician and had personally intervened to save several high-born Christians known to him from the mob. Eusebius' description of Severus as a persecutor likely derives merely from the fact that numerous persecutions occurred during his reign, including those known in the Roman Martyrology as the martyrs of Madauros, Charalambos and Perpetua and Felicity in Roman-ruled Africa. These were probably the result of local persecutions rather than empire-wide actions or decrees by Severus. Military activity Africa (202) In late 202 Severus launched a campaign in the province of Africa. The legatus legionis or commander of Legio III Augusta, Quintus Anicius Faustus, had been fighting against the Garamantes along the Limes Tripolitanus for five years. He captured several settlements such as Cydamus, Gholaia, Garbia and their capital Garama—over 600 kilometres (370 mi) south of Leptis Magna. The province of Numidia was also enlarged: the empire annexed the settlements of Vescera, Castellum Dimmidi, Gemellae, Thabudeos and Thubunae. By 203 the entire southern frontier of Roman Africa had been dramatically expanded and re-fortified. Desert nomads could no longer safely raid the region's interior and escape back into the Sahara. Britain (208) In 208 Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia. Modern archaeological discoveries illuminate the scope and direction of his northern campaign. Severus probably arrived in Britain with an army of over 40,000, considering some of the camps constructed during his campaign could house this number.He strengthened Hadrian's Wall and reconquered the Southern Uplands up to the Antonine Wall, which was also enhanced. Severus built a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling his forces there. Supported and supplied by a strong naval force, Severus then thrust north with his army across the wall into Caledonian territory. Retracing the steps of Agricola of over a century before, Severus rebuilt and garrisoned many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, such as Carpow. Cassius Dio's account of the invasion reads: Severus, accordingly, desiring to subjugate the whole of it, invaded Caledonia. But as he advanced through the country he experienced countless hardships in cutting down the forests, levelling the heights, filling up the swamps, and bridging the rivers; but he fought no battle and beheld no enemy in battle array. The enemy purposely put sheep and cattle in front of the soldiers for them to seize, in order that they might be lured on still further until they were worn out; for in fact, the water caused great suffering to the Romans, and when they became scattered, they would be attacked. Then, unable to walk, they would be slain by their own men, in order to avoid capture, so that a full fifty thousand died. But Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter, respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory. By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties. The Caledonians sued for peace, which Severus granted on condition they relinquish control of the Central Lowlands. This is evidenced by extensive Severan-era fortifications in the Central Lowlands. The Caledonians, short on supplies and feeling that their position was desperate, revolted later that year with the Maeatae. Severus prepared for another protracted campaign within Caledonia. He was now intent on exterminating the Caledonians, telling his soldiers: "Let no-one escape sheer destruction, no-one our hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother, if it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction." Death (211) Severus' campaign was cut short when he fell ill. He withdrew to Eboracum (York) and died there in 211. Although his son Caracalla continued campaigning the following year, he soon settled for peace. The Romans never campaigned deep into Caledonia again. Shortly after this, the frontier was permanently withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.Severus is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others" before he died on 4 February 211. On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta, who were advised by his wife Julia Domna. Severus was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. Assessment and legacy By the close of his reign the Roman Empire reached an extent of over 5 million square kilometres, which scholars like David L. Kennedy, Lukas de blois, and Derrick Riley state expanded the empire to its greatest physical extent.Edward Gibbon famously levelled a harsh indictment of Septimius Severus as a principal agent in the empire's decline. "The contemporaries of Severus, in the enjoyment of the peace and glory of his reign, forgave the cruelties by which it had been introduced. Posterity, who experienced the fatal effects of his maxims and example, justly considered him as the principal author of the decline of the Roman empire." According to Gibbon, "his daring ambition was never diverted from its steady course by the allurements of pleasure, the apprehension of danger, or the feelings of humanity." His enlargement of the Limes Tripolitanus secured Africa, the agricultural base of the empire where he was born. His victory over the Parthian Empire was for a time decisive, securing Nisibis and Singara for the empire and establishing a status quo of Roman dominance in the region until 251. His policy of an expanded and better-rewarded army was criticised by his contemporaries Cassius Dio and Herodianus: in particular, they pointed out the increasing burden, in the form of taxes and services, the civilian population had to bear to maintain the new and better-paid army. The large and ongoing increase in military expenditure caused problems for all of his successors.To maintain his enlarged military, he debased the Roman currency. Upon his accession he decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 81.5% to 78.5%, although the silver weight actually increased, rising from 2.40 grams to 2.46 grams. Nevertheless, the following year he debased the denarius again because of rising military expenditures. The silver purity decreased from 78.5% to 64.5%—the silver weight dropping from 2.46 grams to 1.98 grams. In 196 he reduced the purity and silver weight of the denarius again, to 54% and 1.82 grams, respectively. Severus' currency debasement was the largest since the reign of Nero, compromising the long-term strength of the economy.Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the Septizodium in Rome. He enriched his native city of Leptis Magna, including commissioning a triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of 203. Severan dynasty family tree See also Bulla Felix Septimia gens Arcus Argentariorum dedicated by the money changers of Rome to the Severan family. References Citations Bibliography External links Life of Septimius Severus (Historia Augusta at LacusCurtius: Latin text and English translation) Books 74, 75, 76 and 77 of Dio Cassius, covering the rise to power and reign of Septimius Severus Septimius Severus on Ancient History Encyclopedia Book 3 of Herodian De Imperatoribus Romanis Online encyclopaedia of Roman emperors Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome Archived 25 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Septimius Severus in Scotland Arch of Septimius Severus in Lepcis Magna Archived 28 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Coins issued by Septimius Severus Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Septimius Severus" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE EMPEROR LUCIUS SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, in BTM Format

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Lucius Septimius Severus (Latin: [sɛˈweːrʊs]; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. After deposing and killing the incumbent emperor Didius Julianus, Severus fought his rival claimants, the Roman generals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. Niger was defeated in 194 at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia. Later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul. Following the consolidation of his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. He then enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. He proclaimed as augusti (co-emperors) his elder son Caracalla in 198 and his younger son Geta in 209, both born of his second wife Julia Domna. Severus travelled to Britain in 208, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 209 he invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210. He died in early 211 at Eboracum (today York, England), and was succeeded by his sons, who were advised by their mother and his powerful widow, Julia Domna, thus founding the Severan dynasty. It was the last dynasty of the Roman Empire before the Crisis of the Third Century. Early life Family and education Born on 11 April 145 at Leptis Magna (in present-day Libya) as the son of Publius Septimius Geta and Fulvia Pia, Septimius Severus came from a wealthy and distinguished family of equestrian rank. Severus had Italic and Libyan ancestry; the Roman ancestry came from his mother's side, while his Punic ancestry came from his father's side. Due to his family background on his father's side he is considered the first provincial emperor as he was the first emperor not only born in the provinces but also into a provincial family of non-Italian origin. Severus' father, an obscure provincial, held no major political status, but he had two cousins, Publius Septimius Aper and Gaius Septimius Severus, who served as consuls under the emperor Antoninus Pius r. 138–161. His mother's ancestors had moved from Italy to North Africa; they belonged to the gens Fulvia, an Italian patrician family that originated in Tusculum.Septimius Severus had two siblings: an elder brother, Publius Septimius Geta; and a younger sister, Septimia Octavilla. Severus' maternal cousin was the praetorian prefect and consul Gaius Fulvius Plautianus. Septimius Severus grew up in Leptis Magna. He spoke the local Punic language fluently, but he was also educated in Latin and Greek, which he spoke with a slight accent. Little else is known of the young Severus' education but, according to Cassius Dio, the boy had been eager for more education than he actually received. Presumably, Severus received lessons in oratory: at the age of 17, he gave his first public speech. Public service Severus sought a public career in Rome in around 162. At the recommendation of his relative Gaius Septimius Severus, the emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) granted him entry into the senatorial ranks. Membership in the senatorial order was a prerequisite to attain positions within the cursus honorum and to gain entry into the Roman Senate. Nevertheless, it appears that Severus' career during the 160s met with some difficulties.It is likely that he served as a vigintivir in Rome, overseeing road maintenance in or near the city, and he may have appeared in court as an advocate. At the time of Marcus Aurelius, he was the State Attorney (Advocatus fisci). However, he omitted the military tribunate from the cursus honorum and had to delay his quaestorship until he had reached the required minimum age of 25. To make matters worse, the Antonine Plague swept through the capital in 166.With his career at a halt, Severus decided to temporarily return to Leptis, where the climate was healthier. According to the Historia Augusta, a usually unreliable source, he was prosecuted for adultery during this time but the case was ultimately dismissed. At the end of 169, Severus was of the required age to become a quaestor and journeyed back to Rome. On 5 December, he took office and was officially enrolled in the Roman Senate. Between 170 and 180 his activities went largely unrecorded, in spite of the fact that he occupied an impressive number of posts in quick succession. The Antonine Plague had thinned the senatorial ranks and, with capable men now in short supply, Severus' career advanced more steadily than it otherwise might have.The sudden death of his father necessitated another return to Leptis Magna to settle family affairs. Before he was able to leave Africa, Mauri tribesmen invaded southern Spain. Control of the province was handed over to the emperor, while the Senate gained temporary control of Sardinia as compensation. Thus, Septimius Severus spent the remainder of his second term as quaestor on the island of Sardinia.In 173, Severus' kinsman Gaius Septimius Severus was appointed proconsul of the Province of Africa. The elder Severus chose his cousin as one of his two legati pro praetore, a senior military appointment. Following the end of this term, Septimius Severus returned to Rome, taking up office as tribune of the plebs, a senior legislative position, with the distinction of being the candidatus of the emperor. Marriages About 175, Septimius Severus, in his early thirties at the time, contracted his first marriage, to Paccia Marciana, a woman from Leptis Magna. He probably met her during his tenure as legate under his uncle. Marciana's name suggests Punic or Libyan origin, but nothing else is known of her. Septimius Severus does not mention her in his autobiography, though he commemorated her with statues when he became emperor. The unreliable Historia Augusta claims that Marciana and Severus had two daughters, but no other attestation of them has survived. It appears that the marriage produced no surviving children, despite lasting for more than ten years.Marciana died of natural causes around 186. Septimius Severus, now in his forties, childless and eager to remarry, began enquiring into the horoscopes of prospective brides. The Historia Augusta relates that he heard of a woman in Syria of whom it had been foretold that she would marry a king, and so Severus sought her as his wife. This woman was an Emesene Syrian named Julia Domna. Her father, Julius Bassianus, descended from the Arab Emesene dynasty and served as a high priest to the local cult of the sun god Elagabal. Domna's older sister, Julia Maesa, would become the grandmother of the future emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus.Bassianus accepted Severus' marriage proposal in early 187, and in the summer the couple married in Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon, France), of which Severus was the governor. The marriage proved happy, and Severus cherished Julia and her political opinions. Julia built "the most splendid reputation" by applying herself to letters and philosophy. They had two sons, Lucius Septimius Bassianus (later nicknamed Caracalla, born 4 April 188 in Lugdunum) and Publius Septimius Geta (born 7 March 189 in Rome). Rise to power In 191, on the advice of Quintus Aemilius Laetus, prefect of the Praetorian Guard, emperor Commodus appointed Severus as governor of Pannonia Superior. At around this time he is described by the classicist Kyle Harper as being "a middling senator of modest physical stature and unexceptional accomplishment". Commodus was assassinated the following year. Pertinax was acclaimed emperor, but he was then killed by the Praetorian Guard in early 193. In response to the murder of Pertinax, Severus' legion XIV Gemina acclaimed him emperor at Carnuntum on 9 April. Nearby legions, such as X Gemina at Vindobona, soon followed suit. Having assembled an army, Severus hurried to Italy.Pertinax's successor in Rome, Didius Julianus, had bought the emperorship in an auction. Julianus was condemned to death by the Senate and killed. Severus took possession of Rome without opposition. He executed Pertinax's murderers and dismissed the rest of the Praetorian Guard, filling its ranks with loyal troops from his own legions.The legions of Syria had proclaimed Pescennius Niger emperor. At the same time Severus felt it reasonable to offer Clodius Albinus, the powerful governor of Britannia, who had probably supported Didius against him, the rank of Caesar, which implied some claim to the succession. With his rear safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger's forces at the Battle of Issus (194). While campaigning against Byzantium, he ordered that the tomb of his fellow-Carthaginian Hannibal be covered with fine marble.He devoted the following year to suppressing Mesopotamia and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. Afterwards, Severus declared his son Caracalla as his successor, which caused Albinus to be hailed emperor by his troops and to invade Gaul. After a short stay in Rome, Severus moved north to meet him. On 19 February 197 at the Battle of Lugdunum, with an army of about 75,000 men, mostly composed of Pannonian, Moesian and Dacian legions and a large number of auxiliaries, Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the empire. Emperor War against Parthia In early 197 Severus left Rome and sailed to the east. He embarked at Brundisium and probably landed at the port of Aegeae in Cilicia, travelling on to Syria by land. He immediately gathered his army and crossed the Euphrates. Abgar IX, titular King of Osroene but essentially only the ruler of Edessa since the annexation of his kingdom as a Roman province, handed over his children as hostages and assisted Severus' expedition by providing archers. King Khosrov I of Armenia also sent hostages, money and gifts.Severus travelled on to Nisibis, which his general Julius Laetus had prevented from falling into Parthian hands. Afterwards Severus returned to Syria to plan a more ambitious campaign. The following year he led another, more successful campaign against the Parthian Empire, reportedly in retaliation for the support it had given to Pescennius Niger. His legions sacked the Parthian royal city of Ctesiphon and he annexed the northern half of Mesopotamia to the empire; Severus took the title Parthicus Maximus, following the example of Trajan. However, he was unable to capture the fortress of Hatra, even after two lengthy sieges—just like Trajan, who had tried nearly a century before. During his time in the east, though, Severus also expanded the Limes Arabicus, building new fortifications in the Arabian Desert from Basie to Dumatha. Relations with the Senate and People Severus' relations with the Senate were never good. He was unpopular with them from the outset, having seized power with the help of the military, and he returned the sentiment. Severus ordered the execution of a large number of Senators on charges of corruption or conspiracy against him and replaced them with his favourites. Although his actions turned Rome more into a military dictatorship, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out the rampant corruption of Commodus' reign. When he returned from his victory over the Parthians, he erected the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome.According to Cassius Dio, however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian prefect, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, who came to have almost total control of the imperial administration. At the same time, a bloody power crisis erupted between Plautianus and Julia Domna, Severus' influential and powerful wife, which had a relatively destructive effect on the centre of power. Plautianus' daughter, Fulvia Plautilla, was married to Severus' son, Caracalla. Plautianus' excessive power came to an end in 204, when he was denounced by the emperor's dying brother. In January 205 Julia Domna and Caracalla accused Plautianus of plotting to kill him and Severus. The powerful prefect was executed while he was trying to defend his case in front of the two emperors. One of the two following praefecti was the famous jurist Papinian. Executions of senators did not stop: Cassius Dio records that many of them were put to death, some after being formally tried. After the assassination of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus in the rest of his reign, he relied more on the advice of his clever and educated wife, Julia Domna, in the administration of the empire. Military reforms Upon his arrival at Rome in 193, Severus discharged the Praetorian Guard, which had murdered Pertinax and had then auctioned the Roman Empire to Didius Julianus. Its members were stripped of their ceremonial armour and forbidden to come within 160 kilometres (99 mi) miles of the city on pain of death. Severus replaced the old guard with 10 new cohorts recruited from veterans of his Danubian legions.Around 197 he increased the number of legions from 30 to 33, with the introduction of the three new legions: I, II and III Parthica. He garrisoned Legio II Parthica at Albanum, only 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Rome. He gave his soldiers a donative of a thousand sesterces (250 denarii) each, and raised the annual wage for a soldier in the legions from 300 to 400 denarii.Severus was the first Roman emperor to station some of the imperial army in Italy. He realized that Rome needed a military central reserve with the capability to be sent anywhere. Reputed persecution of Christians At the beginning of Severus' reign, Trajan's policy toward the Christians was still in force. That is, Christians were only to be punished if they refused to worship the emperor and the gods, but they were not to be sought out. Therefore, persecution was inconsistent, local and sporadic. Faced with internal dissidence and external threats, Severus felt the need to promote religious harmony by promoting syncretism. He, possibly, issued an edict that punished conversion to Judaism and Christianity.A number of persecutions of Christians occurred in the Roman Empire during his reign and are traditionally attributed to Severus by the early Christian community. This is based on the decree mentioned in the Historia Augusta, an unreliable mix of fact and fiction. Early church historian Eusebius described Severus as a persecutor. The Christian apologist Tertullian stated that Severus was well disposed towards Christians, employed a Christian as his personal physician and had personally intervened to save several high-born Christians known to him from the mob. Eusebius' description of Severus as a persecutor likely derives merely from the fact that numerous persecutions occurred during his reign, including those known in the Roman Martyrology as the martyrs of Madauros, Charalambos and Perpetua and Felicity in Roman-ruled Africa. These were probably the result of local persecutions rather than empire-wide actions or decrees by Severus. Military activity Africa (202) In late 202 Severus launched a campaign in the province of Africa. The legatus legionis or commander of Legio III Augusta, Quintus Anicius Faustus, had been fighting against the Garamantes along the Limes Tripolitanus for five years. He captured several settlements such as Cydamus, Gholaia, Garbia and their capital Garama—over 600 kilometres (370 mi) south of Leptis Magna. The province of Numidia was also enlarged: the empire annexed the settlements of Vescera, Castellum Dimmidi, Gemellae, Thabudeos and Thubunae. By 203 the entire southern frontier of Roman Africa had been dramatically expanded and re-fortified. Desert nomads could no longer safely raid the region's interior and escape back into the Sahara. Britain (208) In 208 Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia. Modern archaeological discoveries illuminate the scope and direction of his northern campaign. Severus probably arrived in Britain with an army of over 40,000, considering some of the camps constructed during his campaign could house this number.He strengthened Hadrian's Wall and reconquered the Southern Uplands up to the Antonine Wall, which was also enhanced. Severus built a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling his forces there. Supported and supplied by a strong naval force, Severus then thrust north with his army across the wall into Caledonian territory. Retracing the steps of Agricola of over a century before, Severus rebuilt and garrisoned many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, such as Carpow. Cassius Dio's account of the invasion reads: Severus, accordingly, desiring to subjugate the whole of it, invaded Caledonia. But as he advanced through the country he experienced countless hardships in cutting down the forests, levelling the heights, filling up the swamps, and bridging the rivers; but he fought no battle and beheld no enemy in battle array. The enemy purposely put sheep and cattle in front of the soldiers for them to seize, in order that they might be lured on still further until they were worn out; for in fact, the water caused great suffering to the Romans, and when they became scattered, they would be attacked. Then, unable to walk, they would be slain by their own men, in order to avoid capture, so that a full fifty thousand died. But Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter, respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory. By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties. The Caledonians sued for peace, which Severus granted on condition they relinquish control of the Central Lowlands. This is evidenced by extensive Severan-era fortifications in the Central Lowlands. The Caledonians, short on supplies and feeling that their position was desperate, revolted later that year with the Maeatae. Severus prepared for another protracted campaign within Caledonia. He was now intent on exterminating the Caledonians, telling his soldiers: "Let no-one escape sheer destruction, no-one our hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother, if it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction." Death (211) Severus' campaign was cut short when he fell ill. He withdrew to Eboracum (York) and died there in 211. Although his son Caracalla continued campaigning the following year, he soon settled for peace. The Romans never campaigned deep into Caledonia again. Shortly after this, the frontier was permanently withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.Severus is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others" before he died on 4 February 211. On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta, who were advised by his wife Julia Domna. Severus was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. Assessment and legacy By the close of his reign the Roman Empire reached an extent of over 5 million square kilometres, which scholars like David L. Kennedy, Lukas de blois, and Derrick Riley state expanded the empire to its greatest physical extent.Edward Gibbon famously levelled a harsh indictment of Septimius Severus as a principal agent in the empire's decline. "The contemporaries of Severus, in the enjoyment of the peace and glory of his reign, forgave the cruelties by which it had been introduced. Posterity, who experienced the fatal effects of his maxims and example, justly considered him as the principal author of the decline of the Roman empire." According to Gibbon, "his daring ambition was never diverted from its steady course by the allurements of pleasure, the apprehension of danger, or the feelings of humanity." His enlargement of the Limes Tripolitanus secured Africa, the agricultural base of the empire where he was born. His victory over the Parthian Empire was for a time decisive, securing Nisibis and Singara for the empire and establishing a status quo of Roman dominance in the region until 251. His policy of an expanded and better-rewarded army was criticised by his contemporaries Cassius Dio and Herodianus: in particular, they pointed out the increasing burden, in the form of taxes and services, the civilian population had to bear to maintain the new and better-paid army. The large and ongoing increase in military expenditure caused problems for all of his successors.To maintain his enlarged military, he debased the Roman currency. Upon his accession he decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 81.5% to 78.5%, although the silver weight actually increased, rising from 2.40 grams to 2.46 grams. Nevertheless, the following year he debased the denarius again because of rising military expenditures. The silver purity decreased from 78.5% to 64.5%—the silver weight dropping from 2.46 grams to 1.98 grams. In 196 he reduced the purity and silver weight of the denarius again, to 54% and 1.82 grams, respectively. Severus' currency debasement was the largest since the reign of Nero, compromising the long-term strength of the economy.Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the Septizodium in Rome. He enriched his native city of Leptis Magna, including commissioning a triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of 203. Severan dynasty family tree See also Bulla Felix Septimia gens Arcus Argentariorum dedicated by the money changers of Rome to the Severan family. References Citations Bibliography External links Life of Septimius Severus (Historia Augusta at LacusCurtius: Latin text and English translation) Books 74, 75, 76 and 77 of Dio Cassius, covering the rise to power and reign of Septimius Severus Septimius Severus on Ancient History Encyclopedia Book 3 of Herodian De Imperatoribus Romanis Online encyclopaedia of Roman emperors Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome Archived 25 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Septimius Severus in Scotland Arch of Septimius Severus in Lepcis Magna Archived 28 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Coins issued by Septimius Severus Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Septimius Severus" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE EMPEROR LUCIUS SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, in BTM Format

name in native language

Lucius Septimius Severus (Latin: [sɛˈweːrʊs]; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. After deposing and killing the incumbent emperor Didius Julianus, Severus fought his rival claimants, the Roman generals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. Niger was defeated in 194 at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia. Later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul. Following the consolidation of his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. He then enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. He proclaimed as augusti (co-emperors) his elder son Caracalla in 198 and his younger son Geta in 209, both born of his second wife Julia Domna. Severus travelled to Britain in 208, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 209 he invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210. He died in early 211 at Eboracum (today York, England), and was succeeded by his sons, who were advised by their mother and his powerful widow, Julia Domna, thus founding the Severan dynasty. It was the last dynasty of the Roman Empire before the Crisis of the Third Century. Early life Family and education Born on 11 April 145 at Leptis Magna (in present-day Libya) as the son of Publius Septimius Geta and Fulvia Pia, Septimius Severus came from a wealthy and distinguished family of equestrian rank. Severus had Italic and Libyan ancestry; the Roman ancestry came from his mother's side, while his Punic ancestry came from his father's side. Due to his family background on his father's side he is considered the first provincial emperor as he was the first emperor not only born in the provinces but also into a provincial family of non-Italian origin. Severus' father, an obscure provincial, held no major political status, but he had two cousins, Publius Septimius Aper and Gaius Septimius Severus, who served as consuls under the emperor Antoninus Pius r. 138–161. His mother's ancestors had moved from Italy to North Africa; they belonged to the gens Fulvia, an Italian patrician family that originated in Tusculum.Septimius Severus had two siblings: an elder brother, Publius Septimius Geta; and a younger sister, Septimia Octavilla. Severus' maternal cousin was the praetorian prefect and consul Gaius Fulvius Plautianus. Septimius Severus grew up in Leptis Magna. He spoke the local Punic language fluently, but he was also educated in Latin and Greek, which he spoke with a slight accent. Little else is known of the young Severus' education but, according to Cassius Dio, the boy had been eager for more education than he actually received. Presumably, Severus received lessons in oratory: at the age of 17, he gave his first public speech. Public service Severus sought a public career in Rome in around 162. At the recommendation of his relative Gaius Septimius Severus, the emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) granted him entry into the senatorial ranks. Membership in the senatorial order was a prerequisite to attain positions within the cursus honorum and to gain entry into the Roman Senate. Nevertheless, it appears that Severus' career during the 160s met with some difficulties.It is likely that he served as a vigintivir in Rome, overseeing road maintenance in or near the city, and he may have appeared in court as an advocate. At the time of Marcus Aurelius, he was the State Attorney (Advocatus fisci). However, he omitted the military tribunate from the cursus honorum and had to delay his quaestorship until he had reached the required minimum age of 25. To make matters worse, the Antonine Plague swept through the capital in 166.With his career at a halt, Severus decided to temporarily return to Leptis, where the climate was healthier. According to the Historia Augusta, a usually unreliable source, he was prosecuted for adultery during this time but the case was ultimately dismissed. At the end of 169, Severus was of the required age to become a quaestor and journeyed back to Rome. On 5 December, he took office and was officially enrolled in the Roman Senate. Between 170 and 180 his activities went largely unrecorded, in spite of the fact that he occupied an impressive number of posts in quick succession. The Antonine Plague had thinned the senatorial ranks and, with capable men now in short supply, Severus' career advanced more steadily than it otherwise might have.The sudden death of his father necessitated another return to Leptis Magna to settle family affairs. Before he was able to leave Africa, Mauri tribesmen invaded southern Spain. Control of the province was handed over to the emperor, while the Senate gained temporary control of Sardinia as compensation. Thus, Septimius Severus spent the remainder of his second term as quaestor on the island of Sardinia.In 173, Severus' kinsman Gaius Septimius Severus was appointed proconsul of the Province of Africa. The elder Severus chose his cousin as one of his two legati pro praetore, a senior military appointment. Following the end of this term, Septimius Severus returned to Rome, taking up office as tribune of the plebs, a senior legislative position, with the distinction of being the candidatus of the emperor. Marriages About 175, Septimius Severus, in his early thirties at the time, contracted his first marriage, to Paccia Marciana, a woman from Leptis Magna. He probably met her during his tenure as legate under his uncle. Marciana's name suggests Punic or Libyan origin, but nothing else is known of her. Septimius Severus does not mention her in his autobiography, though he commemorated her with statues when he became emperor. The unreliable Historia Augusta claims that Marciana and Severus had two daughters, but no other attestation of them has survived. It appears that the marriage produced no surviving children, despite lasting for more than ten years.Marciana died of natural causes around 186. Septimius Severus, now in his forties, childless and eager to remarry, began enquiring into the horoscopes of prospective brides. The Historia Augusta relates that he heard of a woman in Syria of whom it had been foretold that she would marry a king, and so Severus sought her as his wife. This woman was an Emesene Syrian named Julia Domna. Her father, Julius Bassianus, descended from the Arab Emesene dynasty and served as a high priest to the local cult of the sun god Elagabal. Domna's older sister, Julia Maesa, would become the grandmother of the future emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus.Bassianus accepted Severus' marriage proposal in early 187, and in the summer the couple married in Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon, France), of which Severus was the governor. The marriage proved happy, and Severus cherished Julia and her political opinions. Julia built "the most splendid reputation" by applying herself to letters and philosophy. They had two sons, Lucius Septimius Bassianus (later nicknamed Caracalla, born 4 April 188 in Lugdunum) and Publius Septimius Geta (born 7 March 189 in Rome). Rise to power In 191, on the advice of Quintus Aemilius Laetus, prefect of the Praetorian Guard, emperor Commodus appointed Severus as governor of Pannonia Superior. At around this time he is described by the classicist Kyle Harper as being "a middling senator of modest physical stature and unexceptional accomplishment". Commodus was assassinated the following year. Pertinax was acclaimed emperor, but he was then killed by the Praetorian Guard in early 193. In response to the murder of Pertinax, Severus' legion XIV Gemina acclaimed him emperor at Carnuntum on 9 April. Nearby legions, such as X Gemina at Vindobona, soon followed suit. Having assembled an army, Severus hurried to Italy.Pertinax's successor in Rome, Didius Julianus, had bought the emperorship in an auction. Julianus was condemned to death by the Senate and killed. Severus took possession of Rome without opposition. He executed Pertinax's murderers and dismissed the rest of the Praetorian Guard, filling its ranks with loyal troops from his own legions.The legions of Syria had proclaimed Pescennius Niger emperor. At the same time Severus felt it reasonable to offer Clodius Albinus, the powerful governor of Britannia, who had probably supported Didius against him, the rank of Caesar, which implied some claim to the succession. With his rear safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger's forces at the Battle of Issus (194). While campaigning against Byzantium, he ordered that the tomb of his fellow-Carthaginian Hannibal be covered with fine marble.He devoted the following year to suppressing Mesopotamia and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. Afterwards, Severus declared his son Caracalla as his successor, which caused Albinus to be hailed emperor by his troops and to invade Gaul. After a short stay in Rome, Severus moved north to meet him. On 19 February 197 at the Battle of Lugdunum, with an army of about 75,000 men, mostly composed of Pannonian, Moesian and Dacian legions and a large number of auxiliaries, Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the empire. Emperor War against Parthia In early 197 Severus left Rome and sailed to the east. He embarked at Brundisium and probably landed at the port of Aegeae in Cilicia, travelling on to Syria by land. He immediately gathered his army and crossed the Euphrates. Abgar IX, titular King of Osroene but essentially only the ruler of Edessa since the annexation of his kingdom as a Roman province, handed over his children as hostages and assisted Severus' expedition by providing archers. King Khosrov I of Armenia also sent hostages, money and gifts.Severus travelled on to Nisibis, which his general Julius Laetus had prevented from falling into Parthian hands. Afterwards Severus returned to Syria to plan a more ambitious campaign. The following year he led another, more successful campaign against the Parthian Empire, reportedly in retaliation for the support it had given to Pescennius Niger. His legions sacked the Parthian royal city of Ctesiphon and he annexed the northern half of Mesopotamia to the empire; Severus took the title Parthicus Maximus, following the example of Trajan. However, he was unable to capture the fortress of Hatra, even after two lengthy sieges—just like Trajan, who had tried nearly a century before. During his time in the east, though, Severus also expanded the Limes Arabicus, building new fortifications in the Arabian Desert from Basie to Dumatha. Relations with the Senate and People Severus' relations with the Senate were never good. He was unpopular with them from the outset, having seized power with the help of the military, and he returned the sentiment. Severus ordered the execution of a large number of Senators on charges of corruption or conspiracy against him and replaced them with his favourites. Although his actions turned Rome more into a military dictatorship, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out the rampant corruption of Commodus' reign. When he returned from his victory over the Parthians, he erected the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome.According to Cassius Dio, however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian prefect, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, who came to have almost total control of the imperial administration. At the same time, a bloody power crisis erupted between Plautianus and Julia Domna, Severus' influential and powerful wife, which had a relatively destructive effect on the centre of power. Plautianus' daughter, Fulvia Plautilla, was married to Severus' son, Caracalla. Plautianus' excessive power came to an end in 204, when he was denounced by the emperor's dying brother. In January 205 Julia Domna and Caracalla accused Plautianus of plotting to kill him and Severus. The powerful prefect was executed while he was trying to defend his case in front of the two emperors. One of the two following praefecti was the famous jurist Papinian. Executions of senators did not stop: Cassius Dio records that many of them were put to death, some after being formally tried. After the assassination of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus in the rest of his reign, he relied more on the advice of his clever and educated wife, Julia Domna, in the administration of the empire. Military reforms Upon his arrival at Rome in 193, Severus discharged the Praetorian Guard, which had murdered Pertinax and had then auctioned the Roman Empire to Didius Julianus. Its members were stripped of their ceremonial armour and forbidden to come within 160 kilometres (99 mi) miles of the city on pain of death. Severus replaced the old guard with 10 new cohorts recruited from veterans of his Danubian legions.Around 197 he increased the number of legions from 30 to 33, with the introduction of the three new legions: I, II and III Parthica. He garrisoned Legio II Parthica at Albanum, only 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Rome. He gave his soldiers a donative of a thousand sesterces (250 denarii) each, and raised the annual wage for a soldier in the legions from 300 to 400 denarii.Severus was the first Roman emperor to station some of the imperial army in Italy. He realized that Rome needed a military central reserve with the capability to be sent anywhere. Reputed persecution of Christians At the beginning of Severus' reign, Trajan's policy toward the Christians was still in force. That is, Christians were only to be punished if they refused to worship the emperor and the gods, but they were not to be sought out. Therefore, persecution was inconsistent, local and sporadic. Faced with internal dissidence and external threats, Severus felt the need to promote religious harmony by promoting syncretism. He, possibly, issued an edict that punished conversion to Judaism and Christianity.A number of persecutions of Christians occurred in the Roman Empire during his reign and are traditionally attributed to Severus by the early Christian community. This is based on the decree mentioned in the Historia Augusta, an unreliable mix of fact and fiction. Early church historian Eusebius described Severus as a persecutor. The Christian apologist Tertullian stated that Severus was well disposed towards Christians, employed a Christian as his personal physician and had personally intervened to save several high-born Christians known to him from the mob. Eusebius' description of Severus as a persecutor likely derives merely from the fact that numerous persecutions occurred during his reign, including those known in the Roman Martyrology as the martyrs of Madauros, Charalambos and Perpetua and Felicity in Roman-ruled Africa. These were probably the result of local persecutions rather than empire-wide actions or decrees by Severus. Military activity Africa (202) In late 202 Severus launched a campaign in the province of Africa. The legatus legionis or commander of Legio III Augusta, Quintus Anicius Faustus, had been fighting against the Garamantes along the Limes Tripolitanus for five years. He captured several settlements such as Cydamus, Gholaia, Garbia and their capital Garama—over 600 kilometres (370 mi) south of Leptis Magna. The province of Numidia was also enlarged: the empire annexed the settlements of Vescera, Castellum Dimmidi, Gemellae, Thabudeos and Thubunae. By 203 the entire southern frontier of Roman Africa had been dramatically expanded and re-fortified. Desert nomads could no longer safely raid the region's interior and escape back into the Sahara. Britain (208) In 208 Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia. Modern archaeological discoveries illuminate the scope and direction of his northern campaign. Severus probably arrived in Britain with an army of over 40,000, considering some of the camps constructed during his campaign could house this number.He strengthened Hadrian's Wall and reconquered the Southern Uplands up to the Antonine Wall, which was also enhanced. Severus built a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling his forces there. Supported and supplied by a strong naval force, Severus then thrust north with his army across the wall into Caledonian territory. Retracing the steps of Agricola of over a century before, Severus rebuilt and garrisoned many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, such as Carpow. Cassius Dio's account of the invasion reads: Severus, accordingly, desiring to subjugate the whole of it, invaded Caledonia. But as he advanced through the country he experienced countless hardships in cutting down the forests, levelling the heights, filling up the swamps, and bridging the rivers; but he fought no battle and beheld no enemy in battle array. The enemy purposely put sheep and cattle in front of the soldiers for them to seize, in order that they might be lured on still further until they were worn out; for in fact, the water caused great suffering to the Romans, and when they became scattered, they would be attacked. Then, unable to walk, they would be slain by their own men, in order to avoid capture, so that a full fifty thousand died. But Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter, respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory. By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties. The Caledonians sued for peace, which Severus granted on condition they relinquish control of the Central Lowlands. This is evidenced by extensive Severan-era fortifications in the Central Lowlands. The Caledonians, short on supplies and feeling that their position was desperate, revolted later that year with the Maeatae. Severus prepared for another protracted campaign within Caledonia. He was now intent on exterminating the Caledonians, telling his soldiers: "Let no-one escape sheer destruction, no-one our hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother, if it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction." Death (211) Severus' campaign was cut short when he fell ill. He withdrew to Eboracum (York) and died there in 211. Although his son Caracalla continued campaigning the following year, he soon settled for peace. The Romans never campaigned deep into Caledonia again. Shortly after this, the frontier was permanently withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.Severus is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others" before he died on 4 February 211. On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta, who were advised by his wife Julia Domna. Severus was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. Assessment and legacy By the close of his reign the Roman Empire reached an extent of over 5 million square kilometres, which scholars like David L. Kennedy, Lukas de blois, and Derrick Riley state expanded the empire to its greatest physical extent.Edward Gibbon famously levelled a harsh indictment of Septimius Severus as a principal agent in the empire's decline. "The contemporaries of Severus, in the enjoyment of the peace and glory of his reign, forgave the cruelties by which it had been introduced. Posterity, who experienced the fatal effects of his maxims and example, justly considered him as the principal author of the decline of the Roman empire." According to Gibbon, "his daring ambition was never diverted from its steady course by the allurements of pleasure, the apprehension of danger, or the feelings of humanity." His enlargement of the Limes Tripolitanus secured Africa, the agricultural base of the empire where he was born. His victory over the Parthian Empire was for a time decisive, securing Nisibis and Singara for the empire and establishing a status quo of Roman dominance in the region until 251. His policy of an expanded and better-rewarded army was criticised by his contemporaries Cassius Dio and Herodianus: in particular, they pointed out the increasing burden, in the form of taxes and services, the civilian population had to bear to maintain the new and better-paid army. The large and ongoing increase in military expenditure caused problems for all of his successors.To maintain his enlarged military, he debased the Roman currency. Upon his accession he decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 81.5% to 78.5%, although the silver weight actually increased, rising from 2.40 grams to 2.46 grams. Nevertheless, the following year he debased the denarius again because of rising military expenditures. The silver purity decreased from 78.5% to 64.5%—the silver weight dropping from 2.46 grams to 1.98 grams. In 196 he reduced the purity and silver weight of the denarius again, to 54% and 1.82 grams, respectively. Severus' currency debasement was the largest since the reign of Nero, compromising the long-term strength of the economy.Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the Septizodium in Rome. He enriched his native city of Leptis Magna, including commissioning a triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of 203. Severan dynasty family tree See also Bulla Felix Septimia gens Arcus Argentariorum dedicated by the money changers of Rome to the Severan family. References Citations Bibliography External links Life of Septimius Severus (Historia Augusta at LacusCurtius: Latin text and English translation) Books 74, 75, 76 and 77 of Dio Cassius, covering the rise to power and reign of Septimius Severus Septimius Severus on Ancient History Encyclopedia Book 3 of Herodian De Imperatoribus Romanis Online encyclopaedia of Roman emperors Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome Archived 25 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Septimius Severus in Scotland Arch of Septimius Severus in Lepcis Magna Archived 28 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Coins issued by Septimius Severus Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Septimius Severus" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE EMPEROR LUCIUS SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, in BTM Format

Roman praenomen

Lucius Septimius Severus (Latin: [sɛˈweːrʊs]; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. After deposing and killing the incumbent emperor Didius Julianus, Severus fought his rival claimants, the Roman generals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. Niger was defeated in 194 at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia. Later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul. Following the consolidation of his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. He then enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. He proclaimed as augusti (co-emperors) his elder son Caracalla in 198 and his younger son Geta in 209, both born of his second wife Julia Domna. Severus travelled to Britain in 208, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 209 he invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210. He died in early 211 at Eboracum (today York, England), and was succeeded by his sons, who were advised by their mother and his powerful widow, Julia Domna, thus founding the Severan dynasty. It was the last dynasty of the Roman Empire before the Crisis of the Third Century. Early life Family and education Born on 11 April 145 at Leptis Magna (in present-day Libya) as the son of Publius Septimius Geta and Fulvia Pia, Septimius Severus came from a wealthy and distinguished family of equestrian rank. Severus had Italic and Libyan ancestry; the Roman ancestry came from his mother's side, while his Punic ancestry came from his father's side. Due to his family background on his father's side he is considered the first provincial emperor as he was the first emperor not only born in the provinces but also into a provincial family of non-Italian origin. Severus' father, an obscure provincial, held no major political status, but he had two cousins, Publius Septimius Aper and Gaius Septimius Severus, who served as consuls under the emperor Antoninus Pius r. 138–161. His mother's ancestors had moved from Italy to North Africa; they belonged to the gens Fulvia, an Italian patrician family that originated in Tusculum.Septimius Severus had two siblings: an elder brother, Publius Septimius Geta; and a younger sister, Septimia Octavilla. Severus' maternal cousin was the praetorian prefect and consul Gaius Fulvius Plautianus. Septimius Severus grew up in Leptis Magna. He spoke the local Punic language fluently, but he was also educated in Latin and Greek, which he spoke with a slight accent. Little else is known of the young Severus' education but, according to Cassius Dio, the boy had been eager for more education than he actually received. Presumably, Severus received lessons in oratory: at the age of 17, he gave his first public speech. Public service Severus sought a public career in Rome in around 162. At the recommendation of his relative Gaius Septimius Severus, the emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) granted him entry into the senatorial ranks. Membership in the senatorial order was a prerequisite to attain positions within the cursus honorum and to gain entry into the Roman Senate. Nevertheless, it appears that Severus' career during the 160s met with some difficulties.It is likely that he served as a vigintivir in Rome, overseeing road maintenance in or near the city, and he may have appeared in court as an advocate. At the time of Marcus Aurelius, he was the State Attorney (Advocatus fisci). However, he omitted the military tribunate from the cursus honorum and had to delay his quaestorship until he had reached the required minimum age of 25. To make matters worse, the Antonine Plague swept through the capital in 166.With his career at a halt, Severus decided to temporarily return to Leptis, where the climate was healthier. According to the Historia Augusta, a usually unreliable source, he was prosecuted for adultery during this time but the case was ultimately dismissed. At the end of 169, Severus was of the required age to become a quaestor and journeyed back to Rome. On 5 December, he took office and was officially enrolled in the Roman Senate. Between 170 and 180 his activities went largely unrecorded, in spite of the fact that he occupied an impressive number of posts in quick succession. The Antonine Plague had thinned the senatorial ranks and, with capable men now in short supply, Severus' career advanced more steadily than it otherwise might have.The sudden death of his father necessitated another return to Leptis Magna to settle family affairs. Before he was able to leave Africa, Mauri tribesmen invaded southern Spain. Control of the province was handed over to the emperor, while the Senate gained temporary control of Sardinia as compensation. Thus, Septimius Severus spent the remainder of his second term as quaestor on the island of Sardinia.In 173, Severus' kinsman Gaius Septimius Severus was appointed proconsul of the Province of Africa. The elder Severus chose his cousin as one of his two legati pro praetore, a senior military appointment. Following the end of this term, Septimius Severus returned to Rome, taking up office as tribune of the plebs, a senior legislative position, with the distinction of being the candidatus of the emperor. Marriages About 175, Septimius Severus, in his early thirties at the time, contracted his first marriage, to Paccia Marciana, a woman from Leptis Magna. He probably met her during his tenure as legate under his uncle. Marciana's name suggests Punic or Libyan origin, but nothing else is known of her. Septimius Severus does not mention her in his autobiography, though he commemorated her with statues when he became emperor. The unreliable Historia Augusta claims that Marciana and Severus had two daughters, but no other attestation of them has survived. It appears that the marriage produced no surviving children, despite lasting for more than ten years.Marciana died of natural causes around 186. Septimius Severus, now in his forties, childless and eager to remarry, began enquiring into the horoscopes of prospective brides. The Historia Augusta relates that he heard of a woman in Syria of whom it had been foretold that she would marry a king, and so Severus sought her as his wife. This woman was an Emesene Syrian named Julia Domna. Her father, Julius Bassianus, descended from the Arab Emesene dynasty and served as a high priest to the local cult of the sun god Elagabal. Domna's older sister, Julia Maesa, would become the grandmother of the future emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus.Bassianus accepted Severus' marriage proposal in early 187, and in the summer the couple married in Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon, France), of which Severus was the governor. The marriage proved happy, and Severus cherished Julia and her political opinions. Julia built "the most splendid reputation" by applying herself to letters and philosophy. They had two sons, Lucius Septimius Bassianus (later nicknamed Caracalla, born 4 April 188 in Lugdunum) and Publius Septimius Geta (born 7 March 189 in Rome). Rise to power In 191, on the advice of Quintus Aemilius Laetus, prefect of the Praetorian Guard, emperor Commodus appointed Severus as governor of Pannonia Superior. At around this time he is described by the classicist Kyle Harper as being "a middling senator of modest physical stature and unexceptional accomplishment". Commodus was assassinated the following year. Pertinax was acclaimed emperor, but he was then killed by the Praetorian Guard in early 193. In response to the murder of Pertinax, Severus' legion XIV Gemina acclaimed him emperor at Carnuntum on 9 April. Nearby legions, such as X Gemina at Vindobona, soon followed suit. Having assembled an army, Severus hurried to Italy.Pertinax's successor in Rome, Didius Julianus, had bought the emperorship in an auction. Julianus was condemned to death by the Senate and killed. Severus took possession of Rome without opposition. He executed Pertinax's murderers and dismissed the rest of the Praetorian Guard, filling its ranks with loyal troops from his own legions.The legions of Syria had proclaimed Pescennius Niger emperor. At the same time Severus felt it reasonable to offer Clodius Albinus, the powerful governor of Britannia, who had probably supported Didius against him, the rank of Caesar, which implied some claim to the succession. With his rear safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger's forces at the Battle of Issus (194). While campaigning against Byzantium, he ordered that the tomb of his fellow-Carthaginian Hannibal be covered with fine marble.He devoted the following year to suppressing Mesopotamia and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. Afterwards, Severus declared his son Caracalla as his successor, which caused Albinus to be hailed emperor by his troops and to invade Gaul. After a short stay in Rome, Severus moved north to meet him. On 19 February 197 at the Battle of Lugdunum, with an army of about 75,000 men, mostly composed of Pannonian, Moesian and Dacian legions and a large number of auxiliaries, Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the empire. Emperor War against Parthia In early 197 Severus left Rome and sailed to the east. He embarked at Brundisium and probably landed at the port of Aegeae in Cilicia, travelling on to Syria by land. He immediately gathered his army and crossed the Euphrates. Abgar IX, titular King of Osroene but essentially only the ruler of Edessa since the annexation of his kingdom as a Roman province, handed over his children as hostages and assisted Severus' expedition by providing archers. King Khosrov I of Armenia also sent hostages, money and gifts.Severus travelled on to Nisibis, which his general Julius Laetus had prevented from falling into Parthian hands. Afterwards Severus returned to Syria to plan a more ambitious campaign. The following year he led another, more successful campaign against the Parthian Empire, reportedly in retaliation for the support it had given to Pescennius Niger. His legions sacked the Parthian royal city of Ctesiphon and he annexed the northern half of Mesopotamia to the empire; Severus took the title Parthicus Maximus, following the example of Trajan. However, he was unable to capture the fortress of Hatra, even after two lengthy sieges—just like Trajan, who had tried nearly a century before. During his time in the east, though, Severus also expanded the Limes Arabicus, building new fortifications in the Arabian Desert from Basie to Dumatha. Relations with the Senate and People Severus' relations with the Senate were never good. He was unpopular with them from the outset, having seized power with the help of the military, and he returned the sentiment. Severus ordered the execution of a large number of Senators on charges of corruption or conspiracy against him and replaced them with his favourites. Although his actions turned Rome more into a military dictatorship, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out the rampant corruption of Commodus' reign. When he returned from his victory over the Parthians, he erected the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome.According to Cassius Dio, however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian prefect, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, who came to have almost total control of the imperial administration. At the same time, a bloody power crisis erupted between Plautianus and Julia Domna, Severus' influential and powerful wife, which had a relatively destructive effect on the centre of power. Plautianus' daughter, Fulvia Plautilla, was married to Severus' son, Caracalla. Plautianus' excessive power came to an end in 204, when he was denounced by the emperor's dying brother. In January 205 Julia Domna and Caracalla accused Plautianus of plotting to kill him and Severus. The powerful prefect was executed while he was trying to defend his case in front of the two emperors. One of the two following praefecti was the famous jurist Papinian. Executions of senators did not stop: Cassius Dio records that many of them were put to death, some after being formally tried. After the assassination of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus in the rest of his reign, he relied more on the advice of his clever and educated wife, Julia Domna, in the administration of the empire. Military reforms Upon his arrival at Rome in 193, Severus discharged the Praetorian Guard, which had murdered Pertinax and had then auctioned the Roman Empire to Didius Julianus. Its members were stripped of their ceremonial armour and forbidden to come within 160 kilometres (99 mi) miles of the city on pain of death. Severus replaced the old guard with 10 new cohorts recruited from veterans of his Danubian legions.Around 197 he increased the number of legions from 30 to 33, with the introduction of the three new legions: I, II and III Parthica. He garrisoned Legio II Parthica at Albanum, only 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Rome. He gave his soldiers a donative of a thousand sesterces (250 denarii) each, and raised the annual wage for a soldier in the legions from 300 to 400 denarii.Severus was the first Roman emperor to station some of the imperial army in Italy. He realized that Rome needed a military central reserve with the capability to be sent anywhere. Reputed persecution of Christians At the beginning of Severus' reign, Trajan's policy toward the Christians was still in force. That is, Christians were only to be punished if they refused to worship the emperor and the gods, but they were not to be sought out. Therefore, persecution was inconsistent, local and sporadic. Faced with internal dissidence and external threats, Severus felt the need to promote religious harmony by promoting syncretism. He, possibly, issued an edict that punished conversion to Judaism and Christianity.A number of persecutions of Christians occurred in the Roman Empire during his reign and are traditionally attributed to Severus by the early Christian community. This is based on the decree mentioned in the Historia Augusta, an unreliable mix of fact and fiction. Early church historian Eusebius described Severus as a persecutor. The Christian apologist Tertullian stated that Severus was well disposed towards Christians, employed a Christian as his personal physician and had personally intervened to save several high-born Christians known to him from the mob. Eusebius' description of Severus as a persecutor likely derives merely from the fact that numerous persecutions occurred during his reign, including those known in the Roman Martyrology as the martyrs of Madauros, Charalambos and Perpetua and Felicity in Roman-ruled Africa. These were probably the result of local persecutions rather than empire-wide actions or decrees by Severus. Military activity Africa (202) In late 202 Severus launched a campaign in the province of Africa. The legatus legionis or commander of Legio III Augusta, Quintus Anicius Faustus, had been fighting against the Garamantes along the Limes Tripolitanus for five years. He captured several settlements such as Cydamus, Gholaia, Garbia and their capital Garama—over 600 kilometres (370 mi) south of Leptis Magna. The province of Numidia was also enlarged: the empire annexed the settlements of Vescera, Castellum Dimmidi, Gemellae, Thabudeos and Thubunae. By 203 the entire southern frontier of Roman Africa had been dramatically expanded and re-fortified. Desert nomads could no longer safely raid the region's interior and escape back into the Sahara. Britain (208) In 208 Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia. Modern archaeological discoveries illuminate the scope and direction of his northern campaign. Severus probably arrived in Britain with an army of over 40,000, considering some of the camps constructed during his campaign could house this number.He strengthened Hadrian's Wall and reconquered the Southern Uplands up to the Antonine Wall, which was also enhanced. Severus built a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling his forces there. Supported and supplied by a strong naval force, Severus then thrust north with his army across the wall into Caledonian territory. Retracing the steps of Agricola of over a century before, Severus rebuilt and garrisoned many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, such as Carpow. Cassius Dio's account of the invasion reads: Severus, accordingly, desiring to subjugate the whole of it, invaded Caledonia. But as he advanced through the country he experienced countless hardships in cutting down the forests, levelling the heights, filling up the swamps, and bridging the rivers; but he fought no battle and beheld no enemy in battle array. The enemy purposely put sheep and cattle in front of the soldiers for them to seize, in order that they might be lured on still further until they were worn out; for in fact, the water caused great suffering to the Romans, and when they became scattered, they would be attacked. Then, unable to walk, they would be slain by their own men, in order to avoid capture, so that a full fifty thousand died. But Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter, respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory. By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties. The Caledonians sued for peace, which Severus granted on condition they relinquish control of the Central Lowlands. This is evidenced by extensive Severan-era fortifications in the Central Lowlands. The Caledonians, short on supplies and feeling that their position was desperate, revolted later that year with the Maeatae. Severus prepared for another protracted campaign within Caledonia. He was now intent on exterminating the Caledonians, telling his soldiers: "Let no-one escape sheer destruction, no-one our hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother, if it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction." Death (211) Severus' campaign was cut short when he fell ill. He withdrew to Eboracum (York) and died there in 211. Although his son Caracalla continued campaigning the following year, he soon settled for peace. The Romans never campaigned deep into Caledonia again. Shortly after this, the frontier was permanently withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.Severus is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others" before he died on 4 February 211. On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta, who were advised by his wife Julia Domna. Severus was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. Assessment and legacy By the close of his reign the Roman Empire reached an extent of over 5 million square kilometres, which scholars like David L. Kennedy, Lukas de blois, and Derrick Riley state expanded the empire to its greatest physical extent.Edward Gibbon famously levelled a harsh indictment of Septimius Severus as a principal agent in the empire's decline. "The contemporaries of Severus, in the enjoyment of the peace and glory of his reign, forgave the cruelties by which it had been introduced. Posterity, who experienced the fatal effects of his maxims and example, justly considered him as the principal author of the decline of the Roman empire." According to Gibbon, "his daring ambition was never diverted from its steady course by the allurements of pleasure, the apprehension of danger, or the feelings of humanity." His enlargement of the Limes Tripolitanus secured Africa, the agricultural base of the empire where he was born. His victory over the Parthian Empire was for a time decisive, securing Nisibis and Singara for the empire and establishing a status quo of Roman dominance in the region until 251. His policy of an expanded and better-rewarded army was criticised by his contemporaries Cassius Dio and Herodianus: in particular, they pointed out the increasing burden, in the form of taxes and services, the civilian population had to bear to maintain the new and better-paid army. The large and ongoing increase in military expenditure caused problems for all of his successors.To maintain his enlarged military, he debased the Roman currency. Upon his accession he decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 81.5% to 78.5%, although the silver weight actually increased, rising from 2.40 grams to 2.46 grams. Nevertheless, the following year he debased the denarius again because of rising military expenditures. The silver purity decreased from 78.5% to 64.5%—the silver weight dropping from 2.46 grams to 1.98 grams. In 196 he reduced the purity and silver weight of the denarius again, to 54% and 1.82 grams, respectively. Severus' currency debasement was the largest since the reign of Nero, compromising the long-term strength of the economy.Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the Septizodium in Rome. He enriched his native city of Leptis Magna, including commissioning a triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of 203. Severan dynasty family tree See also Bulla Felix Septimia gens Arcus Argentariorum dedicated by the money changers of Rome to the Severan family. References Citations Bibliography External links Life of Septimius Severus (Historia Augusta at LacusCurtius: Latin text and English translation) Books 74, 75, 76 and 77 of Dio Cassius, covering the rise to power and reign of Septimius Severus Septimius Severus on Ancient History Encyclopedia Book 3 of Herodian De Imperatoribus Romanis Online encyclopaedia of Roman emperors Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome Archived 25 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Septimius Severus in Scotland Arch of Septimius Severus in Lepcis Magna Archived 28 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Coins issued by Septimius Severus Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Septimius Severus" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE EMPEROR LUCIUS SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, in BTM Format

Roman nomen gentilicium

Lucius Septimius Severus (Latin: [sɛˈweːrʊs]; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. After deposing and killing the incumbent emperor Didius Julianus, Severus fought his rival claimants, the Roman generals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. Niger was defeated in 194 at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia. Later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul. Following the consolidation of his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. He then enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. He proclaimed as augusti (co-emperors) his elder son Caracalla in 198 and his younger son Geta in 209, both born of his second wife Julia Domna. Severus travelled to Britain in 208, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 209 he invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210. He died in early 211 at Eboracum (today York, England), and was succeeded by his sons, who were advised by their mother and his powerful widow, Julia Domna, thus founding the Severan dynasty. It was the last dynasty of the Roman Empire before the Crisis of the Third Century. Early life Family and education Born on 11 April 145 at Leptis Magna (in present-day Libya) as the son of Publius Septimius Geta and Fulvia Pia, Septimius Severus came from a wealthy and distinguished family of equestrian rank. Severus had Italic and Libyan ancestry; the Roman ancestry came from his mother's side, while his Punic ancestry came from his father's side. Due to his family background on his father's side he is considered the first provincial emperor as he was the first emperor not only born in the provinces but also into a provincial family of non-Italian origin. Severus' father, an obscure provincial, held no major political status, but he had two cousins, Publius Septimius Aper and Gaius Septimius Severus, who served as consuls under the emperor Antoninus Pius r. 138–161. His mother's ancestors had moved from Italy to North Africa; they belonged to the gens Fulvia, an Italian patrician family that originated in Tusculum.Septimius Severus had two siblings: an elder brother, Publius Septimius Geta; and a younger sister, Septimia Octavilla. Severus' maternal cousin was the praetorian prefect and consul Gaius Fulvius Plautianus. Septimius Severus grew up in Leptis Magna. He spoke the local Punic language fluently, but he was also educated in Latin and Greek, which he spoke with a slight accent. Little else is known of the young Severus' education but, according to Cassius Dio, the boy had been eager for more education than he actually received. Presumably, Severus received lessons in oratory: at the age of 17, he gave his first public speech. Public service Severus sought a public career in Rome in around 162. At the recommendation of his relative Gaius Septimius Severus, the emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) granted him entry into the senatorial ranks. Membership in the senatorial order was a prerequisite to attain positions within the cursus honorum and to gain entry into the Roman Senate. Nevertheless, it appears that Severus' career during the 160s met with some difficulties.It is likely that he served as a vigintivir in Rome, overseeing road maintenance in or near the city, and he may have appeared in court as an advocate. At the time of Marcus Aurelius, he was the State Attorney (Advocatus fisci). However, he omitted the military tribunate from the cursus honorum and had to delay his quaestorship until he had reached the required minimum age of 25. To make matters worse, the Antonine Plague swept through the capital in 166.With his career at a halt, Severus decided to temporarily return to Leptis, where the climate was healthier. According to the Historia Augusta, a usually unreliable source, he was prosecuted for adultery during this time but the case was ultimately dismissed. At the end of 169, Severus was of the required age to become a quaestor and journeyed back to Rome. On 5 December, he took office and was officially enrolled in the Roman Senate. Between 170 and 180 his activities went largely unrecorded, in spite of the fact that he occupied an impressive number of posts in quick succession. The Antonine Plague had thinned the senatorial ranks and, with capable men now in short supply, Severus' career advanced more steadily than it otherwise might have.The sudden death of his father necessitated another return to Leptis Magna to settle family affairs. Before he was able to leave Africa, Mauri tribesmen invaded southern Spain. Control of the province was handed over to the emperor, while the Senate gained temporary control of Sardinia as compensation. Thus, Septimius Severus spent the remainder of his second term as quaestor on the island of Sardinia.In 173, Severus' kinsman Gaius Septimius Severus was appointed proconsul of the Province of Africa. The elder Severus chose his cousin as one of his two legati pro praetore, a senior military appointment. Following the end of this term, Septimius Severus returned to Rome, taking up office as tribune of the plebs, a senior legislative position, with the distinction of being the candidatus of the emperor. Marriages About 175, Septimius Severus, in his early thirties at the time, contracted his first marriage, to Paccia Marciana, a woman from Leptis Magna. He probably met her during his tenure as legate under his uncle. Marciana's name suggests Punic or Libyan origin, but nothing else is known of her. Septimius Severus does not mention her in his autobiography, though he commemorated her with statues when he became emperor. The unreliable Historia Augusta claims that Marciana and Severus had two daughters, but no other attestation of them has survived. It appears that the marriage produced no surviving children, despite lasting for more than ten years.Marciana died of natural causes around 186. Septimius Severus, now in his forties, childless and eager to remarry, began enquiring into the horoscopes of prospective brides. The Historia Augusta relates that he heard of a woman in Syria of whom it had been foretold that she would marry a king, and so Severus sought her as his wife. This woman was an Emesene Syrian named Julia Domna. Her father, Julius Bassianus, descended from the Arab Emesene dynasty and served as a high priest to the local cult of the sun god Elagabal. Domna's older sister, Julia Maesa, would become the grandmother of the future emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus.Bassianus accepted Severus' marriage proposal in early 187, and in the summer the couple married in Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon, France), of which Severus was the governor. The marriage proved happy, and Severus cherished Julia and her political opinions. Julia built "the most splendid reputation" by applying herself to letters and philosophy. They had two sons, Lucius Septimius Bassianus (later nicknamed Caracalla, born 4 April 188 in Lugdunum) and Publius Septimius Geta (born 7 March 189 in Rome). Rise to power In 191, on the advice of Quintus Aemilius Laetus, prefect of the Praetorian Guard, emperor Commodus appointed Severus as governor of Pannonia Superior. At around this time he is described by the classicist Kyle Harper as being "a middling senator of modest physical stature and unexceptional accomplishment". Commodus was assassinated the following year. Pertinax was acclaimed emperor, but he was then killed by the Praetorian Guard in early 193. In response to the murder of Pertinax, Severus' legion XIV Gemina acclaimed him emperor at Carnuntum on 9 April. Nearby legions, such as X Gemina at Vindobona, soon followed suit. Having assembled an army, Severus hurried to Italy.Pertinax's successor in Rome, Didius Julianus, had bought the emperorship in an auction. Julianus was condemned to death by the Senate and killed. Severus took possession of Rome without opposition. He executed Pertinax's murderers and dismissed the rest of the Praetorian Guard, filling its ranks with loyal troops from his own legions.The legions of Syria had proclaimed Pescennius Niger emperor. At the same time Severus felt it reasonable to offer Clodius Albinus, the powerful governor of Britannia, who had probably supported Didius against him, the rank of Caesar, which implied some claim to the succession. With his rear safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger's forces at the Battle of Issus (194). While campaigning against Byzantium, he ordered that the tomb of his fellow-Carthaginian Hannibal be covered with fine marble.He devoted the following year to suppressing Mesopotamia and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. Afterwards, Severus declared his son Caracalla as his successor, which caused Albinus to be hailed emperor by his troops and to invade Gaul. After a short stay in Rome, Severus moved north to meet him. On 19 February 197 at the Battle of Lugdunum, with an army of about 75,000 men, mostly composed of Pannonian, Moesian and Dacian legions and a large number of auxiliaries, Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the empire. Emperor War against Parthia In early 197 Severus left Rome and sailed to the east. He embarked at Brundisium and probably landed at the port of Aegeae in Cilicia, travelling on to Syria by land. He immediately gathered his army and crossed the Euphrates. Abgar IX, titular King of Osroene but essentially only the ruler of Edessa since the annexation of his kingdom as a Roman province, handed over his children as hostages and assisted Severus' expedition by providing archers. King Khosrov I of Armenia also sent hostages, money and gifts.Severus travelled on to Nisibis, which his general Julius Laetus had prevented from falling into Parthian hands. Afterwards Severus returned to Syria to plan a more ambitious campaign. The following year he led another, more successful campaign against the Parthian Empire, reportedly in retaliation for the support it had given to Pescennius Niger. His legions sacked the Parthian royal city of Ctesiphon and he annexed the northern half of Mesopotamia to the empire; Severus took the title Parthicus Maximus, following the example of Trajan. However, he was unable to capture the fortress of Hatra, even after two lengthy sieges—just like Trajan, who had tried nearly a century before. During his time in the east, though, Severus also expanded the Limes Arabicus, building new fortifications in the Arabian Desert from Basie to Dumatha. Relations with the Senate and People Severus' relations with the Senate were never good. He was unpopular with them from the outset, having seized power with the help of the military, and he returned the sentiment. Severus ordered the execution of a large number of Senators on charges of corruption or conspiracy against him and replaced them with his favourites. Although his actions turned Rome more into a military dictatorship, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out the rampant corruption of Commodus' reign. When he returned from his victory over the Parthians, he erected the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome.According to Cassius Dio, however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian prefect, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, who came to have almost total control of the imperial administration. At the same time, a bloody power crisis erupted between Plautianus and Julia Domna, Severus' influential and powerful wife, which had a relatively destructive effect on the centre of power. Plautianus' daughter, Fulvia Plautilla, was married to Severus' son, Caracalla. Plautianus' excessive power came to an end in 204, when he was denounced by the emperor's dying brother. In January 205 Julia Domna and Caracalla accused Plautianus of plotting to kill him and Severus. The powerful prefect was executed while he was trying to defend his case in front of the two emperors. One of the two following praefecti was the famous jurist Papinian. Executions of senators did not stop: Cassius Dio records that many of them were put to death, some after being formally tried. After the assassination of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus in the rest of his reign, he relied more on the advice of his clever and educated wife, Julia Domna, in the administration of the empire. Military reforms Upon his arrival at Rome in 193, Severus discharged the Praetorian Guard, which had murdered Pertinax and had then auctioned the Roman Empire to Didius Julianus. Its members were stripped of their ceremonial armour and forbidden to come within 160 kilometres (99 mi) miles of the city on pain of death. Severus replaced the old guard with 10 new cohorts recruited from veterans of his Danubian legions.Around 197 he increased the number of legions from 30 to 33, with the introduction of the three new legions: I, II and III Parthica. He garrisoned Legio II Parthica at Albanum, only 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Rome. He gave his soldiers a donative of a thousand sesterces (250 denarii) each, and raised the annual wage for a soldier in the legions from 300 to 400 denarii.Severus was the first Roman emperor to station some of the imperial army in Italy. He realized that Rome needed a military central reserve with the capability to be sent anywhere. Reputed persecution of Christians At the beginning of Severus' reign, Trajan's policy toward the Christians was still in force. That is, Christians were only to be punished if they refused to worship the emperor and the gods, but they were not to be sought out. Therefore, persecution was inconsistent, local and sporadic. Faced with internal dissidence and external threats, Severus felt the need to promote religious harmony by promoting syncretism. He, possibly, issued an edict that punished conversion to Judaism and Christianity.A number of persecutions of Christians occurred in the Roman Empire during his reign and are traditionally attributed to Severus by the early Christian community. This is based on the decree mentioned in the Historia Augusta, an unreliable mix of fact and fiction. Early church historian Eusebius described Severus as a persecutor. The Christian apologist Tertullian stated that Severus was well disposed towards Christians, employed a Christian as his personal physician and had personally intervened to save several high-born Christians known to him from the mob. Eusebius' description of Severus as a persecutor likely derives merely from the fact that numerous persecutions occurred during his reign, including those known in the Roman Martyrology as the martyrs of Madauros, Charalambos and Perpetua and Felicity in Roman-ruled Africa. These were probably the result of local persecutions rather than empire-wide actions or decrees by Severus. Military activity Africa (202) In late 202 Severus launched a campaign in the province of Africa. The legatus legionis or commander of Legio III Augusta, Quintus Anicius Faustus, had been fighting against the Garamantes along the Limes Tripolitanus for five years. He captured several settlements such as Cydamus, Gholaia, Garbia and their capital Garama—over 600 kilometres (370 mi) south of Leptis Magna. The province of Numidia was also enlarged: the empire annexed the settlements of Vescera, Castellum Dimmidi, Gemellae, Thabudeos and Thubunae. By 203 the entire southern frontier of Roman Africa had been dramatically expanded and re-fortified. Desert nomads could no longer safely raid the region's interior and escape back into the Sahara. Britain (208) In 208 Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia. Modern archaeological discoveries illuminate the scope and direction of his northern campaign. Severus probably arrived in Britain with an army of over 40,000, considering some of the camps constructed during his campaign could house this number.He strengthened Hadrian's Wall and reconquered the Southern Uplands up to the Antonine Wall, which was also enhanced. Severus built a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling his forces there. Supported and supplied by a strong naval force, Severus then thrust north with his army across the wall into Caledonian territory. Retracing the steps of Agricola of over a century before, Severus rebuilt and garrisoned many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, such as Carpow. Cassius Dio's account of the invasion reads: Severus, accordingly, desiring to subjugate the whole of it, invaded Caledonia. But as he advanced through the country he experienced countless hardships in cutting down the forests, levelling the heights, filling up the swamps, and bridging the rivers; but he fought no battle and beheld no enemy in battle array. The enemy purposely put sheep and cattle in front of the soldiers for them to seize, in order that they might be lured on still further until they were worn out; for in fact, the water caused great suffering to the Romans, and when they became scattered, they would be attacked. Then, unable to walk, they would be slain by their own men, in order to avoid capture, so that a full fifty thousand died. But Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter, respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory. By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties. The Caledonians sued for peace, which Severus granted on condition they relinquish control of the Central Lowlands. This is evidenced by extensive Severan-era fortifications in the Central Lowlands. The Caledonians, short on supplies and feeling that their position was desperate, revolted later that year with the Maeatae. Severus prepared for another protracted campaign within Caledonia. He was now intent on exterminating the Caledonians, telling his soldiers: "Let no-one escape sheer destruction, no-one our hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother, if it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction." Death (211) Severus' campaign was cut short when he fell ill. He withdrew to Eboracum (York) and died there in 211. Although his son Caracalla continued campaigning the following year, he soon settled for peace. The Romans never campaigned deep into Caledonia again. Shortly after this, the frontier was permanently withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.Severus is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others" before he died on 4 February 211. On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta, who were advised by his wife Julia Domna. Severus was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. Assessment and legacy By the close of his reign the Roman Empire reached an extent of over 5 million square kilometres, which scholars like David L. Kennedy, Lukas de blois, and Derrick Riley state expanded the empire to its greatest physical extent.Edward Gibbon famously levelled a harsh indictment of Septimius Severus as a principal agent in the empire's decline. "The contemporaries of Severus, in the enjoyment of the peace and glory of his reign, forgave the cruelties by which it had been introduced. Posterity, who experienced the fatal effects of his maxims and example, justly considered him as the principal author of the decline of the Roman empire." According to Gibbon, "his daring ambition was never diverted from its steady course by the allurements of pleasure, the apprehension of danger, or the feelings of humanity." His enlargement of the Limes Tripolitanus secured Africa, the agricultural base of the empire where he was born. His victory over the Parthian Empire was for a time decisive, securing Nisibis and Singara for the empire and establishing a status quo of Roman dominance in the region until 251. His policy of an expanded and better-rewarded army was criticised by his contemporaries Cassius Dio and Herodianus: in particular, they pointed out the increasing burden, in the form of taxes and services, the civilian population had to bear to maintain the new and better-paid army. The large and ongoing increase in military expenditure caused problems for all of his successors.To maintain his enlarged military, he debased the Roman currency. Upon his accession he decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 81.5% to 78.5%, although the silver weight actually increased, rising from 2.40 grams to 2.46 grams. Nevertheless, the following year he debased the denarius again because of rising military expenditures. The silver purity decreased from 78.5% to 64.5%—the silver weight dropping from 2.46 grams to 1.98 grams. In 196 he reduced the purity and silver weight of the denarius again, to 54% and 1.82 grams, respectively. Severus' currency debasement was the largest since the reign of Nero, compromising the long-term strength of the economy.Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the Septizodium in Rome. He enriched his native city of Leptis Magna, including commissioning a triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of 203. Severan dynasty family tree See also Bulla Felix Septimia gens Arcus Argentariorum dedicated by the money changers of Rome to the Severan family. References Citations Bibliography External links Life of Septimius Severus (Historia Augusta at LacusCurtius: Latin text and English translation) Books 74, 75, 76 and 77 of Dio Cassius, covering the rise to power and reign of Septimius Severus Septimius Severus on Ancient History Encyclopedia Book 3 of Herodian De Imperatoribus Romanis Online encyclopaedia of Roman emperors Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome Archived 25 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Septimius Severus in Scotland Arch of Septimius Severus in Lepcis Magna Archived 28 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Coins issued by Septimius Severus Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Septimius Severus" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. THE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE EMPEROR LUCIUS SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, in BTM Format

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